derry

I think your memory fails you, if true their delusion is laughable. That result had no effect on our season at all. We in fact had consecutive season promotions. May 2011 we were promoted to the Championship and in May 2012 we were promoted again to the Premier League we didn't play Portsmouth again until the 2019 League Cup game at Fratton Park, I think 4-0 to us. We subsequently played Manchester City in our first Premier League match in August 2012. They might have saved themselves but they were soon relegated twice and it's taken them something like another ten years to get to the Championship. If I was them I would be keeping quiet. I'm glad we've avoided them this year and hoping that's the way it'll stay.

No, every other player who has joined goes through a familiarisation period with our game. Archer looked like a fish out of water, the game just passed him by. As for SAA and Dibling, they really didn't influence the game and although he had plenty of the ball neither did Edozie. The changes did nothing to improve things. Personally I thought he'd put plan B on the bench with Onuachu for Archer who needs a couple of weeks. Dibling and SAA on the bench.

The fact remains that we changed everything on May 4th when we were in the final league game with McCarthy in goal after several defeats. Three centre backs and very little risky passing at the back. Following on we entered the play offs and didn't concede in three matches winning promotion. If we had continued our form prior to the Leeds game we probably wouldn't even have made the final. Our last four games were totally different defensively to the rest of the season.

Steele from Brighton's name has cropped up again.

We know his limitations, so does Martin but stubbornly ignores them. McCarthy knows too and is on edge because of it. It won't work and makes no sense. Why spend millions trying to build a Premier team then expose the incompetence of McCarthy's ball control. Newcastle had Pope yesterday who is also uncomfortable playing out, difference he doesn't, just kicks it long mostly out wide. as a consequence it eliminates the danger and puts the ball into the attacking third goalside of his team. If McCarthy has to play copying Pope would eliminate the problem. We'd then need the Midfield and forwards to win it or press and win it. I know which option I prefer.

Edozie unless he was lucky was never going to open up Newcastle. He was totally predictable and double banked every time. He would have been far more effective with his quick feet spearing into the penalty area and inviting a challenge. Out on the line he was really no problem. Personally I didn't think that was the change to make, in fact four of the substitutions were inneffective, only Alcaraz did anything. After Getafe Martin was talking about Onuachu as a plan B, then didn't put him on the bench. Yesterday it was crying out for a bit of physicality in the goal area. Dibling, SAA, Edozie and especially the all at sea Archer weren't going to change anything. The bench was a poor selection except for the defenders and apart from Alcaraz weakened rather than strengthened. It looked like a bench picked to keep SAA, Dibling and Archer in the group. Martin shot himself in the foot there, plus overthinking the half time changes that didn't help.

Archer isn't ready to play and shouldn't have been brought on. He clearly was a spectator and hardly got involved. 4 of the 5 substitutions made us worse and Onuachu should have been on the bench. Newcastle would have enjoyed a 6'-8" player in their goal area.

We put in loads of crosses plus corners and free kicks, Onuachu would have caused Newcastle more problems than we did,

It really wasn't fair to put him in today. He needs time to aclimatise to how we play. Onuachu would have been more panic inducing once Newcastle were down to ten. Edozie, SAA and Dibling made no sense in the circumstances. 5 substitutions and 4 were wasted. The bench should have had Onuachu instead of Archer.

That game changed twice. We outplayed them until the sending off and if the ball watching expert Stephens had checked the defensive line his goal would have counted. With ten men Newcastle had to defend a point but McCarthy's stupid pass set up a goal from that moment it was just a team hanging on and packing their box and double teaming. I don't get the changes. Archer is nowhere near ready to play in our system he was a waste of a substitution and worse did nothing to help us. Edozie gave his usual flatters to deceive performance. KWP was having a good game on the left as was Sugawara on the right it didn't need changing. I felt if there was a change to be made, maybe Alcaraz for Aribo. We didn't need the two young lads, what we did need was 6'-8" Onuachu up in their box. Unless Bednarek was injured Stephens should have gone off. We looked a decent team but needed an attacking midfielder, having said that we made Newcastle look very poor before the sending off it really was three points chucked away by predictable stupidity.

Pope is just as hopeless passing out so he never does it. McCarthy hasn't even got the intelligence to realise that he can't do it either. Martin needs to forget McCarthy passing out if there are opponents close and do what Pope does, hit it long and win it back and play

The worst thing about Portsmouth FC is that knowing what they did nobody there has shown the slightest shame or regret for their behaviour. They are still full of the same egotistical bullshit. It's not as if we have competitive matches. We've only been beaten five times in 28 games covering 97 years. Some rivalry.

