Charlton snatched an unlikely looking point in the 88th minute today, in another game of two differing halves. Portsmouth had the chances to have wrapped this game up by half-time after another woeful Valley opening. After half-time we showed in spells what most have us have expected to see all season - energy, pace, passing and movement. The draw will have saved Nigel Adkins from the bullet for now but he simply has to get a win on Tuesday at home to Bolton.
Thomas Sandgaard gave us a long piece in the week about how he thinks the club is progressing since his takeover and whilst there is plenty to note and admire on a number of fronts, sadly, the quality of our football in the opening nine games of the season hasn't been one of them. In a piece designed to back his manager and frustrate growing calls for him to be replaced, Sandgaard said "I'm still very confident that we're going to be looking really good at the end of the season." I am sure he means where we will finish as opposed to finally finding the formation, tactics and style required to win games in League One as we are relegated. Obviously we all hope he is right but there have been precious few signs of this so far.
After single-handedly sparking a first-half fire at Gillingham on Tuesday and having been described as "unplayable" by Adkins, Corey Blackett-Taylor must have been fuming to find he wasn't starting today. Instead, Gilbey and Leko were named with Arter back in central midfield. The first-half was another messy Charlton showing with Portsmouth taking the lead from a 20 minute wonder-strike from Curtis and Marquess fluffing a sitter from six yards. For once, we weren't penned in but our play from midfield was stuttering and too often our forwards were left to try and go it alone. Leko, in particularly, showed an urgency and determination to take Portsmouth on but it was all a bit staccato and real chances were very few once again. We squandered a series of crossing opportunities - our players appear to either be unable to get a ball off the ground or they blast it ten feet over the bar or towards the opposite corner flag. We were also guilty once again of being asleep at a set-piece. We have been doing this for weeks now. Gillingham's equaliser came from one such instant on Tuesday and we were nearly caught out again today. This is Janet-and-John stuff and another piece of evidence that does not support Nigel Adkins as League One's Best Manager. Gilbey had a decent chance before half-time after a good one-two with Leko but he chose to shoot from an angle at their advancing keeper when Stockley was waiting in space in the six yard box.
At half-time I predicted Harry Arter would come off and Corey Blackett-Taylor be unleashed. I was none-to-pleased when Clare appeared after the break instead of Arter. As if to prove me personally wrong, Clare then scored a goal from a corner in which Pompey weren't fully awake. Elliott Lee played a hard and low pass to the edge of area and Clare picked it up and rifled a shot straight inside the keeper's near post.
After that and for fifteen glorious minutes, we managed to shut the Portsmouth fans up and we really got at them. Suddenly our midfielders were facing the opposition with the ball and showing for each other in space. We were actually passing and moving and Portsmouth were being pulled around. However, it didn't last and we lost a bit of cohesion I thought from Clare and Gilbey. Lee was still driving forward but now without so much support and we began looking forlornly for Stockley once again.
Portsmouth did not stop counter-attacking and when they did get forward it was usually with relative ease that they found big gaps in our back line. A second goal always looked likely and when it came, they opened us up in the middle and Harness had all the time he needed to pick his spot against old team mate MacGillivray. With the sound back on in the Jimmy Seed it looked like our heads would once again drop as defeat loomed but Adkins finally threw Corey Blackett-Taylor and Josh Davidson on. Within a couple of minutes they combined superbly for Davison to score a fine equaliser.
The booming first-half choruses of "we're fucking shit, we're fucking shit, we're fucking shit" and "we want Ad-kins out, say we want Ad-kins out" looked a tad harsh but the facts are we have picked up just 6 points from 27 and have deserved no more. God was a little boy the last time we started a season so poorly and even then it was never in the depths of the third division.
No-one truly wants their side to lose any games but we are at that stage when another loss should hasten the removal of the manager and perhaps give us a chance to start afresh. Another point is welcome but it is only that and we remain in the relegation places. We really must get a 90 minute performance against Bolton and three points on which Adkins can maybe turn a corner, but I am not hopeful.
Effectively bottom after ten games would signal a massive failure. Our recruitment policy must bear a big chunk of that responsibility and whilst Sandgaard, Roddy and Gallen are putting a brave face on it, you know their position will eventually move to one of 'with hindsight.' In spite of that, Adkins has failed to put out a team that has played decent football for more than twenty minutes. We have created very few chances in most games and been awful to watch. He has changed his line-up and formations dramatically from one week to another and often failed to retain what did work from the game before. I don't want to hear him waffling on about changing to suit the opposition because patently it hasn't worked. Instead I want him to focus on getting the best side out that plays like a team, which is positive and confident and goes after the oppostion.
He accentuates the positive to the point of absurdity and often looks lost on the touchline. After Portsmouth opened the scoring today, the camera caught him standing there like a rabbit in the headlights. He didn't know where to look or what to do. Eventually he looked at his players and waved gently towards the centre-circle. I have stopped watching his post-match press conferences because it's just excuse making. I suspect this evening he will be full of how we nearly won a match and came away with a very good point at home. It doesn't really help Sandgaard's latest promise that we will be looking really good at the end of the season.
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