Yesterday

[GreenBlue]

Unfortunately the policy of paying nominal sums for players with potential is now starting to show and it’s failing

We are appearing to be Crewe on the coast

I know I have only taken a couple of sentences from a full post here but I don't think I have taken them out of context.

Both comments are rather harsh. If sitting second after well over a third of a season is failing.... wow.

I realise your second comment is a bit tongue in cheek, at least I hope it is.

[Pompey55]

Unfortunately the policy of paying nominal sums for players with potential is now starting to show and it’s failing

We are appearing to be Crewe on the coast

I know I have only taken a couple of sentences from a full post here but I don't think I have taken them out of context.

Both comments are rather harsh. If sitting second after well over a third of a season is failing.... wow.

I realise your second comment is a bit tongue in cheek, at least I hope it is.

My point was not referring to the recruitment overall but aimed specifically at the lack of attacking options in a later post I was clear I was happy with the recruitment in defence and midfield
Yes my last line was firmly tongue in cheek but the policy of grooming assets has always been the Crewe way

[Pompey55]

Firstly I think we have a creative midfield player in Robertson however since Packs injury he is being wasted playing to deep to be fully effective
Hopefully when we can have Pack and Morrell in tandem then he can be better utilized
Regarding financial backing from the owners I believe they will invest in the playing budget but are guided by Cullen and Hughes regarding recruitment as they are not really football experts
Our summer recruitment got it mainly right defensively and midfield but the attack was reliant upon to many gambles both in the young prospects players but also in believing that Whyte and Scully after very little football in recent seasons would reproduce their past performances at this level unfortunately both gambles appear to have failed to date
I wonder if Cullen and Hughes coming as they have from clubs with less history and expectation are doing things in a manner similar to these “lesser” clubs who in general tend to be happy to survive at this level rather than the expecting we as fans do of having a return at least to the Championship a level we played at for most of my time supporting the club

Didn't Scully play most of the season before last at Lincoln? And Whyte for that matter at Hull?

Whyte played 353 minutes last season in total
Scully played 100 minutes last season in total
So not recent years but still very little football and that in my view would have an affect not so much physically but certainly from a confidence point of view which seems to be the issue in particular with Whyte

You were saying for two season they have barely played - when what you mean is they didn't pay much last season. But they haven't barely played for two seasons.

Scully was here for all of preseason - he's just got a knee injury it happens. Whyte hasn't had a preseason, I think this is always a bigger issue than it is given credit for, despite this when he played at the start of the season he was contributing assists.

I predict both will come good.

One loss doesn't make the summer business awful.

Happy to accept my error over the 2 seasons rather than one, however just checked Whyte’s stats 17 appearances 1 assist in the EFL Trophy this season
And I was clear that the summer recruitment had been fine in defence and midfield but it’s evident that that’s not the case upfront
I make no apologies for expressing the opinion that Whyte and Scully when played disappoint when I have seen them which is pretty every game they have played I also believe that this view is actually quite widely shared by other supporters in particular regarding Whyte from what I hear and see
And it’s not down to this one loss I have expressed this opinion during the unbeaten run consistently

[Pompey1984+1]

Firstly I think we have a creative midfield player in Robertson however since Packs injury he is being wasted playing to deep to be fully effective
Hopefully when we can have Pack and Morrell in tandem then he can be better utilized
Regarding financial backing from the owners I believe they will invest in the playing budget but are guided by Cullen and Hughes regarding recruitment as they are not really football experts
Our summer recruitment got it mainly right defensively and midfield but the attack was reliant upon to many gambles both in the young prospects players but also in believing that Whyte and Scully after very little football in recent seasons would reproduce their past performances at this level unfortunately both gambles appear to have failed to date
I wonder if Cullen and Hughes coming as they have from clubs with less history and expectation are doing things in a manner similar to these “lesser” clubs who in general tend to be happy to survive at this level rather than the expecting we as fans do of having a return at least to the Championship a level we played at for most of my time supporting the club

Didn't Scully play most of the season before last at Lincoln? And Whyte for that matter at Hull?

Whyte played 353 minutes last season in total
Scully played 100 minutes last season in total
So not recent years but still very little football and that in my view would have an affect not so much physically but certainly from a confidence point of view which seems to be the issue in particular with Whyte

You were saying for two season they have barely played - when what you mean is they didn't pay much last season. But they haven't barely played for two seasons.

