More dire luck with injuries and an unkind fixture list was always going to make it a tough start to Portsmouth’s first Championship season in more than a decade, so how worried is Jonny Barrett (@PompeyJonny) by their winless start?
Yet to win, has it been as bad/tough as it's looked?
The first seven games of the season being against sides with legitimate promotion ambitions was always gonna be tough but draws against Leeds, Boro and Sheff U were good results and we were unlucky not to take all 3 against Leeds and Boro. At the end of those 7 games, despite no wins, there was still a general air of optimism amongst the fanbase that once we played some of the division’s dross we’d be fine. The season was to start at Stoke.
Then came fucking Stoke. As a quick aside, I think a lot of towns in the north and the midlands are often unfairly and cheaply used as punchlines by smug wankers who have never actually visited them. This is not true of Stoke. Stoke is just shit. The buildings are shit. The pubs are shit. The people are shit. All that to say, a 4 pack of M&S mojitos on my 40-minute Wednesday evening train from Manchester to Stoke gave me a vaguely sunny disposition. The feeling was we were finally playing a team around our level, a win was genuinely possible. In actual fact, we conceded five goals in a ten-minute period either side of half time to condemn us to a 6-1 defeat- our worst loss since 2009. That really drove home that even the crap teams at this level would bulldoze 95% of League One teams.
Admittedly, the following weekend saw a much better performance as we welcomed Oxford but we still could only draw 1-1. Yeah, we created a number of golden opportunities. Yeah, Oxford have actually had a decent start to the season. But we have gone past the point of excuses for not winning. Personally, I don’t care where Oxford are in the table- as a football fan something in your gut just tells you that Oxford at home needs to be a banker if you want to compete in the Championship.
Pompey in the league so far…
Leeds 3-3 Pompey Struijk pen 10, Gnonto 46, Anderson 90 – Sorensen 23, Lang 41, pen 90
Pompey 0-0 Luton
Boro 2-2 Pompey Clarke 11, Conway pen 90 – Saydee 2, 25
Pompey 1-3 Sunderland O’Nien og 90 – Swanson 0g 31, Browne 51, Mundle 56
Pompey 0-3 West Brom Maja 1, Mowatt 51, 90
Burnley 2-1 Pompey Sarmiento 63, Brownhill 90 – Lang 42
Pompey 0-0 Sheff Utd
Stoke 6-1 Pompey Cannon 13, 43, pen 48, 51, Gallagher 45, Moran 53 – O’Mahony 29
Pompey 1-1 Oxford O’Mahony 58 – Sibley 72
Why haven’t you been able to bring the momentum from last season into the start of this one?
I mean the tough start in terms of opponents hasn’t helped but also streak of injuries so bad that I’m half convinced our medical team is just two pissed blokes with hammers. Our defence has been gutted by injuries with last season’s pretty much ever present centre half Conor Shaughnessy having not played since the second game of the season, Tom McIntyre - his natural replacement in such a scenario - has missed a number of games and new centre half signing Ibane Bowat has been ruled out for the season after rupturing a tendon when taking a shot in training with no one near him. The extent of the problem is illustrated by the fact that Ryley Towle r- who made two league appearances as we won League One - has already doubled his appearance total from last season.
Key signing Josh Murphy didn’t make his debut until mid-September, which was earlier than Australian left back Jacob Farrell who impressed on his bow against Sheffield United on the last weekend in September before picking up an injury in training and not featuring since. To compound the loss of Colby Bishop who required surgery to correct a heart defect, Kusini Yengi has missed most of the season with a groin issue and Brighton loan man Mark O’Mahony has also had to sit out a number of games. All of this to say is that we’ve played most of the Championship’s elite with a squad significantly weaker than the one that won League One last season.
There is another school of thought, one I often subscribe to when I use my eyes to watch us play football, which is that we’re shit. I don’t like to get too analytical but there’s a lot to suggest we are fundamentally quite bad at football, which is the opposite of what you’d hope for really. Pretty much every week at 2pm when the XI is announced I spend a good couple of minutes just staring and thinking "that’s not a Championship team”. Then again, this feeling could also be part of an adjustment period. Last season pretty much every game I expected us to win. It is difficult to adjust to the exact opposite feeling. So maybe it’s ok that we’re shit. There’s probably no world in which we’re going to be "good” this season- even mediocre is probably a stretch. But shit can achieve a lot- some of my best and most triumphant memories are of properly shit Pompey teams. We just need three teams to be shitter than us and, call me an old romantic, I think we live in a world where this is possible.
Does Mousinho retain public support?
Yes, without question. Most fans appreciate the reality of the start we’ve had and are aware that we’d be unlikely to be able to get in anyone who could do a better job with this crop of players. Last season still counts for a lot and, although we have our fair share of muppets, I reckon loyalty is marginally more of a two-way street between fanbase and manager than you see at other clubs. That being said, he retains public support until he doesn’t. To be at the second international break without a win is a fairly desperate situation and each week that goes by without that first win will given dissenting voices the confidence to be a little louder. I could easily see a scenario in which we go down this season and Mousinho stays on board for another League One campaign. That won’t happen, however, if the season is just relentless misery. Pompey fans demand effort but they also demand memories. For instance, although it might not change the league table too much, a victory on Saturday coupled with a piss up in the capital could do a lot to improve the mood amongst the fanbase.
How would you assess your transfer window overall?
Probably still too early to tell. The headline signing was probably the return of academy boy Matt Ritchie but his limited playing time suggests he was never Mousinho’s signing. Other than a catastrophic backheel in stoppage time away at Burnley which led to a heartbreaking defeat, he has essentially contributed nothing. Josh Murphy missed the first four games through injury but has looked electric in spells since coming in - if we have any chance of staying up, he will be key.
