He’s not a wide left player. If he doesn’t play the number 10 (which now appears to belong to Chaplin), he can’t be in the 1st 11
Burgess and Edmundson are interchangeable for me but Nsiala fights with everything he has to stop attackers.
Well that was worth £10 of anyone’s money,thoroughly professional performance all round.Onwards and upwards!
Unless you’re a Portsmouth fan What makes it even more satisfying is a few Pompey fans on Twitter were populating the “Chequebook FC” term for us in pre-season. Hope they enjoyed that performance tonight.
Alright, is this team finally starting to come together? That was a good game to watch. In the first half I was fearing that we wouldn't be able to keep a clean sheet due to a few mistakes at the back but the defense held out and looked more confident in the second half. Our attackers did what they were supposed to and scored goals and it resulted in a lovely 0-4 away win. Walton - nervy start but made a couple of good saves late on to preserve the clean sheet. Donacien - great today. Got forward, got crosses in, got assists. He is first choice RB now Nsiala - like Walton had a nervous start and looked off the pace but he was better in the second half and is good at blocking shots. Obviously not meant to start attacks but he played well enough. Edmundson - a combative and strong defender. You can see he's played in Old Firm matches because he is up for the fight. It also looks like he likes to wind opposing players up, I saw him talking to players when he went forward for corners. He's a cheeky one! Penney - another solid game from Matt. Morsy - feisty at times he cleaned up and started attacks Evans - not too bad but several poor dead ball deliveries Edwards - quick feet, tricky player, fun to watch but frustrating when it comes to the final ball Chaplin - #10 spot is his now. Lots of running and clever balls in the final third Aluko - contributed to the attack. Tends to drift inside but finds pockets of space to receive the ball Bonne - just another all out performance from our talisman Players are starting to cement their places in the team. Donacien, Edmundson, Chaplin have all played well enough to keep their places. Aluko and Burns offer something different on the right but both have earned the right to start so that's that side sorted. The left attacking spot is still up for grabs, probably being contested between Fraser, Celina and Edwards. Could also see it being Aluko with Burns on the right. Bonne is an obvious choice up front.
4-0 away is impressive however U cut and dice it so well down town. I’m surprised given Portsmouth are decent but clearly have bigger problems than we do… I’m not sure this suddenly means he’s got his tactics and game management sorted. Jeez if Bonne wasn’t just the most amazingly good goal scorer we’d be really struggling. sounds like Edward’s did that flashy feet stuff again with no end product. He’s a weak link for me. No goals, no assists. What’s the point. Aluko and burns are delivering.
I have to say I didn't actually think we played that well tonight and Portsmouth were one of the worst teams I've seen, I thought Doncaster played better than them. Very pleased with the result but there's still alot to be worked on, I think we rode our luck a little tonight and actually it was more the quality of player we had rather than a good team performance which got us the points tonight. First half could've gone either way, it was a very open frenetic match but we did look more comfortable when we went ahead. I still don't think the balance of the team looks right, first half there was lots of space between the players everywhere on the park except the 3 behind the striker who were all too close together. I thought Walton looked rusty but still gave me more confidence than Hladky. Donacien was probably my man of the match, he wasn't really tested defensively but showed things today I didn't know he had in his locker going forwards. Penney was fairly solid but felt certainly when Edwards was on the left he was very isolated. Nsiala, 80% of the time looks a great CB 20% looks like he's got an absolute howler in him. I've only seen Burgess in 2 games both of which I have been impressed with him, so I'd have him ahead of Nsiala. Edmunson was solid enough and same with Morsy, although after his performance against Doncaster this one did disappoint, didn't try to dominate as much on the ball. Evans kept things ticking over Edwards, clearly has talent but is a flair risk player who had one of those games where he gave the ball away, kept cutting inside and didn't attack the space today. I actually thought we looked more balanced when Aluko went out on the left who had a decent game, what I like about him in comparison to alot of our other players who play in those positions is he seems to be better at keeping the ball. It concerns me that because alot of the players in the front positions are runners and risk takers we tend to lose the ball quite readily in those positions. Again everytime I've seen Fraser I think he's had a decent game and if one of the forward positions isn't his, maybe he could play next to Morsy. Both Bonne and Chaplin showed real quality when it mattered again today but I still feel although Bonne can play the lone role, he'd be better in a 2. I also thought Burns was very good when he came on, would probably play Aluko, Chaplin and Burns in the next game. Perhaps I'm being harsh but I still felt there were big gaps in the team today, the balance wasn't 100% there and think we really need more players in those forward positions who can keep the ball better it's all very gung ho... I guess thats why we're top goalscorers and have one of the worst goals against columns in the division. If we can win away 4-0 and there's alot to still he worked...onwards and upwards
I agree with SD & ITFC points, and an enjoyable game to watch. I too dont think Edwards with all his fancy silky fun skills is delivering enough to justify his place out left. Glimpses of Celina have shown him to be more mature, beats his man and makes the final pass. Similarly in a scrappy frenetic 1st half, we needed that brilliant poaching from Bonne, what a game changer he is, which tells me like Hampy, they must get their cheque books out whatever the fee. In the 2nd half we played some fine footie but I think Hampy had a dose of my morphine if he thinks it was wonderful! The defense did indeed look more secure as did the goalie after a jangly opening period. Like others rated Donacien highly & deffo the MOM. In these times, an away win as convincing as this is a terrific boost. 7 pts in 9, and it should be 10 from 12 come Saturday. Then we have the Argyle a different prospect altogether. This will be a proper reflection of how much we have improved. The best thing is that we are all enjoying our football once again, most of the time. I have a reserve bottle of painkillers & sedative up on the shelf!