90 minutes without a shot on target, nice one Pompey! Did we play for a draw for 90 minutes as the stats would suggest?
Damnation......you beat me again to the post At least we gained a point which I feel we deserved. Presumably the Oxford players have been told to "threaten" the referee; by the manager/coaching staff; at every available opportunity, to weaken the opposition. Mongrels.
Alan Knight and Bunky Towers just discussing OUs players penchant for surrounding the Ref to get players sent off. Saying more or less what you've just posted Wooperts. Apparently....... they had an opposition player sent off in their first 5 games. Will look this up to see if that's true.
Actually having been at the game I for one am over the moon with the result, yes 3 pts would be better but this is away, against a top 6 team as has been said were playing some dirty tactics.......it was obvious that they were trying to reduce our boys in numbers, frustration did boil over at times but on the whole Pompey had the measure of them! If RB can keep this group together for the remainder of the season we WILL climb the table. The silly mistakes seem to have been stamped out, the late goals have been stamped out, the players look waaaaaaaaaay fitter and way more comfortable on the ball, all round job done The fans got behind the lads today, those players will grow in confidence and I have no doubt that they all heard us ring the chimes at the final whistle, in my book every player put in a good shift, something that until RB arrived was definitely missing..........and as for that twerp Dillon, he is either just bitter or was not at the kassam today! It is obvious to me that the new training regime is working, but then any regime that gets the players in for more than 2 days in a week will work! PUP
BP. Great to hear positive comments from a Pompey fan that attended the game. They sound a lot fitter now, than they were in Guy's days. What were your thoughts on the new boys BP ?
all the players had a good game mate, and yes it makes a change to be positive for a change. In all my years of following pompey I have never seen such dire displays for years like the games under GW (with the odd exception)! The new boys all put in good shifts and I have to say although a 0-0 draw, they all played well and did the simple things well, sounds a bit wierd writing about how simple play was good, but when its been missing its welcoming to have it back! Alfei was outstanding, nothing got through him and I really hope we can keep him until the end of the season, we really need that quality back there and he made a huge difference. Shorey had a good solid game, he played midfield which threw me to start with but in fairness to Painter, he probably played his best game today in defence so it worked well. I would liked to have seen a bit more from Ryan Taylor, but the service to him was not on today and big pat of all of the players today seemed to lack the most............pleasing though was the energy in the team, they looked really sharp and held the ball well, if we can get more creative from midfield through to the strikers it will happen, goals will come BP
He was at the Kassam today - and to be fair I only posted 1 bit of what he said as I got sidetracked. He went on to say a lot more about how they were improving under Richie Barker etc. I also saw a comment from someone saying that he'd "Met the Oxford midfielder Scott Davies at a birthday party. He turned Pompey down to join Oxford as we chose to sign John Akinde instead. He also said that pompey training was an absolute mess"
I know we had problems with training grounds back in pre-season but you have to wonder if this carried on the whole time under Guy. It's no wonder the board stepped in so quick if that's so. A bit of a disappointment as well to be honest.
a decent training set up is a fundamental part of any football club, our current training facilities are far from ideal, but the regime under GW was disappointing in the least! I had the up most respect for him as a genuinely decent nice bloke, he did his bit in seasons past under the worst circumstances imagineable, but he just didn't have the respect of the players......maybe too nice and too relaxed? RB is a different kettle of fish, his presence is completely different, the players seem to respond to him better..........his presence is much stronger.......and for our club to move forward his character will be a great asset. The training ground I guess is an issue that RB will address, he has made recent reference that its no good where they are, but his improvements are showing, bit by bit.......... PUP
looking back at some of the posts and reply's on the PFC facebook page, I can only imagine that the board haters and GW backers had not been to game, because until RB arrived, none of the squad had any fitness............I know the squad has been bolstered, but we just look like we can go games with out conceeding silly goals! Once the fitness improves more, and the strikers gain confidence in front of goal, the goals will come......we have players who are willing to use the ball and can run with it........just need a couple of players who can get on with it in the box
The board haters and GW backers aren't necessarily the same people though. I have to admit that I wasn't keen on Guy being appointed initially because it was bound to go sour and I thought he deserved better than that, also there was nothing to show that he would make a good manager - the time he was caretaker and did good was when he shared the caretaker role with Stuart Gray. But once he was appointed then I was happy to back him. Finally it became obvious that the players were lacking confidence, seemed unfit, and now we are discovering just how 'laissez faire' the regime was under him. I still think Guy's biggest mistake was surrounding himself with other inexperienced advisors. Richie Barker is confident enough to bring Steve Coppell along with him. Says a lot about the man.
Yep agree, RB having Coppell as a sounding board can only ever be a good thing, 4 eyes instead of 2 etc etc........I am not sure as you say, GW having inexperienced advisers was ever going to work, he is still a club legend in my book, just not up to the task as a manager at this level yet, maybe in time. I heard an interesting conversation last week with RB, having some one like SC in the stands gives him another prospective on the field that he may not otherwise have..........so far I like the set up and seeing the improvements for me means we are going in the right direction.
I remember when Steve Coppell was at Reading he often went and sat in the stands for part of the match. I just think we are so lucky to have him along as part of the package, such experience all for a few expenses.
