Jack Compton is off to Colchester, along with Josh Thompson. According to Radio Solent a deal has already been agreed for Compton and Joe Dunne is confident of agreeing a deal with Josh. Hmmmm - I thought we would try to keep hold of the youngsters.
I think I'll sticky this thread- there will certainly be a lot of movement in the Pompey squad in the coming month! Josh Thompson looked a good player for the future, it would be a shame to let him go.
I agree Josh Thompson had 'something' about him - could imagine him playing alongside Ricardo Rocha in defence. Didn't think much of Jack Compton though - hardly ever a threat when he played, or came on as a sub. We need proper wingers.
Jake Jervis has now been recalled from his loan spell by Birmingham, so that's another space opened up in the squad. If we lose too many players in January we will have another period of players "gelling" before we start seeing results. League 2 tour could be staring us in the face.
Howard, Mcleod, Williamson, Michalik, Gyepes, Thompson, Russel and Compton will all go. Build the team around Rocha and Walker for the 2nd half of the season. A few cheeky loans and some cheapo freebies, coupled with youth and we may stand a chance of survival. If we stay up then yee haa, if we go down que sera sera. We've been there before and fan power will see us bounce back.
If we were to go down- but the PST took control, how do you think we'd fare next next season? Perhaps if we could get a few good players to come in, pull off a few decent loans, and get some freebies in, mixed with youth- we'd end up upper mid-table, hoping for play-offs year after. It seems a far fetched idea now, but I hope we could realistically do that!
Let's be realistic here eh? We're allowed 5 loans in the first team on match day. Simon Eastwood plus Phil Smith GKs that's 7, Ashley Harris and Adam Webster makes 9 - Ricardo Rocha is bound to stay, that leaves another 8 places to be filled. Are we sure Liam Walker will hang around? Who is going to be around in January? Only players who are available on a Bosman, unable to find a club so far and none of whom will be match fit, probably haven't played since the summer. And are we likely to find a striker to replace McLeod? I've just been reading tweets from several people in and around the PST bidders stating who they want to get rid of from the current squad - as they aren't good enough for the mighty Pompey. If it wasn't football who in their right mind would go and work for a company that is on the verge of folding and is offering some of the worst terms going with no guarantee that they would be taken care of if they get injured. Sometimes I think our fans live in cloud cuckoo land.
Think Liam Walker will hang around, 3rd eye, but agree withy Hermy that most the others will depart. Let us hope that the other players lined up by Luke Dowling as replacements, are "up to the job", if and when we sign them
Not often I have a real rant like that Wooperts. The sad fact is that we are going to get players that other clubs released or didn't want to sign. That's the place we are in at the moment. No good criticising the players for not being good enough for us. We are going to end up with a team of unfit players who have to have time to 'gel' - plus a 10 point deduction. I just think whatever Luke Dowling does, we are going to scrape the bottom of the barrel and we don't have a manager who can talk the talk.
It was always going to happen. Players at Fratton are only on 1 month contracts so are basically 'in the shop window'. Any-one worht their salt will be snapped up by other sides {you can hardly blame the players - they need stability}. The best we can hope for Corporal Punishment is that he can some-how patch together a squad full of other sides' rejects that can some-how stay up. With a 10 point penalty looming though, it might be time soon to dig out the old AA Road map and look up places such as Accrington and Morecambe
Jon Harley has stated that he wants to stay and will sign a new contract if it's offered to him. 1 down - 9 squad places left to fill. And - he's been helping out with the acadamy, training the under 15's and under 16's.
I like Jon Harley. He is such a nice bloke, always smiling, even when an opposing player has hacked him to the ground. I prefer him playing in midfield to left back, where his pace is somewhat exposed. Does a sound job though.
Harley's still not exactly great at penalty's though, is he? Then again, he's probably still better than McLeod
Looks like McLeod's leaving in January and Whittingham's after David Connolly as his replacement. http://www.chichester.co.uk/sport/f...ngham-targets-international-striker-1-4630145
Izale McLeod didn't even make it to January - he has left already, by mutual consent, and David Connolly has signed up. http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/LatestNews/news/Connolly-Arrives-McLeod-Departs-4021.aspx
David Connolly is still a very good player and I felt that his appearances for Saints demonstrated that he was probably the most intelligent player leading our front line. Added to that, he always gave 100%. Had it not been for injuries, I think he would have been picked up by a number of clubs as he can clearly still do a job, especially at League One level. A fit-again David Connolly would easily be the most cultured player Portsmouth will have had in their team all season. I would see this as being a major coup for Portsmouth albeit there are always concerns over his fitness. I'm afraid that I can't see Portsmouth surviving this season - even without a ten point deduction. The PST may be a romantic notion but a friend told me this week that the money has not necessarily been forthcoming and there isn't much in the pot to last beyond January. You really have to fear for Portsmouth's future and even if the club is rescued, I think it would remain in the balance as to whether you will cope in the lower tier. The kind of money needed to return Portsmouth to the level they should be playing at and ensuring that the stature of the club is where it should be is well beyond the club for the foreseable future. I was fortunate enough to get a ticket to watch the Boxing Day game at Old Trafford (although I am neither a supporter on the Mancs or Newcastle - it was a terrific match for the neutral) and even the fans in Old Traffold thought that you had no hope of surviving. I think the failure of Portsmouth has resonnated well beyond the South coast and alot of clubs are looking at PFC's fate in anguish seeing how quickly it has been for a team to field a number of England internationals to scraping the barrel to find former pro's now outside the game who fancy a month-long contract. There is a lot of sympathy for you supporters in the game which seems to have so many clubs struggling to make ends meet whether it is Portsmouth or non-league clubs like Winchester City who seem to be heroically experiencing similar problems in retaining players.
I don't know who this friend is Ian, but a few weeks ago, over 1mil had already been converted from the original pledges. The PST have been contacting people who haven't followed up yet and the overall concensus is that after new years they will be paying up.
Seemingly Connelly has been training with us for a few weeks, so why do the Snews not post up a more recent photo - in a blue shirt !!
I'm sure the M U Rowdy fans are well versed in our problems and that their opinions hold more weight than those of any other fans. I expect they don't have a clue and nor would I expect them to. Outside of Portsmouth (and maybe some Southampton fans with enough interest to check what's going on) no-one else is that bothered. I work in London so come across a fairly diverse range of supporters and other than a "what's happening with Pompey" no-ones paying that much attention. So why bring the few opinions of the biggest club in the world (c) into an argument? I'm sure they've got better things to do with their time than worry about the finances of a Ligue Un club. If I said I recently attended a Barcelona game and in their perfect English they explained to me that the PST takeover was bound to happen and that they'd we be promoted next season, would that hold any weight? Or during my recent holiday to Milan a group of Inter supporters explained that Nigel Adkins should get try and sign a more aggressive centre half and perhaps consider playing 2 up front more often? Sorry for the rant, most of what you said had some merit. I'm just not sure why you felt the need to bring the opinion of (a few?) M U Rowdy fans into the argument as if they've somehow got some secret knowledge we don't.
