Weekend Review: Solent Woe

Weekend Review

Not an awful lot to report from the footballing world this weekend as there were only two English divisions in action, so we've condensed this post to comprise a quick review of a couple of talking points and a match review from Fratton Park.

Tranmere survived an almighty scare as they battled back from two goals down against Yeovil to win 3-2 and extended their lead at the top of League One to seven points. Ronnie Moore is clearly loving life at the top of League One and has since commented that this is the best squad he has ever had in his managerial career. I suppose that wasn't exactly going to be difficult given he has managed Southport, Rotherham, Oldham and Tranmere in his career as a boss.

Notts County romped to an impressive 4-0 away win at Carlisle to send them into fifth. Under Keith Curle they have looked a really good side and frustrated in equal measure. The team itself looks decent, with Alan Judge, Jordan Stewart, Jeff Hughes and Jamal Campbell-Ryce all players that wouldn't look out of place in a Championship side. Perhaps this season they'll be challenging in the upper echelons of League One.

Bruno Andrade enjoyed an excellent debut for Wycombe in the JPT midweek at Portsmouth and followed this up with the only goal of the game in his League Two debut away at Fleetwood. This looks to be an inspired signing from Gareth Ainsworth who clearly knows Andrade well from his time at QPR and looks able to act as a great mentor for him, especially as he played in the same position in his playing days. C will be hopeful this early promise continues and that the loan spell takes Andrade's career to the next level after the youngster's success at youth team level for QPR.

Match Review: Portsmouth 2-0 Crewe Alexandra

Crewe Alexandra were rolled over on the road for the third time in the league this season as opponents Portsmouth bullied them off the park to go above them in the table. C&J were both in the Milton End for this one.

The once famous Fratton Park façade, no longer famous because they aren't famous any more!

One look at the two teams on the back of the programme would give any neutral the impression that this was a cup tie. The sheer gulf in class on paper was embarrassing. How can it be that a club supposedly on its knees can have a squad containing the likes of QPR legend Akos Buzsaky, Barnsley's hero of Anfield Brian Howard, former Watford and Sheffield United midfielder and free-kick specialist Lee Williamson, former Chelsea, Fulham and Burnley left back Jon Harley, and League Two's top goalscorer last season Izale McLeod?! These players are supposedly on rolling monthly contracts meaning sides could get them for free when the month is up; yet the fact no-one has done this for some players who are clearly too good for League One indicates they must be on quite high wages that the majority of teams at this level can't afford (Pompey included!).

Contrasting conditions before the match and at half time

There were a couple of hundred Crewe fans who'd made the long journey to the South coast and their spirits were immediately dampened by not just the weather, but also Portsmouth scoring after just 2 minutes. Portsmouth terrorised Kelvin Mellor on their left all game and the cross came in from that side and went all the way to the back post where on-loan Bournemouth striker Wes Thomas stole in to head home. Alex goalkeeper Alan Martin kept the side (relatively) in the game in the first half and he made a couple of saves from Thomas and Izale McLeod who were just too quick, powerful and cunning for the Crewe defenders. After the game Michael Appleton said he told the strikers to come out of the traps hard and fast and it showed.

The early pressure continued and the margin was kept at one by a string of saves from Alan Martin in the Alex goal. But it wasn't long before Pompey added a second after 14 minutes, when Wes Thomas outrageously dived over Andy Bond's half-hearted challenge in the box. Mellor again was at fault backing off Thomas allowing him to run into the box and Thomas went over on a very soft looking challenge. Watching the replay on the Football League Show there should have been no way the referee made such a soft decision. There was clear daylight between Thomas and Bond when he tumbled to the ground and Portsmouth were incredibly lucky to con the referee into giving the penalty which McLeod duly dispatched straight down the middle despite Alan Martin getting a hand on the ball.

The first half was not one for the purists and was in no real way pleasing on the eye. Steve Davis after the game described the referee's performance as 'inept' and it wasn't difficult to see why. Besides the very dubious penalty decision the first half was littered with dodgy refereeing. Mathias Pogba was brought down cynically on the edge of the box by Lubomir Michalik who conveniently forgot to move out of the way. Pogba would have been one on one with the goalkeeper yet Michalik wasn't even booked. This decision was even more baffling based on the fact that 5 yellow cards were dished out in the first half for what seemed to be increasingly niggly little fouls rather than deserved bookings. Brian Howard was then booked for a terrible challenge that went straight through AJ Leitch-Smith to get the ball that could easily have been red. Big up to the Pompey fans with their reputation as real football fans beloved by much of the media who chanted 'Let him die' after the challenge, only for AJ to be substituted and it's since been confirmed he will be out of action for a month as a result of the tackle. We, on the other hand, wish the lad a speedy recovery.

