I’m constantly baffled by Pompey. How do they have so much possession in recent games yet still lose? Why do they buy players who then sit on the bench every game? Why are so many injured? Why was Colby Bishop a goal machine in the past but this year can’t score for the life of him? Why do they play people out of their natural position? It’s all very strange.
Possession is a very misleading stat. Under Manning Norwich often had possession but it was mainly around our own penalty area and produced no threat.
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I’m at the stage where I think the data used by football clubs is brilliant but the data released to the public is nonsense. XG, possession and the like.
We were promoted last season with possession stats of 47.8%, which put us 18th out of 24 teams and very much hid that we spent a solid third of the season with a possession stat. regularly under 30%. We finished 2nd and were promoted.
The last 4 games since Chelsea we’ve run out of midfielders, been ripped apart like a knife through butter and yet won 2 of those games.
I do believe that Pompey are following the Luton model….
Sad to hear Liam Manning is on compassionate leave from his duties at Huddersfield. I think it puts into perspective his time at Norwich.
He’s a decent guy and I hope he quickly returns to full fitness.
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Must be something in the water at Huddersfield.
Wagner had some sort of breakdown there during their one season in the Premiership.
Ah yes, the “burnout” which saw him take another job within 4 months.
Relatively young man at the time. Anxious not to be out of the game too long & possibly becoming unemployable if getting a reputation for burnout?
Today our slim hopes of making the play offs disappeared thanks to a lack lustre performance that never got out of second gear.
Portsmouth were a very poor side and needed us to provide the equaliser.
Must hand it to their supporters who created plenty of noise all afternoon, the fans are definitely not deserving relegation.( I would be grateful if they could lose their bl**dy bell!!!)
I’m sure there’ll be plenty of changes to our squad before next season.
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A poor performance today from all reports. I just hope the Clement effect is not wearing off.
Still, we have the consolation of two easy games coming up……..
I think it was a case of too many playing various games midweek necessitating several team changes.
The ref should have given one, possibly, two of their players double yellows.
5 draws from 10 games today. We came from 2 down, so can’t complain.
A decent 2-1 win for Luton today against a pretty average Peterborough side. It should have been 5 or 6 nil with the chances we created but at least the performances are much better and we still have an outside chance of the play offs (very outside though). Poor subs made us wobble a bit at the end. One of the worst ref & linesman combinations I have seen this season and both of them faced a lynch mob at the end of the game.
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My son in law’s a Rovers season ticket holder so really chuffed with their result today. Millwall back in the EPL would be quite a coup.
Good game played in a good atmosphere (always interesting having hone fans up behind you 
) punctuated by some poor goals and absolutely baffling decisions from the ref and one of the linesmen.
We spent a long time setting up the non-existent wall for their first goal. Right in front of me so I had a perfect view of it. Missed their penalty award as I was focusing on the ball coming in but, seeing the replay, it was clearly a penalty. No idea what got into Kabore. Clearly has stuff in his locker but he chooses to not use it and goes in for an afternoon of wrestling decisions. Very lucky to not even get a yellow for an earlier fight.
Both our goals were excellent but Moore should have won the game for us late on and Broadhead had yet another ineffective cameo. Overall a good point against a clearly resurgent West Brom under Morrison.
High risk doing a bus and 3 trains each way on a Bank Holiday but it worked like clockwork and was a very enjoyable first visit to the Hawthorns for me. Didn’t enjoy the micro climate but 5 layers and 2 lots of double layered socks did me proud. Quite liked the idea of a Greggs in the fan zone too. Less keen on the Albion stewards who couldn’t sit or stand still. One disability access steward and a bit of a shambles albeit not as much as the non-existent Passenger Assistance from Cross Country.
Happy with the point and so onto Tuesdays huge game against Saints.
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Watched the game on Sky Sports+. Yes, Pompey are a pretty poor side at the moment: disjointed forward play and creating few real chances; took loose in possession. I was wholly expecting a thumping and once Norwich took the lead I thought they would go on to win comfortably. However, Norwich seemed strangely passive and looked content to hold onto a one-nil lead in the second half. Unsurprisingly that enabled Pompey to get a foothold in the game and grab a point. Overall it was a poor quality game which neither side deserved to win. Still one point above the relegation zone but our run-in fixtures look very, very tough. Our home game against Oxford on Monday is probably our most important of the season. A real ‘must-win’ but on current form and player availablity I’m not at all optimistic.
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I read that they have the toughest run-in in the league, which doesn’t bode well. Unless they get a massive budget increase, which seems unlikely, maybe L1 is their most comfortable home. It seems bonkers how much of a loss Championship clubs make, but what to do? How many owners are there who can lose 10s of £m a year? And of those, how many are actually good people?
I was at the away wins in East London. Charlton and then Millwall. In both games we won 3-1 and were the better team. The we embarked on a losing spree. We sometimes play better against the better teams. Millwall was a prime example. Coventry, Ipswich and Middlesbrough in the last few weeks of the season doesn’t bode well on paper, but you never know!
I’ll be there cheering on the team against Oxford. If we stay up we need a total rethink on recruitment and game plan. Unfortunately I can’t see JM having the support or ability to transform our squad to make life comfortable in this league. Financial losses are a symptom of success on the field at this level, so the choice is clear. Spend the money and suffer the loss or accept the fact that we are not Championship material. I’d rather suffer the crumbling Fratton Park than watch some of the lacklustre displays we have seen this season. I was also at Preston, who have a pitch which looks like a Sunday League surface but they are surviving without spending millions on a new playing surface so why we see that as a priority is a mystery! Despite all that, fingers crossed for a great escape! 
PUP
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Yes, Nigel. The Eisners, who I agree are good people, seem to believe rather naively that the new football regulator is going to force the PL clubs to provide a fairer share of TV money to the EFL. I don’t believe that is going to happen. We have to accept the football world as it is, not as we’d like it to be, which means if the owners want us to be a competitive Championship club, the investment in the playing staff needs to be closer to what most Championship clubs spend. Currently we’re trying to compete in the Championship with what looks more an (upper) L1 playing budget.
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