Sammy Silvera was example of pecking order problem at Portsmouth
Sammy Silvera has seen his loan at Portsmouth cut short, with parent club Middlesbrough lending him to Blackpool.
As confirmed via the official club website (13 January), the Australian international returned to Boro after just 12 appearances for the Blues – he has since been loaned to League One for more regular football.
Silvera may have performed better with a solid run in the team, but as a winger it was never realistically happening – the wide areas are where Pompey boast their most experienced Championship players.
The 24-year-old himself played 37 times in the second tier for Boro last season, but was never going to displace seasoned players in a side crying out for more pedigree of the level at which they are looking to remain.
Portsmouth part with Silvera for new chapter
Silvera is a talented player, but wasn’t what Portsmouth needed at the time. He was increasingly criticised by supporters as his appearances went on.
Not only that, the Socceroo had a tendency, in a Pompey side who sometimes see little of the ball in spells, to drift out of games and not make much of a defensive impact.
Silvera is an agile wide player who excels taking on defenders, but that attribute comes with confidence – which during his time at Fratton Park was diminishing and affecting his international aims.
He should excel in League One. Blackpool are marooned in 16th in the table, and need a spark for the second half of the campaign with an 11-point gap to the play-off places. Stranger things have happened.
But for John Mousinho, a key balance to strike is by clearing registration spots for the second half of the league campaign – and a new recruit would give more to a space in the roster than Silvera has done.
In other Portsmouth news, Don Goodman assesses the remainder of the transfer window.
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