Give a bloke a break

Gary O'Neil was Pompey's longest serving player, and on top of that our only Youth product, now he has gone.

Heroes come and go, favourites appear, villans can do no right, a fans favourite can cock up in front of goal and be forgiven, a villan can can play a blinder, make one error and be considered a liability.

On a whole, Pompey fans are considered quite knowledgable and proper football fans.

We very rarely pick out players for abuse, the minority always will but generally we are tolerant lot after being forced to watch some mediocre dross over the years.

I can sense an element of change in the air however, O'Neil has left and fans are not happy with the replacements. Nugent has not had time to change his quilt cover yet, but some fans feel he is not the man, not worth his fee, not worth the effort. In comparison Arsenal have lost a true World-class player in Henry, his number 9 shirt has gone to Brazilian/Croatian striker Eduardo, he has scored 1 so far and mainly had to be content with substitute appearances, he is bedding in, waiting for his chance, sound familiar?

Nugent has stepped up from the Championship and people are expecting 20 goals from him in his first season! Time will tell if he is the striker we crave, I for one will back him as long as he tries his heart out when he pulls the royal blue over his head, Benjani showed the way, now Nugent needs our support likewise.

Papa Diop has arrived with a sicknote tag, an already congested midfield will be forced to stretch even further to accomodate the Senegalese giant, but he cannot be slated before even kicking a ball!

Harry Redknapp has signed him at the third time of trying, once 3 years ago when he slipped through our fingers, last January on loan, and finally last week. The manager obviously rates the man, his record for Pompey has not been too bad in my book.

Finally we come to Glen Johnson. This time last year people were talking of England recalls, now its all about his defensive frailties, one bad pass before 2 other Pompey players touched the ball and Van Persie's penalty win is all his fault!

Johnson is still young, very athletic and obviously when fit is going to be first choice.

Football is a confidence game, when you feel invincible you feel you can take on the world, when you feel you have to prove yourself to your own fans week in, week out, anxiety sets in and the misjudgements creep in, insticts are replaced with over deliberation and split seconds are lost.

So Pompey fans, congratulations on our forthright and honest views are coming from all parts on this site, do we deserve them? Or are we as fickle as the rest? Time will tell.

Play up Pompey, good luck at 'Boro Gary O'Neil, and good luck messrs Nugent, Diop and Johnson, let the next time I write about you be it to laud your names over glorious performances, and Pompey fans keep up the support for which we are reknowned.

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