East End Canary

Since when have we ever had to heed the views of Spurs fans? They are the most fickle, spoilt and ignorant set of idiots in football. Their expectations are way way above what is realistic, and they love nothing more than to see one of their players make a mistake, just so they can boo him. Doherty was a teen prodigy - they paid over a million for him from Luton when he was about 19 or 20, and he certainly has potential, he just needs a change of club to one who''s fans will actually want to see him succeed. Besides, Worthy will get the best out of him. And as for Spurs cast offs, hmmm..... Culverhouse, Bowen, Polston, Crook - any of those reserve team no-hopers ring any bells?

Woah woah woah......... wait a minute guys, talk about pressure! We won''t have a clue about whether we''re likely to stay up or not until at least 12 games in, and more probably christmas time. Last year, Pompey made a flying start, then stuttered and looked doomed, but got it together again and finished the season on fire. I happen to have a sneaking feeling that we will lose to Palace. However, in the good tradition of the yellow and green, we will bounce back and take a point at Old Trafford and our season will catch alight. We all know Norwich too well (or at least I do), and we traditionally make a mess of easy looking fixtures, then pull a shock out of the bag. Maybe Worthy''s blend of discipline and hard work has ended that - lets hope so! But the home games last season vs Watford and Bradford still happened. My message is, whatever happens against Palace we are going to stay up! I feel we''re back to stay, and we don''t need to panic about beating Palace - we''ll beat other better teams along the way, don''t you worry! Come on you Yellers!

Couldn''t agree more, Jim. The guy is an honest professional whose career was basically salvaged by Redknapp after a free transfer out of Reading, and he doesn''t want to just up sticks and leave them in the lurch at the drop of a hat. Showing decency and loyalty to your current employer is not the same thing as showing a lack of respect for NC. He''s been an absolute revelation for Portsmouth ( I live with a Pompey fan, and he''s gutted at the prospect of him leaving ). If he does come here, and I think he will, he will bust a gut for us and we''ll love him as much as Pompey do now.

On that basis, wasn''t David Phillips born in Germany?