Portsmouth Q&A: Relegation fears, throwing in youngster and Mousinho's candid insight
You’ve been asking your burning Pompey questions with the Championship season at a critical moment. Pompey writer Jordan Cross gives his responses, ahead of tomorrow’s trip to QPR.
Do you think we're going down?
Gary Coyle
Gary throwing an absolute hospital pass with the opening question!
Look, I am by nature an optimist, but I think you have to tinge that enthusiasm with realism to arrive at a reasonable answer to that question.
To that extent, I think I would be prepared to say the outcome looked bleak if Pompey weren't performing, but I genuinely don't think that's the case. That's backed up by the numbers, too.
Of the past 13 games, Mousinho's side have enjoyed more possession than their opponents in 11 fixtures. In those games they've had 199 shots compared to the opposition's 108.
There's been a criticism over the quality of those chances, but using the metric which measures that, expected goals (xG), Pompey have had a greater xG than their opponents in 10 of those 13 matches. Their total for that period is an xG of 20.21, with 15 actual goals scored.
You certainly don't need xG to tell us where the problem lies, however, which is where John Mousinho needs to earn his money in finding the solutions.
What my eyes told me there was it wasn't particularly a tactical issue; rather there seemed to be a degree of panic in the final third - players became hopeful in their final execution and decision making.
Perhaps cooler heads and greater composure in those moments is what's required to improve things.
I still think it’s going to be tight, though, I see it as five teams for two relegation slots - and it going to the wire.
Can't we recall Tayo Singerr from his loan and play him, as no one else knows where the goal is.
Gary Lympany
It’s been a fantastic period for Tayo, making the first-team breakthrough this season as his emergence continues.
There was his first Pompey goal late on in the Carabao Cup against Reading in August, before a prolific spell on loan with Moneyfields in the Isthmian League, returning 16 goals from 18 appearances.
His Championship bow ensued against Bristol City on New Year’s Day, with five Academy goals from nine appearances, too.
Singerr has quite rightly earned his first senior contract and moved up a level from Moneys by joining Gosport, where his first goal last weekend earned some online traction.
It’s all very promising from the 18-year-old, but I feel the reality is, at this stage, he’s a long way from being able to make a meaningful Championship impact.
Yes, Pompey’s attacking options are failing to deliver, but recalling Singerr and throwing him into a Championship dogfight would likely be counter-productive for his development.
Could you imagine starting the teenager up front in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Jimmy Dunne and Ronnie Edwards this weekend? It would be very ugly.
I get the need to look for striking answers in the face of there not being many options, an issue of Pompey’s own making. Throwing Singerr in that this stage, however, isn’t the way to go for me.
Will Brown be given the chance to play up front again supported by the wingers playing their natural positions, before Bishop gets reinstated? Also why does Chaplin get the nod in the starting line-up ahead of the club’s top goalscorer (Adrian Segecic) each week?
Matthew Hibberd
Big call that one isn’t it, Matthew, with John Mousinho speaking candidly about trying to get his team firing this week.
It was something we addressed in our premium newsletter yesterday, here’s some of his quotes:
‘I’m enjoying watching us in games,’ Mousinho said.
‘The only thing I’m not enjoying is we’re getting into the final third and we’re not creating enough chances. But it’s about tweaking the right things and changing the right things.
‘That’s the key, it’s about not chucking the baby out with the bathwater, sticking to doing the right things and keeping the faith with the players - but they’ve got to do the right things.
‘They (the players) have put themselves in a half-decent position, so it’s then about giving them that bit of guidance at the top end of the pitch.’
So the suggestion here is it’s tweaking the formula over ripping it up, with switching the wingers over and installing Jacob Brown over Colby Bishop the key decisions on Monday.
Did it work? Not particularly, for me. One observer suggested to if Bishop had played like Brown, he would have received a horrendous barracking.
I think the greater mobility of Brown was clear to see, however, and he was looking to make runs into dangerous areas.
That said, I feel going back to Colby is the way to go tomorrow and I’d switch the wingers back over, I don’t think the supply improved from the 41 crosses produced on Monday.
On the subject of Segecic, I know he’s frustrated he’s not playing more as a 10 and I think there’s a chance he could get the nod there this weekend. That said, I’m going for Swift there - as you’ll see below. And, as much as I dislike saying it, Chaplin needs to be rested at present.
Why don't we play the same team (players) who won our two away games back to back?
Paul Palfrey
Paul with a very simple, but very pertinent point ahead of the trip to QPR tomorrow.
In answer to your question Paul, I don’t know why we wouldn’t play the team who won those back-to-back games on the road at Charlton and Millwall last month - because that’s exactly what I think we should do!
Those who check out my predicted line-ups on a Friday, will see that's what how I anticipated John Mousino will go at Loftus Road tomorrow.
Using John Swift in the 10 role in those victories saw the Gosport lad produce two of his best displays in a Pompey shirt.
Swift helped Ebou Adams and Marlon Pack dominate in the middle of the park in those games, which could conceivably be the case tomorrow against QPR's 4-4-2.
I know Colby Bishop has been struggling but, again, he was excellent against two physical centre-back pairings in those games.
I can see there being similarities in west London, against opposition who were out of form before picking up a victory last weekend against a poor Leicester side.