Flamengo will be looking at another Juventus scam. A £25m suck in bit a loan with an option to buy to get the player for a year. We should be £25m up front and he's yours. We shouldn't have any more of the loan option scam.

There is an interesting article on Southampton FC News on Newsnow. Explains that we are fine to spend especially if the owners put money in. As it stands we have plenty of leeway.

What does that sort of bigotary prove. Nothing to do with football more to do with an opportunity to kick off by people who should know better. The awful club comment relates to their rediculous overspending that ruined many traders when they went into administration. The only feeling I have about them is that they should have been liquidated for their behaviour and effect. Allowing a resuscitation in the EFL was a disgrace. Long may us not playing them continue. I really don't care whether they think they are special rivals they really don't matter any more than we didn't matter to them when they were in the First Division and we were in the Third, having never been higher than the Second Division.

That is a stupid comment. Can you remember Len Wilkins, Johhnny Walker, John Christie, Bobby McLaughlin, Don Roper etc, Well I can and every season since. As youngsters along with plenty of others we would sometimes go to Fratton Park to watch special matches, like one of the great Hungarian teams MTK loaded with some of the great Hungarian 1953-56 team. There wasn't a rivalry then as we had no football connection. In the sixties going to away matches there was a non event as we mostly won. I can't remember any problems there as a Saints supporter. The so called rivalry has been concocted in later years when really there isn't one and most people really can't be bothered. If we never played them again it would be too soon for me. An awful club that should have been liquidated after it's second administration, spending money it didn't have, borrowing money it wouldn't pay back and screwing lots of traders in the process. Why would we want to have a rivalry with them of all clubs?

I remember Delgado well, in Ecuador he was incredible, their best player in a generation. However he came with a knee injury that needed an operation. The club were dickheads of the first order. Instead of scheduling the operation immediately they allowed the Ecuador President to persuade him to go to the World Cup. They played him despite his knee so when he came back that was it for him and us despite the best treatment the knee was too damaged. My thoughts at the time were just that. It was obvious to everybody except the club what was going to happen. Putting him in for the operation would have rescued his career and our investment.

Just for anyone interested regarding my remark about the mythical football rivalry with Portsmouth, since 1927 we didn't play them at all until 1960. Since then we've played them twice in a league in 11 seasons, 4 FA Cup and 2 League Cup with a record of W18 D5 L5. We haven't even been in the same league for 86 seasons.

Precisely. We just don't need all the attendant crap that some supporters indulge in if we play Portsmouth. It's not if we have had regular games but we've hardly ever played them over the last sixty years. It's not worth the hassle.

I was pleased Portsmouth lost so they were removed from the competition as its the last team I'd want to meet. I don't get the hyped up competition as they are a team we have hardly played in the last hundred years. Very few in the last sixty years. It's a distraction we don't need.

Ron Davies, Keegan, Van Dyck, Alan Ball.

What I find interesting is that nobody is mentioning the one thing that he is brilliant at. Last year when he joined us I watched a video showing all his goals. Apart from penalties nearly all his goals were getting across defenders in the goal area and beating them to either low or head high crosses, he was deadly at that. Only Armstrong and now Brererton-Diaz are remotely able to do that. Che Adams rarely made runs and it's something we could exploit. I don't see him behind the strikers. He really isn't dominant winning balls pumped up to him, he is about beating defenders to the ball. Without an alternative I'd give him a go. With five at the back we don't really need three in midfield because it isolates our two forwards. 3-4-3 makes more attacking sense becoming 5-4-1 defending.

As a matter of interest Charlie has served his suspension by missing the Getafe game. The rule is suspensions only apply to friendlies and irrespective of the reason for sending off the suspension applies to the next friendly match. If it's the last friendly of the season then the suspension is carried over to the next season's first friendly.

I'd have thought you'd know better than argue with theorists. Paine, Sydenham and Big Ron now that was a combination to die for. Besides when was the last time Edozie got a proper cross in. Dibling showed the way.

I think Martin was keeping his fingers crossed that TP wouldn't score or assist so pushed Edozie up front and pulled TP back behind. That did the trick. If TP is on the field he has to play off the last defendef not the deep midfielder. That defence is going to give away loads of goals pinging it around in our own box. McCarthy got lucky today. The Premier League is an uncompromising place, now the opposition sees the way our defence plays it around they are going to be all over us like a rash. We were pretty sterile in attack and well outnumbered. Aribo was hopeless in getting forward to help. It was crying out for Alcaraz in his position. Dibling looks positive every time he plays. Two wing backs and three midfielders not getting forward will result in a lot of nil final scores.