If we don't get these two goals then I hope Sunderland win the playoffs. This is going to be a tough division with Ipswich, Bolton and Sheffield Wednesday in the mix
Sunderland fan here. Lots of our fans wanted Cowleys not Johnston and were expecting you lot to rapidly improve, but it looks like you have continued to struggle. We are not in good shape for these playoffs at all. We just aren't good enough.
Final whistle. 0-1 to Accrington Stanley. We made a triple substitution in the 60th minute bringing on George Byers, Harvey White and Jordy Hiwula replacing Callum Johnson, Ben Close and Paul Downing. Our 4th sub was Charlie Daniells for Ryan Williams in the 79th minute. We had George Byers and Harvey White booked for fouls, and Stanley had Rogers booked for fouling Ryan Williams. Accrington deserved the win, with 'orrible Oxford gaining the final play off place instead of us.
Final Match Stats:- Home Team: Portsmouth .........Away Team: Accrington Possession: Home 66% Away 34% Shots: Home 11 Away 5 Shots on Target: Home 5 Away 2 Corners: Home 9 Away 5 Fouls: Home 11 Away 18
Bad luck lads - Accy were really up for it today Have to say Oxford were one of the best teams we have played this season - mind you, don't suppose you want to hear that
Oh Libby, that's hilarious ! You should be on the stage, you would be great in a 'Carry On' film. If you couldn't get a part in the film, you could always clean the stage instead
Accies were excellent. Oxford were a dirty team in last season's play offs against us, so I hope they fail to get promoted again this season. You must be delighted with Posh getting promoted Minxy. Do you think you will hang on to Clarke-Harris and Dembele ? Good luck next season.
Accrington looked a decent outfit tbf which surprised me. Just looked at table and they only finished 5 points behind you which is pretty impressive given their budget. Think you've probably got the right manager now to push on next season. Would have only lost play-offs anyway.
Good question ... have no idea tbh .... but stand a better chance to keep them with the promotion MacAnthony doesn't usually stand in the way of players getting good moves - having said that he wont be keen to sell to other Championship clubs So will depend who comes in with offers - Clarke-Harris was an amazing replacement for Toney - don't think Posh fans expected him to be so good
Well the planning for next season can begin now! That is the oñe positive to take away from this. The first hurdle to encounter will be the managerial situatión. The Cowleys should be offered the position this week but if they can't take on the role, I hope Catlin has an alternative candidate lined up, and not Harris!
The Cowleys have this opportunity now to rebuild their team rather than playing the cards they wee dealt with hen they arrived. I think we will see wholesale changes over the summer. This is going to be a very tough division to get out of. Apart from ourselves I think we can expect Ipswich, Bolton and Sheffield Wednesday, at the very least, to be vying for the 2 automatic spots. You can add one or possibly even both of Sunderland and Blackpool into the mix, which will make hard work indeed. Thank goodness Derby managed to stay up!
I was looking forward to a rare chance to watch a live Pompey game at a reasonable hour - kickoff was at 9pm down here. The first disappointment was Ragget's omission. I know Downing played well last week but Whatmough - Raggert have experience as a pairing and Raggert offers more goal scoring danger. Except for this I thought the starting eleven was our best side. As you say Woops we started well but were ordinary for most of the first half. The first 13 minutes of the 2nd half -prior to the substitutions was our best period of the game. So why the drastic change? The 'rule' seems to be that if you are not winning you have to make changes but sometimes your best chance is to persevere with the players on the pitch. It looked like two of the back four were pulled off for more attacking players but the result was Naylor retreated to the play in a back three and Whyte played deeper than Close had been. I thought Byers did play reasonably and added something. And then Daniels came on for Williams! Was he really more likely to contribute to getting two goals that Williams? So I was disappointed with the team selection and substitutions. I think the Cowleys have given us slightly better football to watch but overall the results have been no better. But overall our performances this season, under both managers, have been too inconsistent to warrant a better result. 7th maybe about right if we are honest ( not that I enjoy being honest in this regard!) We must now turn our attention to Summer recruitment - the next big test for management. PUP next season!
I think the return of attendances will see a marked improvement in our home record, which was pretty poor to say the least this season. I think that with a full house we would have picked up a good 10 points more at home.
A fair point but the players have to do it - not the fans. The lack of home crowds should be balanced by the lack of crowds when playing away. True in our case we have bigger crowds than most others in the league so have perhaps suffered a little more. I t would be an interesting statistic to know if the ratio of home and away wins has reduced this year in the leagues overall.
PUP next season![/QUOTE] Add in Charlton and possibly Oxford to the list of contenders. As for the summer clearout, I feel as a collective unit, this group has not got the quality to take the club any further. There are some good players such as Curtis and Williams. If I were these two, or any of the others I would want my agent to be offering My services to a Championship club. Curtis has been good for Pompey, and Pompey has been good for him. If he wants to advance his career, he needs to move on
With Sheffield Wednesday the biggest fish to fry in League 1 next season, lots of teams will be at 110 per cent to beat them, possibly opening the way for Ipswich, Pompey and Charlton to lead the way at the top of the división, a good summer recruitment, pending. So, that is it. No more football until August.