View: Portsmouth owners finding out league jump the hard way amid first-choice striker issue
Portsmouth are in a predicament in the Championship that even the most sceptical heading into the season may not have envisaged.
The ruthlessness of the second tier after a 13-season absence has only increased, and Pompey owners, the Tornante Company overseen by Michael Eisner and his group, are being accused of under-equipping their staff for the season.
There is certainly an argument for it when you look at an inflated squad, attempting to secure Championship experience for as cheaply as possible, now propping up the league table five points adrift of safety.
Portsmouth have no Championship proven quality up top
The unwanted record of the worst defence in the division so far is another story which comes under the same umbrella, but Tuesday night’s [5 November] defeat to likely survival rivals Plymouth Argyle was a prime illustration of the lack of adequate transfer investment – this time focusing on the attack.
Pompey have headed into the campaign with an attacking pool of last season’s backup striker Kusini Yengi; unproven Danish lower division striker Elias Sorensen signed for relative pennies; teenager Mark O’Mahony; and Christian Saydee, who has never had a season at this level.
Even Colby Bishop is unproven in the Championship, but smashing the 20-goal barrier in each of the last two seasons in League One and his natural instinct in the box would have filled Pompey fans with more confidence.
No one could have predicted Bishop’s desperately unfortunate heart complications, which have led to the fact he cannot be registered to play until at least January, even if he is cleared to return beforehand. John Mousinho is forced to make do with what he has, and it isn’t of consistent Championship quality.
Portsmouth rely on other areas for goals
Contemporary era football has seen a decreasing emphasis on providing strikers simply to score goals, and instead incorporating the direct output of wingers and midfielders.
This brings players into the spotlight such as Callum Lang, a versatile forward whose number 10 success this season has been a shining light. He has been superb, and if the side matched his performances they would be nowhere near rock-bottom.
Experienced pair Josh Murphy and Matt Ritchie evidently show the nous required, but have not yet hit the consistent heights in a Pompey shirt and have each struggled with periods in and out of the side for different reasons.
Harvey Blair is a raw talent who needs a long-term development plan, having reached 21 at a club like Liverpool without even so much as a loan move. To bring in a player that inexperienced for £300,000 and expect him to deliver straight away in the Championship is pure naivety.
Sammy Silvera started the season with a lot of attacking intent but has dwindled to limited game time, and Paddy Lane – who looked immense last year – appeared to have found his current level in the third tier with little impact since the summer.
Mousinho has talent at his disposal, but his bosses have appeared to spend under £5m [Transfermarkt] to try and keep a club in the division who have been absent from it since the entire financial landscape was different.
If he can keep the club in the division with much-needed, crucial added support in January, he should go down as a Portsmouth legend.
In other Portsmouth news, Regan Poole’s difficult game at Plymouth is broken down.
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