Ponky

Dunne the better allround player but Laursen had a majestic leap and probably the best defensive header of the ball seen for some time. But, we have only seen 2/3 of the season from Dunne at Villa and not really seen much sign of the penalty-conceding, red card earning Dunne that had so many VTers wailing and gnashing teeth when we were first linked with him. When, if ever, is the naughty Dunne going to rear his head?

Boo! Killjoy - interrupting cheap laughs with actual debate. Now, who was that multi-billionaire Arab investor in the beret?

Despite Gabby's brace (the second was a sublime finish) I thought Dunne was pretty much unbeatable. Compared to the slow, dimwitted giraffe Hangeland down the other end (ok, a bit harsh, but by comparison in this match), I am not sure anyone would swap them now (except maybe Woy Hodgson). I thought we played beautifully in the first half and simply tore their fullbacks to shreds. Scored two, could have scored more. In the second half we transformed into a, erm, long-ball team, and constantly gave the ball back to Fulham. On another day they would have equalised, and I guess we mainly have Dunne and a very close off-side call to thank for that. Heskey was a liability in the second half. Really put everyone under pressure and I thought Luke Young's distribution was also poor. But that really is just nitpicking. It was a brilliant away win, and not even the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea can expect 3 points from Craven Cottage these days. Hopefully this will ignite a bit of belief amongst the boys that this 4th place is there for the taking.

Downing's miss reminded me of the one Bent missed that 'Arry's missus could have scored. A shocking miss but one that you just have to move on from. MON showed a bit of class by saying yes he should have done better, now let's move on.

I would have taken 0-0 at any stage during the match. I was dreading a repeat of the Liverpool game but in the end I think bringing in Delph for Hesky was a shrewd move that gave us a little more in midfield and the ability to carry the ball out of defence rather than simply hoof it back to the opposition. At the end of the match it showed we had 58% of possession - pretty unusual for us I'd guess. Our lack of scoring is certainly a worry. We seem to create plenty of opportunities but can't seem to transform them into chances. Ash, Luke and Dunne were great today. I think Downing is being unfairly maligned - Young spent most of the match terrorising Clichy - Sagna usually has Young in his pocket, leaving Downing to deal with Sagna who, IMO, is the best RB in the league. Was a nailed on foul and probably red card on Campbell towards the end there. I doubt we'd have scored from the kick but it's very disconcerting - is it unashamed bias or sheer incompetence? Hard to tell. The ref kind of looked like there weren't too many neurons synapsing, so maybe it's kinder to presume the latter. Oh and sod off Wenger you moaning tit.

I think this is probably a good game to unleash Delph in a 5-man midfield.

Albrighton's run & cross for Delfouneso's goal was just a joy to watch. He is going to be a real excitement machine when he breaks into the team.

Given previous cup embarrassments against QPR and Leicester at VP, I think coming through with a win was never a certainty, so well done lads.

You know it's a crazy game when Hesky beats the offside trap, rounds the keeper, falls on his arse and still managed to get it in the net! Just had a look at the Gabby goal and the replay shows him tucking his arms up as the ball passes - under his elbows - in fact it was so far under his arms it nearly took his cock off. Should be Milner's goal though. For the first goal the so-called foul on Nelsen was nothing compared to what they were doing down the other end to Guzan - AND if the tables had turned and it had been Gabby sprawled in the box like that Sam would have had a coronary had it been paid. Seems to me Sam's sour grapes are more about deflection than any real reflection of the match.

Don't think Sam has anything to complain about in the slightest. Karma, bitch.

Incredible entertainment for the neutral, roller-coaster ride for the emotionally invested!! As I said in the match thread the Rovers played very dirty, assaulting Guzan at every turn, but despite that I thought they showed incredible heart and bottle to fight back from 5-2. Milner and Petrov ran the show, but ultimately I thought it was Ashley Young that provided us with those vital sparks missing from our game for some time, and hopefully it is the shot of confidence he needs to get back to his best. The only negative was a poor defensive performance - but Rovers have exposed a weakness in our armour that I suspect the coaching staff would do well to address. Well done though boys. An epic match, an epic win and hopefully a sign that it is our year for some silverware!!

You didn't see the Rovers player holding Guzan's arm for their first goal?

