At some point before today’s match between Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers, the players signed by the home club before the transfer deadline last week will be introduced to the crowd at Fratton Park. And the supporters will hope that they do not go on to play as if they have just been introduced to one other.
Not so much a band of brothers as a team of strangers, Portsmouth’s starting XI could include only two outfield players whose appearances for the club reach double figures. Three are likely to be making their debuts, while a further two will be making only their second starts.
Add to a summer of protracted takeovers and squad upheaval the fact that Portsmouth share with today’s opponents the unenviable distinction of being the only Barclays Premier League clubs yet to win a point and it may seem that the season starts here.
Jamie O’Hara, who has joined Portsmouth on loan from Tottenham Hotspur until January, is one of the players making his debut, but he believes that the components of a team who can compete are in place. “A few people said to me that it was a bit of a mess here, but I have not seen any of that,” he said. “We have been working hard and over the next couple of weeks things will come together.
“There has been big change here, but the players who have been brought in are fantastic players and I think we have a good base and a solid team. So I am really looking forwa 阅读全文>>