Chez

It was late and blatant - he had no intention of winning the ball (which is far from uncommon for Downes...and sometimes very much needed, although not on this occasion). Not sure late or blatant are terms used in the laws of the game. In fact, here they are for a red card: SERIOUS FOUL PLAY A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play. Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play. VIOLENT CONDUCT Violent conduct is when a player uses or attempts to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, or against a team-mate, team official, match official, spectator or any other person, regardless of whether contact is made. In addition, a player who, when not challenging for the ball, deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face with the hand or arm, is guilty of violent conduct unless the force used was negligible.

Apart from at the start of the season, he's been getting minutes here and there off the bench, so Forrest will be reluctant to allow him to leave. Chris Wood is going to be out a while though injury, so that won't help, although they have signed a 6'7 striker on loan from Napoli. They are still in Europe and will qualify for the play off game, so won't want to leave themselves short. I don't see him dropping down a division. He has a decent reputation in Germany and PL exposure. He will get a half decent European gig when his contract ends.

PL players don't want to play int he championship. It's a big old dent to the ego. Also, we don't look terribly attractive at this moment.

Boruc vibes, right? I think he has to do a little more at corners, which we have had a few issues with, but he seems pretty decisive - there were quite a few punches yesterday for example. Not easy for keepers with such congested boxes these days. I like the save he made yesterday deep into the second half when he went for cross and prevent it reaching the striker. I think the Blackmore said "brave". it possibly was, but I like the fact he wasn't passive.

Very well put. I don't think there is any harm in ranking teams, but as you say, what is the value of associating the collective team ranking with the ability of an individual?

They have attempted to address two of those three areas when buying Downs and and Quarshie. So they have identified the same issues as yourself. Obviously Downs has not worked out and Quarshie hasn't been an instant fix. Not sure they saw defensive CM as a requirement. Jander was bought and he isn't a 'destroyer' type. Maybe they thought Downes, Charles and Sesay had the position covered. Bringing in Romeu suggests they changed their mind, but again, the club agreed with you in terms of needs.

I hope that's not the case. It could just be as simple as at that specific moment in time they are not in the mood to celebrate - their mind is elsewhere, maybe thinking about the fuck up they just made or whatever.

Cheers. Interesting. There is so much to pick through in those bullets. Watching every game on tape makes sense to me. The more info the better. Interpreting what you see is the key though. Does that require a skill or is AI being used. If the latter, then its 'simply' a matter of getting the right parameters in place. That's what Liverpool do, I think. But they have spent millions. Doubt we have a similar system in place. Are scouts and video analysts one and the same people? I guess for Saints, I'd like to know who is watching the tape and determining whether a player is good or not? Is it one person or several? Are these people scouts too or are they video analysts? Are the video analysts less qualified to assess players than our scouts? If a video analyst has been doing this for years and years and continuously identifies the right players, then that's preferable to a scout that has done it for five minutes and picked some shockers. Ultimately, if good players are being identified like Fernandes, then it's hard to argue against a process, but if you are bringing players like Gronbaek into the club that then can't get a game in a poor side, then that raises questions.

"We'll most likely sign a couple" - sounds promising. I haven't expected us to do any/much business in this window considering the amount of players signed in the summer.

Doesn't look like that to me. I don't see him berating Leo at all. Looks like he shouts something to Leo immediately after he has scored as they faced each other - probably "yeeeessss" - and then Leo runs off to celebrate and AA doesn't chase after him. Looking at the video closely, some players jog/run in Leo's direction to celebrate, but several ignore him and head towards Azaz. Pretty normal stuff - players reacting differently to goals going in. That said, Armstrong's celebration seems almost non existent and there is no "glee" which we all experienced. All I can say is that as a striker, you want to be the guy scoring the goals and when others score you sometimes don't feel the same joy. However, to counter that, if the game means everything to you, as this one should, then you are normally keen to share the enjoyment of a goal. Either he's being super professional and knowing the game still needs to be won or he just isn't feeling it at that moment? Not sure Armstrong is a big celebrator of goals either, even his own (I might be wrong there). He often seems a little muted or that's the impression I have had this season. I've tried to look back and see how he has celebrated recent goals, but he's not really been on the pitch when we have scored. I think the THB equaliser at Oxford was the last one - he certainly goes to celebrate with THB, but THB steams off and the video cuts off. Looking at that specific goal, it's noticeable that Fellows doesn't celebrate at all or try to join in, while the rest of the players at least head in the goalscorers direction. Is his reaction strange or is it just normal that you don't always 'feel glee' when a goal goes in? 36 second in for that Oxford goal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBoicPHGYF4

Watch them live or watch them at all? If the latter, then that's madness (personally I'd want to see a guy live before spending million on him), but I thought we had several video analysts at the club - so wouldn't they be watching film of players?

