spyinthesky

1. Introducing a conveyor belt of new talent from the Academy - GONE 2. Identifying new players and (mainly) buying cheap, selling on at a profit - GONE 3. Making progress every year - STALLED OR PROBABLY GONE 4. Competing with bigger clubs - GONE 5. Exciting football - GONE 6. Improving player performance - GONE 7. Owners we have confidence in - VERY UNCERTAIN 8. Aspirations for European Football - GONE It was nice whilst it lasted!!!!

I think last year the pre season Relegation odds were 25-30/1 If they are down to 7/1 this year, that says something

Derby, a decent enough Championship team walloped us 3-0 (we can possibly put this down to them being a week ahead of us in preparation) Vigo, a mid ranking La Liga team, looked a class above us first half before their line up changed. BMG, a top 6 German League team, made us look like a struggling Championship side and they won with incredible ease. In the process we have scored 3 goals and conceded 8 and today Borussia missed at least 3 golden opportunities It would be interesting to learn how much it cost each side to assemble their squads and what the size of their wage bill. It seems to be that Les and Co have assembled a large and very mediocre squad who are paid well beyond their ability. I also think that Mark Hughes and his coaching staff need to look at the current system of play as it doesnt seem to be working

Three particular (of many) memories of Cliff 1. His booming voice when on the field of play 2. Taking over in goal (part time) in the 5-4 League Cup win v Leeds which didnt finish until past 10.00Pm after floodlight failure 3. Sharing a room with him on a football trip to France Thank for all the memories Cliff

Last year Huddersfield were royally predicted to be everyone's whipping boys and very few would have predicted Stoke, WBA and Swansea to go down Unfortunately I predict Bournemouth and Brighton to again be above us at the end of the season especially if we cant get a decent target man onto the pitch

Massive demand?

Would have given him a 6 as only only a short time but looked lively and would like to see him on longer on Saturday in place of Long I thought Vigo were sharper than us first half and the little striker who played against us in the Europa Cup for Mittyeland, and scored the first goal, looked good and should be prominent on our scouting list. I also reckon the Ceta captain and right back was very good I am pleased that we won but I am sure we would have struggled if Vigo had kept a full strength side.

Are the Valley Slags still going?

Spot on post Music far too loud for pre match moaning with those around me about who is playing/not playing. Bring back the Albion Band and even some half time Police Dog displays as an alternative to the kids running round the pitch. btw whats happened to Benali's daughter - some suggestion she has been poached by Liverpool

Didnt Paul Hardyman used to play fro Pompey? If correct that will go down well with our friends down the road

I agree Gabbi is an OK player who has the capability to score 8-10 goals a season if all goes well. However I like to see a player who can also defend from the front. For example, Beattie and Ormerod were not top level Premiership front men but they had decent goalscoring records and put in a real shift closing down opponents from the front. Gabbi doesnt do this and also I think he is unsuitable playing as a lone target man. Hope he proves me wrong though and scores loads this season

Having been disappointed with our 3-0 defeat by Derby it is comforting to learn that Everton have been absolutely dire in their 4 friendlies to date. They have lost all of them including a 3-0 defeat at Blackburn which could have been more. Apparently Everton were dire at the back and our old friend Morgan has had stinkers whenever he has been on the pitch. Surprised to see that Steklenberg and Martina are still with Everton so that may say something. However they still have players returning from the World Cup and seem to have more money to invest in their squad. Still it is reassuring we werent the only team to get walloped by lower league teams

Made I larf!!

Spot on comment

Some suggestion that Blackburn may be interested in taking him on loan. If so, good move for all parties???

For those of you who watch Strictly Come Dancing, don't be surprised to see Harry and/or his dog involved in the next series. Just sorting out the financials You heard it here first!!

Here's a Pompey related thought Saints sell JWP (which would be a shame as he is a local lad who has come thro the Academy and comes across as committed to the cause ) for £10+m and use the funds to buy out the Micky Mouse owners down the road and have some change left to bring in some decent young British players. Chuck in a few of our better U21's and see if Pompey can make the Championship as our 'Feeder Club' JWP would be happy to have indirectly assisted the area where he came from, Pompey fans have the chance for a bit of localised success and they appreciate the largesse put their way by their 'friends' along the M27 and all becomes sweetness and light between rival sets of supporters. Johnnie Westwood becomes the standard bearer for both clubs. .................Oh well on reflection lets keep JWP.................

Much that it pains me to say so but West Ham are a significantly bigger club than us by more or less every measure With regard to Lemina, on his day he looks a top class player. Unfortunately these days are not consistent and he sometimes slips below average and falls into the 'luxury' category. I thought he was more suited playing further forward but that personal assessment is for another day I would be disappointed to see him go but if the money was good and we could replace him adequately then no biggie.

Perhaps the kids for a fiver has helped. Hope so as attendances at our early season games are generally fairly low. I can always remember the excitement of going to our first ever 1st Division game v Man City at The Dell in 1966, buoyed by England's win in the World Cup, and arriving extra early at the Milton Rd turnstiles. Expectation was a full house of 30,000 but the crowd was a disappointing 19,900, if I remember correctly Terry Paine scored in a 1-1 draw

Anyone seen the clip of that nicely perfumed and sartorially elegant 'Supporter of the Year' Mr PFC Westwood rogering one of his fellow fans (clip available on the UI). All in public view so must be a regular way of greeting old friends at games down Pompey way

Anyone got an idea on how season ticket sales are going? I reckon at least 10% down on last year with very few new uptakes Hope I am spectacularly wrong but can see crowds averaging less than 30,000 for first time in our Prem history at SMS

My 50+ years supporting Saints takes its toll. The disparity between the top 6 and the rest increases. Saints will struggle, unless a 12+ goal a season player is found. The U21's lose on penalties to Pompey in the Checkatrade Trophy and there is an open top bus parade on Southsea Common Harry Redknapp gets his long awaited knighthood after a continuing campaign by the Pompey News. Average home crowds at SMS fall below 30,000 for the first time in recent history. Donald Trump is Impeached and takes over from Ralph as the main spokesman for the club. Ralph leaves to become the main trade negotiator for the Dominion of Canada

I think this is a valid point However if you compare the overall transfer in costs of both squads and the annual outlay on wages, I reckon there would be quite a difference and that should show itself in the overall quality Saints should have to offer. It is pertinent to factor in the likelihood that Derby were a week advanced in their training and more up for a home game against higher league opponents but this really does not excuse the disparity in performance between the two sides. When I used to play we always wanted to put in a decent performance whatever the circumstances. That didnt seem to happen yesterday and this is worrying for the future

So that is £37m ish in transfer fees 'wasted' although you could say that Boufal earned us 2 points with his goal v WBA. I suppose we will get reasonable loan fees for both players and most/all of their wages paid by the two clubs On the surface though two abysmal signings

Didnt we sign a highly rated youngster from Dundee last year Whatever happened to him?