benjii

I suppose a pertinent question would be: "did he do a better job as a left winger than Hammond, Schneiderlin or Wotton would have done?" I suspect the answer is "yes". That's not to say he should have played there ahead of Dickson or Mills but it also doesn't follow that he's crap or not a very good CM. Funnily enough, Barney's red card might turn out to be a good thing as it would have been a brave decision to drop him, or MS or DH to accommodate Guly in the centre but it is suddenly a lot easier to pick a 4-5-1 formation.

I shall not take your post at face value

I think I agree. Unless the problems, whatever they were, were threatening an iminent implosion I would've stuck with AP for now. But... if we win on Saturday and have a new manager in soon who is a good manager, I doubt any harm will be done.

I don't think that at all but I suspect that many of those who would abuse and crucify him based on unsubstantiated hearsay probably are.

Yes, I agree. And usually it is harmless fun. Bravado, outright lies ("Graham Potter would batter Ronaldo in a dribble-off" etc), banter etc... I just hope that a negative atmosphere doesn't take hold without real justification. There is no cause to fight at the moment. We are still in a good position relative to our immediate competitors. This is not a "Lowe out" situation. There is no short-term pain that needs to be felt for long-term gain. All IMO, but I still think we're on an upward trajectory.

It would tie in with the wording of the club statement. "...it is essential to make changes to the First Team management and coaching. These targets for sustained and significant progress embrace both the First Team and the Football Development & Support Centre as integrated, co-operative units." NB in particular, "co-operative". It seems, if true, that Pardew was either trying to usurp, or at least was not happy with, the management structure of the club. If that was the case then I guess he had to go. Surprising if ture though, as it was long stated that there would be an interim layer between team manager and chairman (the DoF/Sporting Director etc).

No problem at all with people being disappointed by the sacking. I think he would've taken us up this season (unless there is a lot of unrest behind the scenes on the playing side) so if it was purely a football decision I will be against it unless an outstanding replacement is appointed. I'm not sure exactly why he was sacked. The most informative piece so far seems to have been that BBC blog which suggested that there was disquiet amongst the staff but that, in footballing terms, Cortese was a bigger Pardew fan than Markus was. Now, I'm not sure who, what, why etc but if it was a new thing that threatened to develop into a big thing then it's better to sort it sooner rather than later. One area where I do have faith is that Cortese has not suddenly gone on some sort of frugal exercise - it is not cheap to sack people like that and I don't think we're going to be appointing some no-mark replacement. This is not Lowe. This is Cortese. He saved us by bringing in loads of money. Without him we would probably be right in the **** still - a third tier Pompey. He saved us, that doesn't give him carte-blanche to do what he likes without reprisal but if his modus operandi is to keep information in house then I, for one, think we owe it to him to respect that without resorting to personal abuse without full command of the facts.

Any of the ones in bold would do a good job IMO.

No, I am clearly not saying that. I am saying that flying off the handle without knowing how the dust is settling is just silly. And I don't think Pardew has been sacked for football results reasons - if he was going to be sacked for those he would've gone in the summer. What I am advocating is a more considered appraisal of the situation. Remember that: We are the biggest fish in our pond. We are a fish that a lot of anglers would like to hook. We are a fish that requires minimal preparation to cook (er... not sure where I'm going with this). Remember that: We are still in a bloody good position. I think one of the main reasons we are in that position is the vision of the man in charge. He's just done something that he knew would be unpopular. He must've had a good reason for doing it. He is more important, IMO, than Alan Pardew and I have seen nothing to suggest that we are not still in an excellent position in terms of our future. I just hope that, before people decide to express their annoyance (publically), they ask themselves if it's really the best thing to do? Do we not still have an excellent chance of going up? Do we not still have a part to play? If a mood of negativity develops it will not be anyone's fault other than the fans who would sooner go off on one than think things through.

You'd better not or I will have to spank your bare botty.

Did you hear it from a steward?

Absolutely agree - it has to be Hoddle.

