Razor

Exactly. I'd think a lot less of him if he just blindly defended us in every scenario. blueyes.gif I completely agree

I think he has changed his tactics to a bit more of an attacking plan in general, but i think the last 2 performances have been largely due to the players themselves.

Currently Smith & Martins - but i dont think it will create enough goals Best Possible - Viduka & Owen - If these two were fit and firing... Would be immense... they would rival some of the best striking partnerships in the league. Sadly keeping even 1 fit at any one time is going to be a challenge. JW but is there some kind of statistic that would list when Viduka scores his goals timeline wise? Would be interesting.

Hopefully another positive step forward for the team, build some momentum. Would be criminal not to get a result here after the drawing with table leaders Arsenal. 2-0 Martins and someone else There might be a few changes due to fatigue/niggles picked up in the past 2 matches, the players did have to hustle pretty hard. I wouldn't blame Smith if he needed subbing in the 2nd half (6 goals in 45 mins would be pushing it though ), he was running non-stop for a lot of the Arsenal game. Crowd should be really good again, important they back the lads right the way through again.

Great game by him tonight. His pace saved us in the last few mins when Arsenal were countering, if he hadn't of caught up to the Arsenal player they would have had a good chance of scoring.

Fantastic performance. Every player worked their socks off and made life hard for Arsenal. Will be a big boost for team morale. Well Done Lads :clap: Great that Taylor got the goal, he looked absolutely estatic. Funny, we lost to Blackburn who AV beat convincingly, and then drew with Arsenal who beat AV. Showing signs of improvement

The chances of hiring a new manager and him being immediately successful are very low, as the past has shown. It still could work though, but giving Allardyce some more time, heck its only been half a season, has a higher chance of success imo. But for him to be given that time the team selection and tactics need to start working, or change. More time should be given, but only if it warranted.

This is the best match to get a result and start to turn things around, because its not expected we'll win. Lose this and then its Birmingham, and the pressure will be absolute maximum on the team and Allardyce. I really think if Allardyce picks the right team, and the players play with the same attitude as was seen at Blackburn, we can get a point or three. It's absolutely crucial every fan at the stadium gets behind the players, even if things don't go the way we want them to.

Apart from the Jenas comment etc, he's talking sense. Booing certainly doesnt help the team, especially new players, and a fear factor this early in SA stint here cant be good. The team is certainly frustrating at the moment, but as fans people should get behind them because its the best way we can aid the teams success. Booing is certainly warranted, but it isnt the best way to help the club, and fans should have that interest at heart.

12th

N'Zogbia

He must be so disapointed. I now cannnot see any top club offering him a new contract in January, including us, we all know he is a brilliant player but his injury woes arent lessening, I always hope he will come back and bang goals in, but with every further set-back it seems less and less likely to happen. On the bright side this will give Martins and Viduka a chance to create a partnership, and give the former some game time he thouroughly deserves. Due to Owens current form, and the fact we have 2 more top strikers to take his place, the team arent going to lose too much due to his injury in the short term.

I don't really care how we win it, long as its legal, without proper investment its going ot be increasingly hard to win anything major now. I accidentaly voted "no", mis-click, so thats one less crazy person imo

I think communication is something thats really letting the team down, the number of occasions last night where two players ran for a ball or noone at all or there was a mix up in general was staggering, there were far far less by Pompey. Its a thing that will improve in time and once it is even at a decent standard will greatly improve performance.

I voted no, but unless you are a professional footballer it is pretty hard to really know imo.

Wait a minute, the bbc article with "he will have to perform to be offered a new contract" (17th Oct) came before the "you can't afford him" (Last few days) article in the Journal.

I thought BS would have learnt from Derby, but the team was largely different, so i guess they cant be compared in all aspects. But ill be worried if he doesnt learn from Reading...

I think you have a point there. But i'm not sure this is a good style of football to be playing, especially with the players we've got

seriously he cant say much more than that. Hope he gets a great reception tonight and is given a proper go. Come on Mikey Edit: Tomorow Night

Spurs = Win Reading = Win Portsmouth = Draw Mackems = Win We should be banging in the goals, and the defence should be improving all the time. I know its optimistic but may as well be positive.

I think its a simple and intelligent way to stop paper talk/rumours. I beleive what he's saying aswell, but that is the most likely reason he has come out publicly and said it.

I don't think Anelka is a good enough long term solution. We already have Viduka and Owen in the later parts of their careers plus a young Martins. If we needed to replace Owen because we sold him or he wants to leave we should get in someone younger, and if for some reason it was replacing Martins we defintely need someone younger, and i can't see Viduka leaving before PL retirement. Though i'm all for swapping Ameobi with Anelka if Bolton are in the Championship next season .

But does Owen realise that?

If we lost Owen to City we could kiss making a "Big 5" goodbye, as well as our chances of winning anything for a season or 2. Both on the count NUFC have lost him and City have gained him and would push us out.