For the first twenty minutes of the second half, Pompey allowed Crewe some more time on the ball than in the first half and they stringed a succession of passing moves together without ever really threatening Mikkel Andersen in the Portsmouth goal. Pogba showed that he is a real menace when he is on the ball but was frequently picking up the ball out of position and not up front where his services were dearly required. Max Clayton was seeing a lot of the ball but also ended up giving the ball away on numerous occasions by trying to be a bit too flashy. Portsmouth's counter attacks looked dangerous and, unlike Crewe's forward forays, almost always forced corners or lead to shots on goal. Byron Moore coming on for the injured AJ Leitch-Smith actually gave Crewe fresh impetus and pace and width that hadn't been available before. Moore was a threat the entire time he was on the pitch and was arguably Crewe's man of the match along with Alan Martin.

The best entertainment for Crewe fans was reserved for the afternoon's pantomime villain, Luke Rodgers (formerly of Port Vale). He was jeered by the travelling support as he entered the stage as a substitute and just a few minutes after being given some stick by them, managed to earn his club a fine from the FA by becoming the sixth Portsmouth player in the book - his offence: continuing playing after the referee had blown for a Crewe free-kick. Well done mate, brilliant!

Towards the end, the game had stop-started sufficiently to throw Crewe off of their stride and bring Portsmouth back into the game. The home side had a handful of opportunities to extend their lead further but had they done so it would have been harsh on Crewe, who were much improved in the second half after a naive opening 45 minutes.

In summary then, we have to concur with Steve Davis' sentiments that the officials were 'poor' and 'inept', and were Portsmouth to have gone down to ten men (as they indeed should have by letter of the law after at least one of the two incidents we've spoken about), this would have been a different game. It was clear that Portsmouth boss Michael Appleton had clearly looked to bully this young Crewe side by kicking them as much as possible, as he had disgracefully hinted he would do in his pre-match press conference. We just hope that these tactics aren't more widely adopted against Crewe in League One this year, else we'll be seeing some potentially career threatening injuries to several young, talented players.

Man of the match: Although he really should have been sent off, Brian Howard was a cut above the rest in this match. He marshalled the Pompey midfield superbly and was full of energy, positive attacking play and dangerous set pieces. The Portsmouth strikers got excellent service thanks to the former Reading man's performance here and I'm sure that Championship clubs will be keeping a close eye on Howard's situation over the next few weeks.

What we learned this week

- Tom Pope's astonishing scoring run continues, that's 12 in 12 in the league now

- We've never known a Football League show commentator get as excited as at Bramall Lane on Saturday when Oldham scored a 97th minute equaliser from a hit and hope ball into the area from out wide.
- Eddie Howe had an instant impact for Bournemouth as he guided them to a 2-0 defeat at home of Leyton Orient.
- Bury suffered the luck you get when you're bottom of the league as they came back from 2-0 down to Crawley to draw level only to see their old boy Nicky Adams loop in a cross-shot to beat them 3-2 in stoppage time.   

- Edgar Davids now knows just what a job he has on his hands at Barnet - a 4-1 home defeat by Plymouth was a real baptism of fire for the Dutchman!

- Gillingham and Port Vale won big this weekend as they continued in their roles as League Two's early pacesetters

Weekend Preview: Spotlight on the Football League

I don't think it is necessary to give much attention to England v San Marino tonight, and clearly neither do you if you are reading this preview on a Friday night! So let's talk Football League.

