Ahead of the long trip to Fratton Park on Saturday, we spoke with Andrew Moon, from BBC Solent/South TV and Portsmouth FC commentator, to get all the insight on Sunderland AFC’s next opponents.
F1879: Portsmouth returned to the Championship after clinching the League One title last season and remain unbeaten with three draws thus far, so against a backdrop of what must surely still be a sense of some positivity, what are the expectations for the club’s season ahead? Is it just about consolidation or are supporters feeling an ‘Ipswich’ is on the cards?!
AM: There might be a few fans out there dreaming of an ‘Ipswich’, but I think most are realistic and that staying up would be a good season. I think the hope is that you stay up fairly comfortably, and you’re not hovering around the bottom three for too long, and it’s not last day survival, but a finish anywhere around the middle would be an excellent achievement, and simply being comfortably clear of the relegation zone would be classed, by most, a pretty good season.
F1879: What can you tell us about John Mousinho’s style of play and how has it evolved since his arrival back in early 2023? What specific changes, which he introduced, do you think have had the most impact on performances?
AM: So the interesting thing about John Mousinho’s style of play is, I would call it pragmatic. He is somebody who doesn’t ever really want to have this absolute, fixed way of playing and always stick to it. He wants to evolve. And someone close to him said his style of play is wanting to win all the time. It’s not about a particular tactic. You will at times see Pompey play out from the back. They did it a lot in League One last season, when they were the dominant side, more often than not. You’ll also see his side press from the front, but they’ll kind of press in phases. They’ll press at times, and then not press. And when they do it, they’re quite effective. He is tactically very smart, and generally his in-game changes do alter things. Obviously, this season, they’ve had to get used to not having anywhere near as much as the ball as they did last year. So naturally the style this season – so far – has been more defensive than than previous years.
F1879 : Do you think Mousinho will likely adapt his preferred formation or tactics against Sunderland at the weekend or more likely deploy the same methods as he did against Leeds, Luton and Boro?
AM: I don’t think Portsmouth will be quite as deep as they were against, particularly Leeds and Middlesbrough, when you’re playing two of the best sides. I’m almost certain it will be a 4-2-3-1, formation. I don’t think there’s going to be massive changes in in either personnel or formation or style of play. I think we’ll see Portsmouth press more. They did that quite well against Luton. But even so, against Luton, that was a game where Pompey were fairly happy to take a point, even though, against 10 men. I think we’ll see more pressing and Pompey slightly higher up the pitch, but no drastic changes to formation and tactics.
F1879: Given the demands upon teams during a long old season do you feel Portsmouth’s squad has sufficient depth already or will Mousinho be hoping for a few additions between now and the transfer window deadline? If signings are required, where are the gaps in the squad in your opinion?
AM: I would say the one thing about Portsmouth squad is it is perfectly deep. They have numbers in every position. What they may not have in every position is high end Championship quality, and they probably don’t have that in anywhere near as many positions as they would like. I’m speaking now on Thursday, ahead of the deadline tomorrow, I think there is still a decent chance the Centre-half comes in, it also just depends what else comes up. But I don’t think you’re gonna see massive changes. And in some ways, Pompey are struggling with the 25 person limit in their squad because they’ve got so many so we might even see a few exits before the window closes tomorrow night.
F1879: What do you think Portsmouth’s likely starting XI will be?
AM: This partly depends on fitness. I would think you’ll see Norris who will almost certainly be the goalkeeper. I think you’ll probably see Jordan Williams go back to right-back, and Connor Ogilvie at left-back, and then you’ll have Conor Shaughnessy and Ryley Tower in the middle. Tower really is the fourth choice Center-half, but has had to play because of injuries to other defenders in the middle of the park. Marlon Pack, Captain, will play alongside. I think Freddie Potts might come in. If not, you’ll see Andre Dozzell start again. Up front, I would think Christian Saydee will once again be the number nine. The wing positions or that three behind the front – I’m pretty sure you’ll see Callum Lang there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sammy Silvera back in. He couldn’t play against Middlesbrough because he’s on loan from Middlesbrough and then Paddy Lane, but that’s probably the one on the pitch I’d feel least confident predicting.
