I agree with you about the burn out. As for reverting to 4-5-1, it might be a good tactic against Chelsea but I'm not sure I'd like to see us employ it against City or Charlton.

I just think he has happened to hit form when ballot time has come around that is all. Over the course of the entire season the mest and most reliable player has been Nelsen. Against Liverpool Nelsen was there making important tackles, Bellamy was running around bitching. I've never come away thinking that Nelsen has had a bad game, I have felt that way about every other player on our team at least once.

Have to add though that other than that I totally agree with what you said.

Shame...thought I was in for some easy money.

That's not really fair. It's like saying I would have chosen Bellamy but Kuqi and Dickov have been ###### this season.

I'll bet 50 pounds with you that we get no more than 9 more points.

Also it seems pretty obvious to me who leads at the back and the player who seems to do well at putting in a word with officials (not that it does us much good) and that is Nelsen. He appears to be a natural leader and I don't think any fan would say he doesn't deserve it. He's always there and can always be counted on and is exactly the kind of character you want as a captain. I like Todd, but he is prone to the odd rush of blood to the head (although less frequently now) and so is perhaps not the player you want with the armband on. Also from a simply PR perspective while Todd is still regarded by much of the media as being a bit of a thug, albeit a rather decent defender, Nelsen is held in quite high regard by most writers and commentators.

Any news on these? The plan was that we would wear it in the final game of the season, I think, any news Lee on when it might be out?

Please no one say that it is good that we haven't made the Champions League or don't make the UEFA cup. What kind of a theory is that?!?!? We need all the money, exposure, success and experience we can get. Were Boro or Bolton embarrassed this year? Are we a better side then they are?

Oh dear god, this is all such a bunch of nonsense! We are a good team and we deserve to be where we are, we have a good manager, good players and we have done well and you know what I'll put a bet on with anyone who wants it that we finish top 6.

Also for the first goal, after Heskey fluffed his shot there was nothing we could have done to stop Gray getting to the ball, however, why did no one follow the run of Butt and stop that from being an option? We had about 4 defenders back and only one of them got any sort of a challenge in.

I think the worst part about this all is that I just want the season to end. If it could end now I would love it. Give us our 6th place and I'm looking forward to seeing the transfers in the summer.

I always enjoy seeing some of the great knee-jerk reactions on here. In a strange way they always make me feel more positive, by reading some of the overly negative stuff it gets it all out of my own system and become a bit more optimistic. Please, can a few more people predict relegation and tell us how we are probably the worst team in the league. Forget about the past 34 games, just go on the last 90 minutes.

Yeah, wouldn't want to do another Boro.

Just the same you could say that we deserved to win against Spurs and Bolton. No side deserves all the points they get or doesn't have games where they deserve more than they get. We desreve to be in the position that we are in, the league table doesn't lie. Are we much better then the teams just below us? No. Is the team that finished 6th ever that much better then the teams that finish just below them? No. Let's get Europe now because we deserve it, we'll be letting ourselves down if we don't.

He really hasn't. He has been the best player of the last 9 or 10 games, before that though he was either injured or a bit hit or miss.

Let's not all have this knee jerk reaction and start selling and buying like crazy. The nucleus of the squad is good and teams never do well when they have a massive change in playing staff so we have to make three or four careful buys. Also, even though MGP hasn't done much for a while, let's not just forget a player who won us a lot of games back when Bellamy wasn't producing the goods and who whenever we play our best stuff has a lot to do with it. He still can improve a lot but he's a good player. That is also something we should remember when everyone is going crazy about Bellamy. Good players go through good bits of form where no one can stop them and bad phases where they can't do much right, hopfully more of the former. However, when either happens it isn't a case of best player ever or has to be sold, simply form. I think some of our team is probably a bit tired and perhaps have lost some focus on what their jobs are and exactly what they have to achieve, maybe we were caught up in the race for 4th spot and forgot that this season could take a rather massive nose dive if we weren't careful. We've got a 10 day break now so hopefully Hughes can soften a few backsides with his boot and make them realise that it is time they pull their fingers out and get the results that we need. I don't care what anyone says about what we may have expect come the beginning of the season, this will have been a failure if we don't finish in the top 6. If you get yourself into the position we were two or three games ago and don't get an automatic European spot then you have blown it. Hughes and the team set their target as Europe, I know that I and a few others thought top 6 was possible (the optimistic ones...we all have to be right sometimes) and there will be no excuses if we don't manage it from here. 3 points clear with 3 games left, two of which are very winnable; the ball is very much in our court.

Finding our level? What tripe. We're playing against one of the worst teams in the Premiership. You don't find your level after 30 odd games. We're out of form and maybe letting the pressure get to us, it is still all in our hands now so it is up to us to pull out the results we need from the remaining three games. I am really down after this result though.

Not really, Todd only has one vote, Tugay only two, Friedel only five, Zurab none. Those are all players who played a major part in our success this season, but it was pretty much a straight fight between Bellamy and Nelsen, the recent form of Bellamy meaning he was always going to win it. The thing about Savage is you won't notice half of what he does, he isn't going to score a goal or set-up a goal, but I'm sure every team we've played against this season knows that they were playing against Savage. Those of you who don't notice him now will certainly notice him when he's gone, talk to a Birmingham fan.

Now we know where our 5 pounds went

Arsenal are really starting to ruin my year.

Looking good for the win.

Fantastic player, but I don't think he is head and shoulders above Rooney, especially when you consider the fact that he is 8 years older. The one thing that can be thrown at Henry has been his failure at international level, he's yet to become a big player for France.

Isn't the Clough quote something like if he isn't interfering with play then what is he doing on the pitch?

I fancy Arsenal you know. I think their mix of work ethic (in Europe) and wonderful skill suits playing Barcelona. They've dispatched Juventus and Real Madrid with ease and I think this semi-final is a tough test as they face a hard working team this time, but if they make it through then I think they have a very good chance.