St Louis

Not being pedantic, just questioning Luggy's memory... as he was never in our Youth Team, we signed him at 20 and straight into the Premier League first team. He'd just scored 39 goals in 42 games as a striker for his previous two clubs. I don't think he was ever a defender?

Firstly, I'm not defending Still for one second.... But statements like this are just ridiculous. You have no idea what was said behind closed doors!? Maybe Still was also telling the board that Bazunu wasnt good enough, maybe they listened and started looking at Peretz who wasnt available at that time, etc and told him they would work on bringing one in for him in January, but make do for now and see how it goes (which they did). You have no idea either that Tonda didn't rate Bazunu and demanded a quick change, as others have said, the managers have less say than ever in these things.

Thankfully not everyone 😉 So good to see how well he is playing though, I think the fact he scored with his first touch and hit the ground running has really helped him too. If he had gone a few games without a goal, I'm sure we wouldnt be seeing the same player now...

I'm not debating that, and much prefer the current squad and the attack we have. But I still dont think Armstrong is to blame for our poor first half to the season at all.

You're blaming Adam Armstrong for us not going up? I assume you mean the sale of him rather than his performance? We were a shambles in the first half of the season, but he managed 11 goals and 4 assists before he left, and is still our top scorer.

I know that every club can look back at a season and all of the If's and But's... But... it's so frustrating that we didn't beat Bristol City last Tuesday, as we would have it in our own hands now for Top 2 🫣

Definitely quicker, probably not as strong as Wood though or as composed or organised (cant believe I'm saying that) as current Stephens. I'm not convinced... I still think I'd go with Stephens or Wood ahead of him. There is definitely some potential there (although I dont think we will see it at Saints, as I reckon he will leave this summer), and maybe an occasion like this is too soon (and big) to drop him into.

I hadn't really thought about that and was personally hoping Jack would come back in with his leadership, and being better on the ball than Wood (IMHO). But I think you're right, Haaland bullies the defenders, so maybe Wood might be a better option for this one. Haaland is also deceptively quick, who is the quicker of Wood and Stephens?

That's the 'club', not the 'fans'. Important distinction. As others have said, a proper fanbase (most of them) who support their local team and must have had the ride of their lives a decade ago, they must be gutted how fast its turned south since then. I wont lose any sleep over their relegation, but I'd certainly get more joy if Spurs (and many of their plastic 'Big 6' fans) get relegated from the Premier League this season.

Frankie Bennett certainly had the credentials.... and he knows how to deliver under pressure! SOUTHAMPTON have agreed an initial fee of £10,000 for the Halesowen Town striker Frankie Bennett, a 22-year-old Birmingham hotel waiter. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/sport-in-short-football-1475189.html

The club dont like to use him in our Wembley games (see May '03), not one for the big occasions. Chris Baird potentially?

🎵Whatever will be, will be. We're going to Wemberley...🎵 (and you said we will never lose again!)

I would imagine Will Still had absolutely zero say in the Dom Ballard transfer. In the summer when he left, as well as Stewart and Archer who are still here, we also had Onuachu, Juan, Brereton Diaz and Armstrong on the books. And were in the process of signing Downes. You can see why we let him go and why he wanted to go, as at the time he wasnt ahead of any of those 6 and was coming off the back of lots of injury issues and 3 unsuccessful loans in League One (he'd only scored 6 goals in 45 League One games and not shown much promise). I'd also be confident that all 6 of those strikers would score as many (or more) than Ballard in League One (OK... maybe not Downes!)

I've also been really impressed with Bragg's strength, given his slight stature. I was watching players bounce off of him last night, and he got between opposition player and ball so often and more often than not shielded them off and came away with the ball. That's pretty impressive for someone so young (and small) and relatively new to first team football. I think he is a player that could see even more improvement in the coming years as he matures (with experience) and bulks up.

Im not being particularly helpful here, but I would suggest calling the club and checking on that. Would seem harsh if hospitality didnt count as buying/attending a home game.

Really hoping we can get the Saturday slot, to avoid the chaos of the London Marathon on Sunday, and also a couple of (10) beers after a win will feel more acceptable on a Saturday Eve.

