VectisSaint

I didn't see all of the game, but he was actually quite poor last night, compared with other games I have seen. I guess it was partly to do with the early booking, but he was struggling with some sort of injury in the closing stages. Brentford were also a very effective team going forward so he was up against it anyway. Don't take that performance as a true measure of how effective he has been for them.

The last 3 Dutchmen we purchased were actually Hoedt, Martina and van Dijk. I think VvD was definitely Prem class, even if he was a cock.

Missed that (reported 30 June) , at least that's settled then until next year.

Does that mean we have extended his loan into the 20/21 season? I know things are a bit weird at the moment, but how does that work, surely his loan ended when the 2019/20 season ended. Not that it really matters, don't think we will ever see him back in a Saints shirt (hopefully).

No, he really wasn't very good in the first place, made to look decent because of what was in front of him.

But it's exactly what you do if you know that you're not wanted, even if you want to stay. Fonte was pushed out by Reed, who was trying to build everything around VvD including making him captain. Stupidity from Reed, I certainly don't have any negative views of JF, think he was a victim and was treated appallingly by Reed.

Well that's all pretty clear then.

He was, but he has been pretty good most of the season, by all accounts, their defence is the big difference this season.

Forster wasn't able to kick it long either, his kicks seemed always to go into touch, maybe a result of his early rugby playing. He is (or was) terrible with his feet, whether it is short or long. Not that Macca is that good either.

They do have an East Gate though. Does have a very similar look and feel to West Quay https://www.eastgate-berlin.de/das-center/

He wasn't. Nearly cost us the 2nd with his terrible pass, Billy Sharp (?) should have buried that. Also was lucky with his handling on the edge of the area, wasn't given as handball so can't be counted as an error but it was certainly dodgy. Maybe could have done better with their goal after Vestegaard's calamity but maybe that's being harsh, also got away with mistake when Romeu cleared from near the line. Still he did make a top drawer save. But he certainly wasn't solid throughput by any stretch of the imagination. Don't think we were that good throughout as a team yesterday. Very good second half performance papered over a very poor first half where we should have been 2 or 3 down. Still, a 3-1 win is a 3-1 win. Thought Adams goals were both very well taken, great footwork, don't think he got the credit deserved for those goals (indeed not sure the Sky tater even realised he had scored the first).

In a word, no.

Really, I took that to mean people like Harrison Reed who have impressed while on loan. Obviously Forster has impressed, but can't really say the same about the others you listed or any of the other for that matter.

Palmerston North is heaven compared with Portsmouth.

Met up with Jim Steele once when he ran a pub in the Cotswolds, really nice bloke.

True, Ossie would have been worth much higher wages than that 😉

Puncheon

Did very well, unlike many young debutant he looked confident. Difficult first half but having to play alongside Vestegaard what do you expect.

Tommy Forecast, not even the best goalkeeper in this picture.

JWP never showed tenacity, until very recently. Think you must be thinking of someone else. It was always what his game lacked in the early days, oh and pace, and tackling ability, and and and. Credit though recently he has changed and put many of these things right.

Learned 2 things tonight Vestergaard should be nowhere near the team Never subs ribe to BT Sport, these taters are just the pits.

Haha, sort of guessed you'd pop up here.

I doubt that Ralph will change much at all. We need to be going into this wanting to win and starting to make our home performances as strong as away. This is an ideal opportunity to get that started. Maybe he will tinker with the second striker, otherwise leave well alone if he can.

Still, could have been worse, we could have had the scouse git whining and moaning. In most respects Neville is reasonably objective and talks a lot of sense, the Romeu thing was an exception. He was otherwise very complimentary. Is it true though what they said that Romeu has never been red carded for us?

Exactly, that's why we would have had to loan him out like other young CBs. On the other hand Bednarek joined in 2017, would he have been signed if we had Mings on our books at the time. Who knows? My comment about not releasing him was slightly tongue in cheek, I think there are a good many people on this forum that don't even realise he was a Saints youngster. I don't actually think he would ever come back anyway, there was a certain amount of bad feeling when he was released, his old man (Adie) was a youth coach at the time. Not exactly sure of the timing but he left about the time that our youth budget was slashed prior to Markus Liebherr taking over.