F1879: The season is only in its infancy but who have been the best players during both across pre-season and the first few matches – who will be the ones the Black Cats should be concerned about and have any of the new signings impressed?
AM: Christian Saydee, someone who didn’t play a huge amount last season. And if Colby Bishop hadn’t had this really rather unfortunate heart condition, that meant he needed surgery. We may not have seen him too much, but he’s (Saydee) made a big impact so far up front, and obviously got the two goals against Boro. Marlon Pack probably wasn’t at his best against Middlesbrough, but was pretty good the first couple of games. Definitely someone to watch out for – I’d think Callum Lang has been a standout player. Obviously, got a couple of goals at Leeds. I think he’s made a difference. Those are the ones to watch out for. And the fact I haven’t really talked too much about new signings shows really that the key for Pompey so far this season have been the stalwarts of last year and those who got them promoted.
F1879: How do supporters feel around the recent signing of young Harvey Blair from Liverpool? Given his pedigree, coming through both Manchester United and Liverpool ranks, are expectations high and do supporters feel he can hit the ground running?
AM: I think the hope is that Harvey Blair will come in and be a really good player. I think people are realistic that when you sign somebody who has zero EFL appearances to their name, it doesn’t matter how much potential they might have or how good they might be in a few years, they probably are going to take a bit of time to adjust. I was talking to Freddie Potts earlier in the week, and he was saying it is a massive jump from playing Academy football to playing League football. So that’s a tricky one for him to make. The obviously, the belief is that he’s got the ability. Pompey paid £300,000 and they wouldn’t have done so if he couldn’t. But I think we’ll probably see him more off the bench, and it probably is going to take him a bit of time to adjust to the Championship.
F1879: Now Jack Clarke has left Wearside which Sunderland player do you think Portsmouth will feel they need to be concerned about when the sides meet at the weekend?
AM: I think when Portsmouth fans look at the Sunderland team sheet, they’ll all be drawn towards the name Bellingham, although I know he’s got ‘Jobe’ on the back of his shirt. Now that’s probably more down to his brother than than anyone else. I always think one of the keys to this Sunderland team – and from speaking to people who know – is that they’ve got a collection of really talented young players, and a lot of whom are not players that the Portsmouth fans will know particularly well and won’t know anything about. That might be the key to Sunderland this season, is having a group of players that people are not necessarily talking about all the time, other than Jack Clarke, who’s gone. So yeah, I think they’ll be keeping an eye on Bellingham. And remember Jude Bellingham made his senior debut at Fratton Park for Birmingham in the League Cup back in 2019 although I know Jobe is trying to escape from his brother’s shadow, so probably won’t want reminding of that!
F1879: Which Portsmouth player do you think Sunderland should be most worried about?
AM: As I mentioned, I think Callum Lang is someone who’s had a good impact going forward. But Christian Saydee, when he gets the bit between his teeth is just a battering ram centre-forward. He likes to stick his bum into defenders, make life difficult, and if he can have a good game, he can bring other players in. So he’s definitely someone to watch for, albeit his goal record is obviously fairly modest, but then he didn’t play a huge amount of games last season.
F1879: Where do you think Sunderland and Portsmouth will finish in the league?
AM: I think Sunderland are going to be knocking around the playoffs. I’m going to be harsh and say I think they’ll finish eighth. I think they’ll just miss out. But looking at the squad and the start they’ve had, I think they’re going to be knocking on the door of the top six. For Portsmouth, I’m going to go with 17th, and I think Pompey will be fairly happy with that.
F1879: Score prediction for Saturday?
AM: I’m going to sit on the fence and say a 1-1 draw, and Pompey looking to make it four draws in a row. And if they do that scoreline, they will of course, be the first team to score against Sunderland, which I’m sure will be something they’ll be hoping to achieve.
Thanks to Andrew. Follow him on X.
