Portsmouth 0 Fulham 1
Posted on | August 17, 2009 | No Comments
The goal pretty much said it all at the moment. Portsmouth were toothless up front and rarely looked threatening and central midfield was packed with destroyers with all the creativity of training cones (albeit with inadequate support from the more skilful wide players), but the defence actually looked solid. A 0-0 draw would have been a decent result under the present circumstances. Granted, Fulham had other chances but they seemed to be mainly the result of midfield giving the ball away. Piquionne worked hard and looked like he could be effective given support but you can’t win games in the Premier League with such little real attacking threat. However solid in defence, a ball is always going to spin into the net off someone’s back. Well against us it is anyway.
Now personally, I thought Paul Hart should have reverted back to the tactic that worked so well against Sunderland at the back end of last season. Namely, play 4-4-2 and give Utaka one last chance to save his Pompey career up front where he looked like a class act (and interested!) in that Sunderland match. But I wasn’t surpised he opted for 4-5-1, with Utaka in his usual ineffectual wide right role. Again there was no place for Basinas despite the fact we desperately needed someone who could pass the ball in the middle. Mullins played well but does not possess the killer ball (or any forward pass).
Enough about tactics. What was clear from Saturday was that they are irrelevant until we buy some more players, better players. OK we had the farce of Vanden Borre and the Italian Football Association, and Finnan is injured but those two aren’t going to save us. We need a quality striker (or two), and someone who can pass the ball in the middle of midfield. It doesn’t appear that Basinas will ever get the chance to do that. And after that we probably need another three or four players capable of pushng for first team places. This team just isn’t good enough. Although David Nugent hasn’t had the chance to prove himself that Utaka has, the evidence is clear. He isn’t good enough, even for a struggling Premiership side. Also, I hate to say it because I admire the way he has stepped in to the breach, but I am not convinced about Paul Hart’s managerial ability either. Last season was one thing, but to my mind, you try to beat Fulham at home in the first game of the season with what you’ve got. He didn’t do that.
All in all, things are much bleaker now than they were before the game, especially as we are now into Groundhog Day number 827. I can’t bring myself to say any more. It’s been a HELL of a summer…
Tags: Angelos Basinas > Anthony Vanden Borre > David Nugent > Frederic Piquionne > Fulham > Hayden Mullins > John Utaka > Paul Hart > Pompey > Portsmouth > Portsmouth takeover > Premier League > Steve Finnan > Sunderland
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