Basiljunk said:
This is the first game I’ve been able to watch for months, so I can finally judge for myself where we’re at.
First half:
We played really well to start, passing the ball around quite nicely on the ground, making a few good moves and openings. Gardner should have scored a sitter, but James proved why he really ought to still be England’s #1.
Pompey came back into it and we resorted to the dreaded hoofball that I’ve been reading about on this forum. The rest of the first half was pretty much just a game of tennis. Nothing of note happened apart from Gardner looking like a bit of an amateur, Berger trying to take the skin off the ball whenever he’s remotely near the goal and Petrov sulking every time he misplaces a pass instead of, yknow, running back and trying to get the ball.
We should win this game quite comfortably. 1 or 2-0, but who knows…
I want to see Moore on for Gardner.
Second half:
A game we really, really should have won, but that’s the way the cookie/biscuit/thing crumbles. Portsmouth seemed to have no wish for anything other than a 0-0 and it was up to us to make the breakthrough, which we had at least a few chances to do. Not a bore draw by any means. When we stayed away from the hoofing, we looked good. We need a right back to complete our back four, but those two in the middle, it doesn’t get any better than that.
Player Ratings
Sorensen 7.
Rarely needed. Distribution was poor, but not fatally.
Bardsley 5.
Portsmouth’s lack of a left wing should have egged him forward, sadly, he stood still. Can’t remember him doing anything useful.
Laursen 9.
What merits a 10? Maybe not quite there, but wow. Awesome.
Mellberg 8.
Finally got the partner he deserves. Hard to decide whether it was down to Portsmouth’s lack of ambition, but our DCs never gave them a sniff.
Bouma 6.
Never needed defensively, looked okayish going forward.
Gardner 5.5.
Has potential, but still looks like a boy amongst men at times.
Petrov 6.5.
Played the McCann role far better than McCann ever has, but the jury is still out on whether he’s the man to take us forward.
Barry 8.
Well, he gets an 8 just for showing up, doesn’t he? No? Okay, I’ll give him a 7 then.
Berger 7.
Has lost all of his pace, but still has that touch of class we’ve been missing. Will be a good backup next season, but can’t see him starting too often.
Carew 6.
Looks a menace. Closer to being booked for constant barging that scoring today, but was rarely beaten to the ball. Smaller defenders than Campbell and Primus would struggle. Sadly, today, seemed to be filling the offside void left by Angel’s departure.
Agbonlahor 7.
Has his pace and full of running, but sometimes looks as though he’s unsure where he ought to be running to. If MON can teach him how to play football, could be that 20 a season striker we’ve been crying out for.
Moore 7.5.
I like Luke Moore. Didn’t get on the ball much, but his arrival seemed the spark for a more attacking game.
Young 7.
Some great touches on the wing. £9million? Probably not, but now we’ve got him, we could certainly do worse than play him.
Almost won it with a free-kick, looks promising.
By Basiljunk
