david in sweden

excellent post Professor. You seemed to have covered all the points perfectly. Pity MLT puts himself in the limelight so much....first it was Pinnacle who made a mug of him, now it's Sky Sports... Please Matt, for everyone's sake.... back off and leave it whilst you have some credibility left.

yes great, BBC clocked the goal at .... 37 secs. well done Sam!

cos he's been seen in training ..wearing boots. But he's still not " Saints -fit "...give it another couple of weeks.....

shouldn't think so.....and then only if another 3 players get injured first......and then he'd only get on the bench......Houghton probably thinks were still in the Championship....

Saints U21 defender.....tough looking guy.

I wonder who..... "injured him " ...or did he just fall awkwardly?

It must surely be fitness.....as the Norwegian season finished about 9 weeks ago...don't know if / how much he's trained since..and I doubt if he was "Saints fit " when he came. and of course ...Jos has looked a lot better in the last month than he did at the start of the season....don't see MP changing him out yet.....unless he has a really bad game.

I assume.. Chaplow.... or Lee....or Mayuka...or Guly (when fit). (for the record JWP has been on as sub. in only 2 of his last 8 bench selection, and then not as first change ...I hardly think letting him play for a month, or so would greatly upset our formation - would it ?)

aha !....you mean that it devalues my viewpoint, because I don't keep a perfect record of every player's birth date? Should he be better.. now that he's 22? btw..the Torres /Carroll comment was that even fees of £35 and £50 million.. and in our case £12 million...don't automatically guarantee quality in every game.

Normally, " loaning out players " has been a tactic to get a player match-fit (if they are seldom getting a bench place) or a ploy to get another club " interested enough to buy them ". However, with up-and -coming talents (like JWP) thye need match-practice. He's very promising, though still quite young and needs to up his game time - if he's to be a serious challenger along with Lallana, Steve Davis, Ramirez, Puncheon, Cork and Schneiderlin.....(and there's still Guly, too). I, for one, didn't expect him to hold his place and be playing all season. Newcomers seldom do..but his potential is obvious to everyone. A few matches , at a " not-so-difficult " level will help him develop far more than all the U21 games can ever do.

Early season Fonte was absolute kass......was single-handedly responsible for both goals Wigan scored at SMS, but then he turned the corner and was considerably better before he was injured... Jos had a nightmare start and two OG's on the score sheet didn't look good, but he wasn't the main cause of our terrible start, either....but he looks much better of late. Some people were very critical of Yoshida in earlier games, but he seems to have come good, ( though he appeared to be at fault for first Wigan goal, when he went early to try and met the incoming corner -or was he pushed by Caldwell ?) ...AND who do we blame for their second goal?. By all accounts, Forren isn't " Saints fit " yet ....the Norwegian season finished in November....and no-one (except perhaps MP) can judge how ready he is before he's played a single game. I'll be glad to get everyone back 100% fit and have some choices at the back.

....and the list of 100+ goal-scorers is not along one, either....as you see from Andre's post earlier on this thread.

....and the list of 100+ goal-scorers is not along one, either....

I would prefer it if we had a little more encouragement for players and not the reverse. Agreed, For some of his performances have been pretty anonymous...but surely he's not alone in that respect, but no-one plays well ALL THE TIME..and just because he cost £12 million ....doesn't make him a better player, (only the most expensive), and it will take time for this.... barely 21 y.o. ......to find a role in our Prem. side. Surely the examples of Torres and Carroll must have brought that to your notice.

well it depends if your critics are Spurs, MU, or City fans...but as far as Pompey are concerned ...we must be on another planet ..or maybe they are.

yes Colin. Now that POMPEY are in the L1 drop zone, perhaps Nicola Cortese can find another billionaire to buy them up and start a revival ....NO! on second thoughts - don't fancy that idea.

you're joking, right ? playing in a lower league AGAIN ..with anything over 20,000 looking like " a good gate...." NO more televised matches....NO more £60 million TV sponsorship ...and back to buying in players for 250K.......or being glad to get someone " half-good " on a free transfer... Really, I don't think so.

well what would you call it TDD.?... ..you've been one of the most vocal with your " negative assessments " of our players in the past ........or else why have you managed to clock up over 33, 000 posts ? re-read yourself on some of the previous threads....if you think that's an exaggeration.

