[Archived] Vs. Portsmouth Preview

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Truly frightening stuff that table,what perplexes me even more is that some people are just waking up to the hard,awful facts of the situation we face!

God help us all if we dont start picking up points starting tomorrow.

[Billy Castell]

Have you not seen enough of the Andrews/Mokoena midfield partnership? The defence just miss them out and clog over the top of them. Got to have Tugay in there. At least the defenders trust him enough to give him the ball.

Oh dear why do I bother. We don't have a midfield anyway.

I don't know if Tugay can last 90 minutes, I haven't seen too many games in order to save my sanity. If he looks like he has the legs, then put him in for the axe.

And next time don't bother you miserable so and so.

[vintageadidas]

The worrying thing is we took 3 points at Everton in the last minute, salvaged a point against Middlesborough in the 94th minute and again salvaged a point at West Brom in 88th.

We could easily have 9 points, on the plus side at least they play until the final whistle.

We have not convincingly beat anyone this season in the league.

[A cup of beans]

the key to this game is our midfield set-up. if we pick axe and andrews, as a central midfield pairing, we will get overun.

if it was me... id have emerton and tugay in the centre and andrews on the right (ince is always gonna pick andrews somewhere).

as for the debate on tugay lasting the full 90 minutes... id much rather start any game with tugay and replace him after 70 mins, with mokoena, than have the axe on from the start.

i'm not hugely positive for tomorrow (i usually am) just hope we come back with something.

[1864roverite]

Tomorrows game will be the defining part of Paul Inces Rovers career. it is such a crucial game now having seen todays results go the way they have.

If one result shows just how dangerous a position we are in it is todays result of Sunderland and Bolton.

At Bolton, Rovers struggled and missed the chance of the game to take 3 points.

At Ewood, Rovers somehow contrived to fritter away 3 points against one of the poorest teams to ever grace the Ewood pitch in Sunderland.

Tomorrow, a Rovers win will take us out of the bottom 3 and give the club a little impetus for the cup game at old triffid midweek before the game against Liverpoo. It is clear for all to see, Ince has to put out a team that will fight tooth and nail, a team that will have to cope with an aerial bombardment in Crouch and a team that HAS to give its own strikers something to feed on. A draw is not going to be good enough 3 points is the be all and end all after todays results.

Phillip quite rightly points out we need at least 9 wins to survive this season. We have 12 games at home that consist of the following.

Liverpoo

Stoke

Man City

Newcastle

Bolton

Villa

Everton

Wham

Spuds

Wigan

Portsmouth and WBA.

With the exception of Man City (and I say exception because of the Brazilian/Ireland factor) and Liverpoo, we would expect to beat each and everyone of those teams, and should we do so we will survive. HOWEVER, such is the diatribe dished up at home I am now seriously concerned about our Premiership position.

A quick glimpse at the away fixtures sees manure, Liverpoo, Arsenal, Chelsea plus a plethora of midrate teams who again we should at least on paper, beat.

The season now starts at Fratton Park. If Ince can push his team to a victory we have a platform. Should we lose, for me, its game over for the season because the fight will be taken out of our team. January will be on us as soon as Xmas is over and you can bet the likes of Warnock and RSC will be off like a shot, leaving the club cash rich but worse off on the playing side.

The way to beat Pompy ?

Robinson

Simpson Samba Nelsen Warnock

Emerton Tugay Mokoena MGP

RSC McCarthy

subs: Andrews, Roberts, Brown, Treacy, Carlos, Derbyshire and Zurab

There is scope in that squad to get the result and to change it around. If Tugay struggles then there is no reason why McCarthy cannot drop back and bringing Roberts into the front 2, the same with Derbyshire. Carlos is a player that can play just behind the front 2 if we revert to a 4-3-3 formation. the team can revert from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 if the midfield gets swamped. treacy an easily take the left back slot to allow Warnock into midfield, likewise with MGP.

Pompy are going to be sore, they may be a little deflated and tired but their crowd will lift them. They will have the battering ram that is Papa Diop, they have the speed in Traore and they have threats from Defoe and Crouch as well as the marauding full backs. But even with this, Pompy leave themsleves wide open at times. Rovers have the weaponry and players to exploit this IF he gets it right on the pitch.

If Rovers can keep the score level at half time, then Pompy will get ragged. If the inevitable early goal is conceded by Rovers, then I feel a drubbing coming on for the men from Ewood.

Its time to be stood up and counted

[dingles staying down 4ever]

A great call to arms, 1864.

[DE.]

We must, must win tomorrow. As many have said, it will be the defining moment of Paul Ince's short managerial tenure.

[philipl]

The line-up will be interesting tomorrow.

Ince only has one outcome that works for him- a win.

