spyinthesky

I wonder how many fans (not only from England & Scotland) but other countries too can afford the inflated flight, hotel and ticket costs that the next World Cup will cost. Personally I hope the whole competition is a flop and it's a middle finger up to Trump and the knobs at FIFA but England win (some hope!!)

I reckon this is all Fake News. Cant see any mention about the 'Blue Army' disrespecting anyone on the Portsmouth News website.

I wonder if the jury is out on this post?

Hopefully he is nearing a return to full fitness but would he find a place in the starting line up at the moment? I thought Lander & Downes die well today and Aziz is beginning to score goals.

Wonder if his recent car spat may have affected the decision to leave him out from the squad or the fact that the club realise he is not very good.

I suppose yesterday was indicative of the Championship. Millwall won comfortably against a team in form and yet they were comfortably despatched last week by the team down the road who now sit in the relegation zone. Unless Saints can manage to shore up their defence and find a robust target man and possibly a top rated 'keeper, then the team is destined for mid table this season and the possible loss of better players in the summer. There is, of course, the possibility of sneaking into the play offs but even if we did go up there would have to be some inspired sourcing of Premiership ready players and the owners finding the money to finance the necessary purchases.

Eckhert reckoned he was pleased with Aribo's performance yesterday according to his interview with The Echo!!

Dont some of the boats start their journeys in French rivers/canals so passengers dont always get aboard on the coast?

That bit of info is doing the rounds. Believe he may be a bit injury prone

Is he any good with crosses?

Couple of random thoughts from last nights game. Baz made a very important save to prevent an equaliser at 1-0. He also concerned me when passing across the six yard box with an opponent in close attendance which could have gone horribly badly. Begovic made a great save when Leo went through at the end of a terrific rum. Both Fellows and Robinson should have done better when in good positions. The Ref did well for us with some of his decisions. The attendance was disappointing after a very decent performance at Charlton. Leicester fans ticket take up was very poor for a club of their stature. Smallest away following so far this season? Downs touched the ball once (?) and seemed to be injured in the process.

If the team's form and results continue as has been the case since Tonda has been in charge, definitely give him the job until the end of the season with a decent bonus if we go up. However part of me thinks that the team are getting the rub of the green, which wasnt the case under Still. The first goal would have been ruled out for offside in the Prem and possibly the second. The Ref was on our side too, especially with the second goal when Leicester could have had a free kick in the move which led to Azaz scoring. Downes could easily have been sent off for his rash challenge later in the game. All that said, how nice it was to walk away from the game with a spring in my step!!

One of the things that is really noticeable with Downs, he never gets close to an opposing player to defend the ball. It seems he is actually adverse to winning the ball just as he is to hit the ball towards those white posts.

Trying to remember when Cam Bragg made his debut. Think it was a Cup Game a few years back when we were in the Prem. He was involved in the game with another youngster who scored.

Watched the Sheffield derby this afternoon. Typical hustle and bustle with little class from either side. That said Sheff Utd dominated Weds a bit more than we did. Danny Ings didnt show up much which probably shows he is a bit of a bit of a busted flush but only time will tell.

I still have the scars from that game too!! Ted MacDougalls debut?

We should all be proud and thankful to our relatives in this country who fought against the Nazi regime. Despite what many flag waving 'patriots' may believe, us Brits did not win either of the two World Wars without significant manpower assistance from Commonwealth countries and later the economic power of the USA.

And to be fair, the younger European generation have enjoyed a relatively affluent (ie 'softer') life than their forefathers. I dont blame them for that but that is a fact of life. For example, the Danish Govt are starting to call up 18 year olds (both male & female) to spend time learning the type of skills they may need in a conflict. That is not going down too well. In comparison, Russia, led by a State controlled media, are telling their population that are under sustained attack by the West (particularly the UK) and they are obliged to defend their Motherland. Very worrying times.

Alex, If you were PM at the time Russia invaded Crimea would you have sent our under resourced Military into the Black Sea to prevent the incursion?

It would. The record attendance for a 4th Division game (ie equivalent of League 2) was Palace v Millwall in 1960/1 of 37,774. Something to aim for I guess!!!

Trump and his businesses were involved in around around 4,000 legal cases in the USA before becoming President and since then has been involved in more high profile cases against media outlets. All this comes from Trump's association with a lawyer and mentor who taught Trump to use the legal system aggressively by attacking, changing the subject and making accusations. This scattergun policy is not too successful as apparently Trump loses around 90% of the cases he is involved in although like a committed gambler he only promotes the big cases he manages to win. I wonder what would have happened if Barack (Hussein) Obama had asked for an apology plus millions of $$$ compo for reputational damage as a consequence of Trump's accusation that Obama was not born in the USA.

MLG Even at 40%+, our squad wages will still be at the very top end of wages paid in the Championship. I understand the loan fee for Ramsdale was between £3-£4m which, if true, is a tidy sum and I guess Saints will allow him to find another club at the end of this season and try to recoup most of the £22m, reportedly, we paid for him. It would be interesting to learn how much loan fees were for: Smallbone (Millwall) Taylor (WBA) Brerton Diaz (Derby) Bella Kotcha (Verona) Sugawara (Bremen) Sanda (???) Probably £2-£3m in total to add to Ramsdale say £3m and say £95m from the sale of Dibling/Fernandez/Bednerak/Tall Paul and Sulemana. So say £100m revenue from sales and around £46m from inward transfers. That leaves us with a big squad which probably sits on our books at an overall cost of around £168m, with another £40m 'worth' of players out on loan. The overall squad expenditure certainly doesnt seem to be translating to value on the field of play!!

And further back when the team was playing in Third Division (South) but I guess player ability is relative to the level they are playing at and the transfer fee involved.. I makes me feel my age that at one time the record Saints fee was £1,000 to buy Jimmy Shields in the 1950's. a fee was which funded by the Saints Supporters club. At the same time Saints signed Derek Reeves from Bournemouth Gas Company on a free and went on to score record amounts of goals in the Third Division.

We have 'enjoyed' two games against teams we should really be expected to beat with our squad and that happened but not in an impressive way. Forthcoming games away to Charlton & Millwall and home to Leicester will be much sterner tests. If the team remains set up in the same way as in the last two (and previous) games then the current small amount of positivity is likely to disappear.

And he made one pretty decent save in the first half.