Chez

its tempting

Very quiet on the selling front. I guess I was being over optimistic that Saga would be snapped up the day the window opened. However, I'm surprised the Gillett deal has not aready been done. Anyone heard anything about players leaving as this will have a bearing on who we bring in if we are keeping to a budget?

using the term `concrete offer' suggests that we have at least scouted and possibily enquired about his availability etc.

I'd be very interested to hear your suggestions. There is not a CM in the league I'd swap him for.

whenever fit he plays for Forrest. No chance he will be joinign us in January.

I think its the complete oposite. Tell's Stories is effectively jobless. He is completeloy out of the loop at the highest level and has no say on anything these days. He's just passing on what little information has been passed down to him. The only reason he is still there is because he has a contract that they can not afford to pay off at this time.

Malta is very English and doesn't have great beaches IMO. It does have things to see as previously mentioned, but a hire car will be handy. If you want snorkelling then Shem el Sheik is by far and away the best place to go. I wasn't impressed by the food though. I'd have a good look at the weather guides as in Jan/Feb you may struggle to get the hours of sunshine and temperatures you would imagine of these countires.

Luton's strikers weren't the best I've seen this season by a long way.

Why the link with Ward?

why is there all this noise about Ward? Was he linked to us in a paper?

whoever was describing the action to you is clueless IMO. He showed great endevour, a real sharpness, snd ju7st enough quality for a big man. The lad has it IMO. He was fantastic against Millwall and then poor in ht enext couple of home games, but apart from those two games every time I see him I see a player that will go far.

did you not try my `picture Wotton in posession scene' then? What is it that is missing from his game?

I ended up with a small child sat behind me kicking my ****ing seat all game. Who closes a family centre? Madness. It would be nice if the club actually explained their stand closure policy as it makes no sense to me. It felt strange having an entire end closed, almost like a practice game. Why also did the screens only come on in the second half?

and others like me didn't. Two short, slow centre backs is a real long term problem. This is a key area for improvement in my book. Trottman and Jardi looked the real deal earlier in the season. We need to find the right partner for Jardi in this window. We will not make the play offs with Perry as first choice IMO. Thomas is back up only. Never rated him. Massive mistake by Burley.

the 4-5-1 formation was also a factor, and having a dedicated holding central midfielder (wotton) enabled Morgan and Hammond (and Melis) to `run free'. Note that we moved to a 4-4-2 because we started to run out of ideas and penetration. Wotton was dropped for Connelly and we immediately looked more threatening. Difficult choice. Perhaps a 4-5-1 first half and 4-4-2 in the second (bringing on Connelly AND Antonio). No reason why we can't find a better WOtton to play the holding CM role.

Arsenal or skates away please.

Not the best game in the world, but there were certainly positives to take from the game especially how we managed to close the game down in ht efinal ten minutes. We had been poor in the second half and they had got a hold of the game but the tactical substitutions worked totally and no further chances fell their way. Davis 7 nothing to do, one terrible throw out James 4 some poor crossing, got completely beaten for pace by a slow forward and bottled a tackle. Thats about it. Thomas 5 doesn't dominate in the air, is slow and not so sure abot his positional play either, didn't get tight enough, not impressed. He should be stand out against Blue Square attackers Perry 6 did not win a header all game and if he did it didn't clear our lines. One fantastic block in the second half Harding 7 solid as ever but went missing when their best chance was created Antonio 4 he's a sub, use him as a sub. Lots of poor crosses, not enough quality Hammond 6 some good, some bad. I question some of his positional play, but workrate decent Schneiderlin 7 some great, some periods where he disapeared Waigo 3 just looks lost out wide. Did next to nothing. When he gets in forward positions I want to see him going at the fullback. He doesn't want to do that, so what is he doing? Lallana 7 very busy, high workrate, played as the lead striker playing on the shoulder of their CB Lambert 7 my only concern was that he dropped in the hole, which is where Lallana ought to be in this partnership, but what a free kick. He really is a goalmachine. Patterson 7 bright, powerful energetic display. This is the player I said was a diamond last season. Very impressed and so glad he put that poor display at the start of the season behind him. Gobern 6 controlled cameo in the middle. I've said all along he is a Carlton Palmer like CM and at last it has been spotted. Lancashire 6 not on long, but for some reason I felt more confident with him than if Wotton had come on.

They have yet to buy Aruna Dindane, never mind find a buyer for him. He was on loan and if he played 11 games then Pompey would then be required to buy him from Lens. As yet they have not paid Lens hence their Chairman going spare. This is common knowledge so the accuracy of this entire article comes into question if you ask me. Shame.

which Grant is that?

they have cut their wage bill in half and so long as they stay in the Premiership the money will continue to roll in. Can they hold off the creditors until the summer and stay in the top flight though?

maybe, but if the club bares the debts, and the two Al's get £5m worth of land for the £1 they paid for the club, then they've done pretty well (assuming the land is not a PFC asset). As far as I understand it Gaydamak still holds the cards when it comes to the land.

I don't think there is any doubt about this is there? He loaned the club the money, spent it like it went out of fashion then cashed in the loans that they could never afford to take out in the first place. The two Al's effectively just bought the debts perhaps in exchange for the land.

very good point, but £650 to watch CCC standard players is a bloody lot and when our side was asset stripped the summer before last (meaning we were watching League 1 standard players) it lead to a major decline in our own season ticket numbers. Christ, if we had stayed in the top flight and ticket prices had risen to £650 I think I'd have to think twice, and that's from someone that goes home and away, spending a small fortune.

I thought Trottman and Melis were the only ones going back with antonio almost certainly staying? Neither were in Pardews preferred starting 11 in recent times. Our form overall has dipped in the last month or so, so perhaps these slight changes to the squad have come at a perfect time as the squad needs freshening up

you're both right and I think Pardew knows how good/bad he is and will be bringing in another CB, be it Trottman or someone else, and not relying on Lancashire. He's coming back as temporary cover.