St_Tel49

But the line IS electrified! I thought that there was a dispute between the club and network rail as to who should pay for the station. Network rail said that they wouldn't do it for the sake of 20 uses a year.

I think that he is a handful for defenders at any level and his all round game has improved this year. But, as so often is said, football is a game of opinions.

Sorry - but Saturday suggested otherwise. That said only the lower premiership teams would be likely to come in for him. We can name our own price and presumably replace him with the money we raise. Don't get me wrong - I want him to stay and I believe that he will stay because Pardew is getting the best out of him. I am actually much more concerned about losing Lallana who certainly looked comfortable against Premiership opposition.

Absolute rubbish - Lallana was one of the players who looked every bit as good as the best of their players.

My thoughts entirely. It was a cracking game which could easily have gone the other way had we taken our chances in the first half. They scored their breakaways when we had no choice but to go for it. Good effort but poor finishing was what did for us. By the way - I can also see why they will be relegated - if they get to the end of the season that is. I thought that their "Only one team in Hampshire" song was a bit ironic. Come a couple of weeks that might be true - but not how they meant it!!

1. We've got Marcus Leibher (actually that is about 3 billion reasons)

I agree with that.

He is a a very good and successful club manager but did he do £40 grand a week's worth of good for Notts County? I am not sure that he did.

Was that booked in anticipation? ;-)

Good points well made. People who say that "They are paid enough they shouldn't get tired" have clearly never in their lives done heavy levels of sustained training over a period of many months". There are definitely times that, even if someone offered you a fortune to produce a top performance, your body just won't do it. And contrary to common belief, heavy training makes you more susceptible to bugs and injury and not less. That is not just my opinion. There is plenty of medical evidence to support it. Footballers - especially midfielders cover between 5 and 10 miles at what, for a distance runner, would be well above racing pace. Go out every day and run 5 miles as fast as you are able and then see what state you are in at the end of the week. Then do it week after week. Yes - Lambert is being overplayed.

That is how I read it.

Well - at least we are agreed on that :-)

Happy to but is there any point? I've always seen this year as no more than consolidation for next year. Even if we had won our last two league games we would still be so far adrift of the playoffs that they really are only mathematically a possibility. If we were not comfortably in the automatic promotion places in the first couple of months next year then I might join your campaign - but not until then.

Would YOU shop there if they did? I wouldn't ;-)

But it wouldn't be finished.

Monday: "here is a wad of cash. Go buy whatever bricks you want and build me a house" Wednesday: "f----n hell - is that bl00dy house not built yet!"

What happened to the 5 year plan?

GS doesn't listen to opinions. He merely gives them.

Yes - he's ruthless but he is not stupid. Whatever pronouncements may have been made the playoffs were always a long shot. I think that next year will be the determining time.

True but it does not change the fact that we have to win 4 MORE games than the teams in the play-offs. Every time there is an opportunity to close that gap we p!ss it away

Are you going to play in Orange? ;-)

My God. I'll have to stop talking to my Pompey supporting acquaintances then. I did not realise such evil resided in them. Just goes to show - you cannot go by appearances!!!

This time last year we would have given our eye teeth for a team that was doing as well as the current team. But, as usual, given some success, it does not take supporter expectations long to start galloping ahead of the ability of the team to deliver. I have argued on other threads that the play-offs are most unlikely this year so we should be building a team to run away with the division next year. I have sneaking suspicion that that is what Pardew is doing.

For the long term Pardew obviously thinks they are. Only the long term will tell us if he's right.

He was still the best midfielder on the park in the first half though.