Be careful tonight...

Voicing your opinions too voiciferously. That will be 5 home games 2 wins, 3 defeats. Unbeaten away.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's rolled out as an excuse.

I'm probably over thinking.

 

No excuses for first 45 .
Second half all positive.
Apart ref letting goaly get away with murder.

 

3 goals conceded in 3 of the last 4 home games.
Losing the defenders we did was a big blow, failing to adequately replace them is negligence

 

Gave him a yellow eventually Loved Styles 2nd half, they didn't know what to do with him!

 

Never going to be easy replacing 10 million pounds worth of defenders though , we’ll be reight.

 

The issue is the need to replace them all at once!

 

Our home form is really poor. Far too many goals let in and lost to a lower league team. Tonight has been coming. Even with our clean sheets teams have had plenty of chances but just not taken them. Tonight a better team did.

 

I'm surprised Collins started the same 11 who struggled to impose themselves in the first half against Burton. Pompey were always going to be sterner opposition.

 

That's cos he aint got a clue.

 

Poor defenders, thrown together, a poor manager would insist on them playing it around with each other at the back until 9 out of ten of our outfield players were in our own first third of pitch. When pressed someone panics and hoofs it up the field to give the opposition a chance. Got away with it against Burton, but Oxford, Peterborough and Portsmouth all put three past us.

 

It wasn’t ever going to be easy, no.

But when you go shopping in non league to replace them, including one lad from the eighth tier who was installing kitchen cabinets for a living, then it’s even harder.

We didn’t need to spend much (or any) money to bring in a centre back with significant experience at this level.

To supplement the non league boys signed, though, they chose not to. We instead brought in a lad on loan from Rotherham who couldn’t get in Leyton Orient’s team last season, and someone from the French lower league who on his first showing needs to improve to even look like a raffle winner.

As a result we are playing our best wing back in the back three - as if we didn’t we’d look even worse defensively than we do already - and that is saying something.

They have made the exact same error as was made a few years ago when they tried to replace Pinnock and Lindsey with inexperienced kids in Andersen and Diaby. That was a monumental **** up. They had to tear up the spreadsheet and sign an older head in Sollbauer to rescue the season.

They will need to do the same or similar in January if we are going to ‘be reight’ - unless we are already so far away from the promotion race that it isn’t worth bothering. Leaving us with the centre backs we have is negligence of the highest order. They’re either inexperienced kids signed as complete punts, full backs out of position out of necessity, or in the case of McCarthy and Cundy, not fit to play, and that isn’t new news.

One half decent, experienced centre back to lead the back line, to talk and to organise, to bring the kids on and help them develop, wouldn’t have cost that much out of the budget. It really wouldn’t have. The board have a lot to answer for. Nothing has been learned.

 

Spot on

 

Cant remember who posted a while ago on here but stated we missed a trick not going for Sonny Bradley (or someone like him). Released by Luton and I know we can't compete with Derby for wages but just someone similar to complement our present defenders, to organise and bring them on.

 

Just a reminder Sollbauer openly said he wanted to come back this summer

 

Play a decent team and we’re ******. Called it a few weeks back, we won’t finish top half. I think it’ll be entertaining and be some cracking games but we’re not good enough. Only way we get a top six spot is if hang around near January and recruit players that are good enough.

 

Same as last year then

 

I think if Connell is back within a reasonable period we'll easily get top 6.

 

Where? Didn't see that

 

More chance of signing Jack Bauer.

 

Connell is definitely key to us becoming more solid and organised. Sadly I don’t think we’ll be seeing him anytime soon. I think there’s more to his absence than the club is letting on.