View: Andre Dozzell comments emphasise where 42.1% Portsmouth suffer
Andre Dozzell has admitted Portsmouth must improve in possession, with the Blues currently propping up the Championship table.
The midfielder, signed on a free transfer in the summer, conceded to BBC Radio Solent’s Andy Moon [5 December] that Pompey have not done enough with the ball so far this season.
John Mousinho’s side have won just two of their 16 league games, and next take on Bristol City at Fratton Park [7 December].
“We’ve done a lot of work off the ball, and Saturday [30 November] we came up against a team that are very good in possession in Swansea City,” Dozzell said.
“We need to start dominating games. We get in good positions and it’s just that final ball.”
Portsmouth possession in the Championship
Portsmouth have quickly found out they are one of the smaller fish again at present, coming up against relative financial powerhouses and clubs blessed with some of the slickest players to grace the EFL.
On Dozzell’s point on possession, this is where Pompey could excel much further than they are now. Per Sofascore, the Blues have averaged just 42.1% possession in league games this season, dwarfing only Millwall – who have albeit found an effective and direct way to cause problems.
Mousinho’s men are wasteful when they attempt to progress. FBRef data shows Pompey are bottom of the pile not just in the table, but also in terms of progressive ball carries, executing a league-low of 170 – albeit in fewer games than their rivals. By contrast, Hull City have executed 382, while Middlesbrough have completed 381.
Pompey players have only received 389 progressive passes via FBRef too, meaning an average of just 24.3 forward passes of 10 yards or further per game. This shows the team do not take enough risks in attack, and rely on a more direct formula. Only Oxford United have completed fewer.
Sofascore data also proves Dozzell’s point in terms of long balls and crosses. If the short passing cannot be executed often enough, play directly by all means – it has worked for the aforementioned Millwall and to an extent Oxford.
However, Pompey – whose wingers Matt Ritchie and Josh Murphy are admittedly just starting to arrive at their best form – have succeeded with just 36.5% of their long aerial pass attempts, and 22.7% of their crosses.
This could shape the targets for the January transfer window with Rich Hughes, Mousinho and the recruitment staff having long read into the data and crunched the numbers.
However, there remains hope within the squad, with young loan midfielder Freddie Potts ranking 12th of players throughout the entire league for successful take-ons [66.7%]. He is in esteemed company, joined by the likes of Josh Cullen and Vini Souza.
Dozzell and Potts create an ideal midfield pivot in this sense, with the former Ipswich man staying deep while West Ham man Potts can maraud forward with the ball and push Portsmouth forward on the break.
It appears a case of trial and error for now, but must be figured out sooner rather than later.
In other Portsmouth news, the Blues should be able to cope without Kusini Yengi.
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