derry

I don't think he is influential enough in the centre of midfield. He was much better on the left in the last ten minutes against Udinese. A big concern is the midfield's lack of pace.

I think we should forget about the numbers. It's about the best collective team and how the players complement each other. At the moment we have a pedestrian middle and nothing up front. At least two strong quick players are needed in midfield and play two up front.

Picking a system and shoehorning in players that have to adapt to play it, mostly ineffectively, is a recipe for failure. The only thing that works is to design a system that gets the collective best out of the player's abilities. It is better to be efficient because the system suits the players, than neutered by a system that doesn't suit, no matter how technically sound it is.

I know one thing: I prefer DeRidder's erratic delivery and pace to no delivery or pace.

Clyne and Puncheon were useful and caused Udinese problems. Davis no chance with three goals all from a distance. The back four were ok with Fonte having his best game so far. Lambert looks a bit fitter but isolated. Where we do have real problems is the middle of the team. First of all the centre, Lallana, Schneiderlin and JWP in the first half. Schneiderlin unusually gave the ball away at times, Lallana was peripheral and the game tended to pass him by, JWP had a decent game and is nippier than the other two. We failed to close down the scorers and they had all the time in the world to line up their shots. We lacked the ability to break at pace. Rodriguez was tidy but didn't really do anything. Puncheon had one of his best games to date. We brought on Gazzaniga, Shaw, Davis and Sharp. Gazzaniga settling in nicely. Shaw looks useful but we were weaker with him at left back. Davis is a decent passer but lacks pace and wasn't an improvement on JWP. Sharp put himself about but lacked support. We were very pedestrian and whilst retaining the ball reasonably well didn't threaten. I can't remember the Udinese goalkeeper having to make a save. Lallana went to the left for the last ten minutes and looked much more at home. Guly was ok but by that time Udinese's second string were on the field. We have to find some pace from at least two midfielders or we will struggle to score. We had as much of the game as Udinese but they were like lightning on the break where all four goals came from.

This season the due PPs are August and February, two payments of £4m if complete. That means only £1.58m due in August. But how much of that is already earmarked.

I've had my ticket since the first few days of issue and that shows 1900 kickoff.

Two things you can certainly see is what the team are trying to do and the competency of the individuals. It doesn't take a lot to see that Clyne is dynamic and a player that pushes on. On the other hand Lallana and Lambert have still some way to go. Rodriguez doesn't look comfortable or threatening in this formation. Three of the back four have been competent but Fonte looks fallible with some crass errors and a failure to win headers mostly fouling in the process. Last season was the first in ages that we achieved results early on but we were pretty settled in our team play. A new system trying to shoehorn in the players we have that may prefer to be playing in a different way may not work out. Time will tell but Saturday is the final try out. It may be the way to play away but we are slow on the break.

The two friendlies against Ajax and Wolves were pretty pedestrian performances. Plusses, Clyne, Hoiveldt, Fox, Schneiderlin, Ward-Prowse, Sharp. Gazzaniga showed well. Minuses, Rodriguez not really showed much, certainly not pacy. Lallana isn't the same presence inside. Lambert looks well off the pace. Fonte's performances littered with mistakes. Richardson just generally poor. Guly was decent playing with Clyne but poor with Richardson. We lack pace out of midfield and Davis doesn't look to have much either in the short time he was on. The 4-5-1 gives plenty of possession but most of it going nowhere and apart from Clyne no rapid breakout. I suspect we may suffer a bit because this doesn't look like a team that has the important players in their favoured positions. It doesn't look like we are getting much out of Lambert, Lallana and Rodriguez and struggle to create much up front. In the much sharper environment of the Premier I can't see goals anywhere playing like this. Centre back, and a bit more pace will be vital if we aren't going to struggle.

Richardson had I believe 12 assists many were hoisted to the far post. He gave the ball away ten times that number and put the ball into touch on the far side or out of play behind the goal regularly. He was lucky to be in the side and is nowhere near good enough now. Against Ajax he was dire and just as bad against Wolves. Putting in a decent ball for SDR was something he never did although he had opportunities to do so. If SDR plays the slower full back shouldn't be trying to engineer an overlap he should be putting him through. Clyne is much quicker than Richardson, is a good footballer and may well if he is used support SDR in a way that gets more out of him.

