Chez

I thought this comment received during the planning permission was interesting: My name is Andrew Smith. By way of background, I should explain that I have been a season ticket holder at Fratton Park for 40 years, was a member of the Portsmouth Supporters Trust's Stadium Working Party that produced two reports on the club's stadium options and was, for a number of years, Chairman of Chichester District's Planning Committee. My objection is two fold. Firstly on aesthetic grounds and secondly on the failure to demonstrate compliance with design guidance for football stadiums. Aesthetics The application seeks to justify the design on the basis that it complements the Frogmore Road entrance and South Stand designed by Archibald Leitch. The approach to Fratton Park from Frogmore Road is an iconic view in English football. But to imitate design elements in a mash up of mock Tudor and classic Leitch ironwork far from being sympathetic detracts from the original structures. When Arsenal FC redeveloped the North Bank at Highbury in the 1990s it didn't commission a mock Art Deco design to match the East and West stands built in the 1930s; it commissioned a contemporary design. Whilst the existing Milton End has no redeeming features, is not within a Conservation Area and not within the setting of a Listed Building, poor quality design should not be tolerated; indeed the thrust of government advice on design for a while has been to encourage higher standards. The iron work shown on the eastern elevation is not an accurate reflection of the Leitch south stand balcony that it's supposed to reflect. Compliance with design standards for football stadiums The "Green Guide" as well as design guides issued by UEFA and FIFA specify that spectators should enjoy an uninterrupted view of the pitch. The proposed design retains the columns supporting the roof at the front of the stand. The design and access statement makes numerous references to a C value of 60. This is the absolute minimum allowed. The recommended value of C is 90. The design and access guide fails to state other values in the equation that determines the rake of the seating to give each spectator good site lines. I guess the value of T is 700 - the minimum allowed in the Green Guide. The concourse area is open to the elements. This may be suitable for a cricket ground but inappropriate for a winter sports ground.

what the fuck is that twat talking about? How does someone living near the ground benefit? More fans, more traffic, more cars... how on earth does he conclude that redevelopment will "kick start the local economy". Even if he is referring to the new infrastructure required before they are permitted to expand the capacity, a new walk bridge and longer platforms will do the square route of fuck all for the local economy. The local council is brassik. Network Rail have about a million other projects more pressing than this one. How do either benefit from spending money here? It will be interesting to see if they proceed here with the Milton end `redevelopment'. They have planning permission for that, but as it adds no real increase in capacity and is basically just a cost, there seems little point. Catlin seems to be suggesting that they wont do that first phase until PCC and NR agree to pay for the infrastructure work that they need to start implementing development phases that increase capacity.

...and which game was PEH worthy of MOTM?

The club took a decision a while back to limit the exclusives it gave to third party media and instead focused on providing news direct to fans/customers from its own website. It most certainly was a priority and I'd be surprised if they have changed that philosophy. Traffic to the site is important for sponsors/advertisers - perhaps with our current sponsor that is no longer important?

not good enough or just too expensive? Always rated him myself. He's an upgrade on Gunn. I'm excited at that deal.

I loved watching Saints under Adkins and really appreciated what he did too, however I still cringe at some of the slogans and poetry during the press conferences. I am sure many liked it, but I hated it. Didn't prevent me liking him as a person or a manager - how could you not like a double promotion? Great days. I think Pochetino along with Nik Nak really changed the mentality at the club and I honestly saw us beating absolutely anyone at that time. It felt like we were back to the early eighties and completely dominating teams at home. I am still narked by the under-strength side he put out in the FA cup at Sunderland. We could of won that trophy. I actually think we may have underachieved in the league. Maybe not. Maybe we overachieved. I don't know. We were just excellent, but it all just fizzled out a little bit. Dodd and Gorman, no only kidding, Strachan is my third choice. He really galvanised the club for a while and the side that came eighth were pretty damn good. I think I watched every game home and away during that time period, which sways my judgement. Again, I didn't really go for the quirky interviews, it was more about what we saw on the pitch. Anyone that gets a tune at of FF, as he did, is worthy of a vote.

Tough gig with the debt, squad disharmony and general bad feeling around the club at the moment. They still have some tremendous players there, but hats off to him if he can win the league and get them into a CL semi/final next season.

Must have been a black box data input error there then. Question. When clubs a agree a fee do they then interview the player before signing him? I wonder how many occasions a club has pulled out based on that chat (and not because the agent wants too much money)?

I always wondered how you appraised a players attitude without speaking to the player in depth. Did our scouts speak with players (presumably without the permission from their current clubs) to get this information? I doubt it. That just leaves people close to them, like their current coach, who would have a invested interest in painting a good impressions to help maximise the fee. Do coaches even provide scouts with time to describe their own player? I doubt it. Who does this leave? Local media, family, their agent? Hardly the most reliable of sources. So where does this deep insight come from? Wiki, Google... I call bullshit.

