Are Portsmouth good enough for promotion? Blues benefitting from Charlie Daniels? - your questions answered

The Blues’ mid-season slump continued as they fell further away from the automatic promotion spots.

It's led to sections of supporters questioning if Kenny Jackett's side are good enough to go up or if we should be preparing for another season in League One.

Topics we have tackled include why Pompey have gone off the boil, Charlie Daniels, Andy Cannon and, unsurprisingly, Jack Whatmough.

1. Were we expecting too much for ex-Premier League defender Charlie Daniels to make an instant impact on this Pompey team? Are Pompey benefiting from his presence? Has Lee Brown been harshly treated as he continues to be overlooked?

Graham Johnston, via email.

As soon as Charlie Daniels' name emerged as a Pompey target last month, there was scarcely a supporter who disapproved.

The left-back has more than 100 games under his belt in the top flight and peformed well at Shrewsbury during the first half of the season.

However, arriving at Fratton Park, he's yet to make a profound impact on the Blues' promotion push.

Granted, his set-piece delivery is excellent and he's played a few brilliant, raking passes.

That's about it so far, though. In truth, he hasn’t really improved things yet.

I can understand why, in hindsight, you might think people were asking too much for Daniels to make an instant impact.

But this is someone who's been there, done that and got the T-shirt. In the midst of a promotion push, there’s little time for new players to take a handful of games to get up to speed.

What’s more, Daniels needed to immediately light the touchpaper to justify coming into the starting XI ahead of Lee Brown straight away.

A lot of people will agree it was harsh dropping Brown in the first place. He had his detractors last season, but this term he's been one of the most consistent performers.

More importantly, he's a leader who marshalls the defence and is constantly barking orders. Personally, I'd be recalling Brown at Oxford.

2. Should Pompey be coming to terms now that they aren't good enough to win automatic promotion? There's still plenty of points to play for, but recent evidence suggests this team ain't worthy of a top-two finish.

Tim Matthews

If Pompey start coming to terms they're not good enough to go up automatically, they may as well throw the towel in now.

You are right to suggest that, as recent evidence suggests, this team currently isn't worthy of a top-two finish.

However, if they get their act together and go on a run then they ARE worthy of a top-two spot.

Earlier displays against Sunderland, Lincoln and Peterborough demonstrated that.

We've heard all season how good the team is on paper. Kenny Jackett stated early in the campaign that it's the best squad he's ever had at Fratton Park.

Look at some of the names in the dressing room. Marcus Harness is as talented as anyone in the league, Ronan Curtis has proven himself one of the best for a few seasons now and Tom Naylor commands respect from anyone he comes up against. I could go on.

What’s killing the Blues’ automatic promotion chances is a lack of consistency. They’re capable of going on nine-match winning streaks, but equally failing to sparkle for successive matches as we've recently seen.

The two most recent defeats haven’t been against promotion rivals – but struggling Bristol Rovers and a Blackpool side who likely finish around halfway.

Neil Allen eloquently and emphatically said it in his verdict after the Blackpool defeat and I can't help but agree - Pompey now have to stand up and deliver.

3. Why have Pompey gone off the boil?

Ian Phillips

That's the million-dollar question many people will want answering.

A big reason for me is that too many players have lost form at the same time.

All players have dips throughout a season but there were more starters than not against Blackpool who were out of sorts.

Frustratingly, all three wingers in Marcus Harness, Ronan Curtis and Ryan Williams have dropped off.

Given how important the wide men are in Kenny Jackett's teams, that's having an impact on Pompey's attacking threat.

The man who's leading the line, John Marquis, has also failed to recapture his sparkle around October and November time.

A heavy touch when he had a shooting opportunity against Blackpool typified his troubles.

Meanwhile, Andy Cannon (who we'll come onto next) has also jaded and Sean Raggett's looked iffy.

The team needs to be rejuvenated with some fresh energy and players currently on the bench with a point to prove.

4. Has Andy Cannon been playing the past few weeks? Honestly, I can't remember a single thing he's done. Harsh, but true.

Richard Webster

Like a good few others, Andy Cannon's form has just dipped at the wrong time.

But, for me, that was always going to happen with Cannon.

His high-octane approach sees him cover more ground than almost everyone in the team. It's unreasonable to think he can keep buzzing round like a Duracell Bunny for 90 minutes, twice per week.

Cannon has been at the fulcrum of things throughout the campaign and rightly being mooted at a Player of the Season contender.

However, it appears he needs a bit of respite to recharge his batteries before the crucial run-in.

After all, George Byers and Harvey White were recruited in January to improve squad rotation and ensure no-one suffers burnout.

Byers was one of Pompey's best performers at Bristol Rovers and will be wanting more chances.

Time will tell if he can do it in a two-man midfield next to Tom Naylor.

After all, he was the big-hitting central midfield who arrived to add cover for Cannon.

5. Why is Jack Whatmough out of the team? He's our best defender!

Brian Thompson

It’s another selection decision Pompey must ponder ahead of the Oxford game.

Both Sean Raggett and Rasmus Nicolaisen were culpable for Jerry Yates’ goal against Blackpool.

The latter got too tight high up the pitch, while Raggett was turned far too easily inside the box.

The Blues can’t leave someone of Whatmough's quality on the bench for much longer after two losses.

Granted, he scored two own goals against Hull and then was sent off against Lincoln.

But at his best, he’s not just Pompey’s best centre-back but one of the best in the division.

In fairness to Nicolaisen, he's looked assured in his past two outings bar his error against Blackpool.

If Whatmough’s going to come back into the side then it’d be for Raggett, who also had a night to forget at Bristol Rovers.

Nicolaisen’s offered decent distribution from defence and Whatmough’s ability on the ball is markedly better than Raggett’s.

That will help Pompey play through the midfield more, something they badly lacked on Saturday.