John Mousinho Portsmouth Q&A: Dropping Colby Bishop, increased transfer spending, playing 2 strikers and long throws
Pompey boss has given up his time once again to answer questions from The News readier - with no subject of limits. Here’s what the Blues boss had to say on Colby Bishop, transfer spending, his future and much, much more.
Q: Why do you persist with Colby Bishop?
Various
'With Colby, there’s been times in the past where his contribution has been questioned and he’s always bounced back.
'First of all, he leads the line unbelievably well in terms of the press and his out-of-possession work.
'In terms of natural No9s, he’s the one we have in the building at the moment who’s fit, has a track record and gives us absolutely everything.
'If you’d spoken to me after the Millwall and Charlton games there would’ve been absolutely no questions about Colby’s impact and what Colby has been doing for us.
'But it’s a fair question when your centre-forward hasn’t been doing what he’s done over the past three seasons - 20 (league) goals. 21 goals and 11 goals off the back of heart surgery, when he came back early and helped us stay in the league.
'I think, for what Colby’s done for the football, he fully deserves to start and has a lot of credit in the bank.'
Q: Can Conor Chaplin play as a No9?
Rik May
'Can Conor Chaplin play as a nine? Not in our system. If you look at the history of the centre-forwards I’ve played with at this football club, that’s not Conor.'
Q: Can you play Conor Chaplin in a two-man strike partnership with Colby Bishop?
Mary Tupper
'Whatever way you see it (a two-man striker partnership), I think Chappers plays as a 10 effectively. If you want to play him as a nine, I don’t think that’s his best position.
'I think Conor has been outstanding at this level as a 10, so I don’t think it would then suit him to be going and playing up against the back line.'
Q: Will you be here next season? Bob Hobbs
‘Yes. Ultimately the decision is above my head, but I’ve got another two years on my contract.
‘My biggest aim, first and foremost, is to make sure we stay in the league.
‘Then I would very much like the opportunity for the club to progress - and me to progress with the football club.'
Q: If, what you want to happen (increased investment in the squad to be more competitive) doesn’t get sanctioned this summer, do you then consider your future given your ambitions won’t be aligned with the club's?
Matt Partridge
(these quotes were used in a story today at portsmouth.co.uk).
‘First and foremost, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves - we have to make sure we stay in the league. So it’s not something that I’m actively thinking about.
‘I genuinely do think, if we do stay in the league, we would’ve spent two seasons in the Championship and will be in a position to look at what that looks like next year.
‘We will be able to increase (the budget) as we have done year on year.
‘Maybe we can increase it slightly more significantly - and take a view over where the league is a whole.
‘We can see what it’s like with sides coming up, coming down and see what spending levels are like through the league as a whole. Then we can go from there.
‘We can look at what it needs to be properly competitive at the level - I’ve no doubt we can do that.’
Q: Why do we insist on Marlon Pack taking long throws, as it does nothing for us?
Jordan Boxall
'We’ve had a bit of joy from long throws and have scored from long throws.
'We’ve had probably our second best chance against Swansea from setting up to go long -and then going short.
'I guess the flipside of it as well is, I don’t know how many times we’ve taken a normal throw in the final third, crossed and scored.
'I think we have been a threat at times from those long throws, when we get it right.
'A lot of the times you can recycle the second phase and you’ve then got sides camped in. I think it’s a worthwhile exercise.'