Back from Morecambe

[rumourmonger]

Morecambe is a helluva long way to go for a performance such as we witnessed yesterday. Having set out at 6:00 am (why ? Lucketts) we arrived outside the ground at around 12:40 and decamped to the only boozer in easy reach , a plastic Marston's hostelry called The Hurley Flyer which served it's ale in plastic pint glasses ( a particular annoyance of mine but one that I suppose we have to put up with). Good food in there by the way of contrast to it's surroundings and beverages.. And so into The Globe Arena. A modern concrete block stadium . Looks very much like a non-league ground with one decent stand added to it. There was a very cold sharp wind blowing right across the terracing (yes terracing) where we stood and you had to move around a bit to get the least blowy place that you could find. The match kicked off in bright sunshine and right from the word go Pompey did not look to be at the races. Sloppy passing , players not reading each other's intentions , made you wonder if they had trained together at all this week. No surprise when ten minutes in , Morecambe took the lead. Corner from the left and Kenyon arrived unmarked to bullet a header in at the near post. Typical Pompey away start we thought but no matter we have 80 minutes to rectify the situation. But still the misplaced passes continued , Jed trying to do too much on his own , Tubbs not really getting a look in and just generally no hint of a cohesive unit at all. 20 minutes gone and Westwood and crew arrived. The noise level ramped up and suddenly there were several shirtless overweight men dancing about at the front of the terracing. I must admit they were getting more of my focus than the events on the pitch. Towards the end of the half their keeper was called into action a couple of times . Firstly to stop a Taylor cross reaching Tubbs and then to turn a smart shot from Tubbs round the post. By far the nearest we came to a goal all half long. After a very mediocre hot dog at half time Pompey were out early for the resumption , no doubt with a flea in their ears from Awford. And they started much more brightly with a good move involving Passley down the right , the ball reached an unmarked Wallace and his snap shot beat the keeper but not the defender on the line. And that was as good as it got as the apathy of the first half returned and Morecambe resumed control. We then made a substitution and replaced the ineffectual Fogden with Conor Chaplin. He didn't seem to have brought anything new to the table to start with and with 20 minutes remaining we went 2-0 down. Yet again corner from the left , and a near post header. This time Jones kept the header out but as he lay on the floor , Kenyon acrobatically volleyed it back goalwards and reaching up Jones could only palm it into the roof of the net. The crowd then turned to gallows humour. "How s**t must you be , it's only 2-0" and "Will we ever win away" boomed out .Westcarr replaced the now bandaged Taylor but nothing changed attacking wise for us. The game then was halted as Passley challenged one of their players in our box , right in front of me as it happened , and clashed heads. To be more precise I think the back of his head hit Passley on the chin , and Passley was out cold before he hit the floor. He was twitching and convulsing on the floor as the medical team seemed a little slow to react and the Pompey fans were not backward in letting them know that. After a ten minute hold up during which the stretcher was brought on and then deemed surplus to requirements , Passley was eventually carried off on a body board with an oxygen mask on his face. I gather he is okay and has just stayed in hospital overnight as a precaution but it certainly didn't look good at the time. Webster came on in his place and immediately looked the pick of our defenders . Winning challenges and distributing the ball well. Within three minutes of the resumption we had a lifeline. Atangana won the ball in the middle , fed the ball to Tubbs and he shimmied one way and slipped a delightful pass to the unmarked Chaplin who confidently smacked it across the keeper and inside the post. Game On we thought. Could we snatch an unlikely point? No was the answer. Nosworthy went for a high ball with Ellison (I think) and his header not unusually went straight up in the air. It dropped to Amond on the edge of the box and the yellow shirted defenders all stood and watched him bring it down and thump a glorious shot past Jones and into the top corner. Overall we were very much second best on the day and we left the ground with a 300 mile coach journey ahead of us. Reached Fratton Park at around 11:35 pm and then home to bed. Why oh why do I put myself through this?

[Lost in Transportation]

I've taken the liberty of putting this fine report into paragraphs for easier reading.