Scully was here for all of preseason - he's just got a knee injury it happens. Whyte hasn't had a preseason, I think this is always a bigger issue than it is given credit for, despite this when he played at the start of the season he was contributing assists.

I predict both will come good.

One loss doesn't make the summer business awful.

Of course you are right and one loss doesn't make the summer transfer activity all bad. I agree that both Scully & Whyte could come good, in fact I hope they do. I still think that some of my concerns with this business is bona-fide and needs putting right. We disagree over Sparkes, for instance, where my view is that he is not a very good full back. Not defensively anyway and if he was brought in as a left back then I think it is not a good signing which, in my opinion, needs rectifying. The striker issue needs resolving too as I think that we are making a mistake relying on Bishop solely in this role. The two back up players are, again in my opinion, are not the answer. In time they might well be but if they are restricted to cameos they are not going to gain the experience they need.

Whyte & Scully are a disappointment, you can dress the circumstances up as much as you like but they remain disappointing. Nobody can say Scully is rubbish because he has hardly played due to injury but, conversely, nobody can say he has been good. Whyte has had chances but, for whatever reason, he has been a huge let down. Another thing that needs mentioning is that neither of those two players possess the pace that Mousinho now say he wants. I would think the lack of pace was evident in the summer as well which was not rectified.

While Sparkes might not be the best defender we have I think he has other attributes which are a huge benefit to the team, especially his crossing.

In league one you aren't going to get players who are the complete article - it's why they are in league one.

We have three left backs at the club and the first choice one in injured. There have been a numbers of games where Sparkes has had a torrid time at left back - so might Oglivie but there are more instances of Sparkes winning us games this season than costing us games.

[Blue Walter]

Firstly I think we have a creative midfield player in Robertson however since Packs injury he is being wasted playing to deep to be fully effective
Hopefully when we can have Pack and Morrell in tandem then he can be better utilized
Regarding financial backing from the owners I believe they will invest in the playing budget but are guided by Cullen and Hughes regarding recruitment as they are not really football experts
Our summer recruitment got it mainly right defensively and midfield but the attack was reliant upon to many gambles both in the young prospects players but also in believing that Whyte and Scully after very little football in recent seasons would reproduce their past performances at this level unfortunately both gambles appear to have failed to date
I wonder if Cullen and Hughes coming as they have from clubs with less history and expectation are doing things in a manner similar to these “lesser” clubs who in general tend to be happy to survive at this level rather than the expecting we as fans do of having a return at least to the Championship a level we played at for most of my time supporting the club

Didn't Scully play most of the season before last at Lincoln? And Whyte for that matter at Hull?

Whyte played 353 minutes last season in total
Scully played 100 minutes last season in total
So not recent years but still very little football and that in my view would have an affect not so much physically but certainly from a confidence point of view which seems to be the issue in particular with Whyte

You were saying for two season they have barely played - when what you mean is they didn't pay much last season. But they haven't barely played for two seasons.

Scully was here for all of preseason - he's just got a knee injury it happens. Whyte hasn't had a preseason, I think this is always a bigger issue than it is given credit for, despite this when he played at the start of the season he was contributing assists.

I predict both will come good.

One loss doesn't make the summer business awful.

Of course you are right and one loss doesn't make the summer transfer activity all bad. I agree that both Scully & Whyte could come good, in fact I hope they do. I still think that some of my concerns with this business is bona-fide and needs putting right. We disagree over Sparkes, for instance, where my view is that he is not a very good full back. Not defensively anyway and if he was brought in as a left back then I think it is not a good signing which, in my opinion, needs rectifying. The striker issue needs resolving too as I think that we are making a mistake relying on Bishop solely in this role. The two back up players are, again in my opinion, are not the answer. In time they might well be but if they are restricted to cameos they are not going to gain the experience they need.

Whyte & Scully are a disappointment, you can dress the circumstances up as much as you like but they remain disappointing. Nobody can say Scully is rubbish because he has hardly played due to injury but, conversely, nobody can say he has been good. Whyte has had chances but, for whatever reason, he has been a huge let down. Another thing that needs mentioning is that neither of those two players possess the pace that Mousinho now say he wants. I would think the lack of pace was evident in the summer as well which was not rectified.

