Skeleton Staff

Last updated : 02 September 2010 By Jim Bonner

Neville Dalton is a journalist and a Portsmouth fan of more than 40 years.

In my last column, I wrote of my concern at how far Pompey had fallen since the extent of the club's financial mismanagement had become evident.

The consequences are clearly being felt off the field, but especially on it, where we have stuttered our way to 24th place in a 24-team league a whole division below the one where we competed, often impressively, less than a year ago.

So what about that painfully inadequate squad?

Well, it's hard to knock Steve Cotterill, given the hand he has been dealt.

Paul Hart had a similar handicap this time last year, but managed to get the players he had playing some decent football.

Avram Grant managed to get largely the same bunch playing decent football - and achieving some good results.

Steve Cotterill has done neither. The football has been pretty dire in terms of results and aesthetics. But what does he have at his disposal?

All the best of the Premier League players have gone; those left appear to resent stepping down a division (well, you put us there) and working under this new era of austerity (diddums).

We've got some promising youngsters, but they are inevitably not up to the rigours of a full campaign in one of the toughest leagues in Europe.

And those brought in have generally not been up to scratch.

But what choice did Cotterill have? Not only did he have no money and relatively low wages to offer, but by the time he was allowed to recruit, all the best frees and loans had already gone.

I'm not over-happy with what is left, but I never expected miracles.

Where he has perhaps let himself down is with his defence of Ibrahima Sonko.

OK, he might not have had many alternatives, but to blame others for the giant centre-back's shortcomings is a bit rich.

Yes, we've been spoiled by international-class defenders, such as Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin and even Arjan DeZeeuw, Dejan Stefanovic and Linvoy Primus.

But Sonko has allegedly played in the top flight, and if he always needs a team-mate to bail him out, as Cotterill is reported to have declared, that's a bit worrying for our future prospects.

How long will it take other teams' coaches to cotton on to the fact that when Sonko has the ball, you isolate him from his team-mates and boom! He either boots it out of the ground or - increasingly likely - into his own net?

But in any case, the perceived lack of support from team-mates does not explain the hesitancy or lack of communication with his fellow defenders, and particularly goalkeeper.

Pompey currently have their worst defence since the days of Carl Tiler and Jamie Vincent (sorry to bring back such nightmares), and while this may not be Cotterill's fault, it is an unequivocal statement of how far this mismanaged club has fallen.

With the transfer window now closed, Pompey are still desperately short of numbers, let alone quality players, so we have to pin our hopes on Steve Cotterill's skills in the loans market.

So what of the other comings and goings so far this season?

Misty-eyed

The signing of Darryl Flahavan has totally bemused me. I understand that no decent goalkeeper is going to want to come to us, but why have we brought in the former Southampton reserve - and still more, granted him just a month's contract?

Or is it a monthly contract? Maybe that old lack of transparency over transfer dealings is still there.

So many fans seem to have been caught up in the emotion of the Flahavan name. Just because his brother was a decent keeper (not great, as some misty-eyed supporters seem to have convinced themselves), it doesn't follow that Darryl will be similar.

We have one young pretender currently nursing a broken leg and another whom we might as well keep on the bench in case Jamie Ashdown is injured.

Signing Flahavan is not the end of the world, but when you have a squad of little more than a dozen, it seems a waste to add a jobbing keeper to the company.

Conversely, selling Marc Wilson always seemed inevitable. He began to blossom at times last season in a struggling Premier League side, particularly in midfield.

And some of his passing and trickery on the ball this season has been sublime, and well beyond the capabilities of many of his colleagues.

Yet he is by no means the finished article. He dwells on the ball foolishly, often unable to distinguish between the appropriate time to be a fancy Dan and the moments when such exhibitionism should be prohibited absolutely.

As a result, Pompey conceded a goal against Cardiff that effectively killed us off.

He was lucky to escape similar punishment against Crystal Palace the other night - though it was telling that Wilson was one of those who then tucked away his spot-kick with aplomb.

