Australian adventure turns to frustration for much-travelled ex-Portsmouth, Luton, Ipswich and Millwall man

While Pompey are toasting the League One title, life away from Fratton Park has proven a little tough for one of last season’s squad.

Ryan Tunnicliffe embarked on an Australian adventure last summer after John Mousinho opted to release the central midfielder.

The former Manchester United man had long been linked with a move Down Under and subsequently signed for A-League side Adelaide United on a two-year deal.

Life began encouragingly too, with Tunnicliffe registering his maiden goal in his second outing after coming off the bench in a 6-0 victory over Melbourne City in October 2023.

However, that would comfortably prove to be the highlight of a frustrating season for the player as the club finished a disappointing eighth - and he never scored again.

Ultimately, the 31-year-old would struggle for game time, finding himself on the bench for the final three months of a campaign which ended this month.

A maiden start in November against Sydney coincided with a 5-1 home defeat at the Coopers Stadium and, while Tunnicliffe did start other matches, the majority of his outings arrived as a substitute.

Indeed, he was on the bench for 11 of the final 12 matches, unused in four of them, as his involvement in the team declined.

Of his 21 appearances, 11 were as a substitute, with just the one goal, as Adelaide ended the season eighth in a 12-team league won by Central Coast Mariners.

Tunnicliffe previously spent two years at Fratton Park, yet struggled to live up to a sensational start on the south coast.

Signed by Danny Cowley in June 2021, he began the 2021-22 campaign with a flurry of assists, while netted the winner against Shrewsbury.

However, a hamstring injury sustained against Bolton in October 2021 unfortunately sidelined him for three months when at the peak of his midfield powers.

Another injury at the start of the 2022-23 season kept him out for two months and, while he became a regular under new head coach Mousinho, ominously he was left out of the final three matches.

It was no surprise that Pompey declined to take up his option in the summer of 2023 and Tunnicliffe left along with Clark Robertson, Kieron Freeman, Michael Jacobs, Louis Thompson and Jayden Reid.

In total, the former Luton man made 69 appearances and scored three times for the Blues, but with Rich Hughes overseeing a summer overhaul, he was considered surplus to requirements.

In his absence, Pompey went on to win League One and the midfielder will be hoping for more successful times with Adelaide as he enters the final year of his contract.