Turamber

Get well soon General, and get yourself over here -- you are missed!

I thought: Why has he left Carew, that complete waste of space, on the pitch? Bold move all the same.

Would it be too anti-PC to say we missed NRC? We win (usually) when Sidwell plays. I like NRC but he doesn't bring much to the team, other than a lot of clenched fists and running about.

Seriously?

Really missed Sidwell today. Very unfortunate result, but it is way too early in the season to call it a disaster. Ask Chelsea if their losing today is a "disaster".

What would NRC add at this point? He's not exactly got goals in his boots.

Its a bit early in the season to be calling any result a disaster to be honest. Besides Blackburn are scrapping like tigers to get out of the position they're in.

For a comedian he's a bloody good football manager.

Gabby to right wing presumably and Milner into the middle?

A 4-5-1 against Blackburn would seem to be a good way of getting a point. I'd get Heskey on for Carew with instructions to drop back into the midfield when we're not in possession. Carew has been very poor all season, O'Neill is entitled to expect much more from him than he has shown thus far.

The referee was very poor, he seemed desperate to blow for any infringment however minor. Really broke the game up far more than was necessary. As for Beye, I thought he looked good going forward but his positioning was a little suspect. When bedding in a new central defence you probably need to keep things as tight at the back as possible, also Cuellar has been one of our best players this season so didn't deserve to be dropped.

We went to 4-5-1 for the last 15-20 minutes, and the players seemed to be under instruction to kill the game. Management appears to have learned from the Stoke debacle...

Oh well done you, have a gold star! If people can stay to boo why can't they stay to clap? I also fail to understand how people can buy a ticket and then leave 10-15 minutes from the end. Would they do this at the theatre or at the cinema? Bizarre really.

Good performance, a solid win, were virtually untroubled by Portsmouth. James kept the margin of victory down. Credit to Gabby for a superb goal and Sidwell for a non-stop display, probably his best since he's been at the club. Poor old Heskey has no luck whatsoever. Good to see MON showing tactical flexibility with the change to 4-5-1 towards the end. Another clean sheet. Lots of positives to take from the game. Just wish more people had stayed around to give the team the applause they so richly deserved.

Carragher really wrote that in his autobiography? Christ I know talk is cheap but what an utter cock, even if it is just talk ... and what sort of people are impressed by that bollocks? Morons.