Tell us another one

It came as no surprise that Michael Owen's recent comments about fearing for his place in the England set-up under new manager Fabio Capello were taken in some quarters as an excuse to trot out the old line about him being far more concerned about his country than his club.

But that ignores that Owen has rightly acknowledged he can only hope to ensure he's at the forefront of Capello's mind by performing at club level and helping to drag us out of our current increasingly dire predicament - and, in fairness to him, he's looked a different (much improved) player under Keegan, Saturday's game at Anfield aside.

Owen claimed: "I'm at a club where you feel like a spark will get us back on the crest of the wave and help us move up the league - that can give us a platform to build on". That's as may be, but the spark of Keegan's arrival had us "back on the crest of the wave" only temporarily, and no acceleration out of trouble has followed - if anything, we're in danger of being engulfed and swept away in a tidal wave of despair...

Thanks to Portsmouth for keeping our next opponents Birmingham two points and two places below us in 17th, but it goes without saying that Monday night's meeting at St Andrews is a relegation six-pointer.