While Sparkes might not be the best defender we have I think he has other attributes which are a huge benefit to the team, especially his crossing.

In league one you aren't going to get players who are the complete article - it's why they are in league one.

We have three left backs at the club and the first choice one in injured. There have been a numbers of games where Sparkes has had a torrid time at left back - so might Oglivie but there are more instances of Sparkes winning us games this season than costing us games.

My argument is that if Sparkes was brought in as full back he has been a poor signing. I don't doubt he has other attributes and I agree he is quite good going forward. He is probably one of the best at the club for crossing the ball. In fact I think he delivered the pass of the day, or very nearly did, with a brilliant cross field pass to Lane only for Lane to mis control it. That said I maintain that he is not a very good at being a full back, maybe a good wingback, but not as a specialist full back. However, I don't remember him winning games for us. He has contributed in some good moments but I don't he has delivered the MoM display.

I know players will have limited ability if they are playing at League One level, that's why they do. However, at any level you have players who play in specialist positions who come up players of similar standing. I don't think Sparkes is a specialist full back at League One level and nor did Exeter and thier supporters. I do think he is worth a place in our squad for certain circumstances but just not at full back.

[Pompey1984+1]

Firstly I think we have a creative midfield player in Robertson however since Packs injury he is being wasted playing to deep to be fully effective
Hopefully when we can have Pack and Morrell in tandem then he can be better utilized
Regarding financial backing from the owners I believe they will invest in the playing budget but are guided by Cullen and Hughes regarding recruitment as they are not really football experts
Our summer recruitment got it mainly right defensively and midfield but the attack was reliant upon to many gambles both in the young prospects players but also in believing that Whyte and Scully after very little football in recent seasons would reproduce their past performances at this level unfortunately both gambles appear to have failed to date
I wonder if Cullen and Hughes coming as they have from clubs with less history and expectation are doing things in a manner similar to these “lesser” clubs who in general tend to be happy to survive at this level rather than the expecting we as fans do of having a return at least to the Championship a level we played at for most of my time supporting the club

Didn't Scully play most of the season before last at Lincoln? And Whyte for that matter at Hull?

Whyte played 353 minutes last season in total
Scully played 100 minutes last season in total
So not recent years but still very little football and that in my view would have an affect not so much physically but certainly from a confidence point of view which seems to be the issue in particular with Whyte

You were saying for two season they have barely played - when what you mean is they didn't pay much last season. But they haven't barely played for two seasons.

Scully was here for all of preseason - he's just got a knee injury it happens. Whyte hasn't had a preseason, I think this is always a bigger issue than it is given credit for, despite this when he played at the start of the season he was contributing assists.

I predict both will come good.

One loss doesn't make the summer business awful.

Of course you are right and one loss doesn't make the summer transfer activity all bad. I agree that both Scully & Whyte could come good, in fact I hope they do. I still think that some of my concerns with this business is bona-fide and needs putting right. We disagree over Sparkes, for instance, where my view is that he is not a very good full back. Not defensively anyway and if he was brought in as a left back then I think it is not a good signing which, in my opinion, needs rectifying. The striker issue needs resolving too as I think that we are making a mistake relying on Bishop solely in this role. The two back up players are, again in my opinion, are not the answer. In time they might well be but if they are restricted to cameos they are not going to gain the experience they need.

Whyte & Scully are a disappointment, you can dress the circumstances up as much as you like but they remain disappointing. Nobody can say Scully is rubbish because he has hardly played due to injury but, conversely, nobody can say he has been good. Whyte has had chances but, for whatever reason, he has been a huge let down. Another thing that needs mentioning is that neither of those two players possess the pace that Mousinho now say he wants. I would think the lack of pace was evident in the summer as well which was not rectified.

While Sparkes might not be the best defender we have I think he has other attributes which are a huge benefit to the team, especially his crossing.

In league one you aren't going to get players who are the complete article - it's why they are in league one.

We have three left backs at the club and the first choice one in injured. There have been a numbers of games where Sparkes has had a torrid time at left back - so might Oglivie but there are more instances of Sparkes winning us games this season than costing us games.

