Portsmouth News 24/7Writer: TruePompeyBlue 
Date:Wednesday February 7 2007
Time: 3:52PM
UK time is: 18:25:01
Choose your club
Other Sites
Network Navigation
Vital Partners
'If It's Football, It's Vital'
Who will start up front Saturday?
Only three league goals in the last thirteen matches for Pompey's forwards does not auger too well for the future. The last time a forward scored was against Spurs on New Year's Day by Benjani. Prior to that, a goal by Kanu at home to Everton and one from Cole at Bolton are the only goals scored by a forward since Saturday November 18th - on that day, Lualua and Kanu scored both in the 2-1 win at home to Watford. Another way to look at it, that is just three goals in over 1,209 minutes of football, or over 20 hours play.
So maybe it is time for Kanu and Cole to be rested, perhaps given a half each? Alternatively, perhaps it is now time to drop them both and bring in new talent that is already progressing well in the reserves?
There are of course the likes of Lualua and Todorov to consider; Lualua can be devastating at the same time as frustrating, but he can open defences and get behind them. Todorov helped secure Pompey's survival towards the end of last season with some vital goals, even his presence caused problems for defences.
So who do you feel should start up front on Saturday against Manchester City? Should it be as before or perhaps a change in personnel is required? We have a poll to the right of this article with a few selections, perhaps one of those is your choice?
Either way, give us your views, let us know who you would like to see partnering each other up front.
Seconds Out! Vital Boxing is here!
Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for Monaco
Your Comments
I want Toddy!!!!!!!!!! him and Benji work thier socks off. My loyalty lies with the Todorov!
tommo3146
Benji for his work rate & Toddy for his goal poaching skills.
storagematt
Come on harry 2 against 1 you loose, Toddy & Benji it is!!!! Ha Ha
tommo3146
Can you play David James upfront ala Manchester City? We (Reading) could do with your lot dropping points in our quest to hold onto 6th - and with you still to come to the Madejski we'll need all the help we can get if the game at Fratton was anything to go by!
Thomas L'Heureux
I want Toddy too!!! bloody love him! but if this is the case, the midfield is gonna have to work hard & get that ball up there, hes not too pacey is our Toddy!
CharlieChimes
Think Benjani is a must, anyone of the other 3 to partner him. but it'll make no difference unless the ball gets to them.
Steve C
Hold on, i think i'm agreeing with steve c my choice would be toddy, at least he loves this club, and will give effort, and, although the boy just cant score, benji just has to start. wow, look at the poll.
pompey4me
I said on previous thread i thought Toddy is the best poacher, but having Benji next to him may not be the answer. LoL even though i voted for them. Kanu holds up well so maybe he could partner Toddy. Cant see it though, Toddy hasnt played a match for a while a sharpness is everything.
russellm
Benji brings the power and pace! also he can hold the ball up and Toddy well his love for the club is worth a thousand goals! Toddy knows where the back of the net is!!!
tommo3146
understand what you say russ, but how sharp are kanu and cole?
pompey4me
P4Me the answer is currently not very, but they do have match practice and the only reason Toddy is still here is because Harry cannot off load him. As i said before i proposed Toddy and Benji to start for the wigan game but even as i typed it i felt harry wouldnt doit. You must have noticed he is loyal ( frequently too so) to players he signed that season, and thinks are going to do it for him.
russellm
Whittingham & Walsh. There was a great double act.
storagematt
Seems many are advocating Todorov. Why not give him a chance, the rest can't score in a brothel !!
pompeygray
benji and kanu to START up front, but toddy on for kanu early second half if things are looking dire.
pompey pessimist
Benjani is the first player out of the lot I'd put on the team sheet, who plays with him though... I'd agree with the majority and say Todorov, the others haven't delivered for a while so its not like its going to make it any worse giving him a chance! As it is unlikely Redknapp will do this I'd like to LuaLua alongside him... He frustrates the hell out of me, you and everyone but at least he'll create openings for himself and if he decides to pass others...
pompeyrug
My car will start up for once.
Lysimachus
just had the most delicious raspberry jam on toast. very nice.
The Rabbi
Blimey a 15 Year old who starts his car and someone who blows raspberries whilst making a toast....WELL OILED BEEF HOOKED !! - Good Luck Pompey we bloody well need it now, more than ever.....
pompeygray
I think that the midfield is gonna have to work hard & get that ball up there, the key is midfield, they must make chances for Benjani.Lualua, Kanu and co.
andy croat 27
Benjani & Cole is the most likely goalscoring duo, Toddy as much as we all love him can't get a look in, and Kanu looks off the pace at the moment, Lua Lua dosen't look match fit and is a better option off the bench
paultsmouth
Niko played for croatia vs norway, croatia win 2:1 and niko was made double assist, great match, croatia smash norway and niko played very important role....
andy croat 27
Niko has bags of talent, remember when he ripped England to shreads!. I firmly believe he will do well for us!! When depends on when Harry finds his best position.
tommo3146
'Smash' 2-1 ? NORWAY pal....but good to hear that Croats play good sometimes (not against Australia in World Cup though). Hope he plays well against the City.
pompeygray
Looking at the reserves game this week, stick Berlin on the bench! he's got a hat-rick ya know!
tommo3146
for pompeygray, you didn't watch that match....norway looks something like england vs Spain .... :-)) ..just joke
andy croat 27
or maybe like england vs croatia in zagreb!!!!!!!
andy croat 27
Duck - Incoming!!!!
TruePompeyBlue
How about trying Douala with Benjani, i believe he can play either wide or up front and it would certainly add some pace.
