VectisSaint

We almost came a cropper with the last kick of the match. I do wonder what would have happened if the ref had not blown when he did.

I still think Brighton would be a better fit.

Might get a bit confusing Everton playing for Everton.

I am furious that the Express quote Simon Weston's "faux par". Is there no Editorial credibility any more. As for Gammon Chops...

Will be happy if we avoid defeat, a draw away is a decent way to start.

Nephew. 17 appearances in League One (for the Gas).

Didn't he pick up an injury in the last game of the season, think he is recovering from that. I would like to see Perraud stay, think he would do well for us in the Champ.

How about 45m plus loan him back to us for one season. Would be happy with that 😎

In 79 you must be joking (Trev wasn't eligible of course). A year older than me, sad day.

I see they released Shane Long, could we do with a non-scoring striker with lots of experience?

Did I imagine Diallo going?

I really don't think there was much in the way of contract issues. From what I understand the offer from Girona came 'out of the blue', a speculative, half hearted approach. Speculation then would be that Ralph was asked if he had any objections and said no, and things moved swiftly on. I suspect Oriol was delighted to hear someone in his home area was keen to see him back and it was good for his family so he happily moved, clearly the impression from Ralph was that he was not fussed about keeping him. So I will forever blame Ralph, whether that is justified or not.

He wasn't off the pace, he was recovering from injury. He never had that much pace anyway, though he could turn it on if needed (I don't remember who it was against, but that run back and tackle to save a certain goal was one of the best bits of defending ever). What he provided was a rock Infront of the back 4, and organisational skills and good short passing. We needed Lavia to add to what we had, not replace, and could have freed up JWP to get forward more, where he is better. He was a massive loss last season, in my opinion the biggest single reason for our abject failure. I'm very pleased for him that he has got the recognition he deserves but boy do I wish we had never let him go (without adequate replacement).

Why is he "nowhere near good enough", successful loans in League 2 and League 1, surely backup in the Championship is the next logical step. Agree that perhaps the PL was a step too far, but is there any point in keeping him if he can's step up one more level.

Water birth?

There were plenty of balls into the box yesterday, but no predator there to make use. I stand by what I said, without a proper striker or two we will get nowhere. We need more creativity as well, but you can create all the chances you want but if you don't have someone who can put away the chances you are doomed to failure. To get automatic promotion we need to score 70-80 goals, I can't see any of our lot making serious dents in that total.

Without a new striker, preferably two, we will get nowhere this season. We are toothless in front of goal. Deja Vu.

Unless you run a bookshop and ring a bell.

Seemed a little odd that he played only about 30 minutes yesterday, almost everyone else played 45. Could also be argued that Charles is a potential replacement (would be better if he to strengthen).

Thought Perraud was injured.

He's a free agent

Have thought all along that Brighton would be more likely than any London club. He does come from Pompey after all, even if he now lives in Winchester, Brighton are in Europe next season, which is more than can be said for Fulham. Why are Boscombe ruled out as well, pretty easy to commute from Winchester? Could also see him linking up again with Poch. I actually don't think he will leave

Now that is something I would like to see, just what we want in MF.

It was down to Les and his deal with VvD to make him skipper and build the team around him. VvD was made skipper for the European games to ease him in. Don't think Puel had much say, it was Uncle Les who fucked everything up because he believed that VvD would stay, rather naive really. To be honet i wasn't Fonte's biggest fan, there is some rose tinted spectacle wearing going on. He was prone to catastrophic errors (like most of our CBs), but hey maybe he can take over from Ollie Lancashire.

😉