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Friday, 16th May 2008

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Distin: Time to stop the rot



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SYLVAIN DISTIN issued a rallying cry to the Pompey troops and reminded his team-mates: Now it's time to stand up and be counted.
It was typical of the influential French defender that he was again ready to face the media in the wake of defeat.

And his fighting spirit is exactly what's required from the rest of the Blues squad as they bid to halt an alarming run of form that threatens to derail their fine season in its final stretch.

Distin said: 'We've had our backs against the wall for three games.

'We were one point away from fifth place three or four games ago and every time, we didn't respond.

'But I don't expect our team to play five bad games in a row. That won't happen.'

This weekend's home clash with Fulham brings down the curtain on the Premier League season.

But it has now taken on greater significance – as it represents Pompey's last chance to rediscover their winning ways ahead of the FA Cup final six days later and will determine Fulham's Premier League fate.

Pompey's dramatic dip in form is a trend that worries the former Manchester City man.

And he believes Pompey did not match Middlesbrough for the basics.

He said: 'It is exactly the same as what happened for the past three or four weeks now. We didn't deserve to win and we didn't deserve anything at all.

'We didn't perform, there was a lack of desire, we didn't match their work-rate and it is getting dangerous for the final now.

'If you can't perform in the Premier League, how can we expect to perform in the final?

'We've stopped doing the basics well. If it worked from the start of the season, why should we stop now?'

The full article contains 305 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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  • Last Updated: 05 May 2008 12:36 AM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Portsmouth
 
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Michael S.,

05/05/2008 04:40:43
Why is it every few weeks or month someone has to put a rallying cry to his troops?,it should be automatic and set in stone on all their minds.
You know what the rewards are and what the mistakes have and can happen,play your best and stop the other team from having the fun.
PLAY UP POMPEY.
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Paul Mitchell,

Launceston 05/05/2008 08:32:42
Distin was one of Pompey's better players on Saturday, but I didn't see any of our back four put in any telling tackles. It's very disappointing, because with reasonable form we could have caught Everton, who have taken just two points from their last 12.
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spyglass,

cheltenham 05/05/2008 08:43:57
would think by now that distin should realise his rallying cries are falling on deaf ears. this current crop of pompey players seem to be immune to calls for action, they sit firmly in their own comfort zones, complacent and self-satisfied.

harry has failed completely to galvinise them in comparison to the fantastic work he did in avoiding relegation and the question has to be asked should he be looking to offload some of these players at season's end.

the supporters know who these players are, maybe it is because harry is up so close that he fails to recognise the offenders. he talks about letting mendes, davis etc move on yet perseveres with the likes of utaka, baros and others. if they cannot be bothered to perform in a pompey shirt then get rid of them. he only has to look at linvoy to see that a player with limited ability giving his all in every game is far better than a highly talented player who performs only when he wants to. wise up harry before your aura of invinciblity is shatterd.
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Trueblue1,

bristol 05/05/2008 09:21:55
wise up you pompey fans harry is on the self distruct button you are suppose to be able to get the best out of players mate lol you must be getting to pally down at sand banks we want players who give 100% jimmy bullard crouchy pennett bentner 12 million for krancher cant run either sell him dosent chase back cambell can go to not interested crainey will full your boots sol for years to come wemberlyyyy sorry scum will see you lot in about ten years lolololol
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Royal Blue,

Reading 05/05/2008 09:23:17
It's inconceivable that individual players in the FA Cup Final will offer below par performances on the day. Few players have such an opportunity in their careers and even those angling for a move or expecting a push in that direction can see the sense in having a winner's medal on their CVs. Pompey and Cardiff should play somewhere close to their maximum with our superior organization and skill levels being the deciding factors.
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velocityfan,

05/05/2008 11:00:39
There is defiantly a real issue with players effort right now and some have fallen into a comfort zone. I feared it would happen.

The FA cup became the safety net for a great season. When you are playing boro, a team who needed the win for survival. You could see us losing. Just look at the way villa lost to wigan.

Such high payed players should find motivation, but in modern football it seems rarely to happen.

Let's not get to down about it though, I think if we were not in the FA cup final we would have prob picked up an extra six points or so in the league. Still be in with a great chance of fifth and things would not feel as deflated just now.

I wonder if pompey hire a sports psychologist to get over such issues or not?

Come on guys, out the effort and show the quality you have, and for F88k ake dont take beating cardiff as a given
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Kevin George,

Greenville 05/05/2008 17:09:35
What is looking scarey to a lot of fans now, is that on current form we will lose to a team who are fired up for the FA Cup - Cardiff are brimfull of confidence at the moment.. Sure on paper we should win the FA Cup, but on the day we will be lacking confidence after a run of lazy, half-hearted defeats. This is not the Pompey side of 2 months ago who were full of they're own abilities...
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Diamond Dazza,

Fareham 05/05/2008 21:41:57
Let's get a win in that final game boys!

Commiserations to Milan Mandaric at Leicester - without you we wouldn't be where we are now.
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Trueblue1,

bristol 05/05/2008 23:14:30
but dazza we would have had a new ground had he not sold all the land of b&q etc
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Royal Blue,

Reading 06/05/2008 09:27:46
As far as I can recollect the land occupied by B&Q was bought and owned by Sellar Properties. It was a condition of purchase imposed by the city council that the eventual owners of Fratton Goods Yard would have to make land available for the expansion or relocation of Fratton Park. Mandaric decided it would be cheaper to rebuild Fratton Park to avoid the loss of the rebuilt Fratton End. Perhaps it was Terry Venables' fault, not Mandaric's! We applauded his efforts when the Fratton End was rebuilt and I am a thankful season-ticket holder who uses it, but were it not for its construction we might mow be in a new stadium nearby, albeit with a limited 28,000 capacity which could be extended to 35,000 if the traffic problems could be overcome.
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