In The Absence Of A Pompey Review

[brfc4ever]

Very sad by this result. Confused and sad.

[Daremz]

Shame. Pure shame. And we deserved it, that's the worst. Just like thursday, we deserved it.

Hughes will be looking for a reaction for sure now...!

[Presty On Tour]

disappointed and gutted!!!!!

it's never nice losing at home but certain players just weren't up for it today again

[John]

Just not good enough.

Did not have a good feeling before this match, as Pompey have a talented, competitive team.

We needed to play well to get anything out of the match.

[B.R.F.C]

Quite clearly the teams confidence is shot to pieces at this moment in time and after such a good start we had the wind taken out of our sails by Kanus goal. Apart from that we didn't offer much and Portsmouth quite comfortably won the game and controlled it 2nd half. So bloody frustrating

[emglch]

all that talk of unbeaten run, winning the uefa cup or qualifying for champions league... the team was just too overconfident. brought down to earth for sure after tonight's defeat. disappointing to lose to pompey.

[dillo_dillo]

Ha! Sloppy!

Will we finish 4th place? Don't make me laugh.

today, I was checking the air ticket fee to visit Blackburn, but It's pending.

I don't want to go over 10.000km trip to watch SLOPPY performance .

[John]

That was Pompey's first away win in the Premiership since Boxing Day.

[Plastic Head]

Bentley and MGP are playing well so far in this game. Dunn and Savage are being overwhelmed by three big men in the centre of the park. Harry's 4-5-1 is working because for once Kanu is shooting on target.

Pedersen....ehh..awful

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Shame. Pure shame. And we deserved it, that's the worst. Just like thursday, we deserved it.

Believe me my friend just like Thursday we didn't deserve anything,we created little and friedel kept the score respective......that about sums matter up.The form of certain players is starting to worry me personally,and I'm sure we all know the ones I'm talking about!

I have to say Pompey per man are one of the largest and most athletic sides I have seen,Samba did not look out of place for a change.

A bad slip in form that we must right soon.

[Ben-2000]

Awful - I can't compare it with Larissa coz I didn't see any of that game.

What made me laugh was on the big screen when advertising the Larissa game "We WILL turn it around" I was thinking well let's start here first!

I just hope this isn't the start of a long run of bad results

[3rdpillar]

On the up side, no yellow or red cards.

[Eddie]

Believe me my friend just like Thursday we didn't deserve anything,we created little and friedel kept the score respective......that about sums matter up.The form of certain players is starting to worry me personally,and I'm sure we all know the ones I'm talking about!

I have to say Pompey per man are one of the largest and most athletic sides I have seen,Samba did not look out of place for a change.

A bad slip in form that we must right soon.

I'm pretty sure that he meant that we deserved to lose.

The form of some of our players is very worrying. On top of that I have to say that Hughes was out-thought today and didn't seem to have any ideas as to how he could change it. Roberts should have come on before Derbyshire for me.

We need to pull our finger out quickly, we could all but finish our season in the next couple of weeks.

[Plastic Head]

OK ...very disappointing but no need to panic yet. But Hughes undoubtedly has some issues to address.

Firstly, the form of Pedersen. Completely inaffective again. I know it's a problem position but were playing with ten at the moment. If we don't trust Peter to come into the team then we must change the formation. Maybe the Axe should come into a midfield 3 with Bentley linking the play, because the forwards were very isolated today.

McCarthy is always going to be a target when the team isn't running smoothly because of the way he plays. If we get the ball to him in good positions he will do the biz. We have 4 forwards I have no problem with but we have to get them the ball...

Savage does what he does but is ineffective at the moment. Reid is obviously still not ready. Dunn is due an injury. Tugay is old. We should have bought in this position in the Summer. Maybe Bob Francis is the answer???

Ooijer doesn't inspire confidence at the back. I would sooner have Zurab myself., and Emerton looks jaded already this season.

So I think the side needs freshening up, will be interesting to see who gets a game on Wednesday. Whatever Hughes does we need to start creating things for Roque and Co...

[yellowsubmarine]

champions league? uefa cup? lol... breaking into top 4.... hahah

[JAL]

Beaten by a bigger physically stronger possible more skillfull team in Portsmouth simple as that if it werent for Friedel AGAIN it could have been three or four nil.

Up front we dont look right in the middle Savage and Dunn are struggling big time along with MGP. Bentley looks the only knight in shining armour.

I'm totally dis mayed with Benni Macarthy's performance but then when the forward comes short for the ball to collect one of the central midfielders has to run forward passed the last defender, Dunn and Savage havent got the speed to do that thus we end up either lobbing the ball forward or play a slow a build up

We could be in for a rough ride and now comes the test for Mark Hughes and his staff.

