Pompey v Oldham

[The Cincinnati Kid]

I shall assume Pomps mantle as he's moved on. 0-2 in the 82nd at post time.
WLWLWL over the last 6...appalling inconsistency is usually laid at the managers doorstep.
Sort it out KJ!

[PakefieldBlue]

Although you could argue that that sequence of results is actually very consistent!

[Pompey Dave]

Completely undone by losing Burgess and then Thompson today. With Burgess in the team I think we would have kept some momentum and won.

[Pompey Dave]

We now have 5 back 4 players injured, no team could cope with that and hope to continue without impact.

[pompeygunner]

We now have 5 back 4 players injured, no team could cope with that and hope to continue without impact.

Agree with that but, & its a big but. That doesn't explain our inept pathetic CM that brought pressure onto a position where we were weakened.

[Pompey Gary]

I shall assume Pomps mantle as he's moved on. 0-2 in the 82nd at post time.
WLWLWL over the last 6...appalling inconsistency is usually laid at the managers doorstep.
Sort it out KJ!

Or it could be because the team is an average side who tend to win and lose in equal amounts. Someone has to fill out the middle of the table.

[richisbradders]

We now have 5 back 4 players injured, no team could cope with that and hope to continue without impact.

I blame the result of this purely on jackett though. The full back positions aren't a worry as you don't need to be that great in these positions to tick along (see Evans all last season).

The problem is jackett for some reason thought best to chop tom Davis leaving burgess, whatmough and Clarke as our only centre backs. I presume he was just looking the other way if he ever bothered to look at Clarke and whatmoughs injury records.

[Lost in Transportation]

I shall assume Pomps mantle as he's moved on. 0-2 in the 82nd at post time.
WLWLWL over the last 6...appalling inconsistency is usually laid at the managers doorstep.
Sort it out KJ!

September's 7 games have been LWLWLWL

[Earl Grey]

I shall assume Pomps mantle as he's moved on. 0-2 in the 82nd at post time.
WLWLWL over the last 6...appalling inconsistency is usually laid at the managers doorstep.
Sort it out KJ!

September's 7 games have been LWLWLWL

That's fine. Better than having a team with a brilliant defence and hopeless attack. A string of 0-0 results will give you 46 points at the season's end and you'll be in trouble. A string of WLWLWL etc. will give you a healthy total that I can't quickly work out in my head but you'll be safe!.

[Earl Grey]

We now have 5 back 4 players injured, no team could cope with that and hope to continue without impact.

I blame the result of this purely on jackett though. The full back positions aren't a worry as you don't need to be that great in these positions to tick along (see Evans all last season).

The problem is jackett for some reason thought best to chop tom Davis leaving burgess, whatmough and Clarke as our only centre backs. I presume he was just looking the other way if he ever bothered to look at Clarke and whatmoughs injury records.

Thing is Thompson was billed as a centre-back stroke full-back and at a push defensive midfield. It transpires that he is not any good at centre back.
I'm guessing that's why KJ thought to get rid of Tom Davis to presumable fund another player into the squad.
Let's face it, Kenny Jackett's had no luck. He lost his jewel in the crown, Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, also Whatmough got a long term injury, Clarke was injured at the beginning of the season and now Burgess and maybe Thompson are out for a bit.
Still, maybe Ollie Hawkins can do a job back there!

[Teddington Jim]

It's not centre back that concerns me it's the centre of midfield. I've watched all bar Wigan and Cardiff away and we haven't controlled the midfield at any game. If we ever did Pitman would score even more goals. Lowe and Kennedy aren't being brought into the game at all. I don't know the answer ,maybe bring in Rose but O'Keefe has been extremely disappointing but perhaps he has to do more work to cover Close/May.

[Milton End]

It's not centre back that concerns me it's the centre of midfield. I've watched all bar Wigan and Cardiff away and we haven't controlled the midfield at any game. If we ever did Pitman would score even more goals. Lowe and Kennedy aren't being brought into the game at all. I don't know the answer ,maybe bring in Rose but O'Keefe has been extremely disappointing but perhaps he has to do more work to cover Close/May.

While I don't disagree with this assessment, controlling the midfield is perhaps also about the style of play.

Oldham had six yellow cards while we had one - not all given to the Oldham midfielders admittedly. But the opposition did not hesitate to block, foul and challenge at every opportunity. Arguably we miss the aggression and experience of Doyle and others from last year.

More generally, I confess to leaving slightly before the end of the match because of a problem with the timing of the trains. South Western Railways have a new timetable that bunches all the London-bound weekend trains in a way that can mean a long wait at Fratton on a Saturday if you stay to the end.

But I saw most of the game. Oldham were the better side, though we did have a few good moments.

We were clearly unlucky with the injury picked up by Thomson early in the first half coupled with the absence of Burgess on the day through injury. The replacements were not able to cope with the aggression (and skill) of some of the Oldham players. This means that it was not just the Pompey midfield that had problems.

But the booing of Talbot by some so-called PFC supporters was, in my opinion, completely unacceptable. Players need our support when they are having a difficult time. And, of course, some of the same idiots then invaded the pitch at the end - stupid and totally counter-productive.

It's going to be a long, hard season judging by this performance. But I still remain optimistic.

[Earl Grey]

But the booing of Talbot by some so-called PFC supporters was, in my opinion, completely unacceptable. Players need our support when they are having a difficult time.

Totally agree. A player who's made a mistake isn't going to improve if a few idiots start booing. It was embarrassing.

[pompeygunner]

But the booing of Talbot by some so-called PFC supporters was, in my opinion, completely unacceptable. Players need our support when they are having a difficult time.

Totally agree. A player who's made a mistake isn't going to improve if a few idiots start booing. It was embarrassing.

100% agreement. Felt Talbot was the one singled out amongst a host of rubbish performances. At least he had the excuse of hardly playing competitively so far this season, the rest couldn't have that excuse.