Accrington.

[Sam_Brown]

We could play like mid 2000s Chelsea and park the bus for 90 minutes for all I care as long as we get out of the league.

[Pompey55]

Hypothetical question, Would people be happier if we played entertaining all our attack football and didn't make the play offs, or a more procession based style and made the play offs?

Not at all but playing not to lose is in my view a recipe for failure
Possession based football is fine if you have players with the quality to turn that into positive football possession based football with no final product is what we have at present
League one football is not full of sufficient quality players to play positive possession based football unless we have a massive budget and that’s not happening any time soon

[NSRailings]

Possession based football is fine if you have players with the quality to turn that into positive football possession based football with no final product is what we have at present
League one football is not full of sufficient quality players to play positive possession based football unless we have a massive budget and that’s not happening any time soon

And it doesn't always work in higher leagues. Brighton have a possession based game and it didn't work for them today unfortunately. I love the way Brighton try to play but you also need to be direct, attacking and simple at times.

[BlueinPLtwenty]

Do you thinks that Mous is apparently having problems because he is having to play Cowley`s Players. Give the man a chance!

[Blue Walter]

Hypothetical question, Would people be happier if we played entertaining all our attack football and didn't make the play offs, or a more procession based style and made the play offs?

That's a very interesting question. Of course I would rather have both, entertaining attacking football and success. There again that is possibly a utopian wish for League One, although Ipswich seem to have been able to do it. I found Paul Cook's team boring to a large degree where he had relative success playing possession football. His theory was to keep the ball from the opposition and create the single chance that makes the winning goal and that for him was job done. Kenny Jackett's idea was to set the team up not to lose, which I also found boring. On the other hand Harry Redknapp played fast attacking football and the Championship winning season is my favourite of all time.

In answer to you question I think that winning is half the entertainment value on its own so, I suppose, success is more important at the moment to get out of this league. If you are pointing at yesterday’s game as an example I don't think it really applies because we were lucky to win. If there was any justice, and they had a better team, Accrington Stanley would have won that game.

[Sam_Brown]

Do you thinks that Mous is apparently having problems because he is having to play Cowley`s Players. Give the man a chance!

He had a very good record in his first handful of games. We were top and playing great at the start of the season as well.

The players we have should be able to play like that now but they don’t. Why is that?

How does the same set of played go from challenging for the top to arguably relegation battlers under Cowley near the end of his tenure?

[NSRailings]

How does the same set of played go from challenging for the top to arguably relegation battlers under Cowley near the end of his tenure?

A similar thing has happened under Mousinho. We began to play some great stuff when he came in until after the Bolton home game. Then form dropped. No idea why. Could be player laziness or maybe some people aren't cut out to be managers. I see Steve McClaren is part of the backroom coaching staff at Man Ure and that's his level. Mousinho has up until Christmas to prove that he's the right manager for Pompey, otherwise things will turn toxic for the majority of supporters. His post match interviews are massively bland. He's starting to remind me of Tony Adams - out of his depth but better with the media. I really hope I'm wrong and the summer brings a huge squad change for the better and Mousinho comes out of his shell. We all want that.

Players have the power these days so you need to be a very special person to manage them successfully. You've got the look at the likes of Guardiola, Klopp, Thomas Frank and Eddie Howe to see what type of person you need to be.

[Pompey55]

Do you thinks that Mous is apparently having problems because he is having to play Cowley`s Players. Give the man a chance!

He had a very good record in his first handful of games. We were top and playing great at the start of the season as well.

The players we have should be able to play like that now but they don’t. Why is that?

How does the same set of played go from challenging for the top to arguably relegation battlers under Cowley near the end of his tenure?

I think that we actually had a reasonably easy start to the season and then got found out as soon as we played better teams namely Plymouth and Ipswich
Also once injuries started Cowley in my view tried to make the players meet his system by playing them out of position rather than adapting the system to suit the players
Once that happened I think he lost the dressing room

[Pompey1984+1]

Hypothetical question, Would people be happier if we played entertaining all our attack football and didn't make the play offs, or a more procession based style and made the play offs?

That's a very interesting question. Of course I would rather have both, entertaining attacking football and success. There again that is possibly a utopian wish for League One, although Ipswich seem to have been able to do it. I found Paul Cook's team boring to a large degree where he had relative success playing possession football. His theory was to keep the ball from the opposition and create the single chance that makes the winning goal and that for him was job done. Kenny Jackett's idea was to set the team up not to lose, which I also found boring. On the other hand Harry Redknapp played fast attacking football and the Championship winning season is my favourite of all time.

In answer to you question I think that winning is half the entertainment value on its own so, I suppose, success is more important at the moment to get out of this league. If you are pointing at yesterday’s game as an example I don't think it really applies because we were lucky to win. If there was any justice, and they had a better team, Accrington Stanley would have won that game.

So when we get promoted and lose more often than we win, what then?

I wasn't referring to yesterday, as you can plan procession based football, that isn't boring it's not binary like is often suggested.

Paul Cooks team wasn't about just creating one chance, what the problem with that side became much like this current crop is when we came up against a side well organised and prepared to sit in we didn't have the ability to unlock those teams.

The sides we have struggled against this season are those who are just better than us - and those who sit in and we can't breakdown.

[Pompey55]

Hypothetical question, Would people be happier if we played entertaining all our attack football and didn't make the play offs, or a more procession based style and made the play offs?

