Alex Bass

I don’t think its pointless. We draw too many because we don’t take our chances and there have been times we’ve let in soft goals. If a safer pair of hands can turn even two or three of our draws into wins then the signing is very much worth it IMO.

canavan has cost us cheap points lately falling over, so glad he was dropped on Sat too

 

ROD is the wallflower who is very quiet verbally, Hornby shouts and talks to the defenders the whole game,

 

He's 23.

 

Hornby has done OK since being called upon. I agree we need a better keeper but then I could say that about the whole side. When these loans go back in the summer we are back to square one and we have a lot of players out of contract. All feels like there is little planning beyond this 6 months, things which should have been dealt with last summer. I might be proved wrong but it all points to a wasted season.

 

ROD frequently berates his defence when an error is made and he makes it.

Hornby might be more of a friendly voice, but is 'wallflower' in his actions.

The Sutton game is a good example - frankly he was lucky to get away with two incidents that could have led to goals (one actually did, but wasn't seen) which I'd expect a promotion chasing keeper to sort.

We need a commanding keeper like we had with Doyle, Pickford etc. Here, we had keepers who looked the part and acted the part. Bass might be the one.

 

I agree that it does take us back to square one in June. But ROD is out of contract I think, so there’s no continuity sticking with him. Both Hornby and ROD have failed to convince Adams and many of the fans so as long as the signing doesn’t take up a quota we might have needed for a striker (we still have one spot left don’t we?) I think the loan will benefit us short term.

we didnt strengthen adequately in the summer did we. We should have used the loan market then, too, didn’t. Bad striker recruitment at the end of that window has cost us badly and now we’re playing catch up. To go from one extreme (no loans) to another (four loans) shows Derek has hit the panic button and/or the budget is stretched.

 

While I agree a better keeper is good you seem to have it the wrong way round, ROD never talks to the defense apart from blaming them when he concedes, Hornby is shouting the whole game telling them where gaps are and trying to get them in position, He talks to them the whole game as a keeper should

 

That's what my point was about ROD!!

My 'wallflower' point about Hornby is his lack of command - but I also don't agree that he's an excessive talker, i.e. in the Doyle or Pickford mould.

 

Great signing, we've been crying out for a keeper all season, ROD has the worst positioning for a keeper in the entire league and unfortunately Hornby spills the ball at ever opportunity.

Now Adams just needs to get on the phone to Man United.. and tap up Ronaldo and we're good!

 

We've enough sulky b*st*rds thanks.

 

He’s young, he’s got a point to prove an he seems to be rated by the Pompey fans. Going into the window, A goalie was one of the priority positions that needed addressing (along with RB, a Winger an a Striker) so I for one am glad that we’ve got this deal over the line. Now the management can focus on the 2 remaining problem positions

 

Has Parker at the T&A offered an opinion on Bass? I ask because isn’t Parker a long standing Pompey fan? Surely he has been given snippets by his mates.

 

It doesn't. But in you cant score goals you can only hope for nil nil

 

We’ve scored more than Tranmere sat in second, how many games this season have we conceded soft goals but still drawn? Only conclusion we actually scored. If we had a Parkinson type defence we’d be much higher up, we aren’t free flowing but we have scored enough goals to have more points. The calamities at the back have cost us more points than a lack of goals. As I asked how many 0-0’s have we actually had?

 

Be interesting to see the games played / goals conceded stats/percentages for both ROD and Hornby

 

Four. Rochdale, Colchester, Newport and Exeter. 1 player capable of putting the ball in the net just once in each of those games would give us an extra 8 points - and see us in the playoff positions.

 

No idea, but with no strikers and a better keeper it will be more, that's for sure.

 

Doesn’t seem that many to me, but agree with your last point, we’ve also thrown away points when scoring though it’s almost like we lack quark all over…

Would be interested to see how other teams compare in the top half to us regarding clean sheets, I bet that’s more a deciding factor than our goals. I know it is for Tranmere anyway.

 

Oh yes definitely. I was arguing that a decent striker might have won us those games, but an equally valid point would be that had we had a better keeper, we might have won some of the six 1-1 draws we've had. Issues at both ends basically.