The South Stand entrance at Portsmouth's Fratton Park

Guy Whittingham highlights problem area amid Portsmouth injury woes

Dan is a sports writer and broadcaster, who wrote for Breaking Media Limited's club sites including Pompey News between May 2024 and May 2025. Graduating from the University of Huddersfield in 2018 with First Class Honours in Sports Journalism, Dan has worked with several EFL clubs, as well as with BBC Radio, talkSPORT and TNT Sports. He previously resided in Sydney, Australia, where he continued his career as a freelancer in various sports. Dan was born and raised in Portsmouth, comes from a Pompey-supporting family, and was in attendance at both of the club's FA Cup finals in 2008 and 2010.

Published on:

27 Oct 2024, 5:35 am

Portsmouth icon Guy Whittingham has delivered an honest verdict on the quality in the Blues' squad amid extended injury problems.

Pompey will enter November bottom of the pile in the Championship, with many of the players who soared the club out of League One struggling with the step up.

John Mousinho has had to deal with an extensive injury list, too, as he struggles to be able to nail down his best XI and Whittingham noted that midfield is an area that looks particularly light.

"John Mousinho hasn’t been able to pick a team that’s probably anywhere near what he thinks is his best due to injuries. Again, three picked up in midweek at Cardiff and he’s had to change things around [Friday] so again, it’s different combinations," Whittingham said on BBC Radio Solent, as quoted by The News [27 October].

"If you look at that midfield three, you’ve got [Christian] Saydee who came from Bournemouth last year, who doesn’t start every game and is really a number nine. You’ve got [Andre] Dozzell who wasn’t signed again by QPR, and you’ve got a player on loan from West Ham [Freddie Potts] for his first year in the Championship.

"That’s our midfield and that might be one of the issues. We’re playing with players who haven’t got the experience, and we are where we are with these players."

Portsmouth suffer from inexperience and injuries

When Portsmouth approached this Championship season, Mousinho probably thought the seven-man injury list was to be the worst it would get.

However, it has not let up and the Blues boss has consequently been unable to stamp down his clear best team.

And when players have had the chance to nail down a place, they have often performed poorly or simply been outclassed by superior opponents boasting far more elasticated pursestrings.

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho

Defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night [25 October] from a half-time winning position was hugely disappointing - and the alarming fact of the matter is it was not even that bad a display, the quality just wasn't there.

Pompey head to Hull City next weekend [2 November] following a full week back on the training pitch at Copnor Road, with time ebbing away to not get left behind.

In other Portsmouth news, Clinton Morrison makes a bold statement on the Pompey fans.

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