A telling statement as attention turns towards next challenge
As the city of Portsmouth continues to bask in Pompey’s return to the Championship, it is worth a closer look at John Mousinho’s remarkable achievement.
Incredible as it is to now comprehend, Pompey were 15th in League One when he arrived – mainly to comments of ‘John who?’ from the Fratton faithful – in January last year. And no doubt many supporters would have laughed if you’d said that 15 months later Pompey would be champions, helped in no small way by players brought in from Carlisle, Fleetwood, Lincoln, Burton and Exeter.
A far cry, indeed, from the manner in which Harry Redknapp compiled the squad which won Premier League status 21 years ago, bolstered by players coming towards the end of their careers with no resale value – Merson, Stone, Sherwood, Hislop, Festa.
In tandem with sporting director Rich Hughes, Mousinho has compiled a fairly young title-winning squad
– only skipper Marlon Pack, goalkeeper Will Norris and centre-half Sean Raggett are in their thirties.
Even though Pompey are now taking a huge step up in quality – facing many ex-premier League clubs armed with tens of millions of parachute payments – don’t expect any change in the club’s transfer market dealings.
Pompey may have rich owners, but the Eisners have not delved deep in their pockets to get the club up, something not likely to change too much this summer.
Speaking in this paper two days ago, Mousinho made a telling statement. ‘The strategy for us is to make sure we invest in players who can improve,’ he declared, providing an insight into the kind of signing we will see prior to August.
The likes of Hull, Preston, Cardiff, Bristol City and Coventry are all currently top half in the Championship. None of those are ‘bigger’ than Pompey.
Look at Luton, they were playing Pompey in League One as recently as 2019. It can be
Continued progression can be achieved without spending silly money
done, sustainably. Continued progression can be achieved without spending silly money, provided you have the right ethos and the right men making the decisions.
You can’t predict the future, but Pompey seem in a good place for the next challenge.