Looking for a Portsmouth hero to step forward in problem position with Championship survival at stake
Ten games remain for Pompey to secure Championship survival. Colby Bishop’s position up front has been the big talking point, but there’s another more unlikely role which requires a candidate to step forward and deliver the influence needed at a critical moment.
In John Mousinho’s own words, Pompey are ‘spoilt for choice’ in the position.
That’s certainly the case when it comes to the number 10 options at the Blues boss’ disposal this season. When it comes to a player excelling in the critical attacking role for an extended period, however, the riches available don’t appear so bountiful.
‘Spolit for choice’ in No10 position but hunt for right man goes on
Jacob Brown was the latest deployed there in an insipid first-half showing from the Luton Town loanee and his team-mates, in the 2-1 reverse against Swansea City.
The thinking behind the decision was sound enough, a forward-thinking player to get around a misfiring striker in Colby Bishop. In practice, however, it proved a different story. Brown struggled for any kind of influence in the role beyond a couple of sweeping balls out to Gustavo Caballero, while his effort off the woodwork came via a corner.
The experiment was ditched at the interval, for a player who offers attacking versatility but has spent little time in the 10 position beyond a couple of 2024 outings there for his parent club.
A maiden goal was to follow for the loanee when deployed on the right. Mousinho didn’t rule out Brown returning to the position, but there was little on view to justify him continuing there.
There was certainly plenty to suggest Adrian Segecic could thrive in the role at the campaign’s outset, as the little Aussie hit the ground running in English football from his preferred central position.
Segecic has returned two goals and an assist from nine outings when starting as a number 10 this season, but the only game since November there came in the 1-0 reverse against Hull City at the end of last month.
A big factor in the Pompey top scorer’s dearth of football there emerged on the final day of the summer window, in the unlikely and seismic business which reverberated around PO4 and the Championship landscape.
Conor Chaplin’s loan capture was viewed as a majestic final transfer flourish, for a player who left Fratton Park as a striker of huge potential and crafted an impressive career when evolving into a potent deep-lying threat.
At this stage, however, any fair yardstick would measure Chaplin’s impact there as a disappointment.
Deployed as a stop-gap right-sided operator amid Pompey’s struggles in that position, the huge favourite has been utilised centrally since November.
It’s a role which saw the 29-year-old cut a swathe through League One and the Championship in successive seasons with Ipswich Town. A whopping 42 goals and 14 assists are unequivocal testimony to Chaplin’s potency in the position, a single finish and three assists this term the dispiriting numbers following his homecoming.
The relative trajectories and methods of the two clubs can be explored as contributory factors for the reasons why, but the time isn’t now for definitive conclusions on that front.
Immediate solutions to arresting a run of a single point in four are required, however, with a key architect of the back-to-back away wins which preceded those results the other key consideration.
10 games for Pompey to find right formula in key position
John Swift’s influence on the successes at Millwall and Charlton Athletic have represented the high watermark of his season.
Swift’s shrewd and economic use of the ball dovetailed perfectly with the silk and steel behind him in Marlon Pack and Ebou Adams, the outcome their side exercising impressive control of both games.
A bright cameo against Swansea City suggests the Gosport lad’s clear of his hamstring injury hiatus, with it now over to Mousinho to make a significant call on who gets the nod against Derby County on Monday.
With 10 games of the Championship season remaining, the mantle of Pompey’s creative attacking hub is there to be assumed with survival at stake.