The BBC Solent fans forum took place in the Victory Lounge at Fratton Park tonight with David Lampitt, Steve Cotterill and Liam Lawrence in attendance. Here is a summary of the evening for those who didn't attend/listen.
Lampitt began by stating he was confident in the owners of the club due to their commitment and investment making the club a much better state than a year ago.
Cotterill says that there is a difference but he won't be getting carried away and there is still "setting in time" for the new players who have just arrived. Lawrence stated there was a "massive difference" between the state of the team now and last year.
The first question was predictably about the match day ticket prices and if any retrospective action could be taken to reduce them, much like Tony Fernandes (the new owner of QPR) has done.
The Pompey C.E.O followed up with the predictable response of claiming the price increases on last season were "realistic" and that the club were trying to help the fans by introducing such promotions as FourTress Fratton and the Super Six, of which nearly 1,000 fans have taken up.
Lampitt also mentioned that the average attendances had been around the same as this point last season.
The next question was a big one - when will the small creditors be paid? The fan who asked this alluded to Lampitt's suggestion that he and the others would be paid in full by the end of the summer but are yet to receive a penny.
Lampitt replied that the small creditors would be paid "as soon as possible" but there is still no clarity on who is liable to pay them. Is it Portpin or CSI? Nobody seems to know.
The Pompey manager was next to be asked a question and it was about an issue that has been discussed on various Pompey messageboards - the supposed lack of discipline at the club.
Cotterill read part of an apparently "aggressive" e-mail he was sent asking the same question about why the team get so many yellow cards. He said that there was a problem with referees in England in general and told people not to be fooled by what he says in press interviews regarding his views on his players being sent off, as what he really thinks is kept in the office.
Liam Lawrence backed up this claim and admitted he deserved to be sent off against West Ham. In terms of fitness, he said he was "still getting there" and is working hard to return to his best.
Back to Cotterill and he suggested, in my view anyway, that the fans' high demand for the players to give their all in every game results in them playing "too passionately" as times, hence the extra bookings.
Then came a question about tactics, in particular about having everyone back when the opposition have a corner. Cotterill claimed that he doesn't have every player back for corners and then had a bit of a rant about tactical fallacies and how 4-4-2 is a formation that encourages a long ball game and that 4-3-3 is the way to go as he wants his team to play good football.
The most "shocking" question of the night came from someone who asked what the realistic target was for the season but then had the balls to ask Liam Lawrence if he considered himself a liability.
Cotterill answered that question on Lawrence's behalf and said that the Pompey captain had travelled the country and has tried numerous things to get back to full fitness and put his injury problems behind him.
He then talked about how finishing in the top ten would be a "good season" and how Pompey were "lucky" to have survived last year, let alone be in with a shout of the play-offs until the "breaking point" at Reading.
He then seemed to blame the drastic loss of form last season on the amount of loanees at the club who basically weren't giving their all as they didn't have a future at the club.
There was the usual question about the prospect of a new stadium but David Lampitt said that he will be making "no rash promises" and the issue of reclaiming the car park and the land around Fratton Park from Gaydamak.
There was a mention of a "five year plan" (how many times have we heard that before?) and that it was a "work in progress" which has already begun with the investment in the academy and the upgrades in Fratton Park which we'll see when Pompey take on Blackpool.
Cotterill said a bit about rebuilding the team and how buying players was "the only option" due to his free transfer targets being snapped up quickly, although David Norris still arrived due to a good relationship with his agent.
The Pompey manager said that there were three vital areas in which his team needed strengthening. He wants an attacking full back, a midfielder who is good techincally and a proven goalscorer.
He also mentioned that the very versatile loan player he was targeting is now staying with his Premier League club so he now may hold fire on bringing in someone in case someone gets injured and a replacement is needed.
Someone mentioned the prospect of finishing above Brighton and Southampton and Liam Lawrence said that he is surprised at how well the south coast sides had started but expects them to "fizzle out" whilst Cotterill added that promoted teams do well for a couple of years before their good (but low paid) players are poached by bigger clubs and thus, those clubs are left with the players on big wages and struggle (paraphrased).
Overall, it was interesting to see just how honest Steve Cotterill is when he's not doing press interviews. You can tell by the way he reacted in the room that he is passionate about his job although he did come over as slightly defensive at times.
After the forum he and Lawrence was more than happy to stay behind and speak to the fans and answer their questions. It was good to see that they made the effort, especially Cotterill who stayed for a good 45 minutes afterwards to talk about signings, tactics and other things.