He got to the byeline several times in the first fifteen minutes he was on and both goals came after his crosses from the byeline. Players like him need the quality passes into space behind the defence not facing his own goal while our dickhead right back plays him short or tries to overlap. It hasn't taken Adkins long to replace him.

Not a single word about the absolutely dire absence of through ball service since he has joined the club. Playing in front of Richardson must be a nightmare for him. He could be a different player with Clyne and Davis. Anybody remember the fantastic tackle versus Crystal Palace when Scannell was clean through down the left. SDR was the only player with the pace to catch him and ran thirty yards to do it. Thought not.

Unless BH has some kids in his past Clare has no kids, they only got married recently and have been an item since he was at the academy. PFC would be attractive for him, live at home in Bartley, train locally and I wouldn't think money is a great issue any longer for him as he has had some cracking contracts for the last six years.

I thought the PPs were made August and February of each season.

FFS these ****s from Portsmouth never let the facts get in the way of their stupidity. 1) Southampton FC were never in administration so all debts were paid in full. 2) The £7m paid to Aviva was the ****ing asking price given to Mark Fry by Aviva in the first week of the SLH administration. He quoted it to me in the first week along with the remark 'there will be change out of £15m for everything'.

Allis and Thomson designed it. I could be wrong but I think it was owned at one time by a famous little Japanese lady golf fanatic that was noted for having everything she wore or used, pink.

The lido was built 1854, reconstructed 1930, closed 1977. Indoor central baths built 1892 demolished 1960s after quays built, which was then demolished and replaced by the present pool.

The terracing on the south side of the old Valley was awesome. Only a little stand opposite but the massive terracing gave a ground capacity circa 80,000.

If I'd have been offered a 4-1 defeat in the cup against PFC for them to be in Div 1 and us get double promotions to be in the Premier two years later, I would have grabbed it with both hands.

I think there have been Ryanair incidents that one could put the phrase 'There but for the grace of God' The BMA accident was a Company/aircraft/crew mess up. Commercial pressures, insufficient training from 300 analogue to 400 digital conversion, instrument displacement, poor cockpit procedures with a lack of leadership and ATC and Company distractions causing the failure to re- evaluate the failure. Together with poor cabin crew communications with the flight deck. The F/O was a bright lad, I tried to get him a job after the inquest but he was tainted and unemployable. We had a new 400 that had a vibration gauge non standard switch off, We complained regularly but nothing was done. I had a discussion with Ed Trimble, the AAIB Chief investigator questioning the assumption that the damaged BMA vibration gauge fitted with a new chip could be assumed as serviceable. I cited the A/c that we had. I contacted the company to arrange for ET to view and that evening the aircraft was ferried to maintenance and the Vibration monitoring system was stripped out and replaced. ET then had nothing to see. A cynical company action which did nothing for aircraft safety. 'Safety is paramount' is the most cynical statement ever uttered by an airline manager. It just isn't true.

There is no way Newcastle or Carrol will allow this to go through.

That's about 20 pilots. The trouble is some of them make it to command and fly with others from the 1% making a pretty horrendous scenario. I think all airlines have this problem but some are more ruthless than others in weeding out the poor performers. The lack of common sense, tunnel vision and the inability to see the big picture was a common problem.

At LGW at busy times flights are delayed for slots/technical/pax reasons and don't vacate the allocated gate for the next inbound so unless there is a gate change and airlines/handling agents tend to use specific areas/gates, the incoming aircraft is sent to the remote/bussed stand. Therefore it has to depart from that stand. Happens a lot about 0700ish when there are a lot of early departures and inbounds.

It would be like a real airline and boarding could be by rows. Only of course if somebody was switched on enough to notice but I suppose with Ryanair or Ezy etc everybody would queue.

Down to the wire time. If I was TBH or Kitson knowing we were the last two, I would want to call Birch's bluff and see if Chanrai put's up or walks away. As Chanrai has to settle all football debts if he takes over, as a condition from the League before PFC would be accepted into the League div 1, those debts could definitely now include Kanu, so there is still problems for them.