Nordic Saint

I was thinking the same thing. The dream draw: Pompey at home this season with a repeat of the FA Youth Cup score.

Haunstrup and Close played in this game as well so they've seen their team concede 11 goals in derby games and score none. How they must love south coast derbys: https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/2013-12-10/saints-7-0-pompey-fa-youth-cup-report

You obviously don't remember 1996, the last time we played them at the Dell. Their players got it just the same. David Beckham said the Dell was the place he hated playing at most because of the crowd being so close. Ultimately, it doesn't seem to help the home team much as, historically, Pompey have one of the lowest home win percentages in the Football League.

The 20 sure looks good: https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2049&team2_id=2471

They all played well but special mention to Yoshida. He was superb and led the team from the back.

He's shot himself in the foot there: Pompey finished 8th in the Premier League once. That's all.

Great result. Winning by 4 clear goals away from home in a local derby is something few teams have done, including little pompey, who probably never will. A Saints fan, Danny Ings, scoring 2 of the goals goals brings back memories of another Saints fan, Steve Moran, scoring at Fratton Park. Credit to Ward-Prowse who was clearly chuffed to bits with the result in his post-match interview and who said he will be "celebrating on the way home". Man of the Match should be shared by Yoshida and Ings, who, whatever else happens, will always be Saints legends after this.

Until the rivalry became more bitter and intense in the 70s, we used to play each other nearly every year in friendlies, which were usually testimonials for the 2 clubs' players. My favourite was when we beat them 7-0 in the John Milkins Testimonial at Fratton Park.

He was a great character. I used to be one of his young followers in the 60s & 70s. I remember when Man United invaded the pitch and came charging towards the Milton Road end. He ended up standing in front of the wall, with one United fan armlocked under each arm. They decided then that perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to try to get into the Milton.

I was there, in the Fratton End, singing with Dougal & co, when we beat them 5-2 in the league and when we beat them 7-0 in a testimonial.

I'm currently near Fareham. It's a beautiful, sunny afternoon.

Kevin Friend, who reffed our 2-0 win at Brighton this season and gave one of their players a red card. Last season he reffed our 2-1 win v Spurs and 2-2 draw with Man Utd and the season before that our 4-1 win v Everton and draws v Spurs and Newcastle. The last games he reffed Pompey, they lost 0-1 at home to West Ham and he gave a Pompey player a red card, 0-2 away to Reading, 1-2 away to Forest, 0-2 away to Spurs and 0-1 away to Stoke. The only time they managed a draw was at home to Sunderland when he gave a red card to a Pompey player in the 9th minute. They've never won a game when he's been the referee.

Pompey have one tactic, which is to try to get an opposition player sent off early in the game, then hang on for a draw. There are a phenomenal number of red cards in their games. So, the secret is NOT to get dragged into a physical game. We need our fastest and most skilful players for this one. I generally like the look of your team. Vestergaard and Ward-Prowse will not be suited to this game. In fact, I could see Ward-Prowse getting a red card early in the game if he plays. The experienced Cedric might be better than Valery as it's the wing-backs who get it most from the crowd.

Calum Chambers has just scored for Arsenal. A few on here wrote him off too soon. He was Fulham's Player of the Season last year. He's still only 24. We could certainly do with a player like him.

They are facing each other 4 times: Serbia v Portugal x 2 in the European Championship & Ajax v Lille x 2 in the Champions League. So far, it is 1-1, with one win for Fonte &Portugal and one for Tadic & Ajax.

He should score at least one against Pompey. In fact, I see him as our key player for that game.

His fabled accuracy from dead-ball situations is also something of a myth. How many goal scoring opportunities from free-kicks around the opposition penalty area has he hoofed over the goal? A player with an accurate shot, like Lambert or Le Tissier, would have scored from many of them. His corners nearly all go to opposition players as well. I'd love to see someone who really can shoot, like Djenepo, take over as our main free-kick taker.

I think we have if we play a back four of Bertrand, Bednarek, Danso & Cedric and we'd still have Yoshida to slot in either of those central defensive positions when needed. It seems to be taking Ralph a long time to realize that Vestergaard is a problem, not a solution. Sometimes managers get too impressed by players who perform well in training when there is less pace and pressure.

Red Bull have proved very good owners at both Leipzig and Salzburg. I wonder when they'll start looking for an English club? Perhaps Mitchell could point them in our direction.

"Elyounoussi struggles" https://tbrfootball.com/celtic-fans-react-as-mohamed-elyounoussi-struggles-against-rennes/

He's on the subs bench tonight for Norway v Malta.

N'Lundulu scores again!

It does feel as though a great weight has been lifted from the club now that he has gone. He was about as trustworthy as a shady used car dealer. The constant stream of negative PR 'leaks' about players and managers he had fallen out with created a very bad atmosphere at the club, undermined team morale and bitterly divided the fans (let's not forget, there was a minority of fanatical Reedites who regarded him as God and hated all the players and managers he wanted them to hate). Just glad that he has gone.

I'll be there too and the ticket prices are the cheapest at St Mary's so far this season. My first ever international game at the Dell involved the country Kosovo was once part of: England U23 v Yugoslavia U23 2-1, in 1965. Yugoslavia had a winger playing for them, called Dragan Džajić, who remains to this day one of the best footballers I ever saw play.

Hopefully, he has been fitted with incontinence pants.