Steve C
seems to me we are pushing for Benji and Toddy the only combo not yet seen this season, but i still dont think harry wants Toddy but i agree with Ruggers and i reckon it will be LL. so im getting into practice PASS PASS FOR ***** SAKE PASS
russellm
lol think the poll says it all
VitalPompeyAdmin
Belive it or not id play Cole and Lua Lua up top, lua lua has some magic left in him and you would bet coley wud love to score against his former employers, lua come deep to get the ball and coley to play in and around the box. Could work !?!
Ridgey
when it works Kanu and Benjani are the best partnership but it's not working, although that probably has as much to do with the lack of service from midfield as anything else.
Steve C
Ridgey you may be right but isnt that relying on LuaLua passing, something he is loathe to do. Steve we do seem to see kanu coming back a lot for the ball, but he is not likely to be seen running on to a through ball from 35 yards, sadly i think the Boro goal was a landmark event, who knows with Benji, is it really a 4 4 2 when they play together. What i think is progress is that Harry at least recognises that there is a problem and that both Kanu, lua lua and benji all prove me wrong tomorrow... I'm putting a tenner on us to win
russellm
yep Kanu and Benjani can work well. Benjani and Lua Lua was the two that started us off on that run!
VitalPompeyAdmin
I really think the problem lies in midfield, strikers can only score if they get the ball. Kanu coming back for the ball is just evidence that the balls not getting to the forward positions forcing strikers to drop deep, then there's nobody in scoring positions when the ball does get there.
Steve C
You're right about midfield but HR won't drop Lauren to accomodate Davis and Lauren is not dynamic enough to play anything but defensively - so the midfield passes well but gets nowhere. Kanu and Lua Lua.
Et_tu_Pompeii
All the more reason why "my head is stuck in the sand" Redknapp needs to drop Johnson, to hell with any contractual agreements, what stupid idiot would agree to such terms in the first place? No manager, chairman or chief executive with any common sense would allow such an agreement in a contract for a loan player, which is what has happened with Johnson. This means then that no matter how bad a player performs, he is always going to be selected. What is needed is Johnson dropped for a couple of matches with Lauren taking up his rightful place at RB. Ten our midfield can get back to being a midfield again instead of an open door.
Sort it out Harry, you are meant to be the manager and that means making MANLY decisions!!!!
TruePompeyBlue
drop johnson, now you're talking my language!!
pompey4me
lads lads and play who??? Lauren at right back won't give us the attacking threat Johnson provides!
VitalPompeyAdmin
I dont see the attacking threat, he runs down the line, realises he cant beat the full back, comes back onto his left and then just dollies a poor cross over! But, if a player doesnt fit your eye, you only ever see the negative. Come on pompey lets 'ave it today!
pompey4me
Had a great game today though!
pompey4me
Have Your Say
Recent Articles
David Connolly joins the crusade (Thursday May 23 2013)
Not short of an option or two! (Thursday May 23 2013)
On this day in history...23rd May (Thursday May 23 2013)
On this day in history...22nd May (Wednesday May 22 2013)
Reaping the benefits of 1st team football (Tuesday May 21 2013)
On this day in history...21st May (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Scunny winger becomes latest Pompey signing (Monday May 20 2013)
Winger signing imminent? (Monday May 20 2013)
On this day in history...20th May (Monday May 20 2013)
On this day in history...19th May (Sunday May 19 2013)
Archived Articles
Vital Members League (view all)
| 1. | pompeyrug | 71 |
| 2. | eastneydave | 48 |
| 3. | storagematt | 37 |
| 4. | mslorna48 | 27 |
| 5. | Jimsmithswig | 25 |
| 6. | blueballoo2000 | 17 |
| 7. | nagoyablue | 15 |
| 8. | Pompeytim | 14 |
| 9. | PompeyJake | 13 |
| 10. | PFCblue | 10 |
League Results (view all)
| Latest Results | ||||
| Shrewsbury | 3 | - | 2 | Portsmouth |
| Portsmouth | 3 | - | 0 | Sheff Utd |
| Brentford | 3 | - | 2 | Portsmouth |
| Portsmouth | 0 | - | 0 | Stevenage |
| Portsmouth | 1 | - | 0 | Tranmere |
| Preston | 1 | - | 1 | Portsmouth |
League Table (view table)
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 18. Stevenage | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | -17 | 54 |
| 19. Oldham | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | -13 | 51 |
| 20. Colchester | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | -21 | 51 |
| 21. Scunthorpe | 46 | 13 | 9 | 24 | -24 | 48 |
| 22. Bury | 46 | 9 | 14 | 23 | -28 | 41 |
| 23. Hartlepool | 46 | 9 | 14 | 23 | -28 | 41 |
| 24. Portsmouth | 46 | 10 | 12 | 24 | -18 | 32 |
Breaking League News
| Blackwell Frustrated
» Bury : 23/05/2013 18:14:00
|
| Retained List - Eight Stay
» Bury : 23/05/2013 18:07:00
|
| Pato Top Target For Huddersfield
» Walsall : 23/05/2013 17:47:00
|
| David Connolly joins the crusade
» Portsmouth : 23/05/2013 16:52:00
|
| Cherries linked with Brentford striker
» Bournemouth : 23/05/2013 16:25:00
|
| Win a kit for a local youth football team
» Bournemouth : 23/05/2013 16:16:00
|
| Introducing the 'All Departments' podcast
» Bournemouth : 23/05/2013 16:14:00
|
Current Site Poll (view all polls)
|
|
1 © - All content copyright Vital Network Ltd, not to be reproduced without explicit permission Copyright Issues
Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.