Fitzhugh Fella

Your last line makes a good point

Good question. I know MP rated Gallagher highly which tells me something and I saw enough of him in last season's U21 cup run to think he had what it takes. But Koeman did nothing to give him encouragement and he went to MK Dons just to get game time. Soon after he arrived Robinson signed Maynard which meant he was been on the bench ever since so his opportunities have been restricted. Of course you could argue he should have forced his way into Robinson's team but with the Dons fighting relegation the manager is reluctant to experiment with a rookie. Leading a forward line is a tough job and one that takes a lot of confidence and time on the pitch with the manager displaying faith in you. Not sure Koeman and Robinson are the ideal managers to do that but I wouldn't mind betting MP is watching from afar.

You make some fair points but before moving on and still on the subject of Gallagher my point is I don't think he has been given a chance by Koeman. He was injured when Koeman pitched up, scored a truly great goal in the U21 final when he regained fitness but ever since Koeman has ignored him. He needs to give him a go especially as Rodriguez is injured and Pelle's knee needs a rest. There is a likelihood Gallagher's loan at MK Dons will be terminated at the beginning of next month so the timing couldn't be better.

r He scored twice from just two starts if memory serves and then he got injured in pre season which sidelined him for 6 months, so quite hard to press on as you put it. Once fit Koeman put him on the bench just once, away to Leicester, but despite us getting well beaten declined to give him any game time when even a few minutes would has boosted his confidence. Since then RK has ignored him and he has loaned him out.

Although RK improved our league position by one place (wow) the standard of football under MP the previous season was significantly better. And MP was prepared to blood youngsters - Gallager for instance featured in half our Premier Lg games in 13-14.

A fair read. MP is a better manager without a doubt but getting rid of Koeman now would be a folly. He needs to change his attitude towards the young players, get the current squad fitter and realise that the likes of Pelle and Tadic aren't scrappers.

Don't think Guy Askham would agree with some aspects of the above

This

I don't think we are fit enough I don't think the side has character Hardly anyone can shoot accurately Get those things right and we might yet stand a chance.

Something is not right when our one creative player has been subbed 24 times in 38 Premiership starts

Pompey fans don't run their club, they've just been tricked into thinking they do. HTH

I see even Koeman is now mentioning the relegation word, don't tell Dalek

Corrected this for you

The Queen Bee of the Saints forum has spoken, I suggest we all bow down to her greater knowledge

Excellent post

It would but the bottom line is if he was doing the business on the pitch consistently then he wouldn't be subbed.

my views on Tadic are well known so I won't wind his supporters up any more except to say he has only started and finished the 90mins for us a total of 15 times in the Premiership. He has had 37 starts and been subbed 21 times. For me that is nowhere good enough for a player who costs what he did and who is our only true creative player.

Not sure it was a "bad" injury as you put it, also he has only played 6 times because he can't get into the team not because he is injured. I am not writing him off but at the same time for someone who cost as much as him I have to admit I am disappointed. Other players like van Dijk seem to have handled the transition into the premiership and he wasn't even an international.

He's on a learning curve you say - he is a World Cup semi finalist surely we can't teach him that much?

So why was he and not Juanmi our third impact sub? Bizarre

In the old days lots of fans would have settled for a home draw in the expectation that we could win and progress and maybe even win the FA Cup. Years of failure seem to have driven the expectation out of us.

Really a million times better? If Tadic is so bloody good why does Koeman always sub him?

Long cost the same as Tadic and overall contributes more when on the pitch imo

we need to address our weak underbelly - call for Kevin Nolan, we need his nastiness