suewhistle

That has always seemed to be the likeliest reason to me, and wouldn't be the first such player. Perhaps he's already been tapped up by someone?

Cheers! 🙂 My usual procedure is to leave the pub with my friends at about 20 minutes to kick off (various pubs apply!) but this game it will be more like checking in at Gatwick so a fair bit more planning to do. A right pain for anybody still working.. I'll be missing football training but as they're all Pompey supporters they can't afford to give me too much grief!

Forgot about this until about two minutes ago and checked my emails. Clicked on the link, took me in and had bought a ticket in less than a minute. It's in block 47/48 which vague memory tells me is where the away supporters usually are? Now I've got to remind myself when the game actually is! Earlier today I had my second vaccination so every little increment on the safety aspect helps. Even the concourses are well ventilated so I think the risk will be minimal but as in all things in life you can't eliminate them completely but just take sensible precautions.

You forgot Bednarek and the keepers... It would be good if we could improve on all of them but not much chance. None of them bad players but all lacking that final je ne sais quoi, and it really shows when they are off form or not 100% fit. Redmond has looked more direct in the last couple of games and you can't fault Minamino's efforts and runs, but neither has really clicked. Yesterday's win might help the confidence of all of them. Looking forward to next season, shouting at all of them on a screen is no substitute for being there at the ground, when I tend to be more positive.

Well... I heard the first goal on radio Solent as I arrived home, scrolled this thread to find a stream and saw the depressives at work and eventually found one on Firstrowsports after Ings' goal: "Southampton showing good intensity here".. :-). It was impressive how we streamed forward on that break but the positioning was crap, at least as bad as our 4 on 2 exercises at training tonight! The stream dropped out for the penalty award but I got it back for the save. Perhaps I was lucky not to see the first 5 minutes!

Loved this quote from The Guardian from tonight's game:

Yep.. Haven't seen the rest of the thread post match as I never learn much new apart from confirming who I think is a prat. He was attacking and getting past people a lot more than recently. Still not impressed with his shooting mind!

At least my niece is happy. She supports Cambridge United, lives fairly locally and I told her before the game that Pompey would help out by staying down to give her a convenient game. Back in the day I went to The Goldstone ground with her but Brighton managed to escape.. It does seem that American owners are no guarantee of success..

Means that at least we have one decent sub on the bench!

I'm in the last group but without going through my diary I can't for the life of me remember what game I went to. I thought I didn't because I was in a lockdown area, but maybe I did see one of Saint's less memorable games..!

According to the preview in The Guardian our subs are from:..Subs from Forster, Lewis, Nlundulu, Finnigan, Ferry, Chauke, Watts, Tchaptchet, Jankewitz, Ramsay, Salisu, Obafemi. Shows the strength in depth of our squad..

This pretty well summarises my feelings. We can all appreciate the difficulty refs have particularly with the speed of the game at that level and until now we could give officials the benefit of the doubt as they didn't have the replays that we see sat in comfort on our sofas. But they do now..

😁

I look forward to reading the VAR conversation for last night's match...

Thanks again. I've used a number of your links and been pretty successful and never had the time to say thank you. Could you also do something about the fact that I've mostly wished I hadn't watched! 🙂

But it obviously won't stop you being a *anker. There is obviously no single line up that will stop the complaints so I'm back to my guest and see you all later.

Yep, he definitely hasn't got the pace for that.. I'm sure I saw complaints when we didn't throw Vestergaard forward and now I'm seeing complaints when we do. Complaining about no plan B and then complaining when we change personnel (whether enforced or not) and change formation. Asking for subs and then moaning about them. What I see from a lot of posters is the confidence they are right and denigrating others' opinions. This is a sad place at the moment, and not just because we're playing badly. I find the unremitting negativity from some people tiring and I find myself coming on here less and less.

Whoops, I didn't realise it had been changed to Friday night. That would have been depressing, waking up on Saturday to see they'd already lost. It's not as if I wasn't already expecting to be a bit grumpy over the weekend..

I'm no lip reader but they showed Ings at half time and I think he was muttering to himself 'F*** me'! Whether that was the score or the effort he's put in I'm not sure but we certainly deserve that lead. Salisu showing his lack of experience a bit but his pace is really useful. The tackling has so much more bite to it tonight and even if we don't get the win this half has reminded us what we can do.

I never seem to have enough time to say thanks as I'm too busy closing pop-ups but this one looks good. Thanks again..

Not like you to make an over the top and exaggerated comment. FWIW I'm not particularly confident tonight but people have been calling for change, complaining about Bertrand, Diallo, Redmond etc., and when we get a change, whether tactical or personnel it's never acceptable and everybody has their own idea of what should be done. When we do a high press (as with Spurs at home) there are complaints, when we take a conservative approach as in the first half in the semi likewise. We do seem to have difficulty changing gear and upping the tempo. Oh well.. off to find a stream and finish my second G&T..

Gin and tonic here (domestic measure..). Actually I was getting ready for my birthday tomorrow and I always get depressed on my birthday, so I'll start early..

Well, I've got a grass roots game at 2pm, then take the goal posts down, home, hot bath, then out ready for the line-ups and the nervous wait for the second kick off. I'm not optimistic but certainly haven't written them off. It would be good to see a few London Saints in the crowd as my screams at the screen won't have much impact..

Does anyone know hackedoff's real identity? Just in case...

Cazzo.