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Reply | Tomorrow
at 11:06 19 Sep 2022
GK - Hladky
RB - KVY
RCB - Keogh
LCB - Edmundson
LB - Davis
RCM - Ball
LCM - Humphreys
RW - Edwards
CAM - Harness
LW - John-Jules
ST - Ladapo
Not sure where the influx of kids argument has come from. Game is on Sunday, not Saturday, so extra day to regain fitness. Keogh, Ball, Humphreys, KVY, Edwards all without game time for a while. Harness & Ladapo got 30 mins only on Saturday.
Ideally it will be the side mentioned above, with Edmundson, Davis, Harness, Edwards & Ladapo coming off before/on 60 mins for whoever.
Armin, Hudson, Siziba, Chirewa, Ward, Alexander, Agbaje, Curtis could all be in and around the bench, but we should still be going strong. |
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Reply | So frustrating we just can't seem to beat the top 6 sides
at 10:38 18 Sep 2022
In your example, who are the 2 teams that finish above us?
Pompey have played 2 of the top 6, and have picked up 2 points. Should they be worried that they will fall away like Ipswich despite being unbeaten? Plymouth have bucked the trend with 7 points from 3 top 6 games; but lost to 11th and 14th. Are they better than us when they struggle away to mid-table sides?
Wednesday have the best squad in the league - 5 points from 4 games vs top 6. Are we failing behind them? Bolton are on the rise; 1 point from 3 top 6 teams. Is that good enough for 1st and 2nd
Finally, the latest side to end the weekend 6th, Barnsley. 4 points from 3 top 6 games.
Beating the top six doesn't guarantee you promotion. Beating the 5-4-1, low block, 25% possession teams gets you promoted. Keeping every top 6 challenger at arms length gets you promoted, and that means starting the day 4 points ahead of them and ending it at least 4 points ahead of them.
Wigan's record last year was 27 wins, 11 draws and 8 defeats. We need to go 19 wins, 8 draws and 8 defeats to match that.
Wigan's defeats last season; vs 3rd, 4th (x2), 5th (x2), 10th, 14th, 17th. 5 points out of 24 against Rotherham, MK Dons, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday. That's 2nd down to 5th. You beat the bottom, you can afford to slip up at the top |
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Reply | Clear Signs of Progression vs 2021/22
at 21:38 17 Sep 2022
Thing is, every team is beatable. Barnsley went to Wednesday and did what Shrewsbury and Accy tried to do to us. We went to Hillsborough and tried to do what Bristol Rovers did to us on Tuesday. Play football. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes you draw. This is 1 point closer to the Championship, and keeping the title favourites 4 points behind
League is mad - Barnsley beat Sheff Wed, who beat Bolton, who beat Charlton, who beat Plymouth, who beat Posh, who beat Lincoln, who beat Derby, who beat Cambridge, who beat Exeter, who beat Wycombe… and who did Wycombe beat? Barnsley.
Big differences in that. All of those sides mentioned have lost, whereas we haven’t. We’ll drop points this season, but we look like a side who can turn up, win 2-0 and go home |
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Thread | Clear Signs of Progression vs 2021/22
at 20:41 17 Sep 2022
Despite a bitter taste being left in my mouth after the result today, the fact that within 7 months we've gone from being slapped around, teased, poked and ultimately humiliated in what was somehow only a 1-0 loss to Wednesday back in January, to being disappointed with only a point against a squad better than what they had last season shows the level of progression we have made under McKenna.
It's not just Sheff Wed either. Lots of talk of 'failing to beat the top 6' - so what. I'd rather lose against 2nd then lose against 24th, which happened all too often last season.
Everything around the town is improving. The club is on the up, we have a modern take on the stadium, we have a progressive coach who will manage in the Premier League in the next 10 years, and squad of players who are actually matching talent with heart.
