After speaking to several as well as reading and hearing what many have to say on the various interweb outlets and not to mention through local media, there seems to be a current of fear currently running through the support. "How can we have got rid of so many players," they say, "and yet not have set up any replacements"?
Of course, this is a massive presumption. Who says that Perrin isn't talking to many players already? Would people rather we were constantly blurting out about the players we were chasing so like last year with Diop, Bent, Thatcher et al, we end up losing out? Or make a big song and dance of the fact we've got money to spend so automatically any selling club will instantly smack another zero on the end of any potential transfer fee?
The players we have got rid of were decent talents, but you can see why they've gone.
Quashie - £2m+ was too good to turn down
Faye - wanted out in the summer, so no wonder he left in the winter
Yakubu - mentally not there, £7m+ is a good deal
Stone - £20,000 a week to play half the games next season, and only last an hour
Berger - £20,000 a week again, this time for a guy who played well three times last season
Hislop - not a regular starter and increasing in age
Whether or not you rate their ability, there's still no denying that the six players above were key members of the squad. But Perrin is no mug. He's not going to have ditched four players (five including Foxe) already in his short spell here - as well as the two we lost under Zajec, already giving us a thin squad - if he didn't think he could replace them. What's more, his transfer record in France isn't bad at all. Christinvaal, Mido and Drogba all passed through his hands, so to speak, during his time at Marseille. He's got an eye for a player so it would seem although I doubt he's ever had a mammoth transfer task of this size before him.
But the really crucial part in my eyes is that we give the new signings time to bed in. Portsmouth fans are guilty of being incredibly critical of anyone they don't think lives up to their potential as a worthy enough name; look at the amount of stick players like Cissé and Griffin got and how long it took them to finally be accepted. If we sign unknown players on frees and cheap deals I don't care, as long as they do the business on the pitch. So often it's the big name players who come on huge wages with a massive transfer fee who fail to bring home the bacon. After all, would you rather sign Merson, Stone, De Zeeuw and Festa - all of whom were free - or someone like Rory Delap for £4m, or Dean Richards for £8m?
Money does not guarantee quality.
It's going to be a busy summer but we all need to learn the lost footballing art of patience, as well as realism. We've been treated in years gone by with big names like Sheringham and Merson, advancing in years though they were. This summer is probably going to be unknown young players but they could turn out to be just as good, if not better, as well as improving during their time at Fratton. As long as we GIVE them the time and put our faith in the management.
Oh, and never believe a word in the papers. It'll all be bollocks and just increase agitation.