Ian Darke suggests Portsmouth man not in right headspace after decision John Mousinho made
Ian Darke believes John Mousinho made the right decision to drop Will Norris last weekend as Portsmouth drew with Oxford United.
Norris was one of several Pompey players to drop a poor performance in the previous 6-1 hammering by Stoke City, which resulted in Nicolas Schmid being given the nod between the sticks for his Championship debut.
Norris and Schmid are further joined in the goalkeeping department by the experienced Jordan Archer, which gives Mousinho a careful decision to make moving forward.
TNT Sports commentator and Blues fan Darke exclusively told Pompey News: “I think it was the right call to take Norris out of the firing line.
“He hasn’t had a good start to the season; he has pulled off some good saves but there have been some high-profile errors.
“Norris wasn’t even in the squad against Oxford – Jordan Archer was on the bench – so clearly, there was a feeling that he wasn’t in the right headspace.”
Portsmouth goalkeeping battle blown wide open
Mousinho is still in the midst of finding his best team at Portsmouth, which in fairness has been far from easy given the injury pounding the club have taken since the season started.
Norris has been the established number one for the majority of his head coach’s time at Fratton, his run of 54 straight starts brought to an end by Schmid’s debut last weekend [5 October].
Schmid and Archer, both signed in the summer, have strengthened the Blues’ options after Matt Macey and Ryan Schofield were both released after promotion.
They have both spent a large chunk of their respective careers as number one stoppers, giving Mousinho a careful man management task to navigate.
Schmid is expected to retain his place and earn a run in the team from when Pompey visit QPR on 19 October.
In other Portsmouth news, Jay Sadler brands his team’s preparations for the South Coast derby a “cup final mentality”.
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