The Portsmouth season preview 2023/24 is demanding - nothing less than play-offs is acceptable, quite simply.
Portsmouth business this summer has been left field, but highly regarded sporting director Richard Hughes values thinking outside the box. He did that to poach manager John Mousinho from Oxford United, who managed 39 points from 23 games – form that gets you in the mix, especially if they keep Colby Bishop.
There are expectations at Fratton Park, though, as Pompey enter their sixth consecutive season in League One.
Portsmouth season preview 2023/24, the fan's view: Brendon Bone (@brendonvbone)
Last season was disappointing. We saw lots of promises under the Cowley brothers last summer, but ultimately we were also-rans all campaign long and didn’t look like troubling the top six at any point after October.
The big talking point is the ownership. The optimism that accompanied the Eisners’ arrival seven years ago has largely dissipated.
Fans think our owners are taking the old ground forward, though we need some success on the pitch to keep the supporters engaged – we’re still stuck where we started.
I won’t be happy unless we finish in the top six. Anything less is a failure.
Our key player will be Tom Lowery. He is absolute quality, but he suffered an injury mid-season and we really struggled without him. Hopefully he can stay fit because we rely on him.
Our most underrated player is Connor Ogilvie – in my opinion, he’s one of the best defenders in the league.
Look out for Paddy Lane, who’s just starting to show why we bought him from Fleetwood in January. We’ve also signed a young Northern Irish lad this summer – Terry Devlin, from Glentoran – and we’re hearing reports that he’s going to be a cracking player.
The active player I’d love to have back is Matt Ritchie – one of our own – though it’s absolutely a pipe dream.
The one change I’d make would be Fratton Park. We’re getting there, off the pitch, but the old girl isn’t fit for purpose long-term and that’ll always hold us back, unfortunately.
The player I’d happily drive to another club is full-back Denver Hume. Sometimes your club signs a player and you just can’t understand what the management have seen in him.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is that John Mousinho is honest, which I like, but his honeymoon period is over and we need to start seeing the bit between this teeth now. I’m happy to give him time; genuinely, I’m not sure there’s a manager out there who can wake us from this slumber.
We’ll finish in the top six – at least, that has to be the main target. It all depends on recruitment, because we lost half the team again last season.
Season previews for the Premier League, League One and League Two are all available HERE
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