RobM

I think Sharp would do well in the Prem, alongside another striker to feed off of and with plenty of supply in the box. He won't suit every style of play, but if you can pepper the box with crosses, he'll convert a healthy amount of them in any league.

I'd love Sharp to stay, but he's too good to warm anyones bench, but not quite good enough to push aside Rickie, JRod and others. He suits a 4-4-2 formation alongside somebody like Rickie, but we just don't play like that.

Flybe, surely?

Yes, for sure. Nothing but respect for him.

I can't honestly see Chappers, SDR and Punch being here past the Jan transfer window, so less playing time for them doesn't seem a huge concern.

Good move for him, about his level too, IMO.

That sort of experience would be a bonus to our relatively young squad. Any Prem experience we can bring in can only be a good thing... the fact he is a very good player who will genuinely add quality is a nice bonus.

Give me attention. Give me attention. Please look at me. I'm important. Give me attention. I know stuff. Give me attention. I'll tell you things you want to know. FFS, why are people bothering me so much.

Nothing wrong with that, he played in the Olympics and Adkins wants to sign him next week. You're reading it incorrectly.

Perhaps we should all chip in and buy NA a faster PC? We'd have signed Messi by now, surely...

I think you answered your own question I think NA is best placed to say whether Phillips will improve us and NC is best placed to say whether we can afford him. If NC is putting himself in a position where he alone can say whether a player can improve us, we're back in the scary days of chairman making their own signings.

You have to be a bit special to think every transfer is as easy or hard as the next, regardless of how good the player is compared to the existing players (i.e. a 'better' player), so I don't understand this current argument. It took Utd six weeks to sign RVP, based on the press coverage of Utd's interest which started immediately after RVP said he wasn't signing a new contract. Same with Kagawa, which they said took 'weeks' of negotiation. I'm sure they wanted both done much quicker, rather than spending weeks and weeks working on it. But does this somehow reflect badly on the club or manager that it wasn't possible? Equally, other signings can take no time at all. If one club wants to sell, another wants to buy and agrees with the valuation and the player wants the move, it'll be simple. Only one part of that has anything to do with the buying club. We all want signings to be instant, but surely we're all experienced enough football fans to know it's not always possible, however positive the intentions were.

Dormant means not active or not growing, so if this very forum is to be believed, that's correct. This forum tells us our transfer activity is poor and we'll struggle this season, it tells us it's just the same as it was two years ago and it tells us we haven't done well enough in pre-season. Seems like the Fulham fan agrees with that sentiment.

I agree, but that's because so much play goes through him that he has to drop deep to collect, hold and distribute it. It seems contradictory to asking him to also play as the single central striker with two wide players... there are times where nobody is left in the middle, far enough forward to get on the end of balls, as Lambert is deep and doesn't have the pace to match those wide players. It's not a massive and regular problem of course, but in the Prem we'll be up against defenders that will mop this up all day.

It's not unfair to say Lambert isn't at his best this pre-season, but wasn't it the same last pre-season? My memory may be letting me down, but I seem to recall similar debates then about his ability to step-up to the NPC based on his pre-season form. Perhaps he's just one of those players that needs to be constantly worked to remain in top-form, so dips a bit when not playing.

Agreed entirely, even if he doesn't get much game time, having him around pushing for a place can only be a good thing. It'll push the rest of the squad to train and perform better if somebody is desperate for their place.

Wow, so slow. I predicted it the night I sat with his Dad's jonnies and a pair of scissors, muttering 'this is for football'...

It's quite clear, surely? Somebody said Adkins 'has not' said we're looking to bring in one if not two CB's, the post above was clarifying that fact with the direct quote where Adkins did indeed say that. That's the point being made.

An accident waiting to happen... again. It's a real shame when a player you respected so much has cleared reached and exceeded his level, as I'm sure we all want Fonte to be comfortable in the Prem.

As unlikely as it seems, I'd love to see Theo back. I also think he'd thrive in our squad and seems the right sort of attitude and personality to fit in well. The only worrying aspect would be how much higher is wages would be than all others, which is bound to have a negative impact somewhere down the line. But purely on footballing terms, he'd fit in extremely well and suit us perfectly. I can't see it happening, but stranger things have. When starting L1 on -10, how realistic did billionaire owners and Prem football seem in this timeframe? That needed investment (transfers and behind the scenes) that make this transfer rumour look cheap.

One thing that concerned me today was the lack of 'bite' up front. We manage to get the ball into the box with relative ease, even against a team as solid and disciplined as Ajax, but we seem to be missing something when we get there. Lambert is so involved in the build up he is rarely in the 6-yard box, JRod was out wide a lot (as he was seemingly told to be), which left us with few options. IMO, if we're going to use Lambert in the way we did yesterday, he needs somebody like JRod or Sharp further forward. Otherwise, the only thing I can complain about is Fonte. As much as I rated him in L1 and even the NPC, I don't think he's quick enough mentally nor reliable enough for the Prem. He's a second behind the pace and prone to silly mistakes, which in his position will hurt us. So all-in-all a really good game, a good performance and an encouraging sign of things to come.

Only if they aren't quick enough. First come, first served is a pretty simple rule to understand.

It's a bit dumb, narrow-minded perhaps, to think that one TV appearance will suddenly make him worth a huge sum of money. People in the game will know all about Butland already, one live TV appearance won't suddenly change things. Scouting isn't done via TV alone, anybody involved in knowing what talent exists in football will be more than aware.

Fantastic advert for Portsmouth, it fans and residents. Sometimes the best thing to do is stand back and let people (or an entire city) show the world what they're all about.

Beattie in being a bit of a **** shocker. Who would have thought. Muffin, anyone?