[Athlete]

The line-up will be interesting tomorrow.

Ince only has one outcome that works for him- a win.

any thing less and come Monday morning the board must be seriously considering getting shut of Ince !

[LDRover]

Ince cannot play Andrews tomorrow, it has to be Tugay alongside a defensive midfielder, be it Mokoena or Vogel to do the 'ugly' side of the game for him. We need to have someone in there to dictate the play and impose our game on them, Tugay is that man, Andrews, most certainly is not.

[JAL]

Ince cannot play Andrews tomorrow, it has to be Tugay alongside a defensive midfielder, be it Mokoena or Vogel to do the 'ugly' side of the game for him. We need to have someone in there to dictate the play and impose our game on them, Tugay is that man, Andrews, most certainly is not.

Are you having a laugh LD Rover, we've no fecker on the books throughtout the whole of the club who can dictate play. PLEASE GET REAL!

[LDRover]

Are you having a laugh LD Rover, we've no fecker on the books throughtout the whole of the club who can dictate play. PLEASE GET REAL!

Tugay's our best midfielder by a country mile and is the only player who can help us sustain a period of passing. If that makes the opposition have to work harder to get the ball back that's what I call dictating the play.

The problem is our 'total footballing' manager appears to have forsaken his 'principles' for a new style based on the John Beck and Dave Bassett school of long ball so Toogs will probably be warming the bench again.

[JAL]

Tugay's our best midfielder by a country mile and is the only player who can help us sustain a period of passing. If that makes the opposition have to work harder to get the ball back that's what I call dictating the play.

The problem is our 'total footballing' manager appears to have forsaken his 'principles' for a new style based on the John Beck and Dave Bassett school of long ball so Toogs will probably be warming the bench again.

EH ! you what, you what you what.

Tugays finished...... another marvelous Hughes decision to leave us with.

Fully appreciate that 'Coco the clown' may not know what hes doing or his team but thats life.

[Stuart]

...And there's no danger of Ince playing Vogel.

[LDRover]

EH ! you what, you what you what.

Tugays finished...... another marvelous Hughes decision to leave us with.

Fully appreciate that 'Coco the clown' may not know what hes doing or his team but thats life.

Might well be finished, still the best we've got...and that's the reality.

Plus, the best results we've got this season have coincided with his inclusion.

I'm hardly enamoured with hoping for the inclusion of a 38 year old to try to win us a game but he's in my best 11 (and most others according to this thread) at the minute, would you rather have Andrews in?

[JAL]

Might well be finished, still the best we've got...and that's the reality.

Plus, the best results we've got this season have coincided with his inclusion.

I'm hardly enamoured with hoping for the inclusion of a 38 year old to try to win us a game but he's in my best 11 (and most others according to this thread) at the minute, would you rather have Andrews in?

Fully see your point of view LD, we've gone from a positive situation to a negative one in such a short space of time its madening.

[LDRover]

Fully see your point of view LD, we've gone from a positive situation to a negative one in such a short space of time its madening.

Amen to that, I'm mad as **** about how our club is going and how those that can change it are seemingly oblivious. Something has to be done before it's too late.

[walk down bolton road]

Amen to that, I'm mad as **** about how our club is going and how those that can change it are seemingly oblivious. Something has to be done before it's too late.

How sad and depressing is it that our best midfield man is 38 years old and we have to rely on him,no other team in the premiership is that desperate.

[Mr. E]

TBH I feel a bit helpless. We're not good enough to hold our fate in our own hands. Too many teams are simply richer and better, and Pompey are one of them. It's up to Ince to find some way out of this mess, because I can't.

[John]

Was with a table of around 25 earlier tonight. I attempted not to mention football at all, but then the question came to me: surely you knew you were in for trouble when Paul Ince was appointed?

Good night.

[modes98]

Roy Keane may be available shortly!

Discuss!

Hoping for Pompey to be on a downer after midweek and we can take the 3 points.

[Bobby G]

Win is vital as its getting too much of a norm losing games.

Hopefully we can take the 3 points and move off the bottom.

[Roost]

EH ! you what, you what you what.

Tugays finished...... another marvelous Hughes decision to leave us with.

Fully appreciate that 'Coco the clown' may not know what hes doing or his team but thats life.

Tugay finished.......? Are you on glue?

Just because he is nearing 40 doesnt mean he cant give a lesson in midfield control to Andrews & Mokoena - even if its only for 45 minutes.

Start with Tugay and dictate the midfield - start with Andrews and hand the midfield to Pompey.

[Paul]

Portsmouth 1 Blackburn Rovers 3

[Roost]

Portsmouth 1 Blackburn Rovers 3

Thank God for that - someone else who feels confident about this one!!