Morecambe is a helluva long way to go for a performance such as we witnessed yesterday.

Having set out at 6:00 am (why ? Lucketts) we arrived outside the ground at around 12:40 and decamped to the only boozer in easy reach , a plastic Marston's hostelry called The Hurley Flyer which served it's ale in plastic pint glasses ( a particular annoyance of mine but one that I suppose we have to put up with). Good food in there by the way of contrast to it's surroundings and beverages.

And so into The Globe Arena. A modern concrete block stadium . Looks very much like a non-league ground with one decent stand added to it. There was a very cold sharp wind blowing right across the terracing (yes terracing) where we stood and you had to move around a bit to get the least blowy place that you could find.

The match kicked off in bright sunshine and right from the word go Pompey did not look to be at the races.

Sloppy passing , players not reading each other's intentions , made you wonder if they had trained together at all this week. No surprise when ten minutes in , Morecambe took the lead. Corner from the left and Kenyon arrived unmarked to bullet a header in at the near post.

Typical Pompey away start we thought but no matter we have 80 minutes to rectify the situation. But still the misplaced passes continued , Jed trying to do too much on his own , Tubbs not really getting a look in and just generally no hint of a cohesive unit at all.

20 minutes gone and Westwood and crew arrived. The noise level ramped up and suddenly there were several shirtless overweight men dancing about at the front of the terracing. I must admit they were getting more of my focus than the events on the pitch. Towards the end of the half their keeper was called into action a couple of times . Firstly to stop a Taylor cross reaching Tubbs and then to turn a smart shot from Tubbs round the post. By far the nearest we came to a goal all half long.

After a very mediocre hot dog at half time Pompey were out early for the resumption , no doubt with a flea in their ears from Awford. And they started much more brightly with a good move involving Passley down the right , the ball reached an unmarked Wallace and his snap shot beat the keeper but not the defender on the line. And that was as good as it got as the apathy of the first half returned and Morecambe resumed control.

We then made a substitution and replaced the ineffectual Fogden with Conor Chaplin. He didn't seem to have brought anything new to the table to start with and with 20 minutes remaining we went 2-0 down. Yet again corner from the left , and a near post header. This time Jones kept the header out but as he lay on the floor, Kenyon acrobatically volleyed it back goalwards and reaching up Jones could only palm it into the roof of the net.

The crowd then turned to gallows humour. "How s**t must you be , it's only 2-0" and "Will we ever win away" boomed out.

Westcarr replaced the now bandaged Taylor but nothing changed attacking wise for us. The game then was halted as Passley challenged one of their players in our box , right in front of me as it happened , and clashed heads. To be more precise I think the back of his head hit Passley on the chin , and Passley was out cold before he hit the floor. He was twitching and convulsing on the floor as the medical team seemed a little slow to react and the Pompey fans were not backward in letting them know that.

After a ten minute hold up during which the stretcher was brought on and then deemed surplus to requirements , Passley was eventually carried off on a body board with an oxygen mask on his face. I gather he is okay and has just stayed in hospital overnight as a precaution but it certainly didn't look good at the time.

Webster came on in his place and immediately looked the pick of our defenders . Winning challenges and distributing the ball well. Within three minutes of the resumption we had a lifeline. Atangana won the ball in the middle , fed the ball to Tubbs and he shimmied one way and slipped a delightful pass to the unmarked Chaplin who confidently smacked it across the keeper and inside the post.

Game On we thought. Could we snatch an unlikely point?

No was the answer. Nosworthy went for a high ball with Ellison (I think) and his header not unusually went straight up in the air. It dropped to Amond on the edge of the box and the yellow shirted defenders all stood and watched him bring it down and thump a glorious shot past Jones and into the top corner.

Overall we were very much second best on the day and we left the ground with a 300 mile coach journey ahead of us. Reached Fratton Park at around 11:35 pm and then home to bed.

Why oh why do I put myself through this?