Are Charlton even looking to buy him? They have signed Harry Clark on loan from Ipswich until the end of the season. That suggests that either they didn't think Bree was all that or we informed Charlton we wanted him for the remainder of the season. Seeing as we have struggled for fullbacks, that might be the case.

Struggle to understand why Fellows us not starting. His first touch, dribbling and ability to keep the ball takes a lot of pressure off the defence. Bizarre.

got to say the atmosphere that night was absolutely electric. the noise when we scored was as loud as its every been as SMS.

spoke with a couple pf skates today at the afc porchester game and they acknowledged our better quality, admitted they had injury problems but still felt the 18,000 baying crowd would see us wilt. i smiled. that smille grew when I heard Murphy is injured. Looking forward to it.

yeah, makes sense. I do recall in 2004 on the way home they took the coaches all along the seafront and even down past the hard, which was bizarre, but that was probably because of the idiots smashing up their own city.

That is a long time. We should have won in the promotion season, but fucked it up. 'First league win there for 50 years' has a nice ring to it.

Eastern Road is closed northbound for 8 weeks due to a sewage pipe breaking, so the coaches probably will need to come in on the M275 unless they close part of the Southbound section for a short period. Getting into Pompey during a rush hour is very slow going, so the incredibly early start will stop the coaches getting stuck in traffic.

these figures are utter bollocks. thb signed for £20m. Not a chance in hell he is on £7500 a week. aribo was on relative buttons at rangers. why would he get £70k a week and not have a relegation clause? I could go on, but whats the point.

In the first derby game we hoofed it long a lot on the first half, showing a lack of control and composure. He'll want is to be a lot better than that, so it might not mean dropping Stewart. Stewart needs to be handled carefully. This game is massive, but we want him scoring goals for the next four months.

STILL HERE…STILL STANDING… SADLY You can smell it before you see it. The stench. The waft of piss and bullshit drifting from NottarfKrap. It’s a ground, barely. A ramshackle home built on clay (hence the North Stand issues), on six fingered hands, salt in the air rusting away at the transfer war chest. THIS IS PORTSMOUTH FOOTBALL CLUB, OR A VERSION OF IT. Very few bother to write about us… Too inconsequential…too shit…toothless. Administrations. Deserved relegation. Empty promises to schools and charities. BUT LIKE AN UNFLUSHABLE TURD, WE’RE STILL HERE. Listen to the bullshit. Will someone listen? One voice:…”F*** off Downing…you’re f***ing shit”… One city. A song of defiance whistling around the rapidly emptying stands, carried by father, brothers, mothers, sisters…sometimes the same people…who never stopped believing, except when Redmond smashed the fourth in. Factless Allen, blowing smoke up the arse of fans. Floodlights cutting out due to another unpaid bill. Debt pressing down on every blade of grass. They come from up the road…our better-looking neighbours. The ones who know their history, not simpletons regurgitating Portsmyths. SOUTHAMPTON FOOTBALL CLUB, PRIDE OF THE SOUTH But this place doesn’t interest anyone, except chancers and fake owners. This club has been in the lower divisions, mostly. We’ve lifted trophies thanks to recruiting elite players stationed in the area for military service and more recently cheating…But we’ve dropped back where we belong. Every single time. This badge means something - especially to the Ottoman Empire (I said we know our history). It means ‘progress’. It means ‘illumination’…both seem inappropriate… It means that when SFC comes to town, we can’t hide from it…we are shit and when we go 0-4 down we f*** off home. STILL HERE…STILL FIGHTING THE TAXMAN…STILL THE BLUE FEW. #Skates #Fishf***ers #FOP

We certainly had to balance the books that summer, and only spent money on Charles and Stewart. I am not sure Piroe is the guy we need. He can finish, but can he lead the attack on his own?

Sadly, very few PL players seem to drop down a laegue these days unless absolutely necessary, and foreign PL players are far more likely to join a top flight side in another lessor European league than a championship team. Awoniyi is a decent shout, but his injury record isn't great. Piroe isn't a target man. Did he snub us for Leeds back in the day (I'm not sure) - as that would impact our interest.

You don't think small clubs should ever be allowed to rise through the leagues on the back of a rich owner?