WEST BROM HOME. October 5th

Well this is the day that was. Busy. My usual style. In the space of 17 hours today, I left Wakefield, drove to Newcastle, spent some time with the folks, took them out for their wedding anniversary lunch (well done guys! 34 yrs and counting!), shopped a bit in the toon centre, went to the match, was stunned to see Nobby Solano outside my turnstile, got stuck in the congestion on Haymarket metro concourse, drove back to Wakefield, got changed, and went out on the town for a few with my mates and my lass Gill, for it was the occasion of my 25th birthday and mine and Gill's first anniversary!!......phew!

Yes you read it right. Nobby Solano was outside my
turnstile immediately after the final whistle. Our Nol was substituted about 20 minutes from the end you may remember. It was one of Bobby's multiple substitutions, and Nobby obviously wasn't very happy about it as he went straight down the tunnel.

To be honest, I felt a bit sorry for him. He'd been certainly one of the best attacking forces of the game. And he definitely deserved full marks for his determination not to give up Hughes' cross as a lost cause to set up Super Al for the second.

But what I did not expect, was to see him looking
immaculately showered and suited, politely picking his way through the crowd as I got out of my turnstile! Surely this means he left before Bobby got back to the dressing room. Oh dear. Come on Nobby, be the gent you're known to be. Manager's decision and all that. You didn't deserve it but Bobby's the boss.

Now on to my main two gripes for the game. (Come on! You knew they were coming!!!)

Firstly, can I please stop hearing various parties
moaning about why the first half free kick was given for the back pass. It was a back pass! End of story!! I don't care whether the guy intended it or not. ( I still think it seemed a bit of a "controlled stumble"). The issue is simple. If the keeper had thought about it and just hoofed it into touch we would never have heard anything about it. But he didn't. He risked it and paid the price. Simple. Oh yeh, and well done Nobby again and Shearer for your clever feint and bullet like finish!

Second gripe, and this one is starting to feel like a bit of a habit. Robert. Sort it out. Bottled tackles, less than satisfactory work rate, lack of closing down etc is becoming the norm for our "mercurial Frenchman". I want to like him, honestly I do. And when he rifles free kicks in like those against Man U and Derby last season, I certainly do! But these moments are, for me, severely clouded by the lack of back tracking the bloke does. Please Laurent, I'm begging you. Sort it out.

Finally for this week, before the international break, I want everyone to find a picture of Super Al with arm aloft. Then all hold hands around it when we emerge to face Blackburn at Ewood Park a week on Saturday, and have a swift word with him upstairs. Super Al, incase you didn't know it, is on 299 career league goals. You know it makes sense for him to make it the big 300 against his old boys. Come on big lad!

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