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

I thought Benni wasn't as bad as he has been for the past few games, he certainly didn't give it away too often.

Samba was good, Brad was his usual excellent self and Roque played pretty decently.

We spend too much time dwelling on who to pass to, but the time we have decided they have 11 men behind the ball and we can't get through.

Is it just me or is Brad not the best of captains? IMO he's too out of the action to be influential

[stuwilky]

Absolutely pathetic.

Nowt more to say.

Other than, Pedersen, £5m snap their bloody arms off.

[Fife Rover]

Well obviously I did not see this match, but judging by what has been said so far it sounds like the team has either lost confidence, or form or both. Either way it is time for MH to act and "rest" a few people. How about moving Warnock up to left MF and putting Olsen (sp?) in at LB. Then if we get Reid back soon, we can "rest" Sav for a bit and bring in Moko. Also if we get Nelson back alongside Samba, "rest" Emmo, and put Zurab in at RB. Then see how that works out.

[den]

Friedel MOTM for me.

[stuwilky]

How about moving Warnock up to left MF and putting Olsen (sp?)

Now that would be interesting, given that Warnock spends more time of the attacking wing than MGP does.

[rover6]

WHat concerns me is that we do not have anyone on the bench that we can turn to inspire a flagging performance. With our midfield looking leggy and physically inferior, who have we to turn to? Tugay...Mokoena...? Not good enough for the circumstances. I still find it absurd that Aaron Mokoena commands a position on the bench when he is only potentially useful in the most limited of circumstances - when winning and trying to close of a game. If the game is in the first half or we're in search of a goal, he is a waste of a subs bench position. Can't help thinking that Papa Bouba Diop would have been more than a useful signing for us.

Hughes must have Sergio Peter on the bench, imo. I'm not saying he's the answer to all our problems, before you jump down my throat, but I just think that we need someone who can come on and do something different, i.e provide some pace and width down the flanks. Apart from Peter, do we have a winger with pace who has realistic first team chances? Glen Johnson is notoriously suspect defensively but did Pedersen test him today? Someone who was at the match can tell us.

Looking at the Pompey result objectively, you have to accept that they have a superior squad to ours and our only hope of winning was if our big names turned it on.

Edit: I suggested the Warnock at left midfield and Olsson left back a few days ago and got a few derogatory responses but I agree that whether it's Warnock, Peter, Olsson at left wing - Hughes needs to consider at least having someone putting genuine pressure on Gamst.

[Paul]

Well that was grim and takes the lustre off the sparkling performances at ewood before Pompey came to town. We started well and it looked as though we might knock 2 or 3 past Portsmouth but once Kanu (doesn't he have a weird gait?) scored we were clearly beaten. Friedel, Santa Cruz, Samba and Oijer the only players to take any real credit from the game. For me McCarthy and MGP both need to be dropped on Wednesday. MGP is probably having his worst spell since joining Rovers. It happens but Hughes needs to recognise nothing he tries is working. He needs a break and to be put under some pressure to win his place back. McCarthy? He never looks interested but scored 24 last season looking that way, but this season he needs to be shown he isn't guaranteed a starting place. The second half was really grim and Savage all but disappeared, not that he was that effective in the first. The rest just didn't do much at all.

Disappointing to say the least. We know we are better than this but then we always seem to play better in the big games. The bread and butter stuff like today is too often a disappointment.

[Paul]

How about moving Warnock up to left MF and putting Olsen (sp?) in at LB.

Nice thought and I think Warnock could do the job, he'd probably be very exciting to watch, but don,t pin your hopes on this Olsen chap. He had 10-15 minutes earlier this season and looked like a rabbit caught in headlights, his main thought on receiving the ball was how do I get rid of it? When a new defender comes into the side it's essential he comes in with confidence in his own play or he'll get slaughtered in his first game. I wouldn't feel at all confident with Ol senin the left back position.

[andrew92]

Brett reverting back to his normal useless self.

Emerton was amazing last season and 1 bad game and hes useless

Ha! Sloppy!

Will we finish 4th place? Don't make me laugh.

today, I was checking the air ticket fee to visit Blackburn, but It's pending.

I don't want to go over 10.000km trip to watch SLOPPY performance .

i respect you live in japan and would be dissapointing for you to come and see something like that but y cant we finish 4th? ohh yes 1 or 2 bad performances and were s***

champions league? uefa cup? lol... breaking into top 4.... hahah

Same as above really, nstead of slaging of the team get behind them!!!

As for the people who booed off mccarthy and pedersen, well im disgusted, absolutly shocking should be embarassed of yourselves!!!

GET BEHIND THE LADS!!!!!!!

Absolutely pathetic.

Nowt more to say.

Other than, Pedersen, £5m snap their bloody arms off.

ha ha sure you would, who could you buy better theses days for 5million