Thank you: Why grateful Portsmouth will forever be in debt to their suffering rivals
John Mousinho spent five-and-a-half years as an Oxford central defender, club captain and , eventually, set-piece coach
Oxford’s loss turned out to be Pompey’s immense gain - now the hunt is on to identify the calibre of head coach they let slip.
Matt Bloomfield was dismissed by the U’s on Saturday after their two-year Championship stay was ended by relegation.
Ultimately, they finished eight points adrift of the Blues, for so long fierce rivals in the battle to avoid the drop, and managed by somebody they know only too well.
For five-and-a-half years, John Mousinho had served Oxford with distinction as a central defender and club captain, latterly combining playing duties with the set-piece coach role as he looked ahead in his career.
Pompey swoop
Then, in January 2023, Pompey swooped to surprisingly name the 36-year-old as head coach, replacing Danny Cowley.
Since then, the U’s have been managed by five different bosses, plus Craig Short has served as caretaker on three separate occasions.
During those subsequent three-and-a-half years, they’ve also had three different head of recruitments, appointed a head of football operations, and this summer changed their chairman with the exit of Grant Ferguson.
As for Mousinho, he’s won the League One title, secured a third successive season in the Championship and is revered by the Fratton faithful - all achieved by continuing to work alongside sporting director Rich Hughes.
Perhaps galling for Oxford fans is Mousinho previously admitted he didn’t believe he would get a chance to pursue his managerial ambitions at the Kassam Stadium, before Pompey intervened.
‘Maybe leaving Oxford for a National League South job or something like that’
‘I was really lucky, I don’t think many head coaches or managers would have allowed that level of insight. Yet I still didn’t know what my coaching pathway looked like at that point. Probably working my way up through the ranks there or maybe leaving Oxford for a National League South job or something like that.
‘That was much more realistic at that stage, certainly there was no expectation of taking a job like Pompey this early on.
‘Yet, at the time, there was a bit of a trend towards younger head coaches. By any means, I don’t think that’s a reason I got the job, but clubs these days, particularly at Championship and League One levels, will give the chances to younger head coaches.
‘I believed I was ready, I was capable, I just didn’t feel I was going to get the opportunity. In my mind, it was going to be a slower build and maybe, at some point 10 years down the line, I would hopefully be speaking to Pompey about taking the job. I didn’t think it would come this quickly.’
Karl Robinson sacked by Salford this month
To Robinson’s credit, he did recognise Mousinho’s potential by designating set-piece duties to his veteran centre-half.
However, barely a month after Pompey had appointed their head coach, Robinson was sacked by the U’s, before later working at Leeds as assistant manager to Sam Allardyce.
Other Kassam Stadium departures have been Liam Manning, Des Buckingham, Gary Rowett and Matt Bloomfield - while a certain Mousinho continues to shine at Pompey in his first managerial role.