Oh not again, please !.......besides we aren't even filling the current stadium at present.....as soon as we get into Europe.....(what's that -you don't think we ever will get in a Euro competition ?)...then why go on about it......there must be some more interesting topic up for discussion.......

so now it's Ramirez turn to get heaps of criticism. Sadly, some " regulars " on this site take it in turns to start " player-bashing " as soon as the target of their disapproval starts to find form, and they move on to someone else. From the start it was the "inexperienced Clyne ", then Jos (who was one of the outstanding players last season).....and suddenly that " no-good " Puncheon came into some form and.... what about JayRod - " what a waste of money he was".....but suddenly he's come on a ton in the last month.....can't slate him any more..... so now.... it's Rodriguez' turn. I can remember back FIVE decades and I can say one thing for certain.....NO-ONE ...NO-ONE...plays well all the time, sometimes they even have a wasted season. No-one is good all the time. NOT Paine, or Ron Davies, not Channon, not Shearer, not Beattie and even MLT....especially not MLT ...despite his immense contribution to our history. It's bad news for all you critics who; never miss a day at the job.....are the only worthwhile person in your workplace, but know this..even you ..may not be as perfect as you think. Like everyone else we have to live with our shortcomings...the only problem for most critics to accept is that (for footballers) " a bad day at the office " ..comes only once a week.

someone tell me what priority a former player has in the Chairman's scheduling ? I've been a fan for over 50 years (thoughI'm not with David Bull or Herbie Taylors' status).. .but I don't expect to get an interview with NC either. None of us know what Cortese is doing with his time, and just because most people can only see far enough ahead to the next fixture, it doesn't mean that we can expect NC to drop everything and get involved in a slanging match (which will undoubtedly be recounted punch for punch by MLT on Sky if he doesn't get satisfaction) for whatever it is that's bothering him.....Was he so upset at NOT becoming Club Chairman with Pinnacle.?.....or does he have another agenda ? I think MLT should hold his tongue.... until after " the meeting ", when he's got something to ponder over.....and hopefully he won't continue this witch hunt.

sadly, I agree 100%. Matt's glorious career is long past, and I'm surprised he still has as much " pulling power " as he seems to have in some quarters. Having said that you can't judge someone without knowing them, I suspect that NC has an open mind on the matter (whatever it is that's so important for MLT to complain about )...I haven't heard any vitriolic outbursts coming from Cortese.. whereas MLT seems to take every media sound bite to further to denegrate Cortese. I have a certain degree of respect for both men for their various professional achievements, but I hope for the sake of the club, that they can see eye to eye on matters, or else.... this will escalate into a very unpleasant issue that won't go away quickly.....especially at a time when we need a show of solidarity at SMS.

watching the game on Saturday, the commentator repeatedly commented on Wigan players who fouled both Shaw and Rodriguez (out of ref's line of vision).... and got away with it. It's totally ridiculous when millions of people can watch a game on TV (complete with replays), whilst the ref. is directing an entirely different game where he is is conned by such players and misses important decisions. Although it's not totally true to say " the camera never lies" ..it sees a darn sight more than an unsighted ref. or one who misjudges a situation. No wonder they get so much criticism.

If (the England manager) is stubborn enough not to pick him ..on grounds of age....or whatever, so what. England will get massacred anyway.....Don't worry Rickie, IMHO..... it's a good game to miss. Historical note; in the mid 1970's... at the height of his success, Mick Channon was dropped by the then) England manager ...(Revie?) and playing without him England were appauling, and lost badly in a very poor game. Though we were all disappointed beforehand...in retrospect it was a good game NOT to be involved in. If England play as poorly as I expect (v Brazil), Rickie may well be in even greater demand ..later on.

good performances - shame about the results, but i do like this MP style. Our players have been trained up on the fast-moving, quick-passing game but now there is more aggression in the attack, and less of the "pretty possession football " that highlighted the Adkins tactics. Also nice to see that MP is not afraid to make early substitutions - if things aren't working out by HT. The subbing-in of Steve Davis (beginning to look good) and Adam Lallana (almost back to his former best) has totally changed the style of play and given us that extra push late on in games. Ironically, both Puncheon and Ramirez have had very low-key games since MP's arrival. JP seems almost invisible whereas he was our main wing threat before, and Ramirez (who I still rate)....hasn't found his best role yet. MP has now highlighted our problem with defending set-pieces / corners especially, and it remains to be seen if he has the nous to solve that problem.