2016-17: Morecambe – Portsmouth 2-0

Ooops I did it again.

AV: Steen Houman

Sådan sang Britney Spears i et af sine store hits, og med 0-2 nederlaget mod Morecambe, ja så må mange en Pompeyfans have haft det på samme måde.

Det ligner et scenarie der kun er alt for velkendt for mange en Pompeyfan.

Vi vil hellere nynne til ABBA the Winner takes it all.

Paul Cook må fundere over hvad sker der, vi har gode spillere, vi har spillet ganske fornuftigt i træningskampene og vi skaber chancer og har bolden, vi har holdt fast i 4-2-3-1 systemet i lang tid

Men facts efter 3 kampe er

  • Ingen sejre
  • 1 mål scoret
  • 2 point
  • Bundplacering

Skal Paul Cook have credit kunne vi sige

  • Kun et nederlag
  • Skabt mange chancer
  • Massiv boldbesiddelse

Pompey havde tre ændringer til kampen, Enda Stevens var klar på venstre back, Barton erstattede skadede Whatmough og Bennet startede i stedet for Lalkovic. Samt at unge Chaplin slet ikke var at finde på bænken.

Som local lad, har Chaplin mange fans og er en populær spiller, som lavede 10 mål i sidste sæson, primært som indhopper, og Chaplin var topscorer i testkampene op til sæsonen.

Paul Cook forklarede det således:
‘Conor had a little tiny bit of a calf. ‘It was a bit of a dilemma. ‘We had Linganzi come on to the bench as a midfielder. ‘So it was easy to leave Conor off the bench on this occasion. ‘But Conor will be back involved on Saturday – of course he will.’

Morecambe der er tippet blandt favoritterne til at rykkede ned, har fået en god start på sæsonen, og de var klar fra start og stod klogt lavt på banen da kampen startede.

Pompeys Baker viste fra kampens start masser af kvalitet, og var manden bag mange indlæg og efter den gode åbning for Pompey, ja så kom der er et hjørne til gæsterne. Pompey får ikke clearet bolden og bum, deres midterforsvarer kan score mål, trods masser af mennesker i feltet.

Pompey fortsatte initiativet og der kom mange indlæg, men ikkemed den store succes og i en af de mange angreb, ja der ville Pompey gerne have haft straffe.

Men de endte med at blive straffet, for Morecambe drønede bolden ind til 2-0 på det efterfølgende angreb på et flot mål udefra.

Faktisk havde Morecmabe større chance for at score til 3-0, men målscoreren til 2-0 dygtige Tom Barkhuizen, måtte se hans lob gå i sidenettet.

 

2. halvleg

Ja hvad er der at sige, vi havde bolden og fik meget lidt ud af det, og jeg vil give ordet til en local Morecambe fan, for hans ord dækker fint hvad der skete:

It was one-way traffic during the second half however.

The visitors – encouraged by their really admirable 546 fans (who will have travelled nearly six hundred miles even if they have taken the quickest route between the two towns by the time they get home again later tomorrow) had all the play and nearly all the chances.

But Barry Roche in the home goal was not to be beaten tonight and the defenders around him are clearly more resilient than those he was surrounded by last season. The huge Irishman did well to deny both Baker and Gary Roberts before pulling off a breathtaking stop from substitute Curtis Main`s point-blank header after 71 minutes.

He also made a brilliant save from a Gary Roberts free-kick as he dived to his left to stop the ball nestling in the top corner of his net with just eight minutes left. But huff and puff as they might, Portsmouth could not knock Morecambe`s house down and Barry Roche emerged from the game with a clean sheet despite all their efforts, including a claim for a penalty in Robert`s favour during injury time

 

4-2-3-1

Ja ingen tvivl om at det virker fint når vi gerne vil have bolden og vi skaber chancer, Morecambe havde 2 skud på mål og scorede på begge. Pompey havde i alt 24 afslutninger, og ingen mål.

Det store spørgsmål er just angriberpladsen. Michael Smith scorede som sådan pænt da han var på lån sidste sæson, og Cook vil gerne have en stor fysisk spiller. Men er 1 angriber nok?

Når vi har bolden så meget, og total dominans på midten og to backs som suser op af sidelinjerne, så må spørgsmålet være om vi mere skal spille en 4-1-3-2, og så skifte til 4-3-2-1 når vi ikke har bolden.

For fansene begyndte at synge 4-4-2 i kampen og Paul Cook svarede således:
People are singing and shouting for 4-4-2, but when we went that way late on, we lost control of the game.

“We do have a calibre of player here that means we should be doing better – the lads know that.”

Jo, vi spillede 4-4-2, men vel reelt kun de sidste 5 min, hvor vi skiftede Curtis Main ind. Inden da var Smith skiftet ud med Noel Hunt..

Ros skal Cook dog have, for ikke at svine spillerne til men at stille sig foran dem og forsvare dem. Men Cook og hans team må fundere, vi skaber masser og deres keeper stod en brandkamp, så bliver vi ved med samme opskrift, men spiller en anden mand på toppen, eller skal vi have to angribere i feltet når vi har bolden.

 

Pompey manager Paul Cook:

“It wasn’t a good night for us. We had a really disappointing start and there are no excuses.

