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Blimey! 3 games each for City and you''ve written them off already! McKenzie has had rave reviews in the national press and we all know Svensson can do a job in the premier - have some faith! But first of all, we need to do the job in this division - don''t forget we have 3 games in one week in the not too distant future that will decide our fate. Let''s get past them first.

I haver to agree with Wiz on the first point (But not the second - another Derby coming on there) - we have had seasons and seasons of bad luck so it''s about time we had things go our way. Warnock is wasting a lot of time and energy looking back when he should be concentrating on getting his team promoted - which is exactly what Worthy''s done since the play-off final. That''s why we''re top of the league, Mr Warnock, and you aren''t.

I thought we looked pretty good all round. Zipper, I''d disagree that Holt and Francis were out of sorts in the 1st half - I think it was a case of the two midfields really testing each other out. That was where the game was going to be won or lost and it was a case of us gradually overcoming them. Utd just don''t let teams play so it was never going to be pretty. It seemed to me that Francis and Holt have finally worked out where to play, and in the 2nd half particularly, it really worked well. I thought Mcveigh was excellent in the 2nd half - he looked so confident. I''m not sure which is his best side but if he keeps playing like that I won''t care. They were all brilliant - Francis is my M.O.M but I thought Edworthy''s all round running, tackling and positional awareness was quite amazing to watch. The biggest thing for me is how much all of the players really seemed to care and, when they were up against it, how much they were determined to dig in and not let go. A season ago we''d have lost that 1-0 lead. Not now though!

Warnock should just admit that his side were outclassed. They will never go up as long as they persisit with the bunch of jobbers they''ve got. Their only talent is being able to grind sides down with their overly aggressive play and ridiculous wind up tactics. They showed nothing on Saturday, and proved that when they''re up against a good footballing side who aren''t afraid to take them on physically (a superb well done to Francis and Holt for that), they''ve got nothing in reply apart from throwing a few paddies and trying to get the linesman banned. Their only decent player is Tonge, who I feel a bit sorry for as he''s clearly miles better than the rest of his team. Bet he''s been on the phone to his agent today after that performance..."for god''s sake get me a transfer by 5pm today.."

I think we have to accept that there was no more to Crouchy''s loan than that; O''Leary wanted some confidence out of him and this was the best place to come. Crouch goes back feeling better about himself, plays better in training and eventually the team and creates more competition for places. That''s exactly what he did here, so both teams have got the best from him. I''m not sure he''ll fit into Villa''s big money plans so maybe there''s something in the pipeline if we go up but good luck to him whatever - he''s one of the most honest players I''ve had the pleasure of watching.

Wiz, I am proud to say that I completely agree with you. He was up against a half decent defence at Everton and they took him to the cleaners. Whilst I think he has been a driving force at this club - and possibly responsible, many times, for keeping us in this division - I''m not sure that he could play a part next season. Iwan had a blinder on Saturday, but it''s no coincidence that he''d had two weeks rest. I bet he''ll be useless if he starts next Saturday. I really hope he gets his hundred goals, and he will if we use him sparingly. He''s becoming our Niall Quinn - always good to see but not enough to rely on. As one of the highest paid players, I think it would be foolish to put him on a new contract when we aren''t going to get many games out of him whether we''re in the Premier or not. We could use that money to lure/pay a promising younger player, or keep the many that we have. Time to move on...

Well I don''t mind getting missed off the list either...(sniffle)....There aint really anything to get heated about at the moment but I''m thinking of different ways to wind up Mr N. Warnock of Sheffield! He should join us on here, he loves a good moan! Forgive me, but sometimes one should just admit that one''s team were, well, rubbish. And they were, weren''t they? (I thought we were awesome at points in the 2nd half - this season I haven''t felt as proud of the boys as I did after Saturday''s win)

Clearly not then! No change there...

This is important: For the first time this season, there will be more than a smattering of away fans at tomorrow''s game. We need to sing loud and proud, but tell me - are any of you with tickets for the new stand intending to sing?

Last season he said he wouldn''t, then when David James went down with West Ham he said he would. Bet he won''t now, since James has gone to Man City. I don;t think it''s very fair that he can call up the likes of Forest''s Dawson for ''experience'' and not someone as promising as Greeno.

I''ve heard worse, but it does annoy me that Waller and Adams daren''t criticise the club or ask probing questions of the manager after the game. Adams is useless on his phone in - he still works up at Colney so what''s the point in being able to discuss the rights and wrongs of team selection and performance if you can''t say what you think?

I agree - he''s one loan player who I will always remember.

We should remember that, at the time of the fire, we could not fill our ground. Even when we were in the old first div and then the Premier, we would regularly only fill 3/4 of the ground, bar the odd game against the big boys. That''s probably why it wasn''t deemed necessary to build anything too big. At least we have the option of building another tier on boith sides of the pitch, which we will need if we are to maintain Premiership status once we get there. By all accounts you cannot survive on less then 30,000 supporters a game. Which is not beyond us, especially with 18,500 season ticket holders already!

