Fitzhugh Fella

But why didn't West Ham run out of steam as well? Serious question.

Partially as a lack of a cutting edge is a long-standing problem he has yet to address satisfactorily. An Austin-like player (or even the man himself) instead of Juanmi and our season would have been a lot better.

If you are going to only manage 45 mins of high intensity football it is imperative you take any chances in that period and one was not enough today

Yep this is all true, our finishing and lack of midfield goal scorers will always haunt us and Koeman has got to address that sooner (ie Jan) rather than later (the summer). I don't buy this "we were tired today" lark as West Ham were in the same boat.

I recall Marsden once had no pre-season whatsoever yet was picked for the opening game and had a blinder. Don't know how long Clasie's lack of a pre-season is going to hold water to be honest. Not sure you can overcome inherent stamina issues.

Long's booking was ridiculous if Moss had been doing his job properly and ensuring Cech took the free kick from the correct place then Long would not have intervened. And it was a dubious free kick in the first place.

A good performance but bemused why he can't seem to get past the hour mark without cramp. Do they play 90 min games in Holland?

I hope Pelle was watching last night, Long, despite his short stature, was more effective in the air than Pelle often is and he gave a masterclass in how to unsettle central defenders

I am not disagreeing with his sentiments, just the timing of when he said it.

Koeman saying the two day break between games on the 26th and the 28th is "ridiculous" is not a wise move. It gives the players an in-built excuse, in my opinion, knowing even the manager doesn't think they can perform 100%. Mistake made.

Your last line makes a good point

Good question. I know MP rated Gallagher highly which tells me something and I saw enough of him in last season's U21 cup run to think he had what it takes. But Koeman did nothing to give him encouragement and he went to MK Dons just to get game time. Soon after he arrived Robinson signed Maynard which meant he was been on the bench ever since so his opportunities have been restricted. Of course you could argue he should have forced his way into Robinson's team but with the Dons fighting relegation the manager is reluctant to experiment with a rookie. Leading a forward line is a tough job and one that takes a lot of confidence and time on the pitch with the manager displaying faith in you. Not sure Koeman and Robinson are the ideal managers to do that but I wouldn't mind betting MP is watching from afar.

You make some fair points but before moving on and still on the subject of Gallagher my point is I don't think he has been given a chance by Koeman. He was injured when Koeman pitched up, scored a truly great goal in the U21 final when he regained fitness but ever since Koeman has ignored him. He needs to give him a go especially as Rodriguez is injured and Pelle's knee needs a rest. There is a likelihood Gallagher's loan at MK Dons will be terminated at the beginning of next month so the timing couldn't be better.

r He scored twice from just two starts if memory serves and then he got injured in pre season which sidelined him for 6 months, so quite hard to press on as you put it. Once fit Koeman put him on the bench just once, away to Leicester, but despite us getting well beaten declined to give him any game time when even a few minutes would has boosted his confidence. Since then RK has ignored him and he has loaned him out.

Although RK improved our league position by one place (wow) the standard of football under MP the previous season was significantly better. And MP was prepared to blood youngsters - Gallager for instance featured in half our Premier Lg games in 13-14.

A fair read. MP is a better manager without a doubt but getting rid of Koeman now would be a folly. He needs to change his attitude towards the young players, get the current squad fitter and realise that the likes of Pelle and Tadic aren't scrappers.

Don't think Guy Askham would agree with some aspects of the above

This

I don't think we are fit enough I don't think the side has character Hardly anyone can shoot accurately Get those things right and we might yet stand a chance.

Something is not right when our one creative player has been subbed 24 times in 38 Premiership starts

Pompey fans don't run their club, they've just been tricked into thinking they do. HTH

I see even Koeman is now mentioning the relegation word, don't tell Dalek

Corrected this for you

The Queen Bee of the Saints forum has spoken, I suggest we all bow down to her greater knowledge