“We’ve gone away and failed to score again – we all know that this game is about what you do in both boxes.

“You can’t give sloppy goals away like we did because all of a sudden you’re left chasing.

“The players are aware that we all have a responsibility and we weren’t able to stand up to that.

“It wasn’t our night, but I do have confidence in our players and believe that it will go our way soon.

“We have a lot of quality and after three games I would say there are players who are still learning.

“You don’t get too high or too low after three matches, but we’re aware that we have to improve.

“We want to be successful and we’re favourites for a reason, so Saturday’s game becomes a big one now.”

 

Morecambe-manager Jim Bentley:

‘It was a good night for us. ‘We knew coming into the game it was a tough game but that Portsmouth hadn’t started the season particularly well, so it could be a good time for us to play them. It proved that way. ‘But I have got a lot of time for Paul Cook – he is a close friend of mine and I know all of the backroom staff very well. ‘Portsmouth are an excellent side – in my opinion they are the favourites to go up. ‘They have got great players. ‘I do really hope they get promoted because a club of that size and that stature shouldn’t be playing at this level.’

 

Kommentarer fra The News:

Unless we beat Colchester on Saturday Cook should be sacked. We have our own Eddie Howe in Mikey Harris. Intelligent and does not panic.

If you count the end of last season it’s played 7 won NONE I don’t know if cook is the man to get us up As he keeps saying that the table don’t lie 4th bottom is enough Could be bottom of the league after Saturday and 8 points off the top 3 not panicking but the board must be thinking what we are Oh and Colchester are joint top

PC is showing outward signs of delusion. He cannot seriously think Smith is the man. I was vociferous about Smith’s ineptitude last season, and was largely shot down on here by many fans. I was so despondent when he became one of PC’s first signings of the summer. To me that summed up how this season was going to go. Couple that with the Board allowing Ben Davies, a talisman, to leave and be replaced with an inferior player, beggars belief to be honest. Last season, I genuinley thought PC was going to do something for this club.

Now I am unsure. He is not even tactically naive; he is tactically INEPT. He cannot think beyond his precious midfield and his favourites. You know, the system might work if he had the right forward and a creative, agile midfielder but he cannot bring himself to play either.

I wonder what the sweetener was for the Board or PC for signing Smith; he was certainly not signed to make an impact or help us gain promotion? He plays as if its an audition for Eddie Murphy’s role in Shrek 9. As for the rumours Chaplin is off, the Board should hang its individual and collective chins in shame. I said two seasons ago this football club would not enjoy success under the current format; decision-making where it matters is woeful.

Webster has gone; poor Jack’s career is in the balance because an injury caused by having to cover for clueless Ertl in that match against Cheltenham, and now Chaplin. What is the point? To cover the cost of having Smith at the club? Fools. Yeah yeah yeah. In the board we Trust? Horse manure. Clueless fools playing at running a club, allowing managers to make a mockery of our proud football team. Our money’s not safe in their hands. Mark my words. Unfortunately, time has proven many of my, and many other fans’, foresights to be proven true.

This job is way beyond Cook, anyone can see that. We must get him out of there now before we fall into another season of excuses. There are some really decent managers in L1 and L2 that would jump at the chance to take this job. To the board – please dont make us suffer any more !

I think Cook is our Roy Hodgson. So many things going wrong and as with Roy everyone can see it except the manager. We have to be more direct. Tippy tappy stuff is lovely when it’s coupled with goals but without an end product it’s an awful way to play. Frustrating and infuriating. Ordinary teams are out performing us simply by playing a simple direct style. I wish we played that way.

Managerial suicide Cookie, your team selection once again stunk, to pick Smith once again is ludicrous, and please explain how Bennett and Roberts start in front of the impressive Lalkovic, other than the reason that they are your favourites. What is absolutely clear is that you are very obstinate, and do not possess a Plan B or if I am honest a Plan A that works. I will be very disappointed in the Board if they have not got a Plan B which basically means this Saturday should be your last match in charge if your team give another inept performance.

The Cookie luvvies i suppose will be out in force pressing the dislike button, but before you do, how many of you raged at Roy Hodgson during England’s match against Iceland at Euros 2016, he was totally inept and clueless on the sideline, just like Cook.

Hopefully the Board do have a Plan B, and the man to lead Pompey to promotion is Neil Warnock. I am positive he would relish one last challenge, pay him 250k plus a bonus of 250k for promotion. I do not know how much Smith cost plus his wages for 2 years amount to , but Neil Warnock would give you 1000% better value.

 

League Two, Globe Arena, 16/8-2016

Morecambe – Portsmouth 2-0 (2-0)

10 min 1-0 Ryan Edwards

21 min 2-0 Tom Barkhuizen

Pompey (4-2-3-1): Forde; Talbot, Burgess, Barton, Stevens (Lalkovic 64); Rose (Hunt 85), Doyle (C), Baker, Roberts, Bennett; Smith (Main 64)

Bænken: O’Brien, Buxton, T. Davies, Linganzi, Lalkovic, Main, Hunt

Gule kort: Doyle, Stevens

Tilskuere: 1838 (546 Pompeyfans)