My argument is that if Sparkes was brought in as full back he has been a poor signing. I don't doubt he has other attributes and I agree he is quite good going forward. He is probably one of the best at the club for crossing the ball. In fact I think he delivered the pass of the day, or very nearly did, with a brilliant cross field pass to Lane only for Lane to mis control it. That said I maintain that he is not a very good at being a full back, maybe a good wingback, but not as a specialist full back. However, I don't remember him winning games for us. He has contributed in some good moments but I don't he has delivered the MoM display.

I know players will have limited ability if they are playing at League One level, that's why they do. However, at any level you have players who play in specialist positions who come up players of similar standing. I don't think Sparkes is a specialist full back at League One level and nor did Exeter and thier supporters. I do think he is worth a place in our squad for certain circumstances but just not at full back.

Didn't he take the corner we scored from against Carlisle? So no not man of the match but a huge contribution to us taking all three points - and I think he took the corner we scored from against Wycombe too?

The point I was trying to make is that you don't have two first choice fullbacks in league one. The backup player isn't going to be as refined as the first choice and we have three left backs at the club.

Didn't he play left back for Exeter? Just because fans don't think he's Roberto Carlos doesn't mean he isn't a specialist left back. I've seen suggestions of playing Towler the centre back at left back...

[Pompey55]

Regarding Sparkes I totally agree he cant defend but as regards winning us points going forward he has actually won us games with his assists
In fact his assists in the games against Exeter, Lincoln,Wycombe and Carlisle contributed to our wins by one goal
Conversely his lack of defensive ability cost us in other games but his assist record out weighs that
He is a good wing back but a crap left back

[Blue Walter]

OK, let's agree to disagree. You think he is a good player but I think he is a liability at full back. You think he is OK at playing at full back and I don't but we do agree he is quite good further forward. We had already agreed that he has made some positive contributions so no reminders needed.

Aside from the sarcasm and the Roberto Carlos comment it appears that Exeter found out the same thing, good going forward but a liability at full back. He couldn't dislodge the players they had on the wing or the players operating at full back so there was no place for him in their team. He spent most of the last couple of seasons on the bench, or not even making the squad.

He was very highly thought of when he was breaking through the youth ranks to first team level but, apparently, he never fulfilled his promise. But it is just about opinions I suppose.

[Claygate]

Firstly I think we have a creative midfield player in Robertson however since Packs injury he is being wasted playing to deep to be fully effective
Hopefully when we can have Pack and Morrell in tandem then he can be better utilized
Regarding financial backing from the owners I believe they will invest in the playing budget but are guided by Cullen and Hughes regarding recruitment as they are not really football experts
Our summer recruitment got it mainly right defensively and midfield but the attack was reliant upon to many gambles both in the young prospects players but also in believing that Whyte and Scully after very little football in recent seasons would reproduce their past performances at this level unfortunately both gambles appear to have failed to date
I wonder if Cullen and Hughes coming as they have from clubs with less history and expectation are doing things in a manner similar to these “lesser” clubs who in general tend to be happy to survive at this level rather than the expecting we as fans do of having a return at least to the Championship a level we played at for most of my time supporting the club

Didn't Scully play most of the season before last at Lincoln? And Whyte for that matter at Hull?

Whyte played 353 minutes last season in total
Scully played 100 minutes last season in total
So not recent years but still very little football and that in my view would have an affect not so much physically but certainly from a confidence point of view which seems to be the issue in particular with Whyte

You were saying for two season they have barely played - when what you mean is they didn't pay much last season. But they haven't barely played for two seasons.

Scully was here for all of preseason - he's just got a knee injury it happens. Whyte hasn't had a preseason, I think this is always a bigger issue than it is given credit for, despite this when he played at the start of the season he was contributing assists.

I predict both will come good.

One loss doesn't make the summer business awful.

Of course you are right and one loss doesn't make the summer transfer activity all bad. I agree that both Scully & Whyte could come good, in fact I hope they do. I still think that some of my concerns with this business is bona-fide and needs putting right. We disagree over Sparkes, for instance, where my view is that he is not a very good full back. Not defensively anyway and if he was brought in as a left back then I think it is not a good signing which, in my opinion, needs rectifying. The striker issue needs resolving too as I think that we are making a mistake relying on Bishop solely in this role. The two back up players are, again in my opinion, are not the answer. In time they might well be but if they are restricted to cameos they are not going to gain the experience they need.

