Portsmouth FC: Do January deals complete promotion puzzle?
- Published
Callum Lang scored for the second game in succession following his arrival from Wigan
There are narratives around Portsmouth and the January transfer window. Firstly that poor windows have been costly in League One promotion pushes and secondly that the owners haven't spent enough during the month when reinforcements were required.
The former is definitely true. Searching back through January signings it's hard to find too many impressive signings. Hayden Carter did well on loan from Blackburn, Steve Seddon had a positive impact and Paddy Lane was a good pickup. Albeit one who didn't have a huge impact the season he signed.
The latter point is more debateable. In hindsight more investment in January 2019 might have got Portsmouth over the line. However when money has been spent, it's been wasted.
Bryn Morris struggled with injuries and made no real impact. £200,000 for Denver Hume is up there with the worst deals done in recent years. A lot of money was also spent to bring Tyler Walker in on loan... he scored one goal.
It's always easier to judge transfer windows a few years down the line, but this January appears very positive for Portsmouth. They've signed a player in every position of need and a few more.
The top priorities were an attacker who could come in and improve the starting eleven and another central defender. They got two attackers in Myles Peart-Harris and Callum Lang. Both have made very positive first impressions. Peart-Harris' loan arrival may not have been required if Alex Robertson hadn't picked up a season ending injury, although Robertson may not be missed too much if Peart-Harris can continue his promising start.
Lang is a bit of a coup. He's got a fair bit of Championship interest and wants to return to that level. He could have gone back to that division as Rotherham were also keen to sign him. However they will need a miracle to remain in the second tier, while Portsmouth hope to be there next year.
Ipswich centre-back George Edmondson was one target that got away. He'd made just two league appearance prior to 1 January, but has since become a regular for the Premier League chasers.
Buying Tom McIntyre from Reading for £75,000 may prove to be a better long term option anyway. Portsmouth know all about losing players due to financial strife. It's part of football. While the fee is understandably viewed as on the low side, players going into the final few months of their contracts are unlikely to be sold for a large amount.
Owen Moxon made his Portsmouth debut against Northampton
Another midfielder wasn't an obvious need for Portsmouth but with Joe Morrell facing a spell on the sidelines with a knee injury Owen Moxon looks an even smarter pickup. That was a deal all but agreed before Morrell's injury.
Pompey haven't just looked for missing pieces this window but insurance in areas as well. Matt Macey may not even feature as a backup goalkeeper but is a quality League One stopper if Will Norris gets injured, suspended or loses form.
Having all options covered has also meant not allowing players to depart. Ryley Towler has had limited opportunities this season and finds himself as fourth choice again. His development might benefit from a loan move away but Pompey are not going to take the chance of leaving themselves short. Gavin Whyte and Anthony Scully have fallen down the pecking order but there might be a time when they are needed between now and May.
Missing out on their final target, a young attacker from an under-23 squad of Premier League side may have been frustrating on deadline day but is hardly going to derail the season. There's plenty of depth in those areas now.
It's a long time since Portsmouth got everything they wanted and more from a January window. The automatic promotion race is extremely tight and looks like two from four to go up.
February got off to an encouraging start with a 4-1 win over Northampton on Saturday, with Lang finding the net for the second game in a row following his arrival and teeing up another goal.
The win means Pompey have averaged more than two points a game from their first 31 matches. If they can maintain that for the final 15 they are likely to finally end their League One stay.
It's over to John Mousinho, the coaching staff and the players to finish the job.
You can hear every Pompey match live on BBC Radio Solent with Andy Moon and former Blues striker and manager Guy Whittingham.
