‘Incredible’: EFL pundit pinpoints most important factor behind Portsmouth’s Championship survival
Colby Bishop has been named the key reason behind Pompey’s Championship survival.
That’s the verdict of Not The Top 20 co-host Ali Maxwell, who is adamant the 28-year-old’s timely return saved the Blues’ campaign.
The League One title winner missed the opening three-and-a-half months of the season after undergoing heart surgery in the summer. During that time, John Mousinho’s men sat rooted to the foot of the Championship table with one win in 14 games.
However, Bishop made a shock return to first-team action just months after his operation when he was named on the bench to face Preston North End on November 9.
The Magic Man was then brought on with 12 minutes to go before he rounded off his emotional comeback with a goal as he netted from the penalty spot to seal a 3-1 triumph and more importantly Pompey’s second league victory of the season.
Since then, the prolific goalscorer has netted 11 goals and overtaken Callum Lang (10) as the club’s top scorer this season. In fact, since his return, Bishop’s goal tally has only been topped by Leeds United frontman Joel Piroe, who has scored 14 times during the same period.
And just to highlight the importance the former Accrington man is to the Blues, Mousinho’s men have picked up 43 points from his 30 games played as they moved clear of the relegation zone. Indeed, their safety was confirmed with two games to go when they beat Watford 1-0 on Easter Monday.
Bishop, who has played in every league game since his return from heart surgery, has been identified as the key factor behind Pompey’s Championship survival by Maxwell.
Colby Bishop turned Pompey’s season around in battle with Plymouth, Derby and Co
Speaking on the latest episode, he said: ‘Shoutout to Portsmouth on 52 points, they’ll be in the Championship next season.
‘It’s been a really impressive return to the Championship for this Pompey side particularly in the context of the start they had - I think it was nine points in 15 games.
‘The fixture list was horrible, the injury list was pretty tough, they were missing Colby Bishop and they got through it. They didn’t sack John Mousinho, they backed him, they gave him a new contract and since Colby Bishop has returned only Joel Piroe has scored more goals than Bishop in that time and only six teams have got more points than Pompey in that time.
‘43 points they’ve got in that chunk, QPR and Blackburn are also on 43 but have better goal differences. So the ninth best record since Bishop returned but only the current top six have picked up more points than Pompey since Colby Bishop’s return from injury.
‘It’s an incredible debut campaign at this level for Colby Bishop, who has had to go through so much on a footballing level to work his way up from the National League North as well as off the field with that heart operation over the summer. Shoutout to Pompey, they won both games over the weekend and are in the mid-table region.’
Pompey make the trip to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday before welcoming Hull City to Fratton Park on the final day of the season.