A point at Fulham is two points lost

I don't want it to be a case of there having to be someone to blame but today there was and it's not nice having to blame someone.

Martin O'Neill decided to play Martin Laursen ahead of Cahill and Ridgewell today and it backfired.

Laursen was at fault for the goal that Fulham scored a few seconds after John Carew scored for Villa; it wasn't pretty and it was very poor defending.

Laursen basically followed the ball and left his man. If it turns out not to be his man he should have noticed a player running into space and based on the direction he was heading, known to track back, but he didn't and we conceded a goal.

I'm disappointed but I'll live with it. I've conditioned myself that this season is one of transition so I'm swallowing the poor performances; I won't next season.

However, there were moments today that I was very happy. Mainly with Shaun Maloney but also John Carew and seeing as they are both new players the signs are positive.

My bet went a little wrong today also in so much that Newcastle didn't beat Middlesbrough so when we play Arsenal I need a win otherwise I'm losing money on the season. I've got a feeling we'll win next time out and if we don't I'm not sure I'll be able to take what the official website churn out.