Pompey v Shrewsbury

I have decided that I am on a mission to revive conversation on this board, which has always been my favourite board. I'll probably forget in a week or so but I'll give it a go by starting with yesterday's match.

First of all I think that Shrewsbury are the dirtiest team I have seen at Fratton this season but worse than that was their petty, childish and infuriating Don Revie's Leeds 1970's style of so called 'professionalism'. The not fetching the ball when they were playing down time and it was their throw in, getting a corner and the player to take it wandering over from the diagonally opposite side of the field. To counter that you need a strong referee but unfortunately Mr. Coote (an unusually apt name for the most incompetent refereeing performance I've seen for a very long time) was far from that. As far as I saw he only gently remonstrated with them once over their delaying tactics. And how on earth did he miss the handball for a Pompey penalty? I know I have a Pompey bias but when I saw that on video I have no idea how he didn't award us a penalty. Of course the linesmen/assistants, call them what you will are there to help the referee and from what I could see neither of them did anything other than give a decision the way that the referee had already had done, after a quick look at him.

Having said all that I don't think it should hide what was another mediocre Pompey performance BUT we are still performing above our weight for a newly promoted side and are above my expectations for this time in the season. I said if we finished 10th I would be more than happy and I think that there or thereabouts is where we will finish.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

Well, as no one else wants to join this conversation, I shall just have to talk to myself.

As one of the best examples for a while of how football survives and is successful not because of the authorities but despite them, Saturday's referee, Mr. Coote, after his superbly incompetent performance has been handed a promotion by the EFL to "control" the Championship game between Villa and Burton Albion on Saturday. Good luck to them both.

Well A good attempt Algernon.

Don't get to many games these days but Guy Whits on the radio picked up on their "professionalism" right from the start. He was oozing admiration for their cheating and getting away with it. You do have to question if pompey did enough ref bahing to get it cutout? With the home crowd on the refs back surely they could have countered tactics with some "professionalism" of their own?

Bottom line however is facts must be faced as it stands the team are not quite good enough and lack a bit of nous.

The key thoing now i to pick up points and ensure there is no slide into the bottom end of the table.

I posed a question early in the season and still have the same nagging doubt, is Pittman the answer or is he the question?

Hi Sui, Thanks for replying, I was getting a bit lonely but I shall persevere at least in the short term!

Personally I would rather we didn't resort to the Shrewsbury "professionalism" although it is difficult to know how you counter it when you have a weak referee.

I totally agree with you that we are not quite good enough but hopefully we can continue to hang around in mid-table and then see reinforcements in the summer.

We certainly don't seem to have had the cutting edge up front all season. and Pitman does seem out of sorts at the moment but it's always been a bumpy ride supporting Pompey so I expect nothing different under the new regime!

I think if we were offered mid table at the start of the season we would of happily took it so happy where we are with an a slim chance of the play offs if we can get a decent loan player in & avoid any more injuries.

Don't get to any games now as living in warmer climes & rely on paltalk & the VFE to listen to matches when I can.

Local football is a poor standard but I try to get to the odd match.