Stoke City are paying for potential rather than the finished product, but in return are giving us a couple of proven players on top of the much-needed cash.

I've never liked Dave Kitson for some reason, but I admit he did a decent job for Reading in their short-lived Premiership adventure, and his height and fundamental skills offer us another attacking dimension.

He also struck one of the best goals I've ever seen scored against Pompey in that never-to-be-forgotten 7-4 entertainment-fest.

Liam Lawrence offers us more experience and no little skill (though I note that many Stoke fans consider him too slow to make it at the highest level).

He also offers us better balance - and crucially, an additional body in our skeleton-thin squad. My only reservation applies to the difficulty in persuading him to come here.

I only hope that now he is here, he really wants to play for us.

Given the number problems, I was pretty surprised to see Marlon Pack sent out on loan. I can understand the logic of blooding him in professional football at a lower level.

But at the moment, I would have thought a place on Pompey's incomplete bench was far more useful - if not crucial to our chances of surviving the drop this season.

Carl Dickinson is a worry. He has been bettered by every winger I've seen him face so far, and he clearly has a lot of improving to do.

But for some reason that I can't quite put my finger on, I have some faith in him. He certainly seems to have a bit of get-up-and-go about him. Let's hope he gets up and plays.

The failure to sell John Utaka and David Nugent may have implications for our ability to meet the obligations of the deal that is key to our coming out of administration.

But in terms of bodies we can put on the pitch, I'm shedding no tears over their continued appearance at Fratton Park.

Utaka frustrates and annoys with his apparent lack of effort. And it was galling to see a different Utaka chasing defenders all over the pitch against Cardiff - in his last chance to secure a lucrative move during this transfer window.

Woeful

But he has got top-level experience; he does offer attacking options, and maybe, just maybe…

…OK. But he is another body.

Likewise Nugent, whose performances this season have been disappointingly poor. I really thought he would shine at this level, as he did for Preston a few years back.

But while he clearly doesn't enjoy the lone-striker role, his first touch and ball control have been pretty woeful - except for the magnificent goal he scored against Palace.

I'm hoping a partnership with Kitson will bring the best out of both and benefit Pompey in the process.

The departures of Tommy Smith, Nadir Belhadj and Kevin-Prince Boateng were probably inevitable, given their saleable values, and I have no complaints about any of them, although I really did fancy seeing Smith at Championship level.

He strikes me as an intelligent, forward-thinking footballer, who shone once or twice in the Premier League. But his stop-start season so far has persuaded me that if we really did get £1.5 million for him, maybe we got the best of the deal - until he makes us pay when he returns with QPR!

No tears over the departure of Papa Bouba Diop, though I refuse to accept he is anywhere near as bad as many Pompey fans make out.

But I do regret our failure to persuade Anthony Vanden Borre to return, not least because we have no right-back and a stand-in who displays no attacking potential as well as inadequate defensive qualities.

At the time of writing, the position of Ricardo Rocha remains unclear. He appeared to have priced himself out of a return, but it now seems he is on the verge of re-signing.

He thrilled me last season from day one, even with his early sending-off problems, and I always thought he was the type of player we should be building our Championship side around - an accomplished defender who is comfortable on the ball.

But beggars can't be choosers, and that is pretty much what Pompey are these days.

So it remains to be seen whether we will have the chance to enjoy his impressive performances any more at Fratton Park.

And so to Kanu. Quite honestly, I couldn't care less. I've enjoyed his skills, but even in our decent teams his immobility made him a luxury.

If he wants to play a limited role for us now for a realistic wage, fair enough. Otherwise, thank you and farewell.

I'd welcome Hermann Hreidarsson back for all the positive attributes he clearly brings. But does such an injury as he has suffered leave a player of his age just a shadow of his former self?

I hope he gets the chance to find out.

Likewise, the younger Danny Webber, whom I have really been looking forward to seeing at this level.

Rather like Hermann, though, it all depends on whether his serious injury has eroded his pace.

If not, up front is the one area where I fancy Pompey to shine