Ayrton Twigge

abso-flipping-lutely

Melchott had a good game and saw a lot of the ball - but Dean Ashton was the BEST player on view. We were watching the future england centre foward at work - some great touches, strong runs, total committment, defensive duties not forgotton. Just let down by an indifferent display by our midfield.

And wear your y-fronts back to front. Nigel swears by it.

I ask you. If we were to hold a 1-0 lead with 10 minutes to go and Hux was playing with Jonson on the bench, what would you do? Assuming this Hux is the current "injured" version and not the one that played against MU, Hux off of course. In that case, thats how we should start the game. Bring him off the bench if we need to later in the game.

Guys Haven''t you all - and Worthy too, fallen into the trap off talking with the benefit of hindsight. Hopefully we will prevail, but if we don''t we will have missed by a whisker - and that''s hard to take. The easy thing therefore is to say that had we have spent a wee bit more, we would have been safe. Guaranteed. That wasn''t true for West Brom who spent a hell of a lot. And Palace who have spent a similar sum to ourselves last summer and nothing at all in January perhaps have the best chance of making it. What you need to remember is that this years premiership has undoubtedly been weaker than ever. Who would have known that last august. We did the right thing then - we spent appropriatety and decided to look at it again in January. Come January, with real experience of the first 4/5 months, we all knew that we had a realistic chance of safety and the Board backed Worthy to the hilt. Who else got as much as him? Its quite clear to me that we defined a sensible and flexible strategy before the season kicked off and we find ourselves close to safety. Having stated it hasn''t been lack of Board support, whilst I am a worthy fan, those elusive 2/3 points that we need, thats all it is, have gone missing because of a spate of injuries, some odd tactics and yes, the overplaying of some players. On the latter point, we don''t need hindsight to see that. We''ve been voicing the same point over and over again and its only recently that Worthy has bitten that bullet - althugh not yet regarding Fleming. Nice try Worthy, its been a great season but you can''t blame the Board.

Green has been making appropriate noises for some time that he expects to stay in the prem come what may. He''s in the england squad and has had a good season overall - with one sticky spell. And we''ve got goalkeeping strength in depth right down to Joe Lewis. I think we can be pretty sure he''ll be away. Even Worthy has been quoted that wantaway players are no use remaining at the club if there heart isn''t there. But the price must be right. But thats all. The rest is just media speculation. I have never heard Francis state he wants away. Ashton and Hux have been very clear that they''ll stay. Anyway, who says we''re down? Not yet we aren''t.

With Southampton at home and Charlton away, frankly its no surprise. ''arry - a draw please on Saturday.

Can''t say I really care. Lots of reasons why any would qualify but just hope it doesn''t come to that.

There speaks a guy confident in his own ability. Great buy by Nigel in the first place. And Leon has siezed his oportunities and risen to the challenge. Expect him to get better.

ZLF Generally you make very sensible suggestions - but no Leon, our most creative player who makes things happen - sorry, I disagree. Our recent good run has coincided with a great streak of form from Leon. he''s undroppable.

Methinks this is nothing more than a fairy story. Wheel out the step ladders to deal with the giraffe.

My vote to Leon Mackenzie. Not just for his effort but also for the fact that he has visibly improved across the season. And whilst he may not be our most talented player, he uses every last atom of the talent he has.

Time to raise the ante by bombarding www.talksport.net with emails on this very subject. I know he said it. Let the old lard mountain worry and fret over the next few weeks along with us.

Being philosophical, what team isn''t going to give there all on the last day of the season at home in front of their own fans - even if there aren''t that many of them. On that basis, being safe is of no consequence - so I guess we need Fulham to mess up over the next few matches.

A hard working player who does his best and shows a commitment to the club he signed for. Yes. Sufficient quality for the premiership. No. He''s had a whole season to demonstrate what quality he brings and for me, there''s not enough. Decent squad player - useful if we are relegated - but key player - no way.

Fleming played by Dan de Vito.

I ran this through a couple of weeks ago - as even handedly as I could - and got us releated in 18th position on goal difference to WBA. Thankfully, if I now run it, WBA have sunken and are no longer a threat - but Palace are. Its us or Palace. Of course, if we should win all three, it could be us, Palace or Fulham.    

Crouch is a good player - but Ashton is an excellent player - so even though I lobbied hard to get him here at the start of the season, the outcome for us has turned out better. As for saturday, Crouch is a good player - and Fleming isn''t. Our defence needs to be on top form.

Remember, its the Roy AND Neil Adams double act. Sure, Roy''s a tad eccentric to put it midly but they are a good double act. Neil fills in the strategy and personalises it to club level which you won''t get with national radio and in particular handles the phone-in weirdo''s wonderfully well (apologies to any phone-in weirdo''s reading this but you know who you are).

Wow - almost as exciting as watching a real match. My outcome was 18th - level with WBA but down on goal difference (-27 v -23) - based on 3 home wins and two away draws. Saints and Palace look well gone to me. BUT - its definitely do-able. Win against Fulham and we''re safe. HOWEVER, THERE IS A TWIST. This last game against Fulham takes on a whole new meaning. By my reckoning, a win to us places Fulham in peril of relegation depending on WBA''s position. What a climax!!

......for the next two matches, give it everything you''ve got. Europe tonight and the FA Cup at the weekend. Could be by next Wednesday they''ll be a tad tired!!

Gonna look wonderful on a shaven headed pot bellied scummer!! Not.

its the proportion of the game that Fleming stands, hands on hips, shaking his head.

All - we have no reason to moan because the boards''s strategy is being acted out exactly - no more, no less. What is happening was expected to happen. Therefore, theres no call at all for worthy''s head.  Last summer the Board looked realistically and what it expected to achieve and planned a course for relegation whilst maximising its revenue take. If you recall, we publicly stated that we would follow the Charlton model, set a small player budget and bought accordingly - experienced players from the premier and scandanavian football. We were never going to set the world alght with such a cautious strategy. We wouldn''t hve known that the premiership this year was going to be as soft as it is. Palace pretty much adopted the same strategy as us - why wouldn''t they - they weren''t to know AJ was going to do as well as he has. And West Brom pushed out the boat and spent given this was their bounceback. Again, entirely predictable. And Worthy, sensing in January we could perhaps make it, got the money to buy Ashton. Great decision - great tactics - nearly paid off. It looks as if all three will go back down. So were we wrong. Sure, with hindsight - but you can''t have that ahead of time. I agree that Worthy has been over loyal to some players but otherwise he has done well with what he had. I am surprised so many moaners believe him to be defensive, dour, unadventurous. If anything, the brand of football we plan is to open and too attacking for this division. We have often had 3 in attack when most teams play 1. Come on, he''s done a reasonable job. And now he has a seasons premiership experience. He''ll be aware of the overreliance on some players and I think you''ll see a change. We saw that with Drury. And it took some doing to drop the captain of Denmark when he clearly wasn''t performing. He''s still learning but I can see no reason for dumping him.

But hopefully they''ll be knackered.