villa away. what was the score? lost 2-0 Hmmm, the facts are not good. League position, goals against, goals for, our away form. I'm hoping that Dowie can keep the players believing in themselves and we get some injured players back because you have to hope that we can kick-start our season after the Arsenal game on Saturday, that accepting the result against the Gunners is a foregone conclusion.

I listened to the game and then watched it on delay after and apart from Rommedahl, we lacked any innovation and still badly miss a creative midfielder. I'm sorry Hughes and Holland starting is not a revolution, is it inertia.

Sloppy defending and the lack of creativity have been hallmarks of our season so far, but lets remember we all expected a tough start when the fixtures came out and that was not taking into account Portsmouth and Villa's excellent starts. 6 games, 5 defeats, 4 of which to the Premiership's current best 4 sides. Let's keep it in perspective and get behind the lads.

Dowie watch: Animated on the touchline, although mostly with head in his hands. He doesn't have a lot of choice but obviously he is keen on both Holland and Hughes. Pity.
Quote: "It's five defeats in six now and there's no question its massively disappointing because I think Villa and Portsmouth are in the pool we're in. So we have to start picking up results quickly."

Opinions from those that were there: cafc.co.uk; Addicks Diary; BBC Sport; All Quiet; Villa Blog.  ¶ 17:26