Ken Tone

I actually think we have more chance of winning 2- or 3- nil than of 1-nil. At 1-nil, if they attack a bit near the end of the game we will go to pieces yet again as the crowd gets nervous and makes the players nervous... result 1-1 or worse. Whereas at 2 or 3 up maybe we will gain some confidence and stay positive *****il someone remembers Leeds) K.

Good grief no! It's nothing like as streamlined as that. K.

Yes I'm glad you compliment each other well Dean, but more importantly do you complement each other? I have this awful vision of the oppostion midfielders running past James and Hammond as they pause to say, "Oh well done, Lloyd. You really are good at this game." "On the contrary Dean, you are the best I've seen in this division. And such a fetching haircut too." K.

They are not brighter and they are not thicker , but that does not mean exams are easier as such . It means they are working hard and are being better prepared. When Roger Bannister ran the fiorst 4 minute mile it meant he was the best in the world. Now it is almost common place. Does that mean the mile has got shorter? No. It means that modern athletes train better and have better equipment. Ditto students. More of them achieve good grades but it doesn't mean they are inherently more intelligent, nor that exams have got easier Of course that does mean that someone who gets a grade A now might not have done so 20 yearsd ago when students weren't so well 'trained', but then Ussian Bolt might not have run so fast in plimsolls on a cinder track either! K.

Wikipedia (not reliable I know) says he's 5'10" and calls him a winger/forward. Sounds as if he started as a winger but had a successful season or two as a striker at Cork. If the rumour is true maybe Pardew sees him as a sort of generic forward ...playing on the wing til/unless McLaggon or Holmes displace him , and as back up to Paterson and Saga alongside Lambert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_O%27Donovan K.

[quote=SaintRichmond;432016" I would have adopted the Lawrie Mac approach ..... " OK, if you won't give 100% whilst we are PAYING you 100% .... then you won't get a game ...... and kindly pass that on to your Polish Team Manager " ......... THAT would have worked Where we are now I agree it's best for all that he goes, but to be fair to the bloke he WAS giving his all to Saints, and scoring goals, until Lowe in effect said "Ok if you won't take a pay cut then you won't get a game and kindly pass that on to your Polish team manager." We stopped playing him, brought in Stern John - much the same sort of player and also on big wages - and loaned him to anyone who'd pay him. It's not a good way to instill loyalty. For me he's not shown any lack of effort this season. Had a good game early on, then was dropped again. What scope is there to show commitment as a 90th minute sub? As I say it's best for us and for him that he goes given the situation and the history, but do we really have to slag off any player that goes? K.

We *do* have a good fanbase that has stayed remarkably loyal though a rough patch , but TDD is right. If you think it's tough following Saints try Chester for recent pain, but overall my respect goes to the fans of any of those L2 clubs that everyone knows will never in their wildest dreams get higher than L1 for any lenght of time. To turn up regularly at Rochdale, Bury, Hereford, Chesterfield, torquay etc demands an amazing level of loyalty -- or is it merely masochism? At least we can dream. As to whingeing at the Brum game, there wasn't any at all near me in the Kingsland Centre, where the real hardcore fans sit ;-) K.

I think you should do it. After all Pompey fans are known for their sense of humour and tolerance. What a chuckle they will have when you walk through Paulsgrove. ;-) K.

Quite. Rasiak is a proven goalscorer at CCC level, never mind L1, and will do well at Watford or anywhere similar. He just isn't quite up to premiership standards. As to lazy, well to be fair to the bloke he does put in reasonable effort. He's one of those players that looks slow even when they are running fast. His main job though is scoring goals and he does that. Saints messed him about under Lowe, so we can hardly complain that he wants out, and given that he does want out, a move to a CCC club rather than a L1 one is best all round. You could guarantee he'd score againt us if we played his team. Losing his high wages alone is a plus, let alone any fee we might get. As others say, a nippy winger would be a good replacment, becasue we don't need another striker really *if* Saga is staying. K.

The first one was a clear penalty IMO. The second was debatable. The Lambert push even I wouldn't have given. So I'd put the 2 or 3 penalties as 1, 1/2 and 1/4 = 1 and 3/4 penalties personally ;-) The ref was the worst I've seen for ages. How he missed Saga basketball dribble in the second half I'll never know. K.

Heard he was on a strop. He never was a safety player though was he? K.

Pube ... isn't he that Brazilian who curled one in by the far post against Haireford? K.

Goodness knows where you plucked that eyebrow comment from, but can we keep this going all week, so that on Friday I can ask, "Anything for the weekend sir?" K.

Well they say 'parting is such sweet sorrow'. I'm glad to see that hair-related puns became such a growth area whilst I was doing some work, but are we likely to lose (1) one pole or (2) both? A number 2 may leave us a little short up front.... well in fact all over really. K.

I think we're getting to the stage where any fee for them is less important than trimming them from the wage bill. K.

Me too. Not a hope in hell of winning the competition. Very little hope of winning tonight even. I'm going to watch my team. I believe it's called being a fan. K.

I think Gillett is better with razors than combs, but this is a bit of a side (burn) issue compared with wondering which pole is leaving ... a long, striped one from outside the stadium presumably? K.

Lol. I think we ought just to brush over that remark. K.

Mind you the OS referring to it as the Johnstone's PANT trophy doesn't exactly big it up does it? :-) K.

.... quoted AP as saying one player would be left out of tonight's squad because he is in talks with another club. Fits with the rumours over the weekend about one of the Poles, but which one? If it goes through, will presumably allow another transfer in And, given Hammond and Trotman are cup-tied, please god he plays Gillett rather than Wotton. K.

Well since you repeated it, I'll have to correct it this time. It is 'practised', not 'practiced'. The noun is 'practice'; the verb is 'practise'. Unless you are American of course. K. PS May I have a bonus mark for using a semi-colon correctly?

Eurostar no longer goes to waterloo. It goes to St. Pancras station instead. You then have to cross London on the tube to get southampton train from waterloo to Southampton. Time to do it for a 3pm (NB) kick off, but flying direct to southampton airport would be quicker. K.

The (paper version) Echo says Murty IS still injured, quotes Pardew as saying that James was one of the best players at Swindon, at right back ,and will continue to cover there. It also says holmes is injured. FWIW they have Davis James Trotman Thomas Harding Mellis Schneiderlin Hammond Lalana Lambert Paterson but does the Echo actually have any better idea than anyone else? K.

Getting that way I agree, but I'd certainly wondered why he wasn't in the squad, and a few on here had suggested he was trying to leave. When he's been fit and played he's looked good -- a potential matchwinner even. K.

Surely as new owners they'd still have to pass the test? Genuine question, not a dig. It's reasonable to assume they'd pass easily given their track record, but that must take a day or two at least. I wouldn't want Pompey to see go under completely, but I reckon you're pretty well screwed for the near future whatever happens. You're only a plausible investment whilst you are in the premiership ..that's your only asset really in professional football terms.. so spending big money to take over your debts from Gaydamak when vthat staus is far from guaranteed would be a hell of a gamble for anyone. Dein's not stupid, and I don't see him as having been a closet diehard pompey fan during all those years at Arsenal, so he'd want a safe return on his investment. K.