That's a very interesting question. Of course I would rather have both, entertaining attacking football and success. There again that is possibly a utopian wish for League One, although Ipswich seem to have been able to do it. I found Paul Cook's team boring to a large degree where he had relative success playing possession football. His theory was to keep the ball from the opposition and create the single chance that makes the winning goal and that for him was job done. Kenny Jackett's idea was to set the team up not to lose, which I also found boring. On the other hand Harry Redknapp played fast attacking football and the Championship winning season is my favourite of all time.

In answer to you question I think that winning is half the entertainment value on its own so, I suppose, success is more important at the moment to get out of this league. If you are pointing at yesterday’s game as an example I don't think it really applies because we were lucky to win. If there was any justice, and they had a better team, Accrington Stanley would have won that game.

So when we get promoted and lose more often than we win, what then?

I wasn't referring to yesterday, as you can plan procession based football, that isn't boring it's not binary like is often suggested.

Paul Cooks team wasn't about just creating one chance, what the problem with that side became much like this current crop is when we came up against a side well organised and prepared to sit in we didn't have the ability to unlock those teams.

The sides we have struggled against this season are those who are just better than us - and those who sit in and we can't breakdown.

Does that definition of teams we have struggled against pretty much cover the majority of league one this season in particular at Fratton Park

[blue architect]

Hypothetical question, Would people be happier if we played entertaining all our attack football and didn't make the play offs, or a more procession based style and made the play offs?

Great question and one that I have swung from one opinion to the other.
I primarily attend matches to be entertained by football. I do not enjoy watching a boring match and rarely come away with any satisfaction that we have secured one or three points. By entertained I mean that I have seen Pompey play for the shirt, put 100% in, and show effort and desire. To meet this you don't necessarily need to win, but that is a welcome bonus.
On the other hand, I am desperate to get out of this league so that the quality of the football and therefore my entertainment level is raised. To achieve this then a season of more mundane, sensible, safe football would be acceptable.
The problem I am experiencing is that we have been stuck for six years with the latter (and I am not getting any younger or feeling as motivated to attend - both are worrying).
My ideal scenario is that we do both.

[Pompey1984+1]

Hypothetical question, Would people be happier if we played entertaining all our attack football and didn't make the play offs, or a more procession based style and made the play offs?

Great question and one that I have swung from one opinion to the other.
I primarily attend matches to be entertained by football. I do not enjoy watching a boring match and rarely come away with any satisfaction that we have secured one or three points. By entertained I mean that I have seen Pompey play for the shirt, put 100% in, and show effort and desire. To meet this you don't necessarily need to win, but that is a welcome bonus.
On the other hand, I am desperate to get out of this league so that the quality of the football and therefore my entertainment level is raised. To achieve this then a season of more mundane, sensible, safe football would be acceptable.
The problem I am experiencing is that we have been stuck for six years with the latter (and I am not getting any younger or feeling as motivated to attend - both are worrying).
My ideal scenario is that we do both.

I think everyone's ideal scenario would be to do both, and I think it is possible to do that without breaking the bank, Plymouth and Barnsley for example.

Personally, I didn't think we were that good at the start of the season but we were scoring goals and winning games, it looked like a side who's performances could grow as the season went on. For whatever reason it didn't - my opinion is in part injuries, in part constant chopping and changing.

I think the signs from JM have been there about how he wants us to play - and I believe we are missing some key ingredients for that to work. The squad we have is imbalanced and the quality shown from a number of our loan signings in particular has been below the standard we would rightly have expected.

A new season always brings new hope

[Blue Walter]

Do you thinks that Mous is apparently having problems because he is having to play Cowley`s Players. Give the man a chance!

He had a very good record in his first handful of games. We were top and playing great at the start of the season as well.

The players we have should be able to play like that now but they don’t. Why is that?

How does the same set of played go from challenging for the top to arguably relegation battlers under Cowley near the end of his tenure?

I agree, that is how I see it. I believe we have had good players for this level ever since we have been in this league. These players should have been good enough to have made a decent team, but they haven't for whatever reason. My concern is that Mousinho could be turning into a Cowley. I hope not of course and, in the worse case, it is just his apathy towards some of the players he has inherited.

When you dissect Saturdays game in isolation I don't think I saw an Accrington Stanley player that I would want in my team. In fact they looked like a very poor side to me and showed why they are where they are. Yet they created more than we did and really should have won the game. I think that applies for the Morecombe game and quite a few others this season. Why is that, we have good players so is it a lack of leadership? Or are the players just not playing to their full ability? I don't think it is a case of not trying because I think they do but not at the level where they don't leave anything on the pitch.

[Pompey55]

As much as I hate to attribute things to one specific player is it not the case that when Moushino took over he had a fit and available Morrell however for the last four games he has been missing and our results dropped away from the moment he got himself sent off
I can not really see that this was pure coincidence

[Blue Walter]

I also wonder whether the contract situation has anything to do with the teams current poor form. Are some players naffed off that it appears the club doesn't want them here and they are just keeping the shirt warm for someone else to come in and fill it? Loan players who are coming to the end would most likely to feel this way, although low work rate and lack of effort can not be directed at Dale. Nor Bernard for that matter because he was just about the only shining light on Saturday. You could, perhaps, understand Piggott sulking as well because I think he has been really under used by both Cowley & Mousinho. I don't know what the problem is but there is something inherently wrong within this squad that should be offering so much more.