Well, I do find the Wire's blog interesting, and Mark Fisher's ever-growing prominence in the magazine is actually invigorating the mag.
Furthermore, I agree with most of what he says regarding the new Portishead album, which to me is too dull to be liked in any way, and it goes one step behind Scott Walker and... erm... Radiohead (it's surprising in this sense how many young Radiohead fans are liking "Third"). Nevertheless, I agree with you in that the criticism aimed at Gibbons is unfair. Even though they were made to wave the flag of coffe-table music for much of the 90s, making it a bit difficult for some to like their music, Gibbons' voice, and indeed the sound the whole band managed to articulate, succeed in creating an atmosphere and a mood throughout their music which was undoubtedly their own, and a great one IMO.
By the way, since this thread is devoted to The Wire, I have just read one of the top Spanish critics saying that The Wire has become less interesting in the last months. It's funny because I personally think that the magazine is actually getting more interesting...