Like the bookies I really can't see this being anything other than a comfortable victory by at least a two goal margin. Which is probably a bad sign.

Anyway, looks like there should be no similar controversy tonight. Seems tonight's official attendance figure was decided at lastc week's Board meeting!

It appeared in our section that people were SHOWING their tickets but not actually handing anything in.

So how did the Club keep a count on the numerous fans who slipped past the turnstiles that weren't working? Did the stewards count them all in their heads?

It's entirely people's prerogative to go to an individual match or not. It's a free country. You don't say they've got to eat the value food from Tesco every day and aren't allowed to look at the stuff on the "finest" shelf.! It serves no purpose at all getting uppity about people who don't attend or taking the "I'm a better fan than you" approachanddubbing them part timers. The only approach likely to succeed is a policy of encouragement and trying to persuade them they're missing something.

As I said a week ago, if we win tomorrow I reckon that will effectively knock Bolton out of the top six equation. Whilst a win is also essential I feel if we're to maintain realistic ambitions of finishing above Arsenal in 4th. If we do get the three points tomorrow though I think it's very premature to conclude that Arsenal will automatically breeze into the fourth spot.

Utd 1-1.

3-1

Shoot. Bolton 1 Red Scum 0 Former tub of lard Davies.

I thought you were making a serious post until I saw that..........

The later editions of tonight's LET claim that Sparky has revised the points figure needed for Champions League qualification to 65. Sparky doesn't say that directly but says he has tried to take an average over the last 3 years, although it might have to be revised on a match by match basis. Slightly worryingly it is also revealed that there have been no formal contract talks between club and manager, just a couple of informal chats, although Hughes says he knows the club's thoughts and is happy with that.

I really couldn't care less whether the Wigan fans fill the Darwen end or come in a taxi as long as we get the 3 points!

I read somewhere this week that penalty clauses for late completion are capped at a maximum of 14m. So if that's true there's now little incentive to complete by any specific date. Can't believe a completely new stadium wasn't built in Birmingham personally. Entirely agree with Paul's comments.

Reid.

Exactly.

The point I was making was that lost receipts from seasons 2003/4 and 2004/5 might have a bearing on the budget for the season immediately following but not 2006/7. As to whether there's such a direct corrolation between gate receipts and money spent on transfers, that's as usual pure supposition on your part but even assuming you are correct 1m is hardly likely to transform our fortunes in that respect one way or the other. We are also likely to lose at least a couple of high earners off the bill and finish at least four or five places higher than budgeted for. I don't expect we'll be told that Hughes has a directly proportionate increase in spending power either.

Completely agree with that. As for Sven, he's doing a decidedly average job with by far our best group of players since 1970. I'm with the "we only need someone to motivate and get the best out of them camp."

That's one of the best and most sensible contributions Ive seen to the attendance debate. Jan, when you talk glibly about 45,000 attendances you have to realise that the total population of Blackburn with Darwen is only about 140,000 and that due to rapidly changing demographics, an increasingly large section of (about half) the population don't go at all.

Correct. We had an offer on the table all summer that Millwall had rejected as derisory and we only beefed it up once we had ushered Duff out of the door to get our 17m. I think we had already bought Bert and Hulk Hogan after selling Dunn. A further 6m - 7m was then spent on Ferguson.

We have to give Neill a new contract, otherwise we run the risk of him running down his old one and losing him for nothing at the end of it. Other than that, good athlete, poor defender. I hope he has a decent World Cup so that someone is suckered into paying way over the odds for him. 5m or 6m for him and our money back for Emerton would get the transfer fund off to a cracking start.

With all due respect I don't think you can realistically argue that any income lost during any of the last three seasons would have formed part of next season's transfer budget. Also I can't ever recall us averaging 26000 for Cup games so the 23 game example is slightly misleading. Over a 19 game season the total loss of income over the last 3 seasons (assuming 13 quid per head) is 2,964,000 or less than 1m per season. Hardly a piffling sum but hardly likely to have transformed our prospects in the transfer market either. Also around one third of the money Amoruso, Gresko and Matteo have been picking up for sitting around doing nothing.

Me and my big gob. For those that haven't seen it, 87 mins keeper plays a clearance against Defoe and then hauled him back as he bore down on goal. Mido put the loose ball in the net but Foy had correctly blown for a penalty already. (Keeper should certainly have been red carded as well) West Brom will be gutted after a fighting display. Spurs were very lucky to get anything at all out of that, never mind 3 points.

Indeed 0-1 HT. The Baggies keeper is having a great game thus far.

Just noticed the ref is Foy, the idiot who sent savage off. He'll probably find a way to give Spurs two penalties if they're still losing.

If we beat Wigan next game and Bolton lose to ManUre they'll be seven points behind albeit with two games in hand which will probably be too much to make up as long as we don't subsequently blow up completely. Here's hoping.