I listened to it on the radio and it sounded like he played really well. Jonathan Pearce kept saying ''great touch for such a tall man'' - again, obviously hadn''t seen him at Carra Rud. What annoyed me was that he kept saying ''hasn''t scored for Villa for x amount of years'', and ''can''t buy a goal'' etc but he neglected to mention the fact that he''s barely got on the pitch for Villa this season! One of the other journos mentioned how well he''d played at Norwich and Pearce just skipped over it. Bit of the Garth Crooks syndrome, I fear. One day they''ll remember there''s life outside the Premier.

Francis is the man for our midfield future. Once he and Holt get their positioning sorted out, Francis can get attacking. He''s the new Viera, trust me.

The pitch is going to be moved at the end of the season so it will be equal all the way round.

Frightening! I watched Delia on BBC2 last night with a warm glow in my heart then turned over to watch the man that could have been... Would you fancy entrusting your team to a guy who happily represented Harold Shipman?

I like him - he just needs to make more effort. He''s not a winger though.

I prefer it when we''re not on the national radar, because we always seem to start losing when anyone takes notice of us! Look at last week - the press descended on Colney, big interviews in the Nationals with Worthy and Five Live had an exclusive interview with Hucks. And we lost! Exactly the same happened the week Watford paid us a visit. Surely that''s no coincidence. Thanks for causing the slight heart attack though, Wiz...

I always hoped Libra could do that... he promised SO much. Never mind. Another chap would have been De Blassis - remember him? Although he never really fitted in, I kind of thought that was because he was one step ahead of the rest of our players and they were too slow to read his game. Let''s face it, Milligan and Carey were hardly ''flair'' players..

It''s interesting how differently we all define criticism. Personally, I don''t feel that shouting ''get forward'' at Hendo or whomever every now and again is a criticism - it''s a kind of constructive encouragement. There''s a difference between that and - as I was ashamed to witness on Saturday - hurling a torrent of abuse and filth at Mark Rivers after his excellent corner was well taken by Bradford''s ''keeper. The poor bloke was still in earshot as this ''fan'' decided to blame all of our defeats / bad performances / his own lack of sexual prowess on Mark Rivers. Quite unnecessary. Which brings me to our dear old 1stWiz. Eager though I am to read all of your posts, it''s getting a little tiresome that the majority of your stuff is about how much offence you''ve taken to someone else''s ''criticism'' of the things you have to say. You''ve got some great things to say about football mate, but if someone disagrees with you, please spare us the tirade of ''I''m allowed my say etc etc''. No-one''s disputing your right to say what you want but please don''t think people hate you. You have your opinions about football, as do we all, but it''s not personal! Hell, I don''t rate Phil Mulryne as much of a team player but it doesn''t mean I take great personal offence to his mere existence! It''s just my opinion! So please old friend, start enjoying the brilliant banter we all have on this site and keep giving us your opinions, ''cos they certainly get us talking, but remember, we all love the Yellow and Green and that makes us all friends. OTBC

Both stands have been built with options for another tier to go on top should we ever require a capacity of 40,000+. Here''s hoping!

Well said Tumbleweed. I wonder if we all thought he was The Saviour because when he arrived we had some pretty average midfielders and his passing stood out. You''re right about ''carrying'' Mulryne. We get caught out by teams like Bradford when they stick 5 across the middle because he can''t hold his own. At least somebody like Francis and Holt will try to hold on to the ball and take it forward - Mulryne always mostly looks behind him in times of trouble.

I''m having grave concerns about our Mullers. His game has been really below par recently and he''s not working at all. He''s (yet again) forgotten how to play outside the centre circle, and, as has been mentioned before on this site, we have a huge gap between midfield and attack when he plays. That was our undoing against Bradford - no-one was backing the strikers up from midfield. I think it''s time to give Francis another go. Excuse me for over-egging the pudding somewhat, but if he could get his sluggish starts out of his system (why does he seem to take half a game to get going), I can see him as our Patrick Viera. He''s strong on the ball, attacks and defends in equal measure and is no bad passer. If him and Holty could just decide where each other is going to play, I really believe they''d be the strongest midfield partnership. As for Mullers, I''m just not convinced he really wants it anymore. What''s wrong with him?

I''d like to see him play at the tip of the midfield, behind the front two. Possibly in place of Mulryne? I don''t know - Mcveigh gets knocked off the ball too easily in midfield but Mulryne really isn''t pulling his weight and has forgotten (yet again) how to push forward. Too often in the last few weeks I''ve noticed a huge gap between midfield and our attack and I think this will be our downfall if Hucks is marked out of a game. That''s when you need your midfielders pouring forward to put pressure on the defence. Holt won''t do that while he''s babysitting Mulryne, Francis could if he played with Mullers but never gets the chance (he''s much better on the ball than Holt, and he scores), so maybe it''s time for Mcveigh to ''drift'' inside. Still, we can''t be doing that much wrong, we are 5 points clear...