Quote:
Originally Posted by carpon
Naismith, when he's fully fit will be an absolute monster player in this league. I'd prefer him in the middle & not wide, as I think he looks solid in the tackle and will offer plenty more in the heart of midfield.
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yesterday was the first I've seen on Naismith (and then only on t'telly) but he has the look of the stereotypical winger rather than engine room powerhouse, I'm not sure he'd get the room he needs through the middle. When our cleverer players have learnt each others games then there will be some cracking football played at The Crown.
That was for me the big difference between Pompey and Stanley yesterday, in Agyemang and Connolly they had two clever forwards who knew each other's games. There was some intricate play between them and it left two very impressive centre halves chasing shadows at times.
Webber showed some good touches of class but the players nearest to him were rarely on the same wavelength.
Carver is benefitting from game time and needs to carry on getting minutes - but we need to be wary of giving him too much if he doesn't continue to improve.
Richardson had plenty of good touches, but as others have said, three lots of 90 in a week may have been a step too far for him
Murphy is the personification of #passionovercomeslogic. 22 years old and has already played 128 games for us. My personal feeling is that he isn't the most gifted of individuals but he more than makes up for it with effort and application. Regardless of his goals I thought he was having a stormer and deserved his bottle of fizzy vinegar.
Bavs once again defied the knockers and Portsmouth would have been out of sight had it not been for him.
Atkinson and Aldred continue to impress. Up against the classic big man/little man combination and they were dragged and banged all over the place. They'll be disappointed with the amount of chances conceded but had it not been for them then only Dunbavin stood between Portsmouth and a record score.
All in all my thoughts are that people are getting carried away with the performance because it wasn't that great. There were a lot of individually impressive performances but the teamwork hasn't gelled yet. We have a great set of defenders but we are relying on them and luck far too much. Once we get the protection sorted for the full backs we'll start to kick on. Portsmouth will be a real handful for some teams this year and we caught them on a good day, so holding them at bay is a good point earned in my book.
Off the field I've got to say that the atmosphere came across really well. Both sets of fans contributed and if you were blind you certainly wouldn't have known there was only two and a half thousand there.