Anticlimax to Portsmouth's transfer window will be hard to take after hopes were raised

The continuing coronavirus crisis has brought with it so many problems, it’s amazing that clubs remain operational to see the door once again slammed shut on any new arrivals.

With match-day revenues obliterated, advertising and hospitality income blown away, season-ticket sales put aside for what looks like the entirety of the campaign ahead and, of course, player wages still to be paid regardless of newly-introduced wage caps, it’s no wonder Pompey continue to haemorrhage £750,000 a month.

And with offers of bailouts falling well short of what is needed to keep clubs afloat, those loses look like they’ll keep stocking up for the foreseeable future.

Treacherous conditions to operate in, you’ll all agree.

But despite the Covid-inflected carnage, football tries its best to operate as normal.

That’s reflected in the transfer market, with Pompey themselves bringing in five new faces as they attempt to instigate yet another push towards promotion.

In honesty, it’s more than I anticipated back in July when the Blues were getting their heads round another season in League One following that failed play-off bid against Oxford.

Money was tight to fund a much-need squad refresh. Was there even the appetite to do so after such a disappointing climax to the 2019-20 season? Would football even return this quick as the battle with Covid-19 continued?

Yet amid that backdrop, Sean Raggett, Callum Johnson and Michael Jacobs arrived on permanent deals. Meanwhile, Cameron Pring and Rasmus Nicolaisen were brought in on loan.

Each new arrival has been accompanied by a certain degree of scrutiny – an an indication that football supporters, too, are trying to get on with things.

And while there was comfort in seeing these new faces brought in, that close inspection continues as those players continue to bed in at Fratton Park.

Judgement is most certainly being reserved amid glimpses of what each has to offer and what they need to improve on.

In a further sign that life goes on, it also emerged that Pompey still weren’t done in the transfer market.

Indeed, there was enough manoeuvrability within a newly-introduced wage cap to perhaps bring in midfield reinforcements, even an extra attacking option.

That raised hope among us all, especially after an indifferent start to the season we were all told must be avoided.

It also had us all dreaming of a glorious reunion with Ben Thompson, after it transpired that he was the Blues’ top target.

For all the hard work that was going on behind the scenes, though, we all know how that ended up – with the former Fratton favourite remaining at Millwall.

There was disappointment, too, when it emerged that another target, Niall Ennis, ended up at Burton rather than PO4 – a striker whom many believed would be a welcome addition to Pompey’s striking department.

Those failed late moves, coupled with news elsewhere that rivals were adding to their ranks right up to the deadline, represented a late body blow we all hoped would be avoided.

And while we must not forgot the difficult terrain the Blues have had to navigate in recent months, it’s hard not to let that disappointment linger.

At a time when many football fans are simply thankful that their club still exists, many Blues supporters would be forgiven for feeling their hopes had been raised for nothing.

This transfer window should not be defined by that late disappointment and frustration. There’s still positives to take from the business conducted.

But just like that play-off defeat at Oxford, time is needed to process yet another anticlimax.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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