CanadaSaint

Has he for sure been dropped? I mean, not even on the bench?

I like the cut of that starting line up. We are going to take a run at them - with plenty of width.

Sorry to say it CEC, because I'd normally refrain from comments like this, but your post comes across as a rather pompous put-down of people sharing their memories. Those reminiscences don't just "fall within the (strictly interpreted) remit of the OP". In my view they WERE the focus of the OP. Why else would he ask "Who has been a whipping boy and deserved it, and who was better than the fans thought?"?

That's where I've been going wrong. I'll stop shaving right away.

I seem to remember being at Plymouth when he scored an absolutely vital goal from the edge of the box in the promotion run-in. From what I remember, it bounced about ten times and trickled between the goalie's legs. In that joyous moment most of us realized why he didn't shoot much.

Did he and Summerbee hate eachother as much as it looked like they did?

Then there are players who come under the often-unfair and hastily-raised whip until A) they've had a chance to settle in and start playing better, B) the supporters start to better appreciate the things they bring, C) a combination of the two. Kelvin and Kenwyne would be two of many, many examples over the years. Some excellent players have been on the receiving end of this kind of criticism at various teams and various times. But it also goes the other way. Much as I like the guy, I have no idea how Francis Benali became such a cult hero despite some absolutely hideous clangers. As Ewell said "Do (managers) know more than us? I think so."

If Lallana had taken what sounded like two gilt-edged chances we'd have won easily. For those who were there, were they that gilt-edged?

There are three keys to success: Tighten up defensively from set pieces. Change to 4-4-2 a little earlier. Get Bairdylegend to predict a loss. The last one works best.

Bairdylegend, please post again. We need a goal.

This was your nugget from last week: Originally Posted by Bairdylegend 2-0 to Dons, final score..... u heard it here first. and ull hear it again at 4.45 Keep giving your opinion and we're bound to win.

From what I remember Lallana has had two clear chances and missed both. That's the difference, right there. So far.

No sh*t, Sherlock. Who came out with that, Merrington?

We have to sort out this set piece vulnerability before it really costs us.

True but at least we now have options rather than just keep plugging away at something that's not working. He has 4-4-2 up his sleeve.

That'll happen if we're playing 4-5-1 and we're not as fluid as we need to be.

Possession is 58/42 against us according to Saints Player.

Absolutely. If he hasn't figured that stuff out yet he can hardly be viewed as "coachable", so I'm not sure we can expect much improvement in his game. He's probably reached his full potential and if you folks don't think that's good enough, which seems to be the case, he's not going to last long here. The only thing that might keep him here is squad depth but AP has withdrawn him in two straight games and seems to be growing tired of his errors and erratic contributions.

Papa pic looks like he can't believe he's offside yet again, again, again, again. That's a view shared by 21,000 others.

The 21,000 is a hell of a crowd for this division considering that MKD didn't bring very many.

I hope that Mr Liebherr is smart enough, with Cortese's and Pardew's help, to realize that the squad has been rebuilt very well but with a relatively low cash investment. I suspect that things wouldn't look as rosy if the loan players were recalled. We have a chance of getting out of this division this year with a squad that could also be competitive in the Championship. My hope is that, now the (crowd and playing) potential of the Club has been confirmed, the management team will start figuring out how to extend the loans and convert them into permanent signings in January.

I'd like to see him extended to the window, and then - if things keep going the way they are now - we might see the next test of whether Marcus is willing to put his hand in his pocket for another real impact player.

It's obviously not as important as points but it's still significant that only five teams have a better goal difference. Given the parity in this division, that 11-point gap between us and the playoff positions can be closed by Christmas. I certainly don't see six teams running away from the rest of us.

So al‑Faraj certainly did make those comments to the newspaper but "believed the conversation was not for publication." WTF did he think it was for? Fun? Foreplay? Intellectually and financially he seems well-suited for Pompey. The way things stand, on and off the pitch, I'd say they're even better candidates for administration than we were. And we were a much better rescue proposition than they are. After what we've been through I still can't help feeling sorry for the many decent fans who follow Pompey.

21 and change.