I want us to go strong for this, as surely we do have a chance, albeit a slim one. We arent some League One/Two team who are just here for a fun day out and play teams like this once every 100 years. We were in the same division as them (and have been most seasons) until last summer. Only 10 months ago we drew 0-0 at home to Man City and lost narrowly (1-2 to an 89th min Odegaard goal) to Arsenal themselves. We are probably the best team in the division below them on current form, and definitely have more momentum/confidence than when we last played them, and I dont think our team is much weaker than it was back in May to be honest (certainly not mentally). I dont expect us to win, but surely we do have a (slim) chance and have to go for it big time. Unfortunately, I think Flynn Downes is eactly the sort of player we need in the middle of the park for a game like this (grit, determination, drive, aggression - we cant be soft and let them play their game), so its such a shame he's missing this one, which makes our chances slimmer.

In the summer when he left, as well as Stewart and Archer who are still here, we also had Onuachu, Juan, Brereton Diaz and Armstrong on the books. And were in the process of signing Downes. You can see why we let him go and why he wanted to go, as at the time he wasnt ahead of any of those 6 and was coming off the back of lots of injury issues and 3 unsuccessful loans in League One (he'd only scored 6 goals in 45 League One games and not shown much promise). Now in hindsight... he looks like he could be becoming the player we all thought he might (if he could stay injury free), so I'm really pleased for him. I do hope if this continues, that we did include some kind of buy-back or first-option clause in his sale (but I havent heard anywhere that we did).

Exactly my thoughts. They usually do say when its nothing serious and is good news. Hoping Tonda has a press conference tomorrow and we get a (positive) update on Scienza and Stewart, as both are so important to us for the run-in.

They are like a completely different team this year (10 wins & 3 defeats since the turn of the year). They aren't out of the playoff picture just yet, I think this will be a way harder test than many imagine. I think they'll come here to win, not just (low block) defend, as they need to catch us in the table, and a point doesnt really help them.

My mate placed an order with the same seller (via Bender) on 24th Feb, he had the initial order confirmation email, but had nothing since. Is that how it was for you, or did you get a dispatch email or anything? Also, how long did it take from ordering to arrival for you, my mate ordered 2 weeks ago today.

Oh, and I also much prefer the whole football experience of us being in The Championship (rather than Premier League)... no VAR, proper clubs with proper fan bases, no 'big 6' (or 8 or whatever it is now!), no SSN and mainstream media fawning over the only (big) clubs that matter, no turning up expecting to lose most weeks. I prefer the feeling of us being one of the better teams in a lesser league. It's a weird paradox to be in though, as I also want us to win all remaining games to get in the Playoffs, and then win the final at Wembley to put ourselves through it all again.

Mine is kind of similar.... Whilst I DO hate P*mpey (and I'll never forget them pelting us with rocks as we left Fratton in '04), but.... I would still prefer (and have FAR more respect for) someone who lives down this end of the country if they supported Portsmouth, than if they 'support' Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal, etc from their armchair. My biggest bug bear is people who don't support their local team (or team their Dad supported, etc), I instantly dont look at them the same way, whereas I would respect someone who said they supported Portsmouth if they live that way. However, I do take great joy in asking the plastic Liverpool fans "Are you looking forward to the World Cup this summer, who are you going to support?". The confusion in their face is priceless

I see that Manuel Neuer has suffered a calf muscle tear, they wouldn’t recall Peretz would they? 🤔

I'm not sure how people on here (or even the mainstream media) would really know whether certain players have that clause or not, so I'd take it with a pinch of salt. And even if true, your comparison is based on a video game. In the real world, I would imagine there are many players who you'd want to sign who wouldn't agree to those terms. I know in hindsight it could f*ck them up (if true), but hardly going to entice a player to join a Premier League (or just relegated to The Champ) team is it? "We are ambitious and planning on a quick return to the top echelons of the Prem, but by the way, I want you to agree to a 50% paycut if we end actually up in League One". I'm sure if you really want to sign a top player (and sell the club to him and his agent), you may have to leave some clauses out and hope you can sell them if all goes tits up.