Pompey and Circumstances...V. Portsmouth away Sat 30th Oct 3.O'clock

[GhostoftheBok]

I know they're not on the best of form, but Portsmouth are a dangerous side with how intensely they press and the individual attacking talents they possess, such as right winger Marcus Harness (5 gals, 1 assist this season) and left winger Ronan Curtis (3 goals, 1 assist).

I fear this could be another embarrassing defeat similar to Wigan if we aren't on the ball (figuratively speaking) from minute one.

This is my big concern. Teams shut Williams down, let Santos dribble into traps and clean up easily when we go direct. Evatt hasn't reacted to this new reality yet and it feels like he thinks that if his players play well enough it shouldn't matter what the other side do.

[GhostoftheBok]

I'm currently rewatching the season (even the painful games) on iFollow and have a reached the Gillingham game. A couple of moments in the opening few minutes summed up key problems.

The first was a set piece routine from a corner. Sheehan goes over to take a corner on the defensive left side. With no option for a left-footed in-swinger we opt to go short, with the ball returned to Sheehan's left foot...why? If Sheehan can't put the ball in from the corner with his left what sense does it make to use a short routine that puts the ball on his left foot anyway?

The second was a freekick from the left back position taken by Dixon. He puts it long into John (no way he's winning that) and our players are in a decent shape for a knock down, but when the second ball comes Akinde (who was marked when the header occurred) finds himself in 5 yards of space. All he had to do was take a few steps towards the ball whilst Johnston and Williams watched play unfold. That can't happen.

We are dreadful on second balls and set pieces and we need to start seeing improvements in those areas against Pompey.

[The_Gun]

Not sure what the weather’s like in Portsmouth, but I’m a bit further down the south coast this morning and it’s absolutely filthy. Might be a day for pragmatism if it’s similar over in Hampshire.

In terms of lineup today I think Isgrove has to play at right back again, but then we’re really struggling at right sided forward. I think I’d probably go for Delfouneso, as Kachunga offers so little.

1-1 draw.

[TANGODANCER]

Here's a nice little ( convenient?) boost for Pompey ..

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/19 ... ers-clash/

[LeverEnd]

Agree with Gun that Delf should come in over Kachunga. My rationale is that Delf played well more recently (18 months ago rather than 3 years.)
Truly a tallest dwarf selection.
We're going to get bent over and botty-spanked.

[TANGODANCER]

Agree with Gun that Delf should come in over Kachunga. My rationale is that Delf played well more recently (18 months ago rather than 3 years.)
Truly a tallest dwarf selection.
We're going to get bent over and botty-spanked.

Then again, one of them might turn out to be M.O.T.M. COME ON YOU WHITES !

[Worthy4England]

We're going to get bent over and botty-spanked.

Can you keep it to the match, rather than whatever you have planned later?

A good hiding with defensive frailties and inability to score showing zero difference to the last couple of weeks will quickly erase the last 10 minutes to grab a point last week.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

A good hiding with defensive frailties and inability to score showing zero difference to the last couple of weeks will quickly erase the last 10 minutes to grab a point last week.

This is true.

Also true is that a solid win would more or less erase the bobbins first 70 minutes last week - at least until we next go behind...

[Bertie Wooster]

4-0 Portsmouth.

[The_Gun]

Full of confidence this morning then, lads?

[KeyserSoze]

We'll shit em 4-1.

[Bruce Rioja]

Two apiece. A well-earned point.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

4-0 Portsmouth.

A vintage Allardyce-era performance, October 2003. If I remember rightly we may have featured Ivan Campo at full-back in full Coco the Clown mode. Certainly had a defensive reshuffle on 41 minutes, Charlton on for Barney.

Jääskeläinen, Laville, N'Gotty, Barness (Charlton), Campo, Frandsen (Jardel), Gardner, Djorkaeff, Okocha, Pedersen, Davies (Stelios).
.

.
Those were the days of proper 0-4 hammerings, when the manager drilled them and the players cared, not like you get these days. This long painful trip ended a fine opening week in which we'd been humped 4-0 at Old Trafford and dropped two points from 2-0 up at home to Blackburn. We won one of our first 10 games (including a 6-2 shellacking at Kevin Keegan's Man City) and ended October in the relegation zone.

Finished eighth, though. Panic fannies.

[BWFC_Insane]

Those were the days when without spending a penny we regularly competed with sides who spent a hundred times what we had available. And of course that entailed some thumpings.

But I don’t think trying to equate now with then is going to be helpful.

Not sure at start of season we’d expect much out of today and the past few weeks have only cemented that view. A spirited fighting performance would be good though. In fact I’d say the minimum. We don’t want to make losing 3 and 4 a habit.

[LeverEnd]

We'll shit em 4-1.

Bit early for festivities isn't it?

[Bruce Rioja]

We'll shit em 4-1.

Bit early for festivities isn't it?

"GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN".

[TANGODANCER]

We always seem to play better coming from behind; be nice to reverse that and score first. Forgotten now who it was off-hand, but we were 3-0 up in about ten minutes one game? Them were the days..

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

We always seem to play better coming from behind; be nice to reverse that and score first. Forgotten now who it was off-hand, but we were 3-0 up in about ten minutes one game? Them were the days..

I'm guessing you mean five years ago yesterday - we beat Port Vale 3-1 having gone 3-0 up in 16 minutes.

Feel free to guess the line-up (inc subs), people. (In white below)
Howard, Wilson, Wheater, Beevers, A Taylor, Derik, Trotter, Ameobi, Vela, Clough, Madine.
Subs: Alnwick, Buxton, Perry, Anderson, C Taylor (Vela 75), Henry (Ameobi 73), Proctor

[TANGODANCER]

We always seem to play better coming from behind; be nice to reverse that and score first. Forgotten now who it was off-hand, but we were 3-0 up in about ten minutes one game? Them were the days..

I'm guessing you mean five years ago yesterday - we beat Port Vale 3-1 having gone 3-0 up in 16 minutes.

Feel free to guess the line-up (inc subs), people. (In white below)
Howard, Wilson, Wheater, Beevers, A Taylor, Derik, Trotter, Ameobi, Vela, Clough, Madine.
Subs: Alnwick, Buxton, Perry, Anderson, C Taylor (Vela 75), Henry (Ameobi 73), Proctor

Cheers. That's the game D.S.B. My radge memory wouldn't have a clue on the team though.

[Bruce Rioja]

We always seem to play better coming from behind; be nice to reverse that and score first. Forgotten now who it was off-hand, but we were 3-0 up in about ten minutes one game? Them were the days..

I'm guessing you mean five years ago yesterday - we beat Port Vale 3-1 having gone 3-0 up in 16 minutes.

Feel free to guess the line-up (inc subs), people. (In white below)
Howard, Wilson, Wheater, Beevers, A Taylor, Derik, Trotter, Ameobi, Vela, Clough, Madine.
Subs: Alnwick, Buxton, Perry, Anderson, C Taylor (Vela 75), Henry (Ameobi 73), Proctor

I remember towards the end of the Allardyce era, hoping that we wouldn't go one-up after 10 minutes, as basically, we may all as well have buggered-off then