As a fan I want us to be in the premier league and I don't want anything to stand in the way of us achieving that objective as soon as possible. If the comments of some players are to be believed they do not want the same thing. Lallana wants a good cup run while I would rather we were out of it asap and can concentrate on the league. It was the FA Cup that cost us the chance of winning the old first division championship in 1984 when we ended up as runners up to Liverpool by 3 points but with a better goal difference. I am disappointed and feel let down when we lose so limply away from home as we have done recently and yet good old "pass back, pass sideways, pass anywhere but forwards" Hammond is still "upbeat" and "not worried" by being beating by the team at the bottom of the league. Will he not be too worried if we are beaten by PFC? I know I will be pretty angry if they don't put up a bit more of a fight for that match than they did at Bristol or Doncaster. So my question is do the players care as much or hurt as much as we fans do?
I think as a player you want to win every game.. you go in to a match with that mentality... But also the league table and can be very false at times.. and the previous two away games our players have gone in to the games expecting to win easily and been complacent and not bothered trying as hard as we would of liked. I think the fact that adam lallana saying he wants a good cup run doesn't mean he doesn't want to win the league.. but there is a real feel good factor in progressing far in to the FA Cup as the money is better and the teams of higher caliber actually play and want to win.. so to beat them is so much more satisfying. To answer your question... Ofcourse they care if they win.. more so if they lose as they know they've let the fans downs especially if we've been supporting them all 90minutes/season!
As fans, I think we have more 'emotional' investment that the players do. Their professional pride is dented when they lose but they probably don't have the same level of emotional attachment to a club as the fans do, unless they come from the local area. The Pompey match is going to be 'just another' match for most of those players, although I think they'd have to be completely from another planet not to realise what it means to the fans to go there and get a result.
To be fair, Lallana's hardly going to say that he wants us to lose the game and go out the cup at the first possible stage, is he? Deano's comments did concern me however. If 1 win in 8 away from home for a side that are top of the league doesn't concern him then the players need to wake up and get their act together. Relying on our home form to get us promoted will not be enough as when the inevitable dropped points at St Mary's does come, I fear we'll crumble. Maybe it's just the horrendous of losing to Pompey in 2 weeks that is making us take this latest inconsistency on the road too far but I for one feel the players need to step up the gears again and not accept Saturday's performance as adequate. We've got to be more positive away from home again, like we were at Ipswich, both tactically and in our performances. Here's hoping our away form counts for nothing at Fratton Park and the players show the enthusiasm they have on Twitter towards the game IN the game and get the win. Blackpool before that though.
Wasn't the reason we came 2nd in 1984 due to a strong finish? I don't believe we were ever really a serious threat to the title. As far as the cup is concerned, poor Adam may not have a choice as to whether he plays at Coventry. Like last year we will utilize the squad
Any player from either side who does not know what this fixture means must have been living on another planet. When they walk out of the tunnel at Fratton Park they'll know - or be devoid of any emotion or soul. I can't wait. [
Only Adam Lallana and Aaron Martin will truly understand the meaning of this match.The others will but not as much with the exception of Fonte,Fox,Richardson,Guly,Cork and Chaplow(if he plays) the others played in the last derby match.I don't think we should play Guly for this match we need someone who can make some crunching tackles(Hammond,Schneiderlin and Chaplow) I remember in the last derby match Scheiderlin played really well so hopefully he can reproduce that performance on the 18th.
I think that the DA is underestimating the desire to win every game. Professional footballers do not reach this level unless they have a real desire to win. I would expect them to be down after putting in a poor performance last time out. If they were still beating themselves up three days later I would be worried. What do you expect them to say to the question' "are you worried?" "yes, frankly it terrifies me how we have lost the plot"???
In the last derby match we should have win fair and square. Pompey were constantly outplayed and only David James kept them in it! The score line really didn't reflect the game at all and the commentates and presenters acknowledged it as well
If you ever heard a pro answer a loaded question with a statement that revealed any concern or lack of faith in his or his team's abilities, that's the time to start worrying.
I want the team to be confident..let the fans do the worrying. That's why Adkins uses 5 positives to one negative for each game...that must be a challenge with some games!
I tried this for the Bristol game. Five Positives: 1. The coach didn't break down on the way. 2. We looked smart in our away kit. 3. It was a nice bright day. 4. The Saints fans were able to get away early and avoid the traffic. 5. It didn't take the team too long to get home after the game. One Negative. We were well and truly outplayed and roundly beaten.
I don't think the players are expecting promotion - they will likely stay grounded and just keep doing the best they can
This must always be a difficult thing for some players to get their heads around. "If the team get promoted, will they still want me?" We know there will be some of the first team squad who won't be able to step up to the Premier League, so the question is, does that thought affect the effort they put in? I don't know the answer to that!
I don't buy that for one minute. These boys will be even more up for the Poopey game than any other. Those who originate locally or have been at the club for a long time will share the emotional attachment that us fans experience. Even those who do not quite understand this will raise their games yet another notch as that's what most of the players around them will be doing let alone the fans!
Most of the team are on decent length contracts, so they can all see themselves playing in the PL. Sure they'd like to test themselves.
Steve Williams was injured, but played in the semi and then hardly kicked another ball that season... we drew and lost one around that game and that cost us the league.
Yes, I agree they would all want to be playing in the Prem, but it might not be their choice whether they do! On this forum we post thread after thread about who we'd like to see brought into the squad to take us to the PL, which implies somebody in the squad would be replaced. Obviously there are certainties who we know could step up, like Lallana, Cork, Schneiderlin, (hopefully) Lambert etc. but there are a lot more in the current squad who might be left by the wayside, not because they don't want test themselves as you put it but because the club can't fit them in any more. My point was that maybe, possibly, some of the "fringe" players in the squad who aren't first on the team sheet might have that at the back of their minds which might subconciously affect their approach to a game when they do play.
