The new attacking signings certainly seem to be giving certain players a kick up the ar$e. Connelly I thought looked a lot better today, worked hard and had some good touches and when I saw guly getting ready to come on I thought here we go he wont be up for it given the snow, however he came on and looked lively. Puncheon has been fantastic in the last two league games and I think falque has a part to play as well. Defensively I thought we were very solid today i might add. UPS
Some more game time for a few players on Tuesday, shake it up a bit & prepare for Burnley. Glad we are at home for the next couple, the weather looks bad & it will cause trouble.
Agreed squad is looking good now, particularly up front. They'll all get their chance. No goals today though, hope we get a few in the next few games, people are catching up with our untouchable goal difference!
If you think about it the following players weren't in the squad today: Barnard Lee Chaplow Falque De Ridder Hooiveld I've probably missed someone else but that indicates that we have options to play with going forward. It's at the back we are a but thin at the moment.
I still wouldn't have minded us getting in another option or two defensively (and by that I don't just mean defenders, but also defensive midfielders), as we are only an injury/suspension or two away from being in trouble there, but yes we now have real competition offensively. Ok, I think it's safe to say that Lambert and Lallana (when fit and available) have places in the matchday squad secured. But the likes of Connolly, Lee, De Ridder and Falque all have to go out there and perform now when they get a chance, if they're going to stay in for the next game - even Puncheon, Chaplow, Guly and Sharp I shouldn't think would get too lives until Adkins decided to axe them. And then of course there's the quite obvious fact that when/if injuries and suspensions do again hit us, we've actually got suitable replacement for them now (Lambert excepted).
That's rather damning him with faint praise. I think it's quite an achievement to play slightly better than an entire team [your words].
Reminds me of the old joke about Marian Pahars having to play an entire Pompey team on his own, at The Dell, with the match ending 1-1. When asked by his teammates, how Portsmouth managed to score, he exclaimed that he was doing fine, at 1-0, until the ref sent him off..!
