Don Goodman: Colby Bishop return ‘fairytale stuff’ at Portsmouth
Don Goodman has been impressed with Colby Bishop since his return to the Portsmouth side following a heart surgery in the summer.
It was announced in the summer that Bishop would require heart surgery after a pre-season scan indicated an issue but he has since recovered and returned to the Portsmouth team.
The striker made his return against Preston on 9 November, coming off the bench to score a penalty for Pompey in what Goodman told Pompey News was “fairytale stuff”.
Goodman said: “I mean, it’s unimaginable, isn’t it? To be looking forward to playing in the Championship, and then all of a sudden, find out that you have a heart defect that needs an operation on it and you’re going to be out, it must have been emotionally shattering, really, for him.
“For him to come off the bench and seal the win against Preston is fairytale stuff, really. And yeah, I mean, look, Portsmouth have, I think they’ve struggled for goals, haven’t they? They’ve scored 16 goals in 15 games. Yeah. It’s not enough, really.
“You need to have that goal-scoring threat. So I just think his appearance off the bench would just give the whole football club an enormous boost at a time when they needed a boost.”
Colby Bishop return is a huge boost for Portsmouth
Ultimately, if Pompey are to stay in the Championship this season, they are going to have to find goals from somewhere. The number of goals scored this season simply isn’t good enough and failure to improve on that will undoubtedly result in relegation.
However, the return of Bishop to the squad may have just provided them with the boost they needed to start firing on all cylinders.
Bishop played a crucial role in their promotion from League One last season, scoring a remarkable 21 league goals. It wasn’t his only excellent season having also notched 20 times in the season prior.
He knows where the net is and his experience could prove crucial to their hopes of avoiding the drop.
It appears he hasn’t lost his finishing touch as demonstrated in Pompey’s win against Preston where despite having been out for several months, Bishop came on as a sub and made an instant impact, demonstrating the attributes that have made him a popular figure throughout his time at Fratton Park.
Albeit unfortunate in the grand scheme of things, Portsmouth having back-to-back games postponed could aid his fight to get back to full fitness ahead of a hectic Christmas schedule.
In other Portsmouth news, Ian Darke has issued the club with a transfer plea.
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