JOE Royle didn't know where to begin slinging his poison arrows after a day where he was robbed of a new striker, even before he had kicked a ball in anger, then lost a game the Blues never deserved to and suffered a refereeing performance that beggared belief.

By Derek Davis

JOE Royle didn't know where to begin slinging his poison arrows after a day where he was robbed of a new striker, even before he had kicked a ball in anger, then lost a game the Blues never deserved to and suffered a refereeing performance that beggared belief.

“Floored” was how he saw the decision by Home Office officials to deny Ricardo Fuller making his Blues debut.

Royle said after the game: “Ricardo Fuller was signed yesterday and registered in time to play but then someone at the Immigration Department decides we need a new work permit.

“I know of other loan players who have moved between clubs without work permit problems but, in this case, it seems Ricardo's work permit is not transferable.”

Town will today make moves to secure a new permit in time for the home game with Leicester City.

The former World Cup member of the 'Reggae Boyz' stayed to watch Town lose their unbeaten run at Wolves and is expected to train with the squad today.

“Embarrassing” was how Royle described referee Andy Woolmer's display after the official failed to protect Town's flair players, which resulted in Dave Williams' physio room seeing Scott Barron and Jaime Peters joining the queue.

Royle may not follow Cardiff manager Dave Jones's example of writing to the FA asking that Mr Woolmer never referees his club's games again but he certainly won't be sending him a Christmas card.

Royle said: “I'm absolutely bewildered by some of those decisions. He allows dangerous tackles that injure players to go unpunished yet books Sito for a push.

“The one decision he did get right was the penalty. I have no complaints about that.

“We have some pretty bad injuries now. Jaime Peters will need a scan on a knee, while Scott Barron got a kick on a calf.”

A Kenny Miller penalty settled the match after Sito brought down Jeremie Aliadiere and denied Town at least a deserved point.

Royle said: “The little right-back had been outstanding all afternoon and had no need to make that tackle. He does have a habit of making a mistake that ends up in the back of our net.

“We outplayed them for long spells with good passing football and my only worry was that we were a bit small and free-kicks and corners were the only danger.

“I was proud of the way we played.

“They all played well and I'm not disputing how we played, it was just that we lacked a cutting edge. Little Dean McDonald had a couple of chances early on but at least he was there to miss them.”

Town's injury woes worsened when a scan on Gavin Williams' knee revealed that he will be out of action for about a month, with striker Alan Lee also ruled out with a hamstring tear for another three weeks.