Lee On Solent Saint

It's going to take him the rest of the season to get match fit!

£10m would be about right. Fuck the add ons off the deal.

Much better than Guy Whittingham or the fella who does the Bournemouth games. All they ever do is say how good their teams are. Never any criticism of performances

Let's fuckin hope so

It was. Think it went unoticed at the time.

Yeah, I don't particulary rate him, but on the other hand I don't trust SR to find a suitable replacement.

Am not a massive fan of selling Armstrong in this window. Yes he is limited, but he still offers something. We should have dumped him off in the summer really. Appreicate it might be a decent fee, but will it go down that much if we keep him on for the rest of the season?

Total agree. He's no better than the other twats involved

Ross Stewart until the 23rd minute when he pulls up with yet another injury

But we are happy enough to sell Armstrong to either Wrexham or Middlesbrough

If you say so.

Because he misses more chances than he actually scores from. We need somebody more clinical in front of goal. Fed up with him missing chances such as the one on Sunday.

Armstrong needs to go, no doubt about it. But it should be at the end of this season. Don't feel comfortable selling to a potential play off rival, even if that maybe an outside chance.

Here, the rivalry is closer to the whole of the truth and it is kept relatively in-house. Portsmouth and Southampton might not win another trophy between them in the next 50 years; the chances are probably in favour of that slightly bleak reality. But you will always have that day when you won away at them. 6. The weather There is nothing anyone can do about this: the best derbies, particularly between comparatively non-elite teams, are played in wind and rain. You get the obvious advantages: ball zipping quicker across the pitch, potential problems of goalkeeper handling, the chance of a defensive mistake and sliding tackles extending further. But there is also a temporary seasonal affective disorder that seems to affect players in these conditions, as if the stormy weather has whipped up their own tension to the point of overflowing. So yeah: “It was the rain and wind that made me push that bloke into an advertising hoarding.” 7. The fight Southampton’s Flynn Downes clashes with Zak Swanson of Portsmouth (Photo: Getty) Referee Lewis Smith deserves huge credit for managing Sunday’s game expertly: every decision right, didn’t bring out yellows early, calmed down nonsense and dealt with the one big scrap sensibly. But that fight was monumental. A clash on the far touchline led to first a two-person altercation and then a melee that involved all 22 players. Every time you see both goalkeepers pushing opposition players around near the halfway line, you know they have lost control. At that point Fratton became a boxing crowd, urging vengeance and violence with some of those fans roughly a metre from the scrap. Smith had little choice but to watch the pockets of trouble from a distance, like an ice hockey official working out who to send to the sin bin. Obviously nobody likes to see this (ahem). 8. The goal celebrations There were two goals, diametrically opposite in aesthetic. Southampton’s opener involved a beautiful touch-and-pass in one movement from Finn Azaz and a fine run and finish from Leo Scienza. Ebou Adams equalised from a set-piece aerial scramble with an accusation of handball over the bundled finish. But they shared something brilliant. With Scienza scoring at the opposite end to the away supporters, he ran the entire length of the North Stand, cupping his ear as he went, to end his sprint in front of the red-and-white mass. So what did Adams do? He ran the entire length of the North Stand, whipping up his arms as he went, and ended his own 100-yard run at one corner of the Fratton Stand. Was this grown-up behaviour? Absolutely not. Was it wonderful for a watching neutral? Oh yes. 9. The laughable idiots The Portsmouth pitch invader is escorted off the pitch by a steward (Photo: Getty) After Southampton scored the opener, one Portsmouth-leaning chap did an immediate homage, getting onto the pitch and ambling all the way down to the Southampton supporters. He did so without a steward stopping him. The gentleman proceeded to goad the away end, indicated that he had a large appendage and then pulled up his shirt to reveal a significant belly – all paid for – as he was being led away. Hope it was worth it. Later in the half, another Portsmouth fan got on – nearer the away end this time. As well as being taunted by the away supporters, he was also targeted with a metal crutch that then – amusingly – had to be passed back up through the Southampton supporters by the stewards. Both supporters were led away and will presumably not attend a match at Fratton for a very long time; they are a pair of dolts. But these are also the scenes nobody likes to see that you secretly like to see a bit. 10. The scoreline The derby finished 1-1. It became stretched towards the end and Portsmouth looked the more likely to score, but were also absolutely knackered by the energy expended in getting back into the game against a supposedly higher class, and certainly more expensively assembled, opponent. I am calling it: 1-1 is the perfect derby scoreline. It has to be a draw, because football has somehow been deliberately designed to make the vast majority of us never quite reach the top or bottom of the emotional spectrum; there is always another peak to climb or barrel to be scraped. And 1-1 fits in everything we need from a derby snugly. It is never not competitive. Both sets of supporters get the moment of elation, be it taking the lead or celebrating an equaliser. Both get the fear too: “We are losing in the worst game possible” and “We have cocked it up despite leading”. And you walk out of Fratton, whether you are a Portsmouth fan, Southampton fan or me, feeling simultaneously sated and wanting more. You hate derby days until the final whistle, at which point you can’t wait for the next one. And that is exactly how it should always be. Your next read How did he manage to get a ticket?

Extending to his finishing is a constant theme for Armstrong.

Yeah. Agree with that. It does seem to be thing down there. Scienza really should have brought it to the ref's attention. Hopefully he might make mention of the lighter that was thrown at Wellington whilst he was taking a throw in

Yep. Swept under the carpet because they are the bested supporters in the world.

We ended up being dragged down to their level in the end. The only way they were getting anything was making it a scrap and not a football match. For all their media propaganda they were absolutely shite. We should have won comfortably but became too interested in petty squabbles.

I think the pre-planned subs are a thing for us at the moment. I really do believe he's listening too much to the sports science and analyst guys.

He played a straight bat when talking to Blackmore after the game. More or less said he's under contract here and will be happy to stay.

Absolutely fuckin love the guy

Needs to cut out the needless fouls. Possibly trying too hard to make an impression.

Am pretty glad we don't actually act like that in the main. For all their propaganda about being the best supporters in the world they are a bunch of cunts. Sky should be ashamed of themselves showing that twat Westwood.

Maybe they will get Martin after all

Would happily see Armstrong moved on, although I do think it should be at the end of the season.