Ex-Crystal Palace man Johnny Ertl: Portsmouth was too big for Richie Barker and Steve Coppell contributed nothing

And he has labelled the director of football during that forgettable period, Steve Coppell, as a ‘guest’ the players barely saw.

Barker arrived at the Blues in December 2013, following spells with Bury and Crawley.

Ertl revealed in Played Up Pompey Three that he had been reassured by a mutual friend that Barker would be a good appointment to replace Guy Whittingham.

However, his reign proved disastrous, lasting 109 days, with Barker and Coppell departing in March 2014.

‘The first phone call I made was to my former Crystal Palace room-mate Alan Lee,’ Ertl told Played Up Pompey Three.

‘It was December 2013 and Pompey had appointed a new boss. Coincidentally, my friend had played with him at Rotherham United years earlier, so I was keen to explore the inside track.

‘This incoming manager was Richie Barker.

‘They had enjoyed a strong relationship as playing colleagues and Alan reassured me Barker was a nice lad, a brilliant guy. I trusted his opinion; he would attend my wedding to Selma years later.

‘It didn’t take long for me to discover a different side to Barker, though. I soon rang Alan once more: “This guy, he can’t be the one you talked about on the telephone”.

‘The club was too big for the man who replaced Guy Whittingham. Maybe he wasn’t experienced enough, he certainly tried desperately to turn things around, but couldn’t manage it for various reasons.

‘It was very, very difficult for him to find his feet there, he couldn’t earn the support, was unable to get people behind him, and that’s what you need at Pompey, people on your side providing that extra lift. But he was always fighting.

‘When you look at great managers, they are authentic and honest – I don’t think Barker was authentic when he came in. You have to be how you are, you can’t be somebody else.

‘Guy was honest, he was never a different person, you knew what you got, and Andy Awford was the same.

‘Barker desperately wanted to be a successful manager and his training drills were brilliant, I loved them, ask any player, his sessions were top notch. It wasn’t a surprise he subsequently got involved as assistant manager at MK Dons, Charlton Athletic and Rotherham.

‘Yet, at Pompey, he wasn’t popular – he lacked man-management skills. There were never honest chats, no sitting down with players.

‘Paul Cook ended my time at Fratton Park, but it was an honest discussion and I knew where I stood. I also learnt that from Neil Warnock, at Crystal Palace, who gave me a really hard time at the start, yet was extremely honest, and in the end trusted me.

‘I was always happy when I had managers who were honest with me, telling me the truth about whether I had a chance or not. Barker lacked these honest chats.

‘His first match was at home to Newport County and I was dropped – he never even spoke to me. As club captain, I felt I deserved that courtesy.

‘Maybe he wanted to change some things, absolutely fine, I didn’t cause any trouble, it’s a new manager, his vision. I trained hard trying to get my place back and eventually achieved that, albeit when he was sacked after 109 days in charge.

‘Barker’s assistant was Anthony Williams, who also doubled up as goalkeeping coach, and not my cup of tea. Sometimes a manager and his right-hand man play good cop and bad cop – well, Williams was the bad cop and not a guy I liked. I didn’t speak to him a lot.

‘Then there was Steve Coppell, appointed as Pompey’s director of football after arriving with Barker. He was around the place, but I never managed to figure out his role.

‘Being a former Palace player, I was well aware of Coppell’s history and the high regard their supporters held him in.

‘With his wealth of experience as an ex-manager, you could see why his appointment appealed to the board in their attempts to get this historic club back on the right track.

‘However, he was sometimes there, sometimes not, then he was gone. From memory, he was at the training ground once. A shadow, but not there very long.

‘Coppell was like a guest coming in – “Hey, how are you doing?”, then he was off. It was a case of ‘Nice to see you, bye, thank you’. He left no impression here.

‘He needed to help the manager, but never interacted with the squad. When you give advice you must know the players, surely he had to be much more involved and show his face every now and again? For me, he was a guest.

‘In 2016, I met Barker for the first time since his Fratton Park departure two years earlier. He was a speaker during a course for my Uefa A coaching badge and it was interesting listening to him, with his presentation also including reflection on his time at Pompey and things he got wrong.

‘His wasn’t the best relationship I had with a manager, simply because I don’t think he was himself. When you meet with him now, though, I think he’d be a completely different person.

‘As Pompey manager, the pressure was too much for him, it was the size of the club, the expectations, just too big. When you talk to him about it now, he learnt from that time – and has taken that with him in his career.’

Johnny Ertl featured for Pompey from August 2012 until July 2015, making 88 appearances and scoring twice.

Played Up Pompey Three is priced £18.99 and available from Amazon, Waterstones, the Pompey Shop and The Petersfield Bookshop.

For player-autographed copies, with the signatures of Richard Hughes, Sammy Igoe, Martin Kuhl, Lee Bradbury or Dave Munks, email [email protected]

Meanwhile, Played Up Pompey Too remains on sale from Amazon.

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