Down to footie now and after seeing the victory against West Ham I thought the side looked quite decent.

Hats off to Kevin Gallacher who continually posed a threat with the amount of work he gets through. Despite my fears about Dabizas he came through and shone in the defence. My girlfriend commented that he seemed to be the only one who was organising the defence.

Very please for Bassedas who had an excellent game IMHO. He's going to stay with the side and once we have a few more options up front and out wide, this man is going to shine. He needs a worker alongside him in midfield and Speed was getting stuck in along with Rob Lee which enabled Bassedas to move further up front. I hope he is a regular till the end of the season.

Sad to hear some oaf in the North West Corner continually criticising Caldwell for his performance at right back. Considering he is a Centre Back I thought he did well and tried to get forward. With Solano constantly pissing about trying to come deeper or more central, Caldwell had few options.

Is Barton injured for Saturday? I'd go for Hughes at right back if Griffin is still injured.

-- Anonymous, April 19, 2001

Answers

"Is Barton injured for Saturday?"

Hope so, I personally think Caldwell has done brilliant since he came in. I actually thought he played well on Monday. Was I the only one that actually gave a small cheer when Barton limped off. The bloke's a waste of space IMHO

-- Anonymous, April 19, 2001

For me Caldwell played as well as you'd expect Barton to have done. This sums up exactly the level Barton has sunk to when a fringe level big centre half doesn't look out of place as a full back.

I think the pecking order for right back is now is now Griffin, Hughes, Caldwell, my granny, Barton.

-- Anonymous, April 19, 2001

If your granny is not busy at the weekend send her over here, my team could do with a right back

-- Anonymous, April 19, 2001

After other people's grannies now are you gus ?

I'm just away to lock mine up ...

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

"Oh sweet joy" - according to this morning's Journal Warren Barton has given BR a huge fillip by declaring himself fit for the derby game.

Despite suffering tendonitis in his achilles, which caused him to come off after 9 minutes v WHU, he has said "they would have to cut my foot off to keep me out of this one".

Pass me that rusty chain-saw, pet!

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

Marvellous!!!!!?

Mind you his attitude will be spot on for this one, at least we get that from the man and if Griffin is injured then it is good that Barton is fit(?).

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

Apparently Griffin and Barton BOTH came through training sessions in the last 48 hours unscathed but I can't see Griffin getting the nod.

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

So let me get this straight.....They've got Quinn fit and we've got Dabizas fit to play against him (oh great!), we're also seriously considering playing an injured Rob Lee and a half fit, seriously out of form Warren Barton....

Pass me the suicide pills now......

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

I'd rather have Dabizas or Caldwell marking Quinn than Hughes or O'Brien.

Sunderland show no capacity to react to a change in opposition tactics and this has been one of their major downfalls all season. We should be preparing for this, but the only way we can go 3-5-2 is really to play Nobby at Right Wing back which he has shown he is not capable of.

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

What about Barton and Lee playing injured then?

You seemed quite happy about Bartons attitude but I tell you it scares the shit out of me that we're even thinking about playing him! I'd rather play a man down than put him on the pitch....

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

Believe me Gav I am no admirer of Barton's current abilities, my comments on his inclusion are made with the knowledge that Robson is likely to pick him. Griffin will left out again when he has done nothing wrong and in fact has shown great progression this year. He has the talent and just needs the games to build his confidence up which must be low after being left out after some of Barton's performances this season.

If Lee plays at 75% fitness that will mean he is more off the pace than normal. Sure if he is fit then play him in front of the back four but otherwise he will be a liability. Sentiment should not rule in this situation, but I'm sure it will

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

I don't think Lee or Barton should get anywhere near the pitch, maybe i'm just suffering from pre-match nerves a little bit too much today but I just can't see us competing with the hackems work rate with injured players on the pitch....

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

I sahre your views there, so with Barton out either Griffin or even Hughes as right back would be a better alternative.

In place of Lee whoever plays, should have the discipline to stay in front of the back four. Speed and Acuna are the natural candidates but both have the tendency to wander up front where they do pose a threat. Acuna would be the best bet for the role and if told to stay there he may well do!

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

Dabizas will go walkabout, count on it. In this fixture last season he tried to be heroic and left Quinn unmarked in order to try to intercept the cross that was nodded on for the offside Munchkin to equalize. You could see what he was thinking from the moment the guy shaped to cross. Considering how the ball was floated in at Niall Quinn height and that the further out you intercept it the higher up it will be, the moment he scampered forward you just knew what was coming next.

Still doesn't excuse the linesman for bottling it, mind.

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

No one should be playing if they aren't 100% fit. For God's sake have we really come to the level where we need to play Barton and Lee, and unfit versions of them.

I hate going on about commitment not being enough but I do recognise that Barton and Lee have it. I also recognise they are hopeless at the moment. Griffin has as much attitude as any defender we've had in years. Can't see Barton ever giving Ginola the battering Griffin gave him. Earlier on this season some comment was made by Robson that Barton gave a more physical presence, bollox to that.

Robert Lee is a sad shadow of his former self, be it old age or injury, it's sad. I do not want to have to watch him make a run like th eone on Monday where he just ended up running out of steam and a West Ham player taking it off him easily. Schwarz and Hutchison can run (and kick) all day Rob Lee at the moment just can't do it.

A few people have offered 5 man midfields in their team picks. This would stop them playing but adds nothing to our options. I'd be looking to have Gallacher in midfield. He is a little dynamo who won't stop running, this is needed to match the Sunderland boys.

We seem obsessed with coping with the Irish plank, presumably from having seen the damage he can do. Part of the damage has come from our inability to cope with their left back hitting 50 yards crosses. We have to play with Solano as far forward as possible so that Gray is petrified of losing him. The other thing I'd like to see is us giving them something to worry about. We seem to be giving up on that. Shola is a Geordie, he knows what it means, he has risen to the occasion in U-21 games and would rise to this as well. He is also unorthodox and would worry their centre halves, who didn't like having Hartson in their faces last week.

So .... no Barton, Griffin instead, no Lee, Shola instead with Gallacher dropping into midfield.

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001

To be honest, the situation with Griffin is now bordering on what has happened to Stephen Glass. Without a shadow of doubt, Andy Griffin is the best FB at the Club, and Stephen Glass the best left-sided m/f player.

Oh yes, and BTW I agree with Macbeth - Barton has no physical presence whatsoever, so that is no practical reason to select him ahead of Griffin either.

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2001