Whyte & Scully are a disappointment, you can dress the circumstances up as much as you like but they remain disappointing. Nobody can say Scully is rubbish because he has hardly played due to injury but, conversely, nobody can say he has been good. Whyte has had chances but, for whatever reason, he has been a huge let down. Another thing that needs mentioning is that neither of those two players possess the pace that Mousinho now say he wants. I would think the lack of pace was evident in the summer as well which was not rectified.

I read in a Snooze article recently that Moushino was quoted as saying Gavin Whyte was the quickest player in the whole squad!

Quite worrying if true.

[Blue Walter]

Regarding Sparkes I totally agree he cant defend but as regards winning us points going forward he has actually won us games with his assists
In fact his assists in the games against Exeter, Lincoln,Wycombe and Carlisle contributed to our wins by one goal
Conversely his lack of defensive ability cost us in other games but his assist record out weighs that
He is a good wing back but a crap left back

I don't doubt or disagree that Sparkes has contributed positively in some of our games. I don't doubt or disagree that Spakes does have attributes I am just saying that as a left back he is a liability. His defending is poor so he is best used elsewhere if he can be accommodated and serves the team. It is a bit like saying Bishop is not a great goalkeeper so best keep him up front.

In the summer Mousinho claimed that the squad has at least two players for every position. I contend that they don't at left full back position.

[eltorrro]

Regarding Sparkes I totally agree he cant defend but as regards winning us points going forward he has actually won us games with his assists
In fact his assists in the games against Exeter, Lincoln,Wycombe and Carlisle contributed to our wins by one goal
Conversely his lack of defensive ability cost us in other games but his assist record out weighs that
He is a good wing back but a crap left back

I don't doubt or disagree that Sparkes has contributed positively in some of our games. I don't doubt or disagree that Spakes does have attributes I am just saying that as a left back he is a liability. His defending is poor so he is best used elsewhere if he can be accommodated and serves the team. It is a bit like saying Bishop is not a great goalkeeper so best keep him up front.

In the summer Mousinho claimed that the squad has at least two players for every position. I contend that they don't at left full back position.

In case you haven't seen it on video:

Sparkes guilty of dismal defending for first Blackpool goal..he just gave up
Sparkes guilty of dismal defending (not forcing player onto right foot) for 3rd goal.

He should never be picked to play full back again!!

[PeteM]

My suspicion is that we signed Sparkes primarily to be the back up left back to Ogilvie, and then to be an option to use off the bench in games where we are heavily on top and having a lot of the ball to try and help break down a packed defence. Or on occasion to start home games where we expect to have a lot of possession and not to be under pressure defensively, where he could provide a greater attacking threat than Ogilvie and his set piece delivery.

That all seems perfectly logical (and the fact is that we may well have signed him precisely because he was good going forward and therefore to be a different option in our squad). However, he's been exposed a bit more defensively by Ogilvie's injury meaning he's started more games than expected (and probably not helped that he hasn't had the calming and organising presence of Poole at the back for the last few games too). Teams will also have started to target him more as a defensive weakness as he plays more games and their scouting reports suggest they might get some joy attacking down his side.

He'd almost certainly be better as a wing back than a full back. The other way to look at it is that we've also got the best defensive record in League One despite conceding four on Saturday and he's played in the vast majority of those games, so probably isn't quite as bad defensively as we think!

Regarding Scully and Whyte, I'm still reserving judgement on Scully because he's only played a handful of games (and I was happy with the signing at the time because I remembered him being decent for Lincoln). Whyte has definitely been a disappointment up until now but hopefully he can still make a contribution even if it isn't quite as big as the one we envisaged in the summer.

[PeteM]

Regarding Sparkes I totally agree he cant defend but as regards winning us points going forward he has actually won us games with his assists
In fact his assists in the games against Exeter, Lincoln,Wycombe and Carlisle contributed to our wins by one goal
Conversely his lack of defensive ability cost us in other games but his assist record out weighs that
He is a good wing back but a crap left back

I don't doubt or disagree that Sparkes has contributed positively in some of our games. I don't doubt or disagree that Spakes does have attributes I am just saying that as a left back he is a liability. His defending is poor so he is best used elsewhere if he can be accommodated and serves the team. It is a bit like saying Bishop is not a great goalkeeper so best keep him up front.

