eurosaint

So many posters seem to blindly accept that playing a weaker team means sacrificing the cup in favour of league position ! Surely the counter argument is that a good cup run helps continue winning games and keeps the momentum and team spirit high ! If Mopo was really intent on achieving 8th spot (or higher) he might well have been better served by his 'best eleven' in the cup tie ! Given this scenario, it would be absurd to suggest that he makes his decisions based on potential financial gain !

The assumption seems to be that he played a team with a view to not winning which I personally doubt very much ! It was not our 'recognised best eleven' but my guess is that he considered that we could still get a positive result particularly as we had a very strong bench as a back up ! As I mentioned previously, he must surely have made his selection with the best of intentions and not with any underlying or surreptitious sub-plot ! Mistake maybe, but not a question of sacrificing a trophy in favour of extra (personal) financial reward. That I don't believe even although Alpine_Saint considers me to be extremely naive !!

I am talking about our manager, on Tuesday night there was talk of fending off Real Madrid and how it was crucial that we extend his contract ASAP ! After today he has been castigated for his team selection and serious questions are being asked ! Assuming that his powers of judgement did not desert him within the space of 4 days, what is it to be ? IMO he could have gotten away with a substandard performance if SRL had tapped in a sitter from a yard or we hadn't conceded a 'worldly' , in any case the margins are very fine ! As a self confessed 'happy clapper' (although I prefer the term true and loyal supporter!) I consider that nobody is perfect and that his decisions today were made with the best intentions and it just didn't work out as he had hoped, there are those who imply that he is motivated by bonus agreements based on league position which I don't buy ! Shame that we can be divided like this but c'est la vie and we move on ...

Jobby !

I don't know why you all get so hot under the collar, they are just a bunch of inbred c*nts ! Treat them with the contempt they deserve, I say, mind you the last 95,250 posts have provided a few laughs along the way !

Like many players he benefits from a run in the side, coming on as a sub or just getting the odd game makes it very difficult, especially in central defence where a partnership is vital and mistakes can be very costly ! He has been a contender for MoM in the last couple of matches and personally I'm made up for him

I worked there for 15 years and spent 5 years as a resident ex-pat so am probably a bit biased (in favour!) but feel that the above is fair, objective comment ! Like most places if you visit once on a rainy day and don't have a great experience then your opinion will be skewed ! So22saint has been to 60 countries and counts Belgium as the worst, well I can match/beat that and can't imagine that there are 59 better ! Pretty subjective argument but I'd have Brussels in my top ten !

Am normally at the game but right now am in Cape Town and can only follow this match thread. Amazed at how negative and Skatelike some of the comments are ! How can anyone LoL when we concede ??

Tragic, I assume that his dad was still a young man, it will take a lot out of the lad in the short term but at the same time it puts football into perspective ! RIP Richard Gallagher.

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/pompey/butler-eyeing-butler-injury-return-before-season-s-end-1-5853111 Top journalism, I reckon that 'Factless' has surpassed himself, surely it should read "Barker eyeing Butler return" !

My son-in-law was born in Coventry but in spite of this I've signed the petition Seriously though, its a bl**dy disgrace that this situation has come about and I wish their fans all the best for a happy resolution to the problem !

He is suffering from a condition known as 'Skateism', it's not particularly widespread, in fact there are only about 14,000 sufferers these days whereas 6 years ago almost 250,000 were spotted on Southsea Common alone

For the sake of accuracy and fairness, the £300mil was quoted as being for the season ie. a mere £13.04mil per match ! This equates to approximately £1000 per person attending, on top of the £12 ticket price of course ! Pompey maths, eh ??

Assuming that we finish 8th or 9th this season then the next level could realistically only be 6th or 7th IMO ! Arse, Chelski, City, Utd and a resurgent Liverpool should be gauranteed as top 5 which only leaves Everton, Spurs, Newcastle to compete with ! Even this is a very big ask, but possible only if we retain our best players and add 3 or 4 more top quality additions ! Going to be difficult to improve on this season particularly if we manage to progress further in the FA cup !

"Clutch my crutch"!

What's all this nonsense about 'enormous debt' ? I'm certain that the chairman ( Champagne Ian McInnes) declared to the world that they were 'debt free' ! Something does not add up here , I'm very disturbed at this sudden turn in their fortunes

Had a similar experience last year ( except we only drew!) Be a pity to see them go, would much prefer WHU, Sunderland and Stoke !

Yoshida has proved that he is a competent back up CB in the PL ! As an established international, having played against the likes of Germany and Brazil, it would be difficult to find someone else willing to sit on the bench for much of the season and then come in and perform as he does ! For sure, he is not 'world class' but right now he is the best back up that we have !!

I voted Yoshida as MoM, never put a foot wrong and (given that he is not a regular) felt that he read the play superbly and contributed to a solid back line performance ! Many have said that we were poor in the first half but I prefer to consider that we contained the opposition with a view to breaking them down later with increased impetus and creativity ! The fact is that Fulham are in pretty deep relegation trouble and were always going to be more vulnerable the longer the match went on and that is how it panned out ! COYS

I've just done a wee-wee in my pants...... Lubbly jubbly, great day, just opening a nice bottle of my finest white burgundy ! Deep joy

Having watched the performance v Arsenal without Lovren, Clyne, Wanyama Ramirez and Lambert I would say that we are still in a pretty good place ! Sure it would be nice to replace the nutcase should it be confirmed that he has left but there is absolutely no need to make any panic buy in this window !

I think we only paid something like £350k for him so to get £1.75mil plus some previous loan fee amounts, we made a substantial profit on a player who is clearly deemed as dispensible ! Not bad business really !

If the Skates show an interest then obviously we would have no chance

Did I notice Steve De Ridder in that video or is it just a lookalike ??

Nah, that can't be, the original is safely stored in Terry the builder's warehouse