[rumourmonger]

Thanks LiT

[Selsey Bill]

Why oh why do I put myself through this?

I feel like that most Saturdays!

By the way, great report thanks

[Earl Grey]

Webster came on in his place and immediately looked the pick of our defenders . Winning challenges and distributing the ball well.

That's what I've been saying.

Defenders like Whatmough and Webster link up with the midfield.

When you have a muscle-bound, head-far, hoof-far monsters at the back like Nosworthy then you lose that.

[Pompey1985]

Webster came on in his place and immediately looked the pick of our defenders . Winning challenges and distributing the ball well.

That's what I've been saying.

Defenders like Whatmough and Webster link up with the midfield.

When you have a muscle-bound, head-far, hoof-far monsters at the back like Nosworthy then you lose that.

The problem is the players they come up against at this level. The bit that worries me about Webster is his concentration.

[Selsey Bill]

The bit that worries me about Webster is his concentration.

I know what you mean, but the lad has only just turned 20!

I have three sons, including a 21 year old and a 17 year old, and trust me, they are prone to lapses in concentration!

The more playing time he gets, the more he will improve IMHO

[Pompey1985]

The bit that worries me about Webster is his concentration.

I know what you mean, but the lad has only just turned 20!

I have three sons, including a 21 year old and a 17 year old, and trust me, they are prone to lapses in concentration!

The more playing time he gets, the more he will improve IMHO

I get that I'm just not sure that he has shown enough improvement in this department to convince me.

[Earl Grey]

The bit that worries me about Webster is his concentration.

I know what you mean, but the lad has only just turned 20!

I have three sons, including a 21 year old and a 17 year old, and trust me, they are prone to lapses in concentration!

The more playing time he gets, the more he will improve IMHO

I get that I'm just not sure that he has shown enough improvement in this department to convince me.

Well you've had one full game and three bits of games to judge him by in his natural position and in those bits of games his presence has been an improvement - OK he maybe was partly responsible for a goal in his one full game at CB but so were others.

Give him a chance.....until the end of the season, hopefully - assuming Awfs has now given up on any chance of relegation/promotion - and then judge him. Remember Butler also has those moments and I think people are coming round to him being a decent option.

We can do with his superior distribution - Nosworthy just isn't our future whereas Webster probably is.

If we can keep him, Wallace, Whatmough, Butler and bring through Chaplin, Tarbuck and others next season then we can have the core of a decent young side that will get to know one another. Sadly I think the chance of Wallace staying is slim.

[Weybridge]

The other thing is defenders are at their best in the later stages of their careers. I think it comes with experience of reading the game.

[Pompey1985]

The bit that worries me about Webster is his concentration.

I know what you mean, but the lad has only just turned 20!

I have three sons, including a 21 year old and a 17 year old, and trust me, they are prone to lapses in concentration!

The more playing time he gets, the more he will improve IMHO

I get that I'm just not sure that he has shown enough improvement in this department to convince me.

Well you've had one full game and three bits of games to judge him by in his natural position and in those bits of games his presence has been an improvement - OK he maybe was partly responsible for a goal in his one full game at CB but so were others.

Give him a chance.....until the end of the season, hopefully - assuming Awfs has now given up on any chance of relegation/promotion - and then judge him. Remember Butler also has those moments and I think people are coming round to him being a decent option.

We can do with his superior distribution - Nosworthy just isn't our future whereas Webster probably is.

If we can keep him, Wallace, Whatmough, Butler and bring through Chaplin, Tarbuck and others next season then we can have the core of a decent young side that will get to know one another. Sadly I think the chance of Wallace staying is slim.

I don't see the difference in position (in this instance)as an excuse for his lack of conctration.

Plus this core of a decent youngside is based on an assumption that they all progress.

[Pompey Penguin]

A very late BFTG as I stayed in Morecambe overnight for an event on Sunday.

