BallBoy

There is quite literally no excuse for what these idiots did. Blaming the dogs, the police, the stewards, the Burnley fans, the referee, the Prime Minister etc just demonstrates the attituude they have to life. It is NEVER their fault!! It was the morionic fans who decided to go on the pitch and they also decided to goad the Burnley fans. Nobody made the decision for them and I assume they all had sufficient control of their own legs to prevent them from doing those things. Or did the police etc grab them and force them to go. Wasn't being relegated bad enough for these prats. They just bring shame on the club with their mindless actions. We have enough problems without these morons adding to them.

Agreed again. It all comes back to Lowe eventually. Pearson may well have seen what would happen and may not have needed too hard a push. I suspect that Lowe said to him "This is how it will be" (kids, interference, no money etc) and Pearson would have given him a straight answer (You must be joking!). It then all proceeded from there. Pearson would have been right and Lowe completely wrong yet again.

Totally agree. I know hindsight is 20/20 but there were many who said this at the beginning of the season. Getting rid of Pearson was was the worst decision among a catalogue of disastrous footballing decisions made by Lowe. The galling arrogance of this man who still cannot see what he has done wrong is beyond comprehension.

Upside: Cracking goal by McGoldrick. Keeps the hope alive. Good atmosphere Downside: Very good result for Forest with 10 men. Norwich fighting all the way. I can't remember a team less interested than Palace.

I went beyond despair long ago. Now I just feel numb. This team is just not good enough and, yes, I do blame Rupert. We had a really promising manager at the end of last season. Anybody who understood football could see that. What does Rupert do? Bring in two paperweights to replace him and calls it a Dutch Revolution! The revolution is now over and we are worse off than ever with no hope of recovery.

Genuine question. Has Beattie ever missed a penalty?

Here we go again! I confess to being fascinated by these circular arguments. I also confess that I struggle with the chronology of all these events. Everybody has to share some of the blame. Even me for not investing in a season ticket this year. One thing stands out for me more than anything else though. There are those who genuinely love this football club and love the game of football. RUPERT LOWE IS NOT ONE OF THEM. I cannot understand for the life of me why he ever bought into a football club. He has made many, many mistakes and all because he does not understand the game of football. I wish he would go back to his care homes before we all end up in one.

I am pleased that Portvliet is gone but utterly, utterly, DISGUSTED with our club and all it's lies and spin. There can be no doubt that Portvliet was pushed (sacked) and that this configuration just gets Rupert Lowe out of having to admit that he was wrong to appoint him in the first place. As always it is all about our illustrious chairman and not about the good of the club. There is absolutely no reason to believe that Wotte will be any better. He was Portvliet's assistant but clearly had no influence for the betterment of the team. So more of the same is my prediction. This is just the cheap, convenient option and we are worse off today than we were yesterday. And that is saying something!

Obviously I am voting for Bally. He was not only the best midfielder we ever had but one of the best this country ever produced. Most of all he was a leader on the pitch. How we could do with him now. He always knew what to do. Matty was Le God and incomparable but I cannot regard him as a midfielder. I know, technically, he was played in that position but he was a totally different player to the others in the group. I would have to say the same about Keegan. I suspect they both regarded themselves as forwards.

I am one of the disenchanted and broken. I followed on Sky. Poor Matty. He had his head in his hands and couldn't believe what he was hearing. Here is a man who missed one penalty in over 10 years and he watches his beloved Saints miss two in 20 minutes! He looked as fed up as me.

I think you are right and I said the same thing after the Derby and Brum (cup) games. Derby have not won since September 07 and Brum were clearly not interested. Blackpool are typical of this league and we lost at home. Reality.

3 points 1) The defence was just awful. Blackpool are not very good but we were vulnerable throughout the game. Davis saved us several times after defenders had let them just walk through. 2) Too many times we were playing pretty football out on the wings but there were not enough bodies in the middle to receive the ball. 3) We are trying to play "intelligent" football but I wonder if some of our players actually have that capacity. We seem unable to actually think on the pitch. How we miss the likes of Marsden, Case or Ball who always knew what to do. I still say that we will have the occassional good result to raise our spirits this season but I just cannot see us being consistent enough to challenge. We are just not strong enough yet.

First time I've seen that. Brilliant. He's a true fan.

This all sounds great, especially from those who were there. It shows that we can play football, we can dominate and we can even defend. Note of caution. We are still threadbare, we are still penniless and there is a week of the transfer window to go.

The reason I disliked Derby was nothing to do with their fans. It was their nasty little manager whose gameplan was to kick Gareth Bale until he could not play any more and then claim as a tactical masterstroke! Their other tactic was to give away niggling free kicks at 40-45 yards out. They were far and away the dirtiest team I have seen for a long time.

Moral victory number one. But no points and that really is the point. I desperately want to be wrong but I think this is likley to be repeated many times this season. We will almost get a point or even almost win but this team is just not likely to be good enough. I don't know if the ball crossed the line but we were under pressure for much of the game. There was an inevitability about the outcome. I know it's one game and there's a long way to go but I think the pundits are right. I am just being realistic. Please let me be wrong and I will happily eat humble pie when these youngsters show they can beat the old pro's.

I predict a moral victory. The first of many. Lots of effort, lots of positives, getting to know each other....blah blah blah, but no points! Sorry to be a pessimist but there are no real reasons to think otherwise. Having said that, I am a fan and I can hope for anything I like. If we get off to a good start then the adrenaline and optimism could begin to flow and we might just surprise a few people.