Hoping Romeo is fit again by then. We need NG back in the middle instead of Nelson. Deary me.... 14 shots and only 1 on target.... Hate to say it but we are turning into the bloody Jacks aren't we???
If you include all Championship ties, 11 Championship clubs have been knocked out tonight..... Crazy night.....
Okay we were the architects of our own downfall BUT every crucial decision went against us. I don't know if our early goal was offside, couldn't see from where I was sat but not given. Their penalty, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the ref wave play on then changed his mind. Again I had Wenger disease and couldn't see from Row R in the Ninian. Campbell's red, might well have been but the ref didn't stop to think and was eager to flash the red. Now we were crap for all 3 goals and hardly worked their keeper buy this guy has refed Pompey12 times since 2014. They have won 10 and lost 2. Are there any refs with such a sympathetic demeanour for us? Nelson has been dire the last 2 games and should leave with Simpson"s arrival. His mistakes shattered the confidence of the other defenders. I think the others get the benefit of doubt for a number of reasons but I can't see any of them starting Saturday. Maybe Philogene, Ralls and Bagan plus Alnwick and maybe Whyte on the bench. A shocking night.
I didn’t see the game so can only comment on the reality of the situation. I also don’t know whether Pompey put out a first X1. The reality is City couldn’t score, which proves again this is a major problem which needs fixing plus City let in 3, which proves the defenders on show aren’t good enough. It’ll be a completely different team Saturday as Morison said afterwards, as the players last night didn’t take their opportunity. Glen though did suggest Philigene did ok. He gave Nelson 2
Not sure why all the scores were so low. From the text updates there seemed to be some decent build up play with control of the ball. Its as if every player has 2 or 3 points knocked off for losing.
The results influence the ratings far more than the individual's performance. The whole job lot are marked down through emotion rather than objectivity. That's my take on it anyway....
Lazy journalism. Part of an individuals role is to be part of the collective (oh, a bit of Star Trek - Borg). It doesnt mean every individual is poor.
The scores were deservedly low and in Nelson's case, generous. -2 was more appropriate. Its not so much the losing but the manner of loss. After the penalty we fell apart and lost any sense of shape or organisation. The subs did not help especially as Whyte was covering a lot of ground and supporting well in defense and attack before being subbed. I read that Pompey had 6 or 7 changes from their last game compared to our 10 which included 4 competitive debuts for us. However, apart from an inability to trouble their keeper and an awful first 8 minutes when we lost the ball in defensive positions, we did okay first half. 80% possession stats in our favour is close to the mark. Tanner tried too hard to impress when sometimes a simple pass would suffice. Understandable for a young player on his home debut. Our midfield were in control and Philogene looks a real find. Unfortunately Tanner is left footed and Philogene right footed so in the main they wanted to cut inside and get off a shot. Not hard to defend against. Philogene recognised this and was able go turn his man and go outside. He needs to work on actually hitting the ball with his left foot. Ralls called the midfield shots first half. Second half they man marked him, pushed him back and He was not so effective. When we had only Harris and Whyte in their box in attacking positions why did we persist in hitting high crosses? This continued when Ojo arrived. Absolutely no point we might as well have a forward line of Snow White's little friends for all the good that does. Second half started the same way with defensive errors resulting in their first goal. Then it all went nipples skywards and we weren't in the game. We lost all the control and movement we had first half. We are absolutely no threat at all from set pieces. While we criticised our reliance on these in recent seasons, opposing defences can now relax as we pose no physical challenge or threat - and our crossing is dreadful. Okay it will be a totally different starting 11 on Saturday. It needs to be. This depends on Romeo and Rino being fit. If not then Ralls in for Rino, Ng to right back and possibly Simpson, if not McGuinness or Denham at centre back. To sum up, we thought we had a strong second 11. Clearly that is not the case. Some were okay but the majority were not. Morison has a lot of work to do.
If Alfa is out for Saturday, then I'd be reluctant to use Ng out there - far better off as an inside defender. He's proved vulnerable in the air, but he can spot danger quicker than others and play out from the back rather than giving it the old heave ho up the pitch. I'd be tempted to stick Sang in at RB. He has said, and even argued with Morison that that is his preferred position, so give him a chance to prove it.
Certainly an option Sparks. My only concern is that neither he nor Ng are particularly tall leaving us vulnerable in the air, particularly if Jutkiweitz (spelling?) plays. So if Ng goes to right back we get another taller cb in. While playing the ball out from the back is fine, we still need to be able to stop the opposition.
Taxi for fifty pence head, Curtis Nelson, soon as we can get rid of him the better, he is just a liability.
Seen the extended highlights. Plenty of half decent moves either with blunt finishing or snuffed out by Portsmouth who then take advantage of some woeful defending.
Just watched the extended highlights myself. Seemed a bit like the reading game. again, I could see what they were trying to do. Good possession, forward passes, bodies in the box and the ball played in. Better than against Norwich. A bit of luck and we could have had a couple in the first half. Second half and things got a bit ragged and Portsmouth got a break or two we didn't. And we gave them some easy ball in good positions. Not sure what Nelson was thinking.
Sounds like SM has got the whole squad playing football - thank goodness. Now as time moves on, he'll have them doing it well. Still on the right trajectory and my glass is 75% full.