In the summer Mousinho claimed that the squad has at least two players for every position. I contend that they don't at left full back position.

In case you haven't seen it on video:

Sparkes guilty of dismal defending for first Blackpool goal..he just gave up
Sparkes guilty of dismal defending (not forcing player onto right foot) for 3rd goal.

He should never be picked to play full back again!!

Just watched the highlights back and I agree on the first goal, fair enough he was beaten much too easily 1 v 1 on the outside. But the third goal, he's initially isolated 1 v 1 and slows the attacking player up long enough to show him inside where there are two covering defenders, at least one of whom should probably get a block or a challenge in. I don't think that one is dismal defending or as much his fault as you're suggesting.

[eltorrro]

Regarding Sparkes I totally agree he cant defend but as regards winning us points going forward he has actually won us games with his assists
In fact his assists in the games against Exeter, Lincoln,Wycombe and Carlisle contributed to our wins by one goal
Conversely his lack of defensive ability cost us in other games but his assist record out weighs that
He is a good wing back but a crap left back

I don't doubt or disagree that Sparkes has contributed positively in some of our games. I don't doubt or disagree that Spakes does have attributes I am just saying that as a left back he is a liability. His defending is poor so he is best used elsewhere if he can be accommodated and serves the team. It is a bit like saying Bishop is not a great goalkeeper so best keep him up front.

In the summer Mousinho claimed that the squad has at least two players for every position. I contend that they don't at left full back position.

In case you haven't seen it on video:

Sparkes guilty of dismal defending for first Blackpool goal..he just gave up
Sparkes guilty of dismal defending (not forcing player onto right foot) for 3rd goal.

He should never be picked to play full back again!!

Just watched the highlights back and I agree on the first goal, fair enough he was beaten much too easily 1 v 1 on the outside. But the third goal, he's initially isolated 1 v 1 and slows the attacking player up long enough to show him inside where there are two covering defenders, at least one of whom should probably get a block or a challenge in. I don't think that one is dismal defending or as much his fault as you're suggesting.

As a defender he should know which foot his attackers prefer. In this instance he allowed him to come inside onto his favoured left foot..should have forced him outside.
ps. As it happened live Guy Whittingham said exactly the same!

[PeteM]

Regarding Sparkes I totally agree he cant defend but as regards winning us points going forward he has actually won us games with his assists
In fact his assists in the games against Exeter, Lincoln,Wycombe and Carlisle contributed to our wins by one goal
Conversely his lack of defensive ability cost us in other games but his assist record out weighs that
He is a good wing back but a crap left back

I don't doubt or disagree that Sparkes has contributed positively in some of our games. I don't doubt or disagree that Spakes does have attributes I am just saying that as a left back he is a liability. His defending is poor so he is best used elsewhere if he can be accommodated and serves the team. It is a bit like saying Bishop is not a great goalkeeper so best keep him up front.

In the summer Mousinho claimed that the squad has at least two players for every position. I contend that they don't at left full back position.

In case you haven't seen it on video:

Sparkes guilty of dismal defending for first Blackpool goal..he just gave up
Sparkes guilty of dismal defending (not forcing player onto right foot) for 3rd goal.

He should never be picked to play full back again!!

Just watched the highlights back and I agree on the first goal, fair enough he was beaten much too easily 1 v 1 on the outside. But the third goal, he's initially isolated 1 v 1 and slows the attacking player up long enough to show him inside where there are two covering defenders, at least one of whom should probably get a block or a challenge in. I don't think that one is dismal defending or as much his fault as you're suggesting.

As a defender he should know which foot his attackers prefer. In this instance he allowed him to come inside onto his favoured left foot..should have forced him outside.
ps. As it happened live Guy Whittingham said exactly the same!

I wasn't doubting that the attacker wants to go inside and I'm not saying it's great defending either, my point was more that the goal wasn't totally his fault because once he was shown inside the shot should probably still have been blocked by one of the covering players.

We saw what happened when he showed his man outside for the first goal so that might not have ended better