I never thought he had any outstanding attributes (pace, strength, height) that would enable him to score lots of goals in the top flight, but he has always had an eye for a goal, finishes well and gets in good positions. Players like Kevin Philips scored plenty of goals when stepping up to the Prem, despite lacking pace, so it is possible. He certainly hasn't set the world alight for Sheffield United in the top flight, but he was younger and dare I say it, a little sharper when playing for us, so maybe he would have made a bigger impact. I thought coming off the bench he might have been useful, but I guess we had to make room for others. If one of those was is Mayuka, then you know it wasn't a great decision.

Mouctar Diakhaby would add height at CB, but he looked a little clumsy on the ball. A lot quicker than Vestergaard. Jose Gaya might be worth a look. He has a nice left foot and decent going forward.

Agreed. You'd think any renewal or cancelation would need to take place 3 months before in order for the club to have time to find a replacement, but if the contract is with yourself perhaps you didn't bother with a contract. The whole thing is bizarre

Is the £12m fee after add ons have been included or are there no add ons for KWP? Adam's tweet is not 100% clear. What are the add ons? Are they amounts that will definitely be paid no matter what (but occur after a period of time) or are they fees that are dependant on games, trophies or another set of criteria that may or may not need to be paid? Of course, if the KWP add ons are when he plays 20 games, whilst Hoj's are when Spurs win the CL, then they are not comparable, but I am guessing they are similar. I think £12m is probably the going rate for a fullback of KWP's experience. I liked what KWP did going forward and he showed decent pace. Not convinced by his positioning or back post prowess, but hopefully he can improve there. Loved his commitment to the cause. No idea if £18m is fair for Hoj, with one year left. There are certainly some crazy prices bandied about for players with 12 months left on contracts, but this feels about right, especially in the current financial climate. As always, the question is how we spend the money to replace him, assuming we do.

would it not be a percentage of the profit, of which there wont be much, rather than fee?

is he any good then? The Youtube video I just watched shows a strong athletic player that looks pretty comfortable on the ball (although maybe taking a few risks), but he does seem to dive in a bit. You need to be positive and Fonte used to do that and he turned out pretty damn well.

The best set of Under Armour Saints shirts/kits by far. The rest have almost all been shite. Happy days.

can you provide a bit of detail relating to your Wood, Ripley, Palmer and Hughes selections please?

Good post. I remember his comments about joining a small club with the aim of progressing so that he can a few years down the line play for a big club. You are right, his honesty was/is refreshing, but as a result is it possible for fans to feel any great connection with such a player? I would guess most forgot his words and rightly concentrated on what he did or didn't do on the pitch. After Lallana (who I actually thought might become the next Saints legend) I'm not sure I'll ever be terribly fussed about a Saints player again, no matter how many goals they score for us. Thus I won't be wishing him well. I don't really care enough about him to do so.

yes, but if he stays then we are down £25m, then come next summer we have £0 to work with to sign his replacement. Saints do not want that. It's very bad business.

would be surprised if there is. A transfer is a major announcement and the club will usually pick a non-match day to announce it.

good shout. Very good player at Leeds and made the step up with ease at Bournemouth (didn't he make an England squad or two?), but not sure he has been quite the same player since coming back fro the cruciate ligament injury last season.

Good comparison. Targett got rave reviews in the championship and that was why Villa signed him. KWP hasn't had the same press, but has looked a better player than Targett ever did. I think `want' or `need' to sell are two key considerations. Spurs want to sell KWP. No doubt about it. They want his wages gone so they can spend the elsewhere. I am not sure we felt the same way about Targett last summer. For that reason, we might get a better deal for KWP, but we'll see. As for Hoj, who would have spent £35m on him last summer? No one. The fact he only has a year left is what makes him attractive. I've been amazed at the fees paid over the last couple of season for many players in the last year of their contract. I've never rated Hoj, but if Spurs want him they must see a top player and thus should be paying top dollar. `£25m and falling', feels light, although with the pandemic, who knows.

interesting the different tones in those two stories (Guardian and Telegraph) to what has gone before. Both seem to suggest that Spurs hold many, if not all the cards and will low ball us knowing that's where the player wants to go. Havjng set a £25m benchmark, now Spurs know what to under cut. I wonder if Saints will try to play hard ball and refuse any offer below that figure despite knowing that they will have an unhappy player and an asset that will depreciate to £0 in 12months time? The game of poker begins, but the concept of a bidding war looks to have ended. Watch the tone of the KWP transfer change in the near future to that of Spurs not needing to sell and Saints desperate to land their man. The reality is that Spurs want Hoj (the board won't want to disappoint Mourinho) and don't want KWP (the board want to free up wages).

No complaints from me about how much we have spent. After our previous financial meltdown I'm always very nervous when I see spending exceed income and the need for loans to tide us over until the SKY money comes in. It's not just about transfer fees anyway. The £115m wage bill shows that we are willing to spend.