Team news from the club reported that Neill will be banned for Villa match.

Anyone know of a decent pub in Brum beforehand.......

Same failings as last season. Someone who can score up front. We were fit and organised at the end of last season under Hughes I thought. Maybe too early to judge, but that's the way it seems at the moment.

We create chances but this is just the same as last season, we need more up front. With or without Bellamy.

Blackburn should have been ahead long before then and boss Mark Hughes was left shaking his head as he walked down the tunnel at half-time.

I see the comments after the game now: "Tugay was playing with his invisible friend again. he is past it" " we need another striker, Kuqi is not Prem class" " Reid doesn't do anything from the centre, cant pass" Seriously though, hope we can stuff them. Living down in London means you have to put with Spurs fans thinking they are going to win the league, if not this year next. They do have a quality squad but I am hoping we can take them at home. Come on boys lets take our game to another level.......

Oscar Raven - some of your comments have been a bit over the top. He did us well for a couple of years here etc etc Personally (like a few others) I am interested to see how he gets on. It feels like I know the way he works because he was here for a few years.

Article on attendances - not sure if anyone has posted this article yet!

Out for 6 weeks, breaking news on Sky.

If Hughes thinks Derbyshire is upto it put him in. Awful news, sums up my week well so far......

Lee Out of interest (sad I know) has the pre-match conference changed from Fridays to Thursdays? Intially Hughes did them on Fridays but this was changed for the last few matches of last season and begun that way this season?? If so as well, do you know why? Souey always did his Friday mornings from memory! Players will not report to training until tomorrow presumably.

newsnow has just gone through one of its mad phases where it digs up previous stories!

Great news to read first thing in the morning....

BBC article on Scotland's friendly game. Talk about Dickov's general fitness.....may be on borrowed time - may please some.

Wonder if Bellamy’s ankle is 100%? Must be or he would have been withdrawn from the squad I suppose. Good news for us that he is getting some match practise with Wales in ahead of this Saturday.

Yeah but the season has started.........dropping points now is just the same as dropping points when people are 'fully fit'. We already have lost to a team who looked fairly average on the day but had players with pace and players who must of thought it was Xmas with our mistakes!

Very pi**ed off still! In summary - we looked very stretched as a team compared to last season - kept playing hopeless through balls to Bellamy, we don't seem to have anyone who can read his runs (even though he had a quiet match) - The Axe does not convince me as a centre back - Savage was our best midfielder (best of a bad bunch), he needs more matches though. I would not go over the top but it's the way in which we lost which is most annoying. Really shot ourselves in the foot with very casual defending against a very average team.

Black Lion folks near Plaistow tube. That is the chat anyway - will be going there around midday!

Bit unfair going OTT on Souness. One thing is for sure, this season is the real test for him. He has a horrible start to the season with relation to the fixtures in the first 10 matches!!

Good to see we are both on the ball Alan!!

Just got a 'breaking news' text. Hughes said today that Nelsen and Bellamy have both trained fine and unless they get a reaction they will play on Saturday.

I am not sure, just raising the question but has Jansen actually had a good run in the team since his accident. I am talking like 6 games in a row or something like that. There always seems to be a problem which arises, injury or whatever which has curtailed him. When Souness put him in, Souey was going through a period when he changed the team every match. This was when we were constantly losing.

key76 - well summed up!

I just make sure everything is kept in context - of course the addition of Bellamy will only fuel those lazy journalists who are labelling us at the moment. However, I look back to Henry Winter's article a few months back and can only agree. Being one of the most respected journo's about it was good to read. Few other respected ones (journos) as well, chap from the times, have given ourselves and Hughes credit. Winter's comments below: Having played under Sir Alex Ferguson, Hughes's man-management skills are inevitably sharp. Evidence of his galvanising traits can be found all over Ewood. Assisted by a good back-room staff, Hughes has turned Andy Todd into an excellent Premiership stopper. Steven Reid imposes himself more consistently. Morten Gamst Pedersen blossoms. Robbie Savage has been recruited to ensure no one relaxes, friend or foe. Aaron Mokoena and Ryan Nelsen have brought grit and leadership. The late, much-missed Jack Walker would have been thrilled at Blackburn being associated with steel again. The presence of Mokoena and Savage has seen Rovers labelled "physical". Last season, Mourinho himself complained about Hughes's tactics, yet the Welshman's priority has always been to make Blackburn devilishly difficult to beat. His players work incredibly hard and embarrassed some of Liverpool's stellar names on two occasions last season. Blackburn are not dirty, just dogged

Got to love Souness's quotes after the game - 'on another day' we would have won. 'On another day etc etc! Shearer appears to copy some of Souness's quotes these days I have noticed! Also how he felt that if they went in 1-0, they would have been playing into their favourite end - always used to say that about the Blackburn end from memory......