The signs are good. Hillsborough is one of the toughest atmosphere's we'll face this season, and sounds like we stifled them. Give me 0-0 draws against the top 6 and then 2-0 wins over the rest of the league all day long
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Reply | Panutche Camara
at 14:39 1 Sep 2022
Camara is basically a tall Morsy. Not as strong on the ball as our king is, but probably more of a threat in the final third. The ideal box-to-box midfielder for teams to have, incredible engine on him, and added height
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Reply | Team for Colchester?
at 13:23 8 Aug 2022
Hladky
KVY
Woolfenden
Burgess
Leigh
Ball
Humphreys
Edwards
Aluko
TJJ
Jackson
Play the second string. Give Woolfy 60 minutes after missing Saturday. If Ball is out, then El Miz in the middle. Put people like Ladapo, Chaplin, Burns on the bench as they will want to open their goal scoring account, as well as Stewart, Chirewa. If Ball is fit, then El Miz. If ball isn’t, then maybe Morsy on the bench as an assurance |
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Reply | Your XI for Bolton?
at 10:37 24 Jul 2022
Burgess vs Afolayan? Might as well pack in it and go home before kick-off!
Jokes aside, it'll have to be Edmundson or Ndaba in that LCB spot against Bolton. Burgess was great against Wimbledon because they didn't have any line-breaking players. Lincoln, Port Vale, Shrewsbury, Burton, Accrington all spring to mind as good games for Burgess because they don't have the 'Jackson/John-Jules' type players who will skin you.
Do think the Evans/Ball and Chaplin/Aluko battles will be the hardest to choose between. Right now, Evans shades it because of his pre-exiting partnership with Morsy, and I'd say Chaplin takes it over Aluko because there is nothing better than bringing on someone of Aluko's creativity when a team has huffed, puffed and pressed us all game, and start to drop off near the end.
If Aluko is given time on the ball, he's incredible. Bolton will press us first half, and Aluko doesn't have the greatest history playing against high-press sides. |
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Reply | Penney is terrible, end of (n/t)
at 20:35 23 Jul 2022
Anyone else think that Burns is playing at about 70% this pre-season. Seems to be managing himself so that he can go full throttle for Bolton (I hope)
Doesn't seem to have the same drive and finishing as last season, which may be why we look 'disjointed' going forward on occasion. Will be interesting to see how KVY does on Tuesday night, with probably 90 mins under his belt, or even Edwards for that matter. Burns should start against Bolton, but he's definitely not undroppable at this very moment compared to last season.
Maybe not being the 'main man' going forward will see him struggle to reach his G/A record next season. Not against him taking a proverbial 'back seat' next season compared to the others in our team. If Harness, Chaplin, Ladapo, TJJ etc. can take the load of, it will leave him with more space to exploit because the opposition won't see him as the 'main threat' like he was last season. |
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Reply | Millwall game
at 20:24 23 Jul 2022
Good to hear. Sounds very promising that we seem to go up another gear in the second half of games, which will make us almost unbeatable if we are leading going into half time.
Think that will be a telling point this season. If we can take the lead in a game, we can probably control the rest of the game and either nullify the opposition or add some more goals to our tally.
Having players like Jackson, John-Jules and Edwards in reserve is way more important in my opinion than the likes of Celina or Bonne, because they have the one thing that defenders hate. Pace. If you force League One defenders to start running towards there own goal, we'll probably cause more and more mistakes from them.
Just need to avoid handing easy goals to poorer sides, who'll drop 10 men behind the ball and then take off there 3 strikers for 3 defenders with the 5-subs rule |
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Thread | Millwall game
at 10:25 23 Jul 2022
Arguably the most important test of pre-season. You can only learn so much from games against Needham and a poor Wimbledon side, plus the tests of Arsenal, Palace and West Ham are great learning experiences but you never feel like it is a 50/50 battle.
Against a settled Millwall side however, it should be a clear representation of where we are at going into the season. Potentially only 1 injury unless others have popped up without us knowing. Jackson, Evans and Edmundson all with more minutes under there belt since injury.
It’s symmetry really how last season we faced Millwall 1 week before the season started, and got our asses handed to us by them at our own place. Could have been 6 or 7 with Hladky making a handful of saves.
