[valpayne]

A few of the pundits have said Sturridge should have chosen newc. Well he didn't and his reasons are a breathe of fresh air. He has said he chose wba because he's a birmingham born player and he feels at home here. Even when coming here with other teams he has felt at home as he has friends he grew up with here in the crowd. He also said he likes the football philosophy that pardew is looking to adopt at wba it suits his style and he's excited about the challenge. Some very heart warming and sound reasons for the choice he made and I'd venture to say although we are bottom we are looking stronger and stronger with each passing week whereas I think Newcastle are having a slump and looking precariously over their shoulder. Time will tell of course but if we can get the sturridge that's scored 74 in 114 and we can keep him fit I think we have reasons to be optimistic.