Match Day Thread Pompey v Coventry City

I don't know what Kenny has against Pittman. He scores decisive goals and winners, he's a natural finisher but it's NEVER enough! I mean, what more does he need to do?

 

I think there has been two difficulties with Pitman which have to be balanced against his undoubted goal scoring abilities.
Firstly he is not a good target man/lone striker.
Secondly he does not do enough tracking back type running to fulfil a No 10 role.
His best use is in a 'two up front' formation. (At a less mature level I think Conner Chaplin has the same two problems).
There are signs that Jackett may be more open to playing a two up front formation more often this season and if he has the courage to do so a Marquis/Pitman combination may be more productive than the alternative Marquis / Harrison combo.
I also think that Pitman at times revealed a bad attitude last season openly expressing exasperation with teammates on a fairly consistent basis. This would have been more tolerable had he not been captain. I feel this put Jackett in an awkward situation perhaps realising he was not the ideal captain but knowing the relationship would sour if he took the captaincy from him. The forced tolerance has endured into this season. While I feel this is a low priority problem I feel, at the margin, it may influence Jackett's thinking. This aspect of his character is not a problem when he is on the bench.

 

Interesting perspective, and I'm sure there's a great deal of truth to that... Even despite the problems, surely bringing him on so late is pointless? He's a good finisher but he's not a miracle worker. And Tuesday wasn't the first time he's been brought on so late...

Plus playing a target man seems an awful tactical decision given how bad we are at crossing and how it usually just leads to hoofing it to a lonestriker.

 

I agree with both your points Lapras
I sometimes think bringing on very late substitutes with virtually no prospect of influencing the game in hand is a way ofkeeping fringe players happy because they get an appearance fee.

I also think playing one up front with Hawkins a tall target last season sometimes made the long 'hoof ball' an easy option but it rarely seemed to lead to goals.