Nordic Saint

I've been dreaming for years that one day we'd get rid of McCarthy. Obviously no other club will take him, but he keeps getting his contract renewed here. Players may come and players may go, but McCarthy's here forever.

So, little Pompey's wait continues into another year. 68 years now since they last beat Arsenal.

Pompey use up their energy in the first half, like they did against us at St Mary's. I'd expect them to run out of steam in the 2nd half, and for Arsenal to score more goals in the final 20 minutes. When we play them, we just need to weather that early storm.

Who on earth scouts our goalkeepers? Stevie Wonder? Before, we had the worst 3 in the Championship; now, we've got the worst 4.

We've had 7 different managers under Sport Republic already. Meanwhile, the squad continues to get weaker. Before, we used to think we only needed a new goalkeeper, centre half and centre forward; now, we need 2 new full-backs as well. What Sport Republic have done to our team reminds me of that song, Three Wheels on my Wagon. Who will be the manager in charge when all the wheels have fallen off?

Good idea. "Material ideas! Material ideas!" will definitely get them thinking.

You've hit the nail on the head there. We've recruited so many midfielders, a couple of whom are quite talented at this level, but the all important spine of the team is the weakest it's been for a long time and one of the weakest in the Championship this season.

Pity it can't be sooner.

So, does that mean we can expect the transfer kitty to be blown on Damion Downs Mk II in January? Last summer's transfer window was terrible. Above all, we badly needed to strengthen the spine of the team; we got George Long, Quarshie and Downs, not one of whom is even good enough to be a regular starter, in spite of the poor quality of the players we already had in those positions. Spors is a big part of the problem.

How long will he last next time? 20 minutes? 120? Will next time be the last? Is it even fair on him? So many ex-footballers struggle to even walk after they retire. I recently read David Armstrong's autobiography and he's very bitter about how his football injuries affected his mobility for the rest of his life.

All US players who play in Europe get looked at. Damion Downs got looked at in a few sub appearances. He never started a game for the USA and probably never will.

He scored against Villarreal in the Champions League last night. He's scored 6 goals in his last 16 Champions League matches, including 2 against Man City, which isn't a bad scoring rate for a winger.

His save percentage this season is better than Alex McCarthy's: Championship Goalkeeper Stats | FBref.com

Yes, and one of the first things he did was to drop McCarthy. So, you think you know better and that he was wrong to do that, do you? We are winning so, Instead of moaning after every game, why don't you just enjoy it. I do.

We've had the same squad when McCarthy's played, yet our results with Bazunu are literally twice as good. At least Tonda Eckert can see that, even if you can't. We won again. Get over it. Do you really think you know better than Tonda Eckert?

He saved us tonight. We wouldn't have won that game with McCarthy in goal. We win games with Bazunu. That's why Tonda Eckert picks him and I prefer his judgement to that of a couple of prejudiced fans on here. In the Championship, we average 2 points per game with Bazunu in goal and only 1 point per game with McCarthy. That is a massive difference.

They haven't won any of their last 30 games against Chelsea, although their last win was only 66 years ago. So, that's more than 50 games over seven decades without a win against either Arsenal or Chelsea. No wonder the London clubs love playing there. Meanwhile, the TV pundits will be coming out with all the usual cliches, like, "This is a difficult place to win at". Yes, it is......for Portsmouth.

The last time Pompey beat Arsenal was 68 years ago. This will be their 23rd attempt since then.

You must really enjoy watching us lose games. With McCarthy in goal, we have won just 1 regular season game at St Mary's in the last FOUR YEARS, and that was 1½ years ago. That's how bad he is. When Bazunu plays we usually win.

Under Stiil, he looked lost and contributed very little; under Eckert, he fits in brilliantly and is creating and scoring lots of goals. Those who predicted he would come good (not me) were right.

He certainly did. He made 4 great saves.

All the Championship games Bazunu and McCarthy have played for Saints. The facts are freely avaliable on transfermarkt. You can check them yourself if you want. Whether you think someone is superb or terrible has no bearing on the facts, I'm afraid. Bazunu = 1.9 points per game/ 87 points over a season McCarthy = 1.0 points per game/ 46 points over a season Obviously, even though McCarthy has been here all the time Bazunu has, he hasn't played as many games because managers want to win. Bazunu W29 D12 L11 McCarthy W3 D3 L6

Based on all the Championship games they have played for Saints. Obviously McCarthy hasn't played as many times because managers want to win games. McCarthy average points per Saints Championship game = 1.0 Bazunu average points per Saints Championship game = 1.9 Over the whole season, that difference between them is worth more than 40 points and at least 20 league places.

You'd prefer Nathan Jones to Eckert? That's what doesn't make any sense.

I agree. Coventry are too far ahead now, even if we do the double over them, but I think we can finish runners-up and if we can keep Eckert next season, we'll stay in the Premier League.