View: Elias Sorensen must replace 29% flop Paddy Lane for Portsmouth vs Oxford United
Portsmouth need to give Elias Sorensen a starting chance against Oxford United this weekend in place of Paddy Lane after Wednesday night.
Lane played the full 90 minutes of Pompey’s dismal 6-1 thrashing by Stoke City, and was one of several under-performers at the bet365 Stadium.
Sorensen, by contrast, has played just 26 minutes of action since late August, 11 of them coming on Wednesday with the game well and truly gone from the Blues.
The Danish forward is not getting a fair crack of the whip in the side, with John Mousinho appearing to favour some of his promoted players a little too long now.
Elias Sorensen should replace Paddy Lane in Portsmouth side
Portsmouth have a striker shortage, with Colby Bishop and Kusini Yengi both sidelined – and Sorensen, who was prolific albeit at a lower standard in his homeland before this season, must be wondering what on earth he can do to get in the XI.
Scoring on the opening day against Leeds United, Sorensen has a shot conversion rate of 33% [Sofascore] which merely demonstrates how little football he has had, with Lane yet to score in far more opportunities.
Both are versatile, hard-working players who can suit the Championship, but Lane has consistently shown lightweight tendencies after excelling in League One. The Northern Ireland man won just 29% of his seven ground duels and neither of his two aerial battles on Wednesday night [Fotmob].
Mousinho also appears to favour Harvey Blair, who was signed from Liverpool in the summer, over Sorensen. Blair failed to deliver anything going forward against Stoke, winning just two total duels out of 10 and executing one dribble of an attempted four.
Mark O’Mahony managed to open his Pompey account in the team’s only positive from the encounter – it was an equaliser at that stage, too, so the Brighton loanee – whose performance otherwise was quiet – at least enjoyed it.
Playing in Denmark last season, Sorensen enjoyed that ‘Thierry Henry’ area of positioning, playing as a direct attacker but off the left flank, and aced 79% of his dribble attempts, scoring 0.8 goals per game and creating over three attempts for himself per 90 minutes [Sofascore].
The argument in Lane’s favour by these stats is that League One, in which he scored 12 last term, outranks the Danish second division for quality. While this is true, one of Pompey’s key promotion cogs may just need reminding that there is a player in the frame for his shirt who have produced at a superb rate when in form.
Lane was not to blame for the midweek embarrassment by Stoke, as there were several behind him who allowed the Potters to steamroll them time and time again. But with just one goal contribution in eight matches – seven of them as a starter – it may simply just be a call for an opportunity for a player who has shown a lot of promise to be given a run of games.
In other Portsmouth news, a potential change in the goalkeeper department.
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