It's been a chaotic week in England's lower divisions and the managerial merry-go-round has been in full swing. We reported to you that earlier this week that Owen Coyle had lost his job at Bolton, incredibly becoming the 8th manager to part company with their club within just eleven games of the new season having passed (ten in the Championship). Since then, we've also seen Neal Ardley appointed at AFC Wimbledon, Eddie Howe swap Burnley for Bournemouth and now Edgar Davids (yes, the guy with the goggles) pitch up at Barnet as joint head coach! The last two on that list came as real shocks - Eddie Howe has gone back to the South Coast citing family reasons and given he lost his mother earlier this year the drop down a division is understandable in these circumstances. But Dutchman Davids certainly can't say the same for Barnet! Davids, whose last notable contribution in English football was an excellent assist for QPR's Adel Taarabt whilst wearing Crystal Palace colours (he massively underhit a backpass, wish I could find it on YouTube to share with you!), has finally found a club where he has a chance of getting into the first team for the rest of his life, whilst even doing some coaching at the same time. I can't believe for one moment that he's gone to North London for financial reasons. 

That might not be the end of the managerial casualties for a while either; Aldershot's board have given Dean Holdsworth the dreaded vote of confidence as they sit in 23rd place in League Two, whilst Milan Mandaric has issued the same kind of backing for Owls chief Dave Jones, who must be an awful manager to play for.

This bizarre week in the footballing world also saw Luis Boa Morte sign for Chesterfield until January. Boa Morte, aged 35 going on 53, says there is method in his madness, explaining that he is a good friend of Spireites goalkeeping coach Mark Crossley. We can't wait for Davids vs Boa Morte in League Two - for those of you excited by this (i.e. all of you), it's 27th October at the Proact Stadium.

Tranmere go marching on at the top of League One and this weekend's visitors Yeovil don't really look like ending the Wirral club's unbeaten start. Incredibly, three of their players have scored seven goals each after just eleven games and they are just one shy of half of their points total from last season already! Andy Robinson, Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and Owain Fon Williams are big misses for the hosts so perhaps there is some hope for the Glovers, but I can't look beyond the home side here. 

Prediction: Tranmere 2-0 Yeovil

After a solid if unspectacular start to League One life under Paolo Di Canio, Swindon find themselves in the playoff places ahead of the visit of lowly Coventry City this weekend. The Sky Blues won't be the easy game they were in the opening weeks of League One though, as they finally look to have turned the corner under the guidance of Mark Robins - they've won two of their last three games and produced an emphatic performance away at York in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy midweek. Still I expect the Robins (of the team variety) to take all three points here given the quality they have. 

Prediction: Swindon 3-1 Coventry

There aren't really any stand out fixtures in League Two this weekend, but Sky Sports have gone with Port Vale v Oxford as their prime time Monday night blockbuster. The Valiants have mustered 25 goals in their 11 league games this season so far and unsurprisingly are League Two's top scorers. Tom Pope has notched 11 of those and is currently in the most prolific form of his career. But the side from Stoke have found points harder to come by on home soil, winning just twice in five games at Vale Park this term. Oxford stopped the rot with a win over AFC Wimbledon and a draw at home to early League Two pacesetters Gillingham to end a run of six straight defeats which had had U's fans calling for Chris Wilder's head and he, too, got that dreaded vote of confidence from the board. Such is the patience level of fans, the media and board these days that a few defeats on the bounce no longer goes unnoticed and you will soon come under fire. I fancy Vale to put the pressure back on Wilder here (though surely they won't dispense of him if he loses away at the team 2nd in the table), but not without an early scare of going a goal down early on.

Prediction: Port Vale 2-1 Oxford

With just one of our regular sides in action, it would be foolish to pass on the opportunity to go and see them. C and J will be in the away end at Fratton Park this weekend to observe crippled Portsmouth host Crewe Alexandra. Both sides go into the game having found a bit of form of late, so this should be a good game. Portsmouth have assembled a team of Championship/League One quality freebies which on paper is quite a formidable side at this level. Having said that, all of their players are on monthly rolling deals so theoretically could walk away from the club at the end of the month, which probably suits the players but certainly isn't ideal as far as the fans are concerned. One such player is QPR legend Akos Buzsaky, who, presumably like his colleagues, views the opportunity at Portsmouth as a chance to put himself in the shop window for a couple of months in the hope that a bigger fish will come in at the end of one of the said months and offer him a longer term deal. How Pompey can sustain the kind of wage he was on at QPR is beyond us. All that aside, it really is a sorry state of affairs at the South Coast club and I genuinely hope that they don't go to the wall - I wouldn't wish that upon any football club, even Luton Town!  

Use the international weekend profitably and get down to support your local football league club this weekend. We'll be back early next week with a match report and a weekend review.

C&J