The latest position on season continuing in League One for likes of Portsmouth, Sunderland and Ipswich Town, why Jackett changed formation against Charlton and is Rasmus Nicolaisen ready - your questions answered

You’ve been asking your questions in the wake of Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Charlton and Pompey writer Jordan Cross has got the answers to the key issues you want tackled.
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What’s going to happen with the season following the news we’re going to enter a second lockdown? Paul Smallwood via email

I guess the obvious place to start here is the statement released by the EFL on Saturday evening.

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With news the government were to announce a new set of restrictions being leaked on Friday night, there were plenty of unanswered questions over how it would impact Pompey’s season.

They were cleared up, in part, with the news elite sport is to continue and the league’s words which followed.

Within that, the league stated: ‘Professional football has implemented some of the most stringent, robust and regularly reviewed protocols since the restart in June 2020 and our medical experts’ advice remains in place to fully adhere to these measures, which are specifically designed to mitigate against the spread of the virus.’

Crucially, those measures do not currently include mandatory testing of players at League One level. There is little doubt if that was to change it would have a massive impact on the appetite of clubs to continue with the season.

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It’s the cost of testing, for clubs with gaping holes in their balance sheets through the loss of revenue from football being behind closed doors, which is the issue here.

Pompey fans remain locked out of Fratton Park.Pompey fans remain locked out of Fratton Park.
Pompey fans remain locked out of Fratton Park.

With Covid tests costing around £125 and around 50 people in each round of testing, the process costs Pompey around £6,000 a time. Two or three tests were taking place per week at earlier in the summer.

There will be no appetite for third tier clubs to foot the bill for doing that to allow the season to continue, as was seen when they voted for curtailment in June.

So while the testing regimes are being pinpointed as a reason for allowing the Premier League season to continue - a similar approach would likely stop League One football.

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As things currently stand, that’s not the case, but Pompey are in the dark over whether that will remain so.

There are also no specially scheduled meetings with the EFL and its members due to take place at present.

Why on earth did Kenny Jackett change the formation at half-time on Saturday? Carl Martin via email

There seems to have been quite a lot made of the fact Jackett switched things up at the break on Saturday after a first half in which Pompey did play pretty well, despite going in a goal behind.

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Pompey started with the 4-4-2 formation which has worked so well of late and came out of the block impressively and playing on the front foot.

For all their pressure they didn’t carve out a huge amount, however, aside from Ronan Curtis’ gilt-edged early chance.

There was obviously Rasmus Nicolaisen’s switch for the injured Jack Whatmough, but with Pompey chasing the game Jackett opted to switch things up.

I’ve seen the formation change described as 4-5-1 but, for my money, it was definitely a 4-3-3 with Marcus Harness and Ronan Curtis wide and very high.

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Behind them was Ryan Williams and Andy Cannon centrally with Tom Naylor sitting or the ‘pivot’, as seems the fashionable term now.

For those criticising the move, it’s worth pointing out it’s exactly what Jackett did against Northampton on Tuesday night in the second half, resulting in goals for Harness, Curtis and John Marquis.

Jackett then threw on Ellis Harrison with 25 minutes plus stoppages left and went back to a 4-4-2, with two out-and-out strikers on the pitch.

They were all forward-thinking changes with plenty of attacking players on the pitch as Pompey chased a return.

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On this occasion it failed to yield a goal, but when looking for reasons for that it’s perhaps worth looking at the quality of play in the final third over formations.

Also, sometimes you have to also credit the opposition, too. Charlton put in a very, very good defensive display.

What’s are you hearing on the ground about Rasmus Nicolaisen? Can he do a job in the side? @dines_steve

With Jack Whatmough limping off, it was the likelihood of the new Dane being given the game time a lot of fans have been clamouring for which was one of the big post-match talking points on Saturday.

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He got 45 minutes under his belt against a powerful strike force in Omar Bogle and Conor Washington, before being given another severe test with Chuks Aneke replacing Bogle.

Nicolaisen was facing the kind of physicality there he probably doesn’t come up against every week in Denmark with FC Midtjylland.

He didn’t do too badly with Pompey largely on the front foot, although there was one moment when Aneke got away from him and was allowed to get a shot in on goal.

It’s probably fair to saw most Blues fans were hopeful of seeing Nicolaisen link up with Whatmough, with Sean Raggett stepping down.

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As Kenny Jackett quite rightly pointed out, though, the summer signing from Norwich has been in excellent form of late.

He may not be easy on the eye with the ball at feet but there is potential for his robust physicality to balance off quite well with Nicolaisen, who looks comfortable playing out from the back.

Jackett has felt Nicolaisen has needed time to settle in after his loan was agreed last month.

That’s seen the 23-year-old limited to a start at Southend in the EFL Trophy, where he looked comfortable, a half against Doncaster and late cameo at Sunderland before Saturday.

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The word is he’s slotted in pretty well to his new surroundings and is ready for a run in the side.

Ultimately, I guess, there’s only way to find out if he’s up making the grade in English football.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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