Smith move confirmed, who is next?

I do not think it will come as a surprise, or at least think it should not anyway, that Tommy Smith's move to QPR has now been confirmed.

Much like Liam Lawrence coming to Pompey, Smith's 'emergency loan' has officially gone through as the expected permanent one, although will Lawrence coming in and Smith going out but the last of the moves involving Pompey this month?

It would be a brave person that said it would!

In fact I would think that few would 'expect' it to be the last of the movement, at least outbound of Fratton...

Matty Ritchie will join Swindon permanently this week, or this window - I know that you all know that I rate him but quite how Steve Cotterill can say that he is not good enough to play for Pompey but Carl Dickinson is bemuses, and amazes, me!

So, Ritchie will go, but that is a given...

The news on Tal Ben Haim is, as far as I know, that there is no news? I suspect that I would not be alone in thinking, maybe hoping, that - despite our defensive frailties - he does not return!

As it stands, to all intent and purpose, Mikey Brown and Richard Hughes have left - a compromise to their contractual disputes looks unlikely to be reached so they will see out their contracts without playing again, unless they are signed by someone else and I am not convinced that there will be a long line of clubs queuing to be sign them, well certainly in the case of Hughesy...

'Rumours' are bound to do the rounds about several players moving on, although will they?

Dave Nugent and John Utaka will be among them I reckon but I 'think' both will still be here, like they have in other transfer windows, until the summer anyway...

Lawrence is ALREADY being heavily 'linked' with a move away again!

QPR is being mentioned although £4m to West Ham is a 'strong link' - I cannot see that money being rejected, although I am not convinced that it would be 'legal' to sell him in the same window as buying him?!

Then again there is the manager himself!

'Word on the street' has it that Burnley have approached him about returning to Turf Moor as their manager again, would he be tempted enough to accept...

There is a real air of 'doom and gloom' hanging over Fratton again, the 'feel good factor' that was starting to return back along 'seems' to be draining away very quickly with the usual 'worries' and 'concerns' about what is actually going to happen at this club returning.

A level of 'transparency' was promised, with this, that and the other going to happen under this regime.

Whilst the club needs to do what is in the best interests of the club, and as previously said the departures of some 'might' be needed for this, an apparent look of 'pillaging' of the club again, that we have previously seen, is a concern many have, and talks of 'protests' are starting to surface again in anticipation of the pillaging returning! I just hope that we can see a transparency level that prevents people from thinking that there is a need for this again...

'Expecting' much, arguably any, money to be made available to sign players is, I would say, unrealistic as spending money on signing players cannot be what people are expecting, or should be, although some honesty about what is happening with the players we currently have is not too much to ask, right?

A 'good will gesture' from Balram Chainrai in bringing in a couple of loanees, that we need to remain competitive at least, and looking to keep some continuity with this squad - within reason - would not go amiss thought would it.

I would say that it would also help lift some of that returning gloom and ease the tension among the fans as to what direction this club really is looking to take for the future...

PLAY UP POMPEY!

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