Morecambe is the epitome of a functional L2 team, which I suppose is why they are dead mid-table. Strong where they need to be, organised, know what they are doing and with a little bit of skill here and there, but without too much to offer or challenge the opposition. IOW, exactly the sort of team against which Pompey have struggled all season, especially away from home, but also too often at Fratton Park.

Firstly, very relieved to hear on my return that Passley is going to be OK. It was extremely worrying at the time as it looked to me like he was twitching if not outright fitting whilst unconscious. Total accident as he caught his head on the back of the Morecambe player's head.

Goals were very much of the seen it all before variety. A corner where a player had a free header; Nosworthy and Taylor both seemed to be marking him, got in a mix-up and by the time Taylor followed him it was too late. Another corner, Jones does well to save the first attempt, but inevitably it is a Morecambe player who picks up the loose ball to score. Finally, a hoof upfield, Nosworthy fails to clear properly, and their player has plenty of time on the edge of the box; great finish, and best moment of the game, but under little pressure.

Attacking-wise Pompey offered little. Those of us there will be able to say we saw Conor Chaplin's first goal for Pompey; just hope this is something worth boasting about in the future in the same way that I saw Michael Owen's first goal for Liverpool! Tubbs and Wallace had chances either side of halftime, and they might have done better, but we can't really claim to have been unlucky.

The midfield, yet again didn't impose itself on mediocre opposition. Dunne looks like he has had enough of the season, and doesn't have the energy we saw earlier in the year; probably just too much of doing it on his own (I hope). IMO, one thing we have usefully learnt over the last few games is that Atangana isn't good enough; odd good passes interspersed with giving the ball away and a lack of defensive ability mean that he only really looks like a useful squad player. Fogden was ineffectual, and I am not at all sure of his best position; maybe it is as an impact sub coming on when his energy can stretch a tiring opposition. The result, as expected, was that we give the ball away too much and don't pick up enough loose balls to control a game. I think that another quality central midfielder should be the priority (along with a proper RB/RWB) for the summer; it's a pity that a combination of injury and the call of Scotland prevented Simon Ferry staying as he is the type of player that we need: get the ball, pass the ball forwards, move, get it back again, keep team moving in a positive manner whilst keeping possession.

I know he was only on for 15 minutes, but Adam Webster looked like a real footballer, unlike most of the rest of the team. His ability on the ball gives the defence another dimension and gives the opposition a problem if they don't want to be dragged out of position. I know that I have a real bias in favour of young players, but I would like to see a manager just go for a defence of Webster/Robinson/Whatmough and take the lumps in return for players who can play. Webster strikes me (and I don't know him) as a player who will benefit from having the confidence of a manager who won't drop him after every error and will learn from playing the same position every week. He is going to get beaten up occasional by a big L2 centre-forward or outwitted by an experienced player moving down the leagues, but there is only one way to learn.

[Earl Grey]

I think that another quality central midfielder should be the priority (along with a proper RB/RWB) for the summer; it's a pity that a combination of injury and the call of Scotland prevented Simon Ferry staying as he is the type of player that we need: get the ball, pass the ball forwards, move, get it back again, keep team moving in a positive manner whilst keeping possession.

This is what I've been on about, too, PP. Our midfield has a good ball-winner in Dunne, a pesky nuisance player in Foggy, and sheer class 'drifter' in Wallace - but we don't have a Simon Ferry orchestrating all these components - and we desperately need one.

I know he was only on for 15 minutes, but Adam Webster looked like a real footballer, unlike most of the rest of the team. His ability on the ball gives the defence another dimension and gives the opposition a problem if they don't want to be dragged out of position. I know that I have a real bias in favour of young players, but I would like to see a manager just go for a defence of Webster/Robinson/Whatmough and take the lumps in return for players who can play. Webster strikes me (and I don't know him) as a player who will benefit from having the confidence of a manager who won't drop him after every error and will learn from playing the same position every week. He is going to get beaten up occasional by a big L2 centre-forward or outwitted by an experienced player moving down the leagues, but there is only one way to learn.

We're singing from the same hymn sheet, PP.