Our boys can smell blood now. Blackburn got their just desserts for being such dirty cocksuckers. Guzan's arm was being held for the first goal, and they have been impeding our players on the break regularly. Ashley Young is looking very menacing and Gabby's pace will cause problems for Nelson now. We need the defence to hold their heads and for Cuellar to stop hoofing it over the boundary. I think the boys got a reall shock in that first 20 minutes and judging by Milner's face after scoring the penalty I think they know they are in a dog fight and will not ease up in the second half.

To be fair they did change it up in the 2nd half, between Downing and Young, so that they were outswinging rather than inswinging, but it didn't matter because they were generally so overhit they were dead easy for the keeper to take or the defenders to simply clear.

this, worst performance I have seen myself all season. Poor passing all round from short to long passes. Slow in posession and no threat when the final ball went in. 14 corners or whatever it was with no result. not even a shot on target. The stats read 10 attempts on target 7 off target When you flood the midfield and park the bus for most of the match it isn't always easy. Green made about 3 top class saves in the first half and Milner had a shot that shaved the upright in the 2nd. Yes I agree our strikers were pretty poor (along with the supply froim the wings) but we were also thwarted by some good defending, excellent goal keeping and a tiny bit of bad luck. However, take that one on one Gabby had at the death with Torres' goal against us in similar circumstances and it is plain as day what we are lacking.

We dominated them completely except in the final third. 20 corners and we couldn't get a single header to threaten their goal. Very disappointing. The crossing from Milner Downing and Young was deplorable. I actually though Gabby played quite well. He was very unlucky to have that shot blocked by Green and he held it up really well. For mine, Gabby plays the hold up role very well and would play the Heskey role better than Heskey in time - but he needs a goal scorer to play off. I hope Randy was there to see that and can see his way to digging into his pockets one more time. Great game from Petrov today - he was a magnet and extracted the ball from them at will.

I don't think we've had a comfortable match against them since MON took over. I hope we'll at least be able to wear our own home strip this time.

Heskey had a cross from Downing in front of an open goal and stabbed at it with his thigh. I'd like to think Carew would have buried it. I thought it was a very entertaining match. I expected our boys to be a bit rusty given the lack of football, but the pleasing thing was that we responded to the pressure in the middle of the second half and finished the match dominant. I thought Sidwell coming on instead of Reo-Coker was the right choice simply because although we needed more strength in the midfield we were still searching for another goal and as woeful as Sidwell has been this season he still has a better chance of finding the net than Reo Coker. Milner and Petrov in the middle were fantastic and Downing and Young worked really well, I suspect partly because Downing spent more time on the left side than he usually does. I agree that Cuellar's distribution was poor tonight but he was still the right choice given the aerial bombardment we suffered last time, while Guzan did look shaky but he was clearly fouled on several occasions. I suspect that was their strategy given the goal Kalinic (?) scored against us in the FA Cup - and if this is one of Guzan's weaknesses it is good to have it exposed now so he can work on it. The penalty denied to Gabby was very clear cut, I thought. However, Gabby muddied the waters a little by lurching forward with the contact. However, just because Gabby exaggerated the contact doesn't mean it wasn't a foul. It will be interesting to see what formation we play in the next leg. I would have though 451 to keep us strong defensively, but that said Rovers will have to attack us and try to score, which will leave them vulnerable on the counter. A fired up Carew might just put the tie beyond doubt before half time.

a 5th booking after new year does not result in a suspension now. Sorry - we talking about Richard Dunne or David Dunn?

Well seeing as everyone else has just blathered on about what happens in the final scene I will say this SPOILERS What a **** ending and SPOILERS apart from the shock of it all SPOILERS Thank god we don't have to put up with that annoying cow Rita anymore. Hot? Yes. Annoying? Oh God yes! Dead? You betcha!!!!

I think if O'Neill played 442 at Blackburn he will hardly go 451 at Blackburn. I think he will go all-out for the advantage at Ewood park, thereby forcing them to play an open game at Villa Park leaving themselves open for counter-attack. The last thing we want at VP is a team shutting up shop and playing for a 0-0 draw - we don't cope well with this scenario. That said, I wonder what psychological effect of having Brad Guzan in the team will have on the opposition. Given his growing reputation as a penalty wizard it might be that playing for the penalty shootout would be the last thing they'd want to do.

and here for those outside the UK The Diouf red looked pretty clear cut seeing as he was flying horizontally with his studs out. Quality headers from Nathan and Carlos too.

Can we play them every week? Oh, hang on....

Think there'll be a few more teams sacking their managers now Add to that managerless Bolton 4-0 now against Lincoln.

That's why Carew came on - so we didn't have to suffer through Ashley Young taking one...