Portsmouth Q&A: John Mousinho and Bristol City, Norwich City’s Pelle Mattsson and out-of-contract players
Our latest Pompey Q&A returns today for subscribers of The News, with John Mousinho’s future a focus as the Bristol City job becomes available this summer. Summer target Pelle Mattsson, free agents and what happens to contracted misfiring players are all also under the microscope.
I feel we, as of yet, do not know how good John Mousinho is because he constantly running hot and cold at this level. What are your thoughts on Mousinho's potential and whether a move away would be in his best interest at such an early stage in his career? Karl Westlake
Hi Karl, thanks for your question which was prompted by a statement from Sky Sports pundit, Curtis Davies, who suggested John Mousinho may look to move on this summer.
First up, I daresay the notion of the Pompey boss progressing his career by moving club is jarring to many, given last weekend's events at QPR and the criticism Mousinho received for his team's setup.
That said, and I have been consistent about this, I see the Blues head coach as this club’s biggest asset. Mousinho has continually over-achieved to get Pompey into the Championship as League One title-winners and keep them there finishing 16th last season.
In fact, strictly speaking, you could argue he’s over-achieving now with his side 21st, given their bottom-two playing budget.
What’s worth noting, however, with eight games to go, is that what unfolds between now and the end of the season is critical not just for Pompey, but also Mousinho’s standing in the game.
If he keeps the Blues up, that would be recognised as a significant success story and he would be eminently more employable for progressive Championship sides. Go down, however, and clubs who could be seen as a step up for the 39-year-old are unlikely to take a punt on him.
That’s particularly relevant at present, with the Bristol City job becoming vacant this summer as Roy Hodgson today replaced Gerhard Struber on a short-term basis.
I’ve noted a lot of fans today suggesting the Ashton Gate post would suit Mousinho, given their resources and setup compared to Pompey’s.
I would suggest that’s not an unreasonable way of thinking. If you're the Blues head coach and looking at where you could progress your career at a club which works geographically, it ticks all the boxes.
Mousinho has continually preached his loyalty to Pompey for giving him his managerial break, but I don’t think anyone should be blind to his ambitions and where he thinks he can further himself.
That makes the next eight games huge, not just for the club but also Mousinho’s career.
There was talk of bringing in someone out of contract outside the transfer window if needed. We definitely need to, is that still a consideration? George Stevens
Hi George, a timely question on out-of-contract players, especially on a day where relegation rivals Blackburn Rovers have signed winger Nathan Redmond as a free agent.
Given the Blues’ issues in wide areas, I daresay plenty of supporters would have taken the 32-year-old on a short-term deal.
Pompey have the leeway to do that within their 25-man squad - but Mousinho has consistently stated that is unlikely to be the case. That remains so.
That surfaced last month when fans were calling on the Blues to sign free agent striker Michail Antonio.
Mousinho said then: ‘If there was anything blindingly obvious out there that was screaming out to us to them, we would (sign a player in any position). There’s nothing out there at the moment.’
What are Pompey going to do about all those players who have failed to make the grade, but are still only part way through their contracts? Paul Carden
What a very good question from here. In short, Paul, it looks like Pompey are lumbered with them!
While compiling my player ratings for the season today I reviewed last summer's recruitment; it's jarring to see how that business looks just seven months later.
Luke Le Roux, Mark Kosznovszky and Josh Knight were all signed on three-year contracts for around £1m - and all have come up woefully short so far.
With Knight’s, he has Championship pedigree and there will be hope he can deliver still. I’m not sure that’s the case with Kosznovszky, it’s certainly not the case with Le Roux.
I believe offloading Le Roux in January was discussed, but there were clearly no takers.
Franco Umeh has been riddled with injury issues and it’s impossible to judge the former Crystal Palace man yet, Mackenzie Kirk is one for the future with Josef Bursik and Adrian Segecic decent additions.
I won’t discuss January’s permanent additions because it’s too early to judge, but of the other contracted players Harvey Blair, Ibane Bowat and Hayden Matthews could go into your category of ‘failing to make the grade’ at this stage.
The £500,000 fee first reported nationally when signing Bowat is wide of the mark, I’m told, but there was a £300,000 fee for Blair and a sizable £1.27m for Matthews.
Pompey have worked some recruitment magic in the past to offload players like Elias Sorensen without taking a major financial hit, but the reality is that would likely need to be the case for many of those mentioned above.
Describe the process of how we ended up with Luke Le Roux instead of Pelle Mattson. Peter A Russell
Ooh, Peter throwing a gut punch to finish things off.
I guess Pompey’s summer interest in Pelle Mattson comes back into focus given his success at Norwich City this season and the trip to Carrow Road next weekend.
It’s well known the Danish midfielder was of significant interest to the Blues, with the 24-year-old on the shortlist for additions in the middle of the park.
In recruitment, clubs pursue these players and, in the final reckoning, they can reflect on that chase and realise they were nowhere near signing them in reality.
That feels a little bit like what happened with Mattsson, especially when you see the reported fee Norwich agreed was £2.7m rising to £3m with add-ons.
You can rightly criticise this, but it’s clear Pompey were not in the market to pay that kind of money for one player last summer. In fact, it would have wiped out their entire transfer budget.
I think there would have been some frustration with the player’s agent over how things played out there, it feels a bit like the January interest in the likes of Jahnoah Markelo and Ousmane Sow. They moved for reported fees of £4.3m and £2.6m, so Pompey wouldn’t have been close to signing either.
So, I guess, in answer to your question it comes down to money. Perhaps Kosznovszky is the more comparable signing, however.
When his name first surfaced last summer, he didn’t seem to be a player Mousinho was particularly aware of. Yet as things played out with Mattsson and the Hungarian was being offered to English clubs, he was someone the club decided to move for.