Elias Sørensen scored inside the first half hour of his Pompey debut but has featured sparingly since and looked well out of his depth when called upon from the start against Oxford last week but the jump from the Danish Third tier was always going to be a big one so he needs to be given time. Jordan Williams has looked competent if unspectacular since his summer move from Barnsley. Freddie Potts has looked fairly tidy while starting the last few games in the centre of the park alongside Marlon Pack but fans are still screaming out to see more of Abdoulaye Kamara after some energetic cameos following his summer move form Dortmund. Nicolas Schmid finally came into the team in net after one too many Will Norris errors and will have a big part to play going forward. Essentially a lot of young players have been brought in who have yet to gel together- ask me again in January.
Ins: >>> Abdoulaye Kamara, 19, CM, Dortmund B, £1.5m >>> Ibane Bowat, 21, CB, Fulham, £500k >>> Elias Sorensen, 24, LF, Esbjerg (Denmark), £300k >>> Nicolas Schmid, 27, GK, Linz, £300k >>> Harvey Blair, 20, LW, Liverpool, £300k >>> Andre Dozzell, 25, CM, QPR, Free >>> Matt Ritchie, 35, RM, Newcastle, Free >>> Jordan Williams, 24, RB, Barnsley, Free >>> Josh Murphy, 29, LW, Oxford, Free >>> Jordan Archer, 31, Occasional GK, QPR, Free >>> Jacob Farrell, 21, LB, Gold Coast, Undisclosed >>> Sam Silvera, 23, LW, Boro, Loan >>> Freddie Potts, 20, DM, West Ham, Loan >>> Mark O’Mahony, 19, CF, Brighton, Loan
Outs >>> Joe Rafferty, 30, RB, Rotherham, Free >>> Sean Raggett, 30, CB, Rotherham, Free >>> Lee Evans 29, CM, Blackpool, Free >>> Matt Macey, 29, GK, Colchester, Free >>> Harry Jewitt-White, 20, CM, Crusaders, Free >>> Josh Dockerill, 19, CB, Havant, Free >>> Jack Sparkes, 23, LB, Peterborough, Undisclosed >>> Toby Steward, 19, GK, Tonbridge, Loan >>> Josh Martin, 22, LW, Notts Co, Free >>> Ryan Schofield, 24, GK, Floreat Athena (Oz), Free >>> Haji Mnoga, 22, RB, Salford, Free >>> Liam Vincent, 21, LM, Tonbridge, Free >>> Anthony Scully, 25, CF, Colchester, Loan >>> Toby Steward, 19, GK, Tonbridge, Loan >>> Reuben Swann, 19, CM, Havant, Loan >>> Gavin Whyte, 28, RW, Released >>> Joe Morrell, 27, DM, Released
Stand out players and weak links in the side?
Some have commented that Marlon Pack’s legs appear to be letting him down but the same was said this time last season and he ended up a finalist for the divisional player of the season. When he’s on the ball, there’s still few players in the league that can control the tempo of a game like him. From an attacking point of view, Josh Murphy’s explosiveness makes him a nightmare for any full back in the division and, while he may be very unpolished, Christian Saydee is one of the strongest physically I’ve ever seen in a Pompey shirt and can cause havoc if your defence isn’t up for it. At the back, Regan Poole is slowly settling back in at centre half after almost a year out injured- only further injuries will stop him playing in the Premier League before too long.
From a weak link point of view, I suffer slightly from still having an 8-year old’s sensibility of football fandom. As a general rule I find it hard to slate individual players unless I feel personally slighted by them (please see Tal Ben-Haim). That being said, there are definitely things to exploit. Promotion hero Connor Ogilvie has struggled against quick wingers this season although looked much more comfortable on the left of a back three against Oxford - be interesting to see if Mousinho sticks with this or reverts to his favoured 4-2-3-1. Defensive frailties aside, we haven’t looked like we have a consistent goal threat since losing Bishop. Saydee is a nuisance but four league goals in 43 appearances tells its own story. Two in two for O’Mahony is very promising but it remains to be seen if his relative lack of pace will be an issue in a side that mostly likes to play on the break.
Dare we ask how Andre The Friendly Ghost is getting on?
Having said I don’t like slagging players off, I will not be drawn into your web of snideness and spite. I actually really want to tell you that he is, in fact, brilliant and you only didn’t see the best of him because he hated you and you’re shit and West London isn’t really London anyway (too far?) so shut up. Alas, I cannot do that. Dozzell has been exactly as I saw him described by most that had seen him play; fairly tidy on the ball but unbelievably lightweight. As someone who was signed on a free the week before the season started when our squad was threadbare, he’s now since been usurped in the pecking order by Potts and Kamara and you’d imagine only injuries would see him return to the starting XI. So yeah, he’s not been great. Is that what you wanted to hear? Does that make you happy? (I feel a goal incoming – ed)
Revised expectations for the season?
In my pre-season review for this very site, I stated 21st or above would constitute a good season. That is even truer now than it was then. The following opinion comes from a self-confessed fuckwit: we will stay up. Despite everything I’ve said above, I think a mixture of other team’s shitness and the atmosphere at the club (both in the stands and the dressing room) will see us through when it truly matters. I think we’re better than Cardiff. Oxford won’t sustain this. Mentally, even after the other week, I think we’re better than Stoke. There’s three off the bat that I think will finish below us and, after our horrible start to the season, we now don’t face another true divisional heavyweight until we host Sunderland in early January. If we nick a result on Saturday and take that momentum to Cardiff in midweek all of a sudden things look completely different. Feel free to remind me I said this before the return fixture against you lot in February- eating shit is familiar and sacred part of the Pompey supporting experience.
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