Florian Bianchini statistic shows why Portsmouth fans are upset with him
Portsmouth fans inside Fratton Park began to turn on their own players during the 2-0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.
Pompey were 2-0 down after 50 minutes against The Owls thanks to goals from Barry Bannan and George Brown. That’s despite Portsmouth being heavy favourites to win the match.
The famous Fratton Park atmosphere with constant singing faded after the second goal, and it was replaced with groans of frustration each time Pompey lost the ball.
Florian Bianchini perhaps received the most flak as Portsmouth failed to lodge a comeback during a frustrating second half.
However, a damning statistic from the match has revealed why that might be the case.
Florian Bianchini has a 16% success rate with his crossing against Sheffield Wednesday
Bianchini received a lot of the ball in the second half as Portsmouth were chasing the game, but it seemed like almost every cross he attempted ended up in the Fratton End rather than on the head of a teammate.
Indeed, post-match data from Sofascore reveals that Bianchini attempted 12 crosses during the match, but only two were successful. That’s a success rate of just 16%.
Analysing the match for Pompey+ on 20 September, former Portsmouth winger Mark Kelly suggested that Bianchini might struggle to keep his place in the team after that performance.
He said: “As a winger, they always say, you can’t disappoint people. They’re overhit or they’re not quite hitting the right areas, whether that’s something where he hasn’t played and he’s got to get his timing right.
“But sometimes in football you don’t get too many chances to stamp your authority to try and get into the team.
“It’s just too many times, he got on it, but the delivery was just lacking. Underhitting, overhitting, things like that. You’ve got to get the quality, and that’s why Josh Murphy is probably the best winger in the league right now.”
Portsmouth might be too reliant on Josh Murphy
Bianchini was back on the left wing for Portsmouth because Josh Murphy was suffering from an ankle injury.
Murphy has been the brightest star in Portsmouth’s attack ever since he signed for the club in 2024, but the performance against Sheffield Wednesday has left fans questioning whether Pompey are too reliant on the winger.
- Murphy was the top assist-maker in the Championship last season
- He has forged a great connection with Colby Bishop
- Murphy also tends to put a huge shift in to help the defence.
However, the Blues can’t afford to play so poorly whenever he is unavailable. John Mousinho will need to find a way to ensure his team is more clinical in attack, even when their star man isn’t playing.
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