This time around, with essentially a new starting XI from that game (bar maybe half a dozen), a more exciting style of play, and a more talented coach in charge, it should be a real indication of where we are at heading into the season, and if there are any areas that need a bit of tinkering.
Praying for a JD-Woolf-Fridge back line for the first time this pre season 🤞🤞 |
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Reply | David Bates - Aberdeen centre back ...
at 08:33 21 Jul 2022
Good player, but in a position we are stocked in for the next few years at least. If someone like Fridge or Woolfenden leaves, then I could understand it, but he’s not gonna leave Aberdeen to sit on the bench for us, because JD/Woolf/Fridge is one of the best back 3’s in L1 |
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Reply | Lets be honest
at 09:00 20 Jul 2022
It’s a better squad than last season, purely because it’s a squad that has been built to suit not only the league but also the style of play. Paul Cook operated on the basis that as soon as someone became available he wanted them, no matter how many players he had in one position.
Chico is worried about a lack of goals. Bloody Morsy will cover the massive 6 goals from Norwood last season, Ladapo I can almost guarantee will reach the 12 goals that Bonne scored, and are people worried that Harness won’t ‘match’ Celina’s spectacular tally of 6 goals and 5 assists despite scoring 12 goals and getting 6 assists?
Not to mention the fact that Chaplin looks up for it already in pre-season, Aluko ageing like a fine wine, John-Jules will get more than Pigott’s 2 right? If Jackson stays fit for 46 games, what’s he going to reach? Burns isn’t even mentioned yet, nor Edwards who could be like a brand new player.
We are one set-piece specialist away from adding 10 goals to the team. |
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Reply | So Harness is in the door
at 18:05 18 Jul 2022
Feel like I’ve put this on about 10 threads now.
Harness is not a wing back. He is as much a wing-back as Aluko, Chaplin and John-Jules. Pompey fans have already told us his worst attribute is his crossing, so we are not going to play him in a position where he has to cross.
He is fast, he is technical, and he is a great finisher. I would put a lot of money on him being 1 of the 2 behind the striker next season. If we play Harness at wing-back, it’s because Burns and KVY have gone down with a mysterious injury/illness, and even then you’d throw Agbaje in or push JD further forward.
Harness is very similar to Chaplin, with much more pace but a little bit less finishing ability. Think he’ll start as the inside winger on the left on the opening day. |
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Reply | Hirst
at 12:44 17 Jul 2022
Don't be misled when looking at them. Both have a very similar build, but are two completely different players. Watching Pigott the last few seasons, you can tell he wants to be a link man (Woodrow-esque), get touches on the ball and pass it on. However, he is better at doing that when he is on the opposition penalty box rather than 10 yards from the halfway line. If we played 4-2-3-1 all season, then Pigott would have been better. Sitting up top occupying the defence, and letting everyone else play. Good finisher, but doesn't have the pace to beat anyone 1 vs 1.
Hirst, built very similarly to Pigott, wants to be on the ball but facing the opposition defenders. Lot of times last season he dropped deep to receive the ball, found time, spun and started running at the defence. He is very similar to Ladapo in that they want to hold the ball, but also want to be getting in behind.
It is a gamble, I'll give you that. Guess the point of view from the higher-ups is that, because of his age, you get him permamently for say £1.5million, and he scores 15-20 goals and we get promoted, you are then staring at an £8-£10million player. No matter how good he does, you'll never get anywhere near that figure with Pigott |
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Reply | Business done for me
at 12:29 17 Jul 2022
Wouldn't surprise me if we don't move again for Davis, and instead we take a look at a young loan left wing-back. Allowed five loans a season, obviously don't need to max that out, but we still have room for 4. I think that if Davis doesn't come through, the looking for a premier league youngster that McKenna has a lot of knowledge on could be the play.
Someone with the mentality of 'attack first, defend second'. Someone comfortable with all the attacking side of the game, and can then spend pre-season working on 1vs1 defending, heading, tackling for example.
