| |
Club Focus - Portsmouth - The good and bad sides of Pompey
The name Portsmouth Football Club has been well and truly dragged through the mud this season. The situation at times has represented an utter farce and the recent ownerships of the club have been nothing short of a joke. However, last week saw the appearance of Pompey’s full debts, and despite the fact there overall debt stretched to £50m more than was originally estimated, there was an even more sickening statistic that sunk the club to new depths.
If anybody wanted an insight into the men behind the club in recent years, then seeing the sum of £15 000 - that was raised for two local cancer charities - instead finding its way into the club’s coffers just about sums it all up. But while such despicable acts leave a bitter taste, the fans continue to keep their club’s pride shining through, as they delved into their own pockets to raise the £2 702 bill the club owes St John Ambulance. While most verdicts when speaking of Pompey are altogether damning, it is the fans - who have still backed their team to the hilt despite this on-going shambles - that have provided hope for the future of the club. Many will be sickened by their club’s actions, but the ones culpable for such actions are Portsmouth Football Club - not the fans, who have only boosted their already sterling reputation even further throughout this mess.
Saturday afternoon in sunny Bolton again saw the good side of Portsmouth. The small band of away followers out-sang the tepid home crowd, as the players themselves grabbed a deserved point after a fine second half fight-back. Although all is now lost in the Premier League, Avram Grant still managed to rally his troops at the half-time interval, which proved the catalyst for a much improved showing in the second period. It was Grant himself who changed the game for the visitors as he threw caution to the wind when changing a midfielder for a striker at half-time - a change which proved pivotal in clawing back the two-goal deficit. Frederic Piquionne’s introduction for the disappointing Hassan Yebda gave Pompey a threat that was almost non-existent in the first half, as Piquionne posed the Bolton Wanderers centre-halves a new problem - movement. While largely just up against John Utaka in the first period, whose movement is best described as laboured, Pompey had no target to hit and gave possession away countless times.
But with Piquionne on, along with Aruna Dindane, Tommy Smith and Utaka, Pompey had endless options when on the ball in the midfield area. Although having four forwards on the pitch strikes of gung-ho, the fact Dindane and Smith put in such a commendable shift on each flank meant Pompey were not caught all that short at the back either. Even though Saturday’s result means nothing in terms of Pompey’s season, it does at least give Grant a difficult decision for the F.A Cup final. There is no doubt the Israeli has preferred the 4-3-3 system since arriving on the south coast, but after the success of 4-4-2 over his preferred formation on Saturday, Grant might well have some food for thought. Having said that, it is difficult to see the ex-Chelsea boss changing from the formation that sank Tottenham Hotspur in the F.A Cup semi-final, and that has, by large, been Pompey’s most successful tactic this term.
Pompey now gear up for their remaining two games of the season, but interest will be more on the players who turn out in blue than the results themselves. Blues fans await news on Jamie O’Hara, who is now a doubt for the F.A Cup final with a back injury, as well as Tal Ben-Haim, Steve Finnan and Hayden Mullins - all of whom missed the weekend’s match. Kevin-Prince Boateng too was sidelined, so he also represents a genuine worry, although there is no news on what or how long he will be kept out of action for.
For now Grant must bide his time, knowing any tactical plans he would hope to make now may be no use to him whatsoever. Until he knows who will be available and in what state, he can only guess at a proposed system. If Chelsea did not already represent such a difficult challenge, it will be a whole lot harder with the above names sidelined - O’Hara and Boateng especially will be vital to Pompey’s already lingering hopes.
 Watch all Portsmouth matches live on your computer - click here
See the full list of OLBG's free Football Tips here.
Related Articles
| |