God, I had an anus horibilis the other morning. I don't know what they put in that curry but it didn't hang around.

forget the faux-annoyance of some **** at The Sun... forget the Plymouth Argus... forget not being able to ram a filthy thermo-nuclear pie down your cake hole... forget not being given interest free payment options (and having to arrange one yourself)... forget match-day increases (not the only club, by the way)... forget booking fees... hell, even forget masterminding the entire resurrection of the club if you want... no, I'll tell you what Cortese's biggest mistake has been: Overestimating the intelligence of our fan base. Clearly Cortese thinks we're sensible human beings. People who appreciate that things are seldom black and white. People who realise that you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs. People who appreciate the complexities of life. People who understand that instant gratification is not available to everyone, and certainly not for free. What one of his advisors needs to do is take him to one side, and have a quiet word: "Nicola, many of these people are simple folk. They lack emotional maturity. They look for any excuse to get outraged. They need to feel part of something, as they are a bit empty. They have limited intellectual capacity for patience. They like to moan about a lack of success or ambition, yet woe-betide anyone who dares to exhibit a modicum of either. They like to be debased by anodyne platitudes and spoon-fed sickly pastry-pouches of attention. They want the best, for the least. They hate footballers, football, the Premier League, the opposition, the opposition fans, the ref, yet they want them all in abundance - the more consumable and digestible the better; they want to swallow it all, **** it out and eat it again with sugar on top. Just feed them a few lines now and again - they will lap it up".

It's mental betting on something that is wholly within the control of a decision maker really. Qualitatively different to betting on a match, for example. Indeed! Tease... come on, let's have an ITK hint then. Just for fun. Good point. Murdoch, ****? Yeah, probably! So it's not Carlton Palmer?

Obviously there will be a contingent of morons (there usually is) acting like morons (they usually do) in the Northam stand (where they hang out). Most sensibly minded fans (there are usually plenty there) will wait until the situation is resolved before deciding whether or not persecution is the way forward.

Mental IMO. Coleman, Hoddle, Southgate or Shearer ahead of Mowbray? Yep, just mental!

Not necessarily. Dickson was excellent yesterday and Chamberlain has the potential to provide cover on the right, enabling Puncheon to play left if needed. It's not ideal but we don't suddenly have a crisis if Lallana is out for a while.

Hardly. We had bucketfulls of chances in both matches. Add that to beating Bournemouth and outplaying Bolton's second string and it's clear we're not being contained in the slightest.

"Well done, Professor" would be better.

Exactly right. What does the country need to do - cut public spending. Who benefits the most from public spending - the "poor". Therefore who is, correctly and justifiably, going to be "hit" hardest - the "poor". No more Sky Sports, bookies and fags. That last bit was a joke. I know most people are responsible and brilliant and hard-working. It was a joke, just a joke. Seriously though, the main problem facing the country is over-spending. It is inevitable, natural and sensible that those who benefit the most from this spending will lose out a bit. And if you're going to say "why should the poor pay for the bankers' mistakes?", then it (notwithstanding whether it's a silly question or not) is just as valid to ask "why should the rich.."? One is no fairer than the other (most "rich" are not bankers, never will be and had nothing to do with any bad banking practice) and there is, frankly, a logical disconnect there anyway.

Why do people assume that if a striker fails to score he, or indeed the team, must have a confidence problem? It doesn't follow. It might be the case but there's no evidence to suggest that at the moment, in fact the contrary is true. The reason we've only scored one goal in the last two matches is down to misses, mistakes and good goalkeeping. Simple as that. We've been "unlucky" in as much as a few players have committed these mistakes at the same time (for example, Lambert missing a fairly easy header on the same day Barnard hit the post twice and Orient's keeper had a blinder). It is quite clear, however, from our ever improving performances that confidence is not an issue. Barnard's performance against Orient was one of the most confident I've seen from him since he joined us. Some of our play was superb at times. We couldn't have played the way we did without confidence. Granted, if we continue to fail to win then confidence might become a problem but it's not at the moment. Based on our play we could have won our last two matches and scored five or six goals in the process and no one would have thought it unjust or undeserved. Thankfully our team and manager have sufficient backbone and emotional maturity (unlike some of our fans) not to naval gaze or throw the toys out of the pram after a couple of annoying results.

I saw some Villa fans hanging around near where the Dell used to be the year after we moved to SMS Tartan - just telling it how it happened. All stereotypes were well and truly reinforced that day. 'Twas just like the Hovis advert.

Maybe he was going to deliver a tracksuit to WGS's house as well? Or King Kev? Or Cosimo Sarli? God, I'm excited.