derry

****ing rain, strong winds am.

A brilliant ball juggler when a youth player at WBA, on tv at half time interval gave a display keeping the ball up the whole half time. He was a good player for us in the early sixties.

It seems to me that Pardew is sticking with the present team on the back of a couple of good results, however he still intends, as soon as that run ends, to introduce Connolly alongside Lambert provided he delivers and switch to 4-4-2. Pace is important everywhere and the more we have, wherever it is, can only be beneficial. Wotton is playing like a very limited front sweeper. I would expect a lot more mobility and a better passing completion from a defensive midfield player.

I'm not fixated on that aspect alone but it is a weakness that needs fixing if we are to progress. There is no such thing as a successful team that doesn't effectively use width. There is no way that a team can be predominately narrow and be successful.

You may well be right as this is what has happened since the closure, until then there wasn't a problem in blocks 4/5

It isn't going to work in the long term. You are right in one respect a pacy left sided player will have to be brought in to play 4-4-2, furthermore a proper front sweeper with a high pass completion will be needed if 4-3-3 is to be played. Gillingham were a poor team, Southend aren't much either and the space in front of/behind Harding will be exploited by the better sides.

Okay, I'm wrong we didn't need any width and the goals have magically appeared. If Waigo gets injured it won't make any difference. Ferguson is wrong, Capello is wrong, the Brazilians are wrong, we are going to walk into the Premier playing narrow, just like Total football was going to pulverise the Championship last year.

I don't give a rat's arse about foul language however a lot of people don't like it and I happen to think they are right. Another thing, just why do you think this thread and the reason for it has happened? I sit in an area that contains a large number of club seats reserved for staff and their families. I know for a fact that there has been a reaction expressed to me about some of the behaviour we have witnessed. Bearing in mind that some of these people have relatives that are connected by work to the very top, I'm not surprised that this has now happened. I was told by one of them weeks ago that it was going to be sorted. It certainly hasn't come from David Luker it is from way above him.

No. More width, it is only since Waigo came into the side that we have had any width at all, enough at the moment to give us enough space to score some goals from open play. At the moment everything we create comes in from the right side, we create nothing down our left. That gives us two potential problems, firstly the better sides will work us out and load up their left side and block off our supply. Secondly and it happened against Bristol Rovers we leave our left side open and Harding is exposed to a triangle of right back, and two midfielders coming at him down our left leaving us wide open. It is only by occupying the forward width that we protect our full backs, which we do down our right. It is all well and good having a front sweeper, but unless he fills that gap in front/behind Harding (depending on his attacking position) as the opposition break out down our left, which Wotton doesn't, we are exposed. By playing a wide player on the left rather than a very limited, poor passing front sweeper, would make us more balanced in attack and provide better defence down our left.

If you would like to check the law of both the land and football, 'foul and abusive language' is an offence. Swearing really isn't clever and shows a person's inability to express thoughts verbally plus a lack of respect for themselves and others by not caring who is present.

What the hell has awearing got to do with sexism. Using foul and abusive language isn't smart just ignorant. The women near me obviously hate it and let those that do it know they don't like it and that it's not acceptable. I think they are absolutely right.

The two are playing better because they have more space now that Waigo is opening up defences with the threat of his pace and ability to get goals. Lallana always had the ability on the ball but it was wasted in midfield causing poor performances. He is a different proposition altogether as a forward now the room is there and the goals are flowing. I hope he stays up front. Another wide left player would open up things even more rather than a holding midfielder. If we are going to play that way I would like to see us maybe play Hammond there and play Schneiderlin + 1 or get in a good passing holding midfielder.

It comes out Sat evening about 8pm at several outlets, one I believe Somerfields filling station at the top of Hill Lane. I still get it every Sunday, apart from 'scare are they now' it isn't a patch on the old Football Echo.

The club have a problem with standing and subsequent behaviour at the back of block 4. There is also complaints of people buying seats and finding others with tickets for different blocks occupying them. The club in my opinion is resolving those problems. I personally welcome the all season ticket rule in the Itchen blocks 4/5.

Weston told me on Saturday he had heard he was training with us, he posted it on here.

Such as Belfast Celtic closed after the war, related to Glasgow etc but broadly speaking clubs like Southampton and Portsmouth co-existed without problems. I've been to many matches featuring Saints at Fratton without any problems. As you say it is really since the sixties and probably more like the eighties that the present problems have occurred.

Davis is a superlative shotstopper. I feel though that he sometimes goes to ground too early on penalties and players who see it and can react just hit it the opposite side. His little will I, won't I throw it dance is a bit of a joke as everybody including the players knows he is going to chicken out and kick in due course. His communication, command of his box, and catching of high balls and crosses under pressure is poor. I thought the Bristol Rovers goalkeeper was excellent also Muller of Barnsley, Lonergan of Preston plus quite a few others whose all round game was much better, mostly free transfers compared with what we paid Sunderland for Davis. I wonder how well Bialkowski played for Barnsley in the two wins over WBA and Ipswich.

Manners maketh man.

We got away with it, just.

Football has always been a broad church when it comes to who goes to matches, but it is really only the last couple of generations who have caused football to be a segregated, factionised spectacle. At one time supporters could go where they liked and mixed, supported their clubs with good humour, made loads of noise, respected women and children with a terrific atmosphere. The atmosphere at matches now is poor in comparison. To equate the boorish behaviour of a minority with atmosphere is misleading because probably three quarters of the spectators dislike it and don't want any part of it. That, probably is why most of the ground won't join in with the Northam.

It's not me missing the point. This is one of the main reasons the Itchen is being made ST only, because it is now easy to identify the problem and take the season tickets away, thereby solving the problem in the Itchen. Other sports don't have this problem its just football. Swearing is just a way of allowing slow brains to catch up with the mouth. It adds nothing to the conversation, just shows a lack of discipline and an inability to control the thought processes.

15 minutes decent play, then a shambles. Davis came and not for the first time missed, square back four let player free for penalty, centre backs second best all night in the air, yes we got what we deserved for atrocious defending. Furthermore with the two easy chances Torquay had towards the end not hitting the target they could have been out of sight with us just out.

You obviously have no respect for women or children. The sort of obscene language chanted by some is an insult and has no place.

We played three in the middle of the field, which once Antonio drifted inside, became a no passing, no movement off the ball, lopsided shambles. We got what we deserved and were losing 2-0, once changed to a lop sided 4-4-2 and Waigo restored to the right side we at least pulled the game back despite having essentially one decent central midfielder.

I actually think our formations last night were a shapeless mess. A flat back four plus a non tackling, poor passing tactical genius as a holding midfielder. The back four was so square we looked vulnerable every time the ball was played up by Torquay. Apart from the first 15 minutes we had no width on the right until Waigo switched, then no width on the left, Mills might make a fullback but a fullback he is, he doesn't have the subtlety, touch or positional sense to be a wide midfield. The only reason he is there, is because he is naturally left sided. After going two down why we continued to half time with a holding midfielder is beyond belief. Waigo has given us another dimension, awkward but effective at the moment. Lallana needs to play off the left side of Lambert as he is doing but dispense with the holding midfielder who would need a near 100% pass rate to be effective there, and play a natural wide left (only Holmes at the moment) midfielder to give us balance, either Schneiderlin/Mellis and Hammond can alternate defensively. Wotton purely from a numeric standpoint gives us the appearance of strength in midfield but he actually apart from the odd occasion gives us very little. We need touchline to touchline width and that isn't happening.