Do think the striker will take the most time. Clearly not an absolute necessity right now with 3 senior options, but does need adding to eventually. Whereas as LB, if Leigh goes down with a knock, we lose all threat down one side of the pitch which was a key downfall last season. |
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Reply | Couple of points….
at 11:01 17 Jul 2022
I'd say we are currently looking at about 60 goals between Burns, Ladapo, Harness, Jackson, John-Jules and Chaplin for this season, in my opinion. If you consider the last 3 games, we've been a lot more shot-heavy than usual. didn't see Wimbledon but sounded like a dominant performance that could have been 5/6-0. Against Palace, with a weaker side, we had around 12-15 shots in total, about 5 or 6 on target. For West Ham, we had about 10 alone in the second half.
Not to mention Morsy looking hungry for more goals. Aluko already has a few in pre-season.
Realistically, the goals for the attackers isn't an issue. It's the lack of goals from our defenders that turns us from a play-off chasing side to a promoted team. You add - say - 10 goals from our 5 centre backs next season, that's probably the difference between 6th and 2nd. |
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Reply | Business done for me
at 10:47 17 Jul 2022
LWB and ST for me, that should be it barring any other departures.
No team goes into a season with only 3 senior strikers, particularly when two of them are better suited to either a 2 up-top or as a wide forward. We need one more striker of the Ladapo ilk, someone comfortable at holding the ball up, but also has the instinct of getting in behind.
Jackson wants to be on the shoulder, in to out. John-Jules wants to get on the ball high up the pitch, and run with it. Ladapo has the attributes for a hold up striker and one that can break the line with speed. We need one more like him, because if he goes down with an injury we can't leave Jackson or TJJ up top on their own. Not their game.
LWB is obvious. I don't have the words for the things I see Penney do each game. When I was 7, I was taught that when you cross a ball from deep, it should be in the air and cause trouble. Clearly Penney was taught to slide it on the ground and open us up for counterattacks.
I love Celina, but we don't need him now. Not with Harness in the building with Pompey fans already saying that his best attribute is his technical ability behind the striker. Chaplin is outstanding in my opinion, best finisher at the club. Harness has taken L1 by storm for 3 years, and has real pace to run at people with. Edwards is an unknown quantity, but if he can get finishing/crossing training he'll be the surprise package. Aluko is like a fine wine. Not seen someone toy with Premier League midfields within 4 days like he did against West Ham & Palace. |
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Reply | 4-2 good game against a good side.
at 13:09 16 Jul 2022
Definitely had more chances than Palace did. Can't remember Hladky making a save in the game, with Hayes making that excellent stop when he come on.
Aluko getting better with age. Hell be such a useful player next season with the 5 subs rule. Clear that Jackson isn't a 1-up top striker. Needs to be played wide with a Ladapo in the middle.
Real struggle for Burns. Looks so rusty, but understandable considering how much he has played since August 2021. KVY could stake a real claim with a couple more performances like West Ham and Needham. I don't have enough words for Penney. Don't think I've seen someone consistently hit the first man with every cross or pass.
We played through them really well which was good, caught out a couple of time which led to the goals. Things to work on, but definitely going in the right direction. Hopefully we can have a statement performance against Wimbledon later |
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Reply | Penney
at 12:13 16 Jul 2022
Hard to judge Ndaba when he has only faced Prem teams in pre-season (Arsenal, West Ham and Palace). We saw last season, he was excellent against L2 forwards, and has had a tough time against Premier League ones. Let's judge him against Millwall, as that will be the closest test he'll have compared to League One forwards |
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Reply | Palace 1 up
at 11:22 16 Jul 2022
Pretty clear that McKenna is favouring the Wimbledon game. Can see JD, Fridge and Burns being the only ones starting on the opening day, potentially Ball.
Think the Millwall game will be the real test of where this squad is at for the season. Harness' first game, hopefully Edwards back to full fitness, potentially get Fridge back with Woolf and JD. |
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