Colonel Mustard

1-1 (and last on MOTD)

Brilliant. P!ssed mesen at that. Tony also had a DREADFUL tie on. That interview was an all-round shocker for the lad...

I may very well get caned here but I've never rated Gardner as a footballer. No doubting the lad's effort, and I like the fact he's direct, but his touch and technical ability are awful - for me he fcuks up on the basics so often. He's fast - errr, so is Vaz Te - but he never ever looks like he has the ball under control to me, and his final ball is alarmingly bad far too often. I think because of his status within the club he gets a break whereas other players get hammered for the same, if not lesser, indiscretions. Am I on my own in this view?? AM I NOW THE ANTICHRIST??!? For the record, I get behind the lad when he's playing, and I think he gives of his best - I'm just not sure what his best exactly equates to. I think a wider issue is that we as a club seem to accept technical mediocrity more readily than other Prem clubs IMHO, but that may be for another thread. Probably lit the blue-touch paper there but I'm genuinely interested in fans' views rather than attempting to brighten up an otherwise dreary Monday Morning by being contrary...

I predict a low-scoring draw, and I'll be happy with that. Unless, of course, Rafa Redcheeks sticks with the defence that played Spurs last night, in which case 8-4 to us...

I think Muamba will turn out to be a great player - he's a young lad for starters and yes he has been guilty of being a bit too eager and forcing the play in some games, and he's looked lacking in confidence (who hasn't?) at times, but in essence he looks a cut above to me. I just think we've got to understand the type of player he is - I've heard some eejits this season barracking him because they expect him to be Jay Jay and beat players for fun - he breaks up play and gives it simple, and provides some much needed steel in the middle. He also gets his head up early and looks for the intelligent option more often than not - the same can't be said for some of his team-mates. Give him time and he'll be a proper player...

Does ANYONE on here think Vaz Te is miraculously going to develop into something remotely useful to us? He's been on the payroll for over 5 years and every year the dreaded word "potential" is uttered (for "potential" I read "well, he is fast"). At some point we have to say enough's enough and accept that he should be plying his trade at a lower level. He's arguably not on a king's ransom compared to some but it really makes me question the club's policy - we let some players outstay their welcome, while others don't seem to be given a fair crack of the whip. Obviously distressing for the lad to have a long-term injury and I'm not suggesting we mercilessly send him hobbling into the Horwich sunset, but what can we possibly expect from him if and when he returns to fitness? More bambi on ice??

Only seen bits and bats on TV and wotnot but FFS for ?8M (or even half that) we should be looking to invest in PROVEN quality, and Premiership quality where possible. This kid isn't proven at all - he'll be a punt, and therefore liable to join the sizeable ranks of nearly-men midfielders we've had warming the bench for the past few seasons. Also, when these figures are being banded about it kind of makes a mockery of the (alleged) squabbling over Bullard's price as well (whether or not the lad wanted to leave London)...

Absolutely - no arguments about that from me...

Whilst I'm no huge Kevin Nolan fan I do think that stats can be exceptionally misleading without context, and the context is that the entire side look to be sh!tting themselves and playing with zero confidence at the minute, so there are likely to be more mistakes. Arguably Nolan feels more responsibility than others given his position within the club - that's just an opinion - and that's forcing more mistakes. Muamba by the same token looks like he's between the two poles of either playing within himself or forcing silly passes, but I don't believe he's become a bad player in the space of a few weeks - I think it's all about confidence, or the contagious lack of it (see the recent Spurs example). Whilst we'd probably all love a top-class midfielder to step into the breach and start to dictate games the way we all hoped Nolan would, that's not gonna happen at the minute, and frankly we don't have better alternatives available, so we have to stick with them IMO rather than make rash changes. May be guilty of stating the obvious there, but hey. Anyway, back to topic - the heart says we can get something out of the game; the head says they'll have too much firepower for us...

Hope I'm wrong, but fear they'll edge us out in a dour spectacle. It wouldn't be the first time we'll have been the springboard to kick-start a struggling team's season... 2-1 (Or maybe our stylish away kit will put the Savvners off... )

Graham Poll sending off Andy Todd and Stan Collymore v Villa in 97. Handbags - I just didn't see what the fuss was about. The game's gone soft, man...