The Kraken

I think that's miltonroader's "thing", he seems quite desperate to be seen as controversial and edgy.

If RL was not deemed mobile enough to play as the lone striker, I seriously doubt NA would play him in behind the main striker. I'd much rather see RL up top with JRod coming on to replace him if required, Rodriguez on the left doesn't seem to work very well IMO.

Why not?

I wouldn't say he was excellent. He put in a great shift and worked really hard for the team; but he never really looked a threat in front of goal. When Rickie came on he looked much more the genuine article up front, his link up play and deft touches really are quite sublime and he made and took his chance absolutely brilliantly. I also thought Guly and teh team in general were better when Rickie came on and he moved away from the main striking role. The formation in general worked well, but in future I think I'd prefer to see Rickie in the striker's role and Guly in midfield. I thought JRod looked lost out on the left and didn't get in the game at all.

I read it, thanks. And I stand by it.

IMHO you're as ignorant as he is for carrying on with the ridiculous racism accusations.

Why are you shouting, you incoherent clown?

Why not? What are you basing this on?

Davis - 4; very shaky, distribution very hit and miss. Clyne - 8; rarely beaten and got forward well, worked well with Puncheon. Fox - 4; gave the goal away, although didn't get a huge amount of support from Rodriguez. Distribution not brilliant and didn't get forward as much as would have liked. Fonte - 7; did what he had to, strong in the air and well composed. Hooiveld - 5; poor penalty to give away and I didn't feel confident with him at all. Schneiderlin - 5; kept it simple but needs to keep posession much better, was brushed off the ball at least 2 or 3 times. JWP - 7; really promising performance, a few rushed moments but otherwise he was always looking to play and support the attack. Good range of passing. Lallana - 6; often seemed to lose control of the football at the vital moment. Playing in the centre will suit him but his touch looked off on occasions. Puncheon - 6; put in a good shift but rarely offered a threat going forward. Too predictable with cutting in, would have liked to have seen him attack the full back more. Rodriguez - 5; never really got in the game at all and looks well out of position at left wing. Didn't do much going forward, didn't help out Fox as much as he could. Guly - 6; put in a decent shift but never really looked like he was going to threaten. Subs: Lambert - 8; what an impact. Such a classy player with his touch and deft flicks. Great finish for the goal. Davis - 8; looks like a classy player, when he's fit he'll give us a lot at CM. I wonder if JWP or Schneiderlin will make way for him, on this showing its up for grabs. Sharp - 5; not long enough to make an impact.

Loads then :lol: I saw Alex Rae, chatting with Claridge. Aside from that the comps seating was not even half full, hardly any scouts there from other clubs.

No there weren't. I know this because I was actually there with my mate who is a scout. There were hardly any others scouts there; some, but not very many at all. And he wasn't even dispatched to watch the high earners, more for the Pompey youngsters. If you're not outbidding anybody, why did Lee Williamson turn down an offer from Sheffield United to joing Pompey on a short term basis? Stop making things up.

Two managers.

A bit more to be fair. He ran over to the sidelines, jumped into the arms of the player who delivered the cross and was giving it loads of "come on" and "get in there", plenty of fist clenching. No swearing, disappointingly. He got a bottle chucked at him for his efforts, much like Pompey's shooting it missed by a fair bit.

Plenty of anti-scum songs from Pompey. Bompey were quiet as churchmice until they scored. I left soon after the Barney goal, but there were many stewards dispatched in the corner between the two sets of fans, looked like it might kick off. Not much common ground in hating us at all! Pompey looked really good in the first half. Brian Howard was excellent, too good for League 1. MustHaveA DumbBuyer was actually decent, Long at centre-back looked good, Harley played well. Williamson was very good but absolutely knackered midway through the second half. Lee Rodgers was awful, Izale McLeod ok. Pompey were all over them in the first half, much more even in the second half and but for some very poor shooting Bompey could have got mroe out of the game. Bournemouth looked terrible in the first half, completely overrun. Much better second half but I wouldn't be putting any money on them going up on that showing.

Just got back, my mate got me a free ticket at the Pompey game. Barney went absolutely mental when he scored, raring it right up, they absolutely hated it! He'd been getting absolute pelters all game and just let it all come out. Top lad.

I am the kraken, I'll predict what I want.

At the moment, 18-19. I'll revisit that at the end of the transfer window as and when we've finalised any signings that we make.

From the sounds of it, NA didn't seem to be very aware of the whole Ramirez deal. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19298744 In particular: "If it is true, then it obviously shows the ambition of the football club," he said.

Definitely. They are clearly being run on the never never, and on budgets higher than the Pompey Trust can actually afford. In any case, we're going off topic. Here's hoping Barney smashes a hat-trick past them this afternoon.

Like it or not they've got some good players, players that plenty of other League 1 sides couldn't afford. Izale McLeod was top scorer in League 2 last season. Lee Williamson turned down a deal with Sheffield United to sign. Various other decent players that some Championship sides might have been interested in.

Hope it has gone through, he'll be well fired up for that. My mate is scouting the game so I'll be sure to get his views on it all later. I think Pompey have put together a good team and will probably take the 3 points.

I can think of many better uses that I would put a time machine to, if I'm honest.

Did The9 get paid to play football?

Did he say how long they were going to wait? Only, he recognised it as a problem a couple of months ago, I hope he's not planning on waiting another few months for reinforcements.