The big decision Pompey's board shouldn't take
Thursday, 20th Nov 2014 20:59 by Steve Bone

I've just looked back at what I wrote after Pompey's 3-0 win over Carlisle. It was a finely-crafted piece, of course, and concluded like this...

'If Pompey can keep their strikers in form, keep adding goals from midfield and build a bit more momentum with an FA Cup win over Aldershot next week, then this November could be much, much happier than the last one, which ended with Guy Whittingham being relieved of his duties. Thankfully the few who were questioning Andy Awford's credentials a couple of weeks ago have fallen silent, at least for now. And if Pompey can despatch a few more of the Carlisles of this world in the coming weeks, we'll all be looking up not down...'

Hmmmm. Hasn't quite gone to plan since, has it? In fact the past three results and performances - Aldershot, Plymouth, Aldershot - have been about as depressing as any trio of games since the new fan-owned era began. But (yes you knew there was a but coming), but we are talking about three games. And in my book, a run of three poor games doesn't add up to a crisis.

It's a blip, a worrying loss of form just when it looked like we might embark on a decent little run. But it's not reason to sack the manager or burn your season ticket. Actually I shouldn't think those little plastic cards burn too well, so that rules out one form of protest.

I'm not, as a rule, one to call for a manager's head, or even to think it a good move when one gets the bullet. Where Pompey bosses are concerned, I generally urge patience and caution.

At this very time last year, I was defending Guy Whittingham in the face of incresing criticism and pressure - and I maintain to this day that the board got rid of him too soon. Would have been where Richie Barker took us by the end of March had Corporal Punishment been given longer? We'll never know but I don't think we would.

The one axe the board did swing at the right time was the one that fell on Barker, who'd had long enough to demonstrate that he wasn't up to the job. With relegation an ever-looming possibility, putting Andy Awford in temporary charge was exactly the right thing to do. In fact I was among the many suggesting it immediately after the defeat at Rochdale, 36 hours before it happened.

Now, some of the fans who pushed for Awford to be appointed, and were delighted when the remarkable resurgence he led ended with him getting the job full-time, are those calling for another change of boss. I hope they don't get their way.

You can change your manager twice a season if you want to - some clubs do it a lot - but it will never get you anywhere. It might bring short-term gain but it will almost certainly bring longer-term pain.

Awford must be given longer and I hope that's the conclusion the board come to - if, that is, they are even considering the issue. It's not like we're languishing in the bottom six with 10 games left. No, with my glass half full hat on, may I point out a win at home to Morecambe on Saturday could take us as high as eighth in League Two, one place away from the play-off zone? We've kept in touch with the promotion-hunting pack without any sort of consistency - just imagine where we'd be if we'd found a way to back up our solid home form with a gritty away display or two.

I'm not for one moment suggesting everything in the Fratton garden is rosy. Clearly the tussles with Aldershot and the surrender at Plymouth give everyone huge cause for concern. There are areas of the squad that are not good enough - and there are areas populated by players not trying hard enough; not giving 100 per cent for the duration of a game.

Who comes into those categories and who should be largely immune from criticism is open to debate but I was quite heartened to hear Awford say after the defeat at The Rec that not one of the 11 who started the replay deserved to keep their place for Saturday.

Some will say such talk from the manager will only cause resentment in the dressing room - well if it does, then any player who resents it can sod off and pick up a wage somewhere else as far as I'm concerned.

I wonder if some of those condemnding Awford's tough words were the same as those who have, earlier in the season, had a go at him for being too nice about them when they'd done nothing to deserve praise.

Awford, of course, is under more pressure than any one player because the team he sends out to fight the battlies is his team. And he needs to prove in the coming weeks he has the authority and the tactical nous to get us back on track, and keep us on track.

He has some tough decisions to make between now and January 1 about which of his current squad are not up to the job and about who he wants and needs to bring in to inject new life into a season that could drift into one of nothingness if recent inconsistencies are not ironed out.

I'd also suggest he needs to work out his best two-man attack and give them six games together, injuries permitting, because chopping and changing the strikeforce hasn't done any of them much good so far.

As some of his supporters have pointed out, Awford is Pompey through and through and cares passionately about the direction the club is going in. That alone does not qualify him to be the manager, nor to be given extra grace when things are not going well, but it does count for something, unless another 'Whittingham for Barker' change is to be risked again. And to be blunt, another change now probably wouldn't see a host of top managerial and coaching names queueing along Frogmore Road and begging for a chance to do the job for nothing.

We all want the same thing, even if we all have different ideas about how to achieve it, so my view is that we should cut Awford some slack and give him a chance, and a bit of time, to sort out what against Aldershot and Plymouth, was a bit of a mess. Not everyone will agree, but I hope the board do.

STEVE BONE @stevebone1 on Twitter