CanadaSaint

Dave, I sat here ready to scream at about 7:00 am because the recipe for the loss was there for all to see. We're a better side playing on the front foot with width and support, and that showed in the first hour. We're a very vulnerable side when we allow people to push forward with abandon when they can't get back, and we have a few of them. I used the word "naive" in the second half thread, and Pardew used it after the match. But he didn't seem to do anything as it unfolded in front of him, so who's naivety was it? Yes, put the Pompey loss behind us and play like we did in the first hour and the rest of the season is going to be fun. Play like we did in the last fifteen and it'll be a nightmare. Thank God we have some back four pace coming back for the league games.

Srry to hear abut yur baddies, Kip. Hpe they dnt hurt t much. Imagine hw bad it wuld have been if we'd scred fur. At least yu didn't hit yur cck n an advertising harding.

Absolutely. And that suicidal trend unfolded right in front of Pards but he didn't seem to adjust. Sure I'm proud of my team but I'm not going to let that blind me to the fact that we weren't "beaten by a Prem team" so much as threw it away with missed chances and defensive stupidity.

Actually, I thought KD threw the dummy at Belhadj, trying to force him to shoot that way, but Belhadj was too good and too quick for him. As far as the KD vs Bart debate is concerned, I'd stay with Davis for now. Bart's confidence can be very fragile and he tends to fall apart after a mistake. Also, I don't think he's better on crosses and distribution. To be honest I think we need to spend on this position but there aren't that many really good'ns around.

That's one of the nastiest posts I've ever seen on here and it says a hell of a lot more about you than about the person you were trying to aim at. You should hang your head in shame but somehow I doubt that you will.

It's very telling that his big saves are nearly always instinctive, reaction saves. If he has to think about it he's screwed. Just as England would be if he played for us. Frankly, I'm hoping it's a persistent groin injury that doesn't heal until after the World Cup.

Do you have a constructive contribution to make with your third and final post of the day or is this as good as it gets from you? Don't bother answering that. Disagree with him by all means but at least try not to come across as a complete idiot.

Agreed, but the discussion is about finding the right place between the extremes. I think we over-did it and that Pards should have adjusted, but I'm still very proud of my team. I think we all got the feeling in the first half that we've seen games like this many times before - score while you're on top or pay a harsh price later.

Nice to see that. People used to say that about us goalies.

And if you'd played you'd know that you don't need to "commit everyone forward in search of an equalizer" A) when you're only one down with fifteen minutes or so to go - or even two down with ten to go, B) when all the other side really has to offer is pace, C) when your defenders aren't quick enough to get back for the inevitable counter-attacks, and D) when you've been creating chance after chance without committing everyone forward. I don't agree with Tim's point and I'm VERY happy with the way we played for 70+ minutes - AP's tactics were spot on and decent finishing would have won it for us early. I am NOT happy that we over-committed by allowing Thomas to keep pushing up when he had no chance of getting back to stop the wide counter. I said on the second-half thread that this was "naive", and that's exactly the word AP used in his post-game. However, he watched it happen on his side of the pitch and didn't get the message through. Having said that. it's great to see that we clearly have the talent to compete and win at higher levels, and that the heart of the club is beating stronger than ever.

For the sake of accuracy, he proved he can score against a side in the Premiership.

I don't understand why some people are being so venomous on this thread. TT offered his view. Most people disagreed with it. Let's move on.

CBs who can then be caught at the wrong end of the pitch when a counter happens. Seriously, after spending all that money we must have someone to take these kicks other than the person we'd like to have on the end of them.

As I said earlier I think we overdid it and paid the price. We'd proven that we could unlock their defence easily, so there was no need to throw caution to the winds and leave our entire right flank open. AP should have seen that and adjusted - it was right in front of him.

He frustrates me, too, but he's going to be a hell of a player. He tries to be too clever with his chances instead of just whacking them in.

We over-committed, leaving our right flank completely open. Three times at least. Thomas can't spend that kind of time up front if he knows he has no chance of getting back. And AP can't watch him do it without making an adjustment. Generally, though, we were much the better side but we had to score when we were on top. God, what a sick feeling but I'm still proud of them.

You can still chase the game without leaving yourself that open to THE clear threat. Thomas is not so critical to our attack that it's worth leaving that entire flank open. Again and again and again.

F*cking naive on Pardew's part. The writing was on the wall in the first half about the fast break with Thomas caught upfield, and now we've fallen for it three times. I could f*cking vomit.

I'm interested in number 2 because the longer this goes on without the league stepping in to help, the more likely it is that they are willing to see a team go under in order to nudge others towards greater financial sanity. If they were going to act, surely they would have done it by now.

It's because we're seeing no such people around that I posed the question I asked in post #396. What are your thoughts on that?

Excellent. I'll give it your regards when I get back at the end of March - I ran away to Phoenix for the winter (Edmonton's only downside)!

It seems like a sh*t or bust strategy - literally, but the odds are moving more towards "bust" every day. And one thing I'm wondering is this. The football authorities (even, perhaps, including the Premier League) must know that football is unsustainable in its present form. Do you think they might be willing to let P*mpey crash, because they're not one of the big clubs, in the hopes that this would cause everyone to wake up to the realities? I say this because they're certainly not lining up to help P*mpey and may well be subtly pushing them over the edge.

I hear you, Redondo, but I can't help wondering if - somewhere down the road - we'll need an Echo that isn't cowed by the fear of anger from within the Club. That has happened before and it will doubtless happen again, so we can't criticize them now for doing something we might fully expect them to do in the future. I'm not viewing this so much as Cortese vs Murray.

Did Jo tell you that your behaviour was "un-ass-eptable"?

Not yet. I've always been a good boy. I got a little angry but DP and I have good history.