Colby Bishop ‘problem’ emerges amid Portsmouth’s poor run of form
Portsmouth’s weaknesses are being put under more scrutiny now that the team has hit a rough patch of form.
The Blues lost 2-1 to Ipswich on Saturday — their second defeat on the bounce — and have only scored five goals in their opening seven games.
Their lack of firepower wasn’t much of a concern when they were winning games 1-0 or securing goalless draws at Southampton.
However, more people are sharing their fears over Portsmouth’s attack now that they’ve slipped to 19th in the Championship table.
Ian Darke outlines where Colby Bishop needs to improve
Colby Bishop has started every Championship game up front for Portsmouth this season, but he only has one goal to his name.
While Bishop is a huge favourite of John Mousinho’s, he hasn’t been as sharp as Portsmouth fans have been used to seeing.
Bishop missed a penalty against Norwich City earlier this season, adding to his recent run of missed spot-kicks, while he was virtually anonymous against Ipswich on Saturday.
When exclusively asked about Bishop’s form by Pompey News, Premier League commentator and Portsmouth fan Ian Darke listed some qualities he’d like to see the striker improve.
He said: “You can’t argue with Colby Bishop’s goal return for Pompey, but I don’t think he’s been in great form this season and I do think he needs to add to his ability to play outside the box a little more.
“His hold-up play could be better and his chemistry with the players around him could be a little bit better too.
“There’s absolutely no chance of him being dropped. He’s an automatic starter and maybe that’s a little bit of the problem. You could do with somebody who’s a bit more of a rival for the place.”
Portsmouth can trust Bishop to find his form again
Bishop is Portsmouth’s joint-top goalscorer of the 21st century. He has 57 goals in 139 Portsmouth appearances.
During that spell, he has endured rough patches of form and come back stronger. Anyone who knows him will back him to return to form soon.
| Player | Goals |
| Adrian Segecic | 2 |
| Andre Dozzell | 1 |
| Colby Bishop | 1 |
| Marlon Pack | 1 |
He can’t be solely blamed for Portsmouth’s poor goalscoring record. In fact, it could easily be argued that he has been starved of service in the last few games.
Bishop must be hoping that Josh Murphy returns from injury soon, so he can start getting on the end of the winger’s picture-perfect crosses again. He won’t be the only person of a Pompey persuasion with that wish.
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