CanadaSaint

Probably true, but liking the area, liking the Club and wanting to stay here are keys to high-level performance, but that works both ways. I'm glad he (apparently) wasn't involved but I don't like the sound of it.

Reading the locals versus Scouses angle of the Sun story, which sure doesn't mean it's gospel, that's about the last thing we needed with the window about to open and "big clubs" sniffing around for him.

David, like you I've never had much confidence in Bart and have often posted to that effect. I watched him quite a lot in the early years and quickly concluded that he has the most critical weakness a keeper can have - a fragile psyche; when he makes an error, which he often does, it's quickly followed by others. For me, a fragile psyche in a keeper is pretty much like a shaky hand in a brain surgeon. I really hope we act quickly on this if we think he's a good 'un, because he won't be around for long, Bart's not up to it, and Kelvin's shelf life is diminishing rapidly.

Adkins wouldn't have gone to see Ruiter unless he'd already impressed a lot of good football people at a Club known for spotting young talent early. Where he's playing right now, for me, has very little to do with it. Everyone has to start somewhere. And looking at our positional depth in goal right now, I'd say we need to do something urgently.

In the context of that goal Lallana was relatively faultless. Guly certainly wasn't. Lallana is due some of his own criticism - such as when he, infuriatingly, turned away from goal in the second half after we'd opened Pompey up like a sardine can. The comments have nothing to do with whether the player is "local" but about how they performed in given situations. Guly bottled it and cost us two points, and whoever told him to guard a post (especially the critical near post) needs to have his nuts kneed as well.

My "read" of the visuals was that NA was surprised that Fox was visibly and perhaps verbally p*ssed off at being subbed.

I think the views have generally been quite balanced. Guly brings us some valuable things - especially at home, but he was p*ss poor today, seemed to lack commitment, and his error was a major factor in their utterly needless equalizer.

Schneiderlin doesn't do goals but that's all the more reason for Lallana to start doing them again. It was extremely frustrating to see him turn back after we carved out a clear opening for a vital second goal. We're doing that too often for my liking, and that's magnifying the danger that we'll fall back into a "style over substance" team fighting for a playoff place when we should be well clear at the top.

It isn't scapegoating to justifiably criticize someone for a clear error that cost 2 points. It may not have been the only error on the goal but it was the clearest one. Scapegoating is when you single someone out for unjustified criticism.

It's no coincidence that we haven't really been the same team since 7 minutes into the Bristol City game at the end of November. The loss of Chappers was always worrying but our failure to adapt tactically is perhaps rather more troubling. Even today there was no real balance to pull them apart.

Sorry, Ron, we'll have to differ a bit on this one although I agree about Ward's marker, whoever that was. Guly would not have conceded a penalty with an honest challenge for a 50/50 header, and even just a "spoiling" effort would have helped. He did the absolute worst thing - he started to come and then stopped because IMO he didn't fancy it. As you said, even if he'd just stayed-put he'd probably have cleared it. But I'd still like to know what the hell Guly was doing on the near post in the first place. That's where you often need a brave person to defend against the near-post corner, and Guly is certainly not the person for that. Still, notwithstanding Guly's performance, we should have killed them off long before that and our over-elaboration around the box really needs to stop at some point.

My operative words were "at the time". This isn't about your opinion on who should be selected in the first place (others, including Nigel, seem to have a different view) but about whether we needed to make that change at that time. I thought we looked reasonably organized and comfortable so I wasn't sure why we made the change, and it looked like Fox was disappointed too.

I'm not sure it's just Adkins. Does anyone remember a moment late in the Blackpool game when De Ridder hit a cross at Lambert but it was (only slightly) long? Rickie waved his arm and shook his head in disgust at SDR and I wondered at the time what was behind his clear contempt. Perhaps he's one of those players that fans tend to rate while the coaches and his fellow pros are much more sceptical.

It's not a valid point. He started to go for it as the ball arced upwards, and then he stopped because it didn't look very appealing to him. The very least he had to do was spoil and he even chickened out of that. The fact that he also looked lazy and disinterested for much of what (to everyone else) was a very big match is a separate point. As is the fact that he shouldn't have been assigned the post role if that's how he sees it. I'll give him his praise when it's due - and there certainly is some - but you're trying to defend the indefensible here.

That's what I don't get. If it's a full back's role when Fox is on, why the hell change it when Harding comes on? And Guly didn't even have to win the header, just spoil. He did worse than nothing. I couldn't understand the Harding for Fox change at the time, and I'm not sure that Fox could, either.

What's the scoop on Brighton's suspensions? Who, if anyone, will they be missing for our game?

I know that. My comment related to why Guly, not Harding, was on the post.

One of my first thoughts was "Adkins, what the frick is Guly doing on that post?" Doesn't Fox normally take that post at corners? That could account for Guly being there, although I'm not sure why.

I like a lot of what he brings but I've never been fond of players who play when they feel like it and drop their heads easily. He does both. Add a lack of bottle to that and there's a big problem. I'm still p*ssed at the way he was strolling back from an offside position (by some ten yards) when Rickie headed the equalizer against Blackpool. If the officials had been looking for an excuse, that could have been just as costly as today's gutless 'contribution' on the post. I think Nigel needs to give him some tough love and see how he responds.

I still have a feeling that we'll find out how important Chappers is to us when he comes back. With a bit of luck our bad spell is almost behind us - and we're still sitting top.

lol

A) Did I suggest that the crowd should start abusing him? B) The Boro game was back in October. Pretty rich, coming from you, Alps.

I'm starting to get concerned that we've become a "style over substance" team in the past month - especially without the direct aggression of Chaplow. Just when we create an incisive opening, we stop, turn back and try to do it again, as Lallana did with his clear second half chance (one of many examples). And there's a special hell reserved for players who turn in a disinterested - never mind gutless - performance in a derby game. Guly may never be forgiven for that.

Oh, well, spoke too soon, dammit. Still, it'll only be three posts per day of his desperate anxiety to come on here and say "I told you so" rather than "We're going back to the Premier League".

I don't think the team is "choking" but some of the "fans" appear to be. On the good side, Hypo seems more positive these days and Lard has thankfully disappeared (touch wood). However, Alps, Dalek (mindless robot), Charlie Wayman (sacrilege for him to use that name), 'Professor' (certainly not of football) and a few others still seem to revel in negativity and an overpowering desire to be proven right. Imagine looking across the dressing room at that lot and knowing what they'll do when the going gets tough. The Donny result was poor but we were without two "must play" players and a third is fighting his way back to fitness. Every team has bad spells. We certainly have issues to address but we're still top and we have money to spend. Overall there's much more reason to be positive, and if people can't enjoy these times maybe they should find another interest. If they think the ship is sinking perhaps they should go for a swim.