The loan point is the saddest indictment of the whole thing, yep. The two lads would have been so much better going directly from Southampton and Bolton to Portsmouth and Barnsley respectively.
It's funny about the level. In a vacuum, Portsmouth would never consider signing or giving a trial to a lad with 8 goals in 50 odd games in Scottish Championship/League One. Obviously his pedigree and maybe a connection with Southampton helped - even though they are rivals there is geographical proximity there that surely lends itself to the odd cross-pollination. But he must be training and playing well in pre-season to get the deal (assuming he does).
Bookmarks