Tom & Gerry

Don't expect an open expansive game on Sunday. We will try to keep it very tight for 80 minutes Then if it's still 0-0 and Swansea aren't 5-0 up we'll bring on 3 attacking players and go for it.

Perhaps that is arguable but you have to admit it was very lucky that he turned out to be more effective than any number of more expensive international strikers that we have signed since.

But we made bad signings even in those days. Fonte was the only other signing to make it in the Premier league. Signings since then have been hit or miss.0 Lemina and Boufal could have been as good as Mane but sometimes players especially from abroad either fit in or they don't. It's a gamble.

If he had stayed at the level he was when we signed him we would have been lucky to get half the money for him from another League 1 club. If he was better than that why didn't a higher profile club come in for him? A bargain yes in hindsight but all transfers are gambles.

Paying £1million was for an over weight player who had only played in the lower leagues was. Who could have foretold that he would be a player we have been unable to replace and what would the player he became be worth today?

As all transfers and managerial appointments are gambles we need a more successful gambler and I understand the chinease are quite good at this. Saints success was built on 2 outrageous gambles - Lambert and Pochitino but for every Pochitino there is a Pelligrino and every Lambert an Osvaldo.

Ye, but what if we win? That will cause pain and torment.

I don't think the Manager has given up and it is up to him to pick players that haven't.

You are absolutely right of course but the amazing thing is that even now there is a pathway out of this. If we could somehow win the game by playing like we did against Chelsea( league) and then Bournemouth missing the chances that come when we make the inevitable mistakes it might just give us a little bit of confidence and determination to get a couple more results that if other results went our way would mean we survive. Because surely there is a half decent team in there somewhere and we must have better players than Huddersfield, Brighton and Bournemouth at least. Far fetched I know but if we as fans have given up how can we expect anything different from the players?

Adrian ******** Heath comes close! Bad but not for me. At least we had one in the bag by 84 and at the time time we thought we'd soon be back again which we were in 86 (another bad day). In 63 it seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity. Surely it's time the Gods smiled on us again ?

Nothing in football since has come close to the disappointment felt when we lost the semi final in 63 but it made 76 even sweeter. We may well lose but if you don't go you will regret it though it might be a long time till you feel the benefit.

Evidence suggests very few people get rich predicting the result of football matches.

In football form changes. It's not much of a hope, but it's our only hope.

For me both players have a lot to learn and it depends how much they learn as to which will be the best. Boufal is more skillful, Redmond more direct.

Heart says Cup, head says League. I've seen every semi final since 63, won 2 lost 3 and as they tend to come round every 13 years or so I may not see another one.

We don't want a yes man, we don't want someone with a bad attitude, we don't want someone who doesn't play attacking football with at least 2 up front but beggars can't be choosers just get anyone that can win 3 matches and a couple of draws.

Managers that have done badly elsewhere have done well here in the past - Ball, Hoddle, Strachen and at least he has plenty of Premier league experience. The negatives have been well articulated above. If all appointments are gambles then this would be a big one but that's the territory we are in.

Coming out of Wembley in 76 was more subdued and less exhuberant than you might think as there were gangs of angry United fans looking for an excuse to wade in. It was ok once you got past Basingstoke though. Football hooligism began in the 60's. The first year we played Pompey, we had come up from the 3rd they had come down from from the 1st it was a lovely atmosphere but things began to change in subsequent years. There were far fewer restrictions on fans in those days and it was the custom of supporters at big games to parade round the ground with banners before the start. I carried one round Fratton Park. There was a lot of red shale on the path round the pitch in those days and we didn't get more than half way before the banner was destroyed and you could see the hatred in the eyes of those throwing the shale. I quickly learnt that the rivalry was not just banter. On another occasion Saints won 3-0 at Fratton Park and after every goal kids would run on to the pitch from the Fratton End to the half way line to celebrate. By the 3rd goal some of the Pompey kids had had enough and there were fights on the pitch as the fans returned from the half way line with players having to try and break it up. Trouble with other clubs was as a direct result of the success of the Spion Kop at Liverpool. Other clubs copied with a fervent groups of supporters gathering together to form a signing group behind one of the goals. Before this fans just paid at the turnstile and stood/ sat where they wanted and there wasn't much signing. The problems came when both sets of supporters wanted to stand at the same end and it became more confrontational. At first it just pushing and shoving to get the best spot behind the goal but it soon escalated in to something more sinister. The first fans moving in to our area on the Milton Road were Man City in the 65/66 promotion year. There were a few skirmishes after that and I remember having tomato ketchup thrown at me by Bristol City fans that year (Channons first Game) very messy. The next season in the Ist Division it really took off and there were frequently loadspeaker announcements that the Milton Road end would be cleared if the fighting didn't stop. It didn't much but the threat was never carried out. Sometimes fans gathered at opposite ends but that didn't mean you were safe because at some grounds you were free to walk right round the ground if you wanted. I well remember the 6-2 and 3-2 wins at Stamford Bridge where you could see a trickle of fans leaving the the Shed end to come and confront us at the other end. At the Dell it was more difficult and you had to wait until 10 minutes from the end when stewards would open the gates before hostilities could begin. Gradually things got worse leading to all ticket matches, segregation, fences and the all seater stadiums we have today.

Hello what just happened?

Park the bus and play for penalties.

When was this wonderful mythical time when people enjoyed football? Don't you know that football is to be suffered not enjoyed? and it is only after you go through the most intense pain and humilation that you gain just a brief glimpse of satisfaction during the good days before it is on to the anxiety of the next game or season. Who is injured? who is off form? who isn't being picked that should be picked? oh no our best player is suspended.Who are we selling/ buying? What if we don't beat the opposition who are not fit to lick our boots or how can we hope to compete against this side of multi talanted super stars, but we never quite give up hope. And then during the game unless you are more than 3 goals up at half time there is always the expectation that the opposition have to improve in the second half and most games are stomach churningly close until the final whistle. You can't stop going because you don't enjoy it any more, you never did and you shouldn't have started in the first place so why stop now?

My bottom 3 are Palace, Stoke and WBA. Ironically 3 teams that have changed their Manager.

On a positive note players from outside the Premier league have often needed time to fit in and we don't have time. If we stay up and he signs in the summer its a win win.

I believe he will go if we do not win tomorrow but it is not the straightforward decision so many think. There are arguments for him staying and I respect those who think he should. There is the stability argument. It is almost inevitable that teams that frequently change their manager will fail eventually. That makes the decision high risk either way. There are impact managers who can do a good job in the short term to keep us up but are not so good long term. It would not be easy to change again in the summer if they kept us up. Secondly they see him every day not just on match days and they think he is a good coach. Thirdly we are not cut adrift at the bottom and a few good results would see us in the top half. Against this they have been extremely patient (for modern times) hoping or expecting that the tide would turn and despite a few signs that it might on occasion it hasn't. Football is full of good coaches that haven't been able to get results. Dressing rooms are all different and what motivates one may not motivate another. Remember Clough at Leeds. Also to do nothing looks like neglect. Therefore whilst I was in the camp of giving him more time I now believe reluctantly that time has come.

Nigel Pearson, he has previous.