The Portsmouth player who's generating the most transfer interest, is time right for Ben Close to leave and will cups kill promotion bid - your questions answered

I just don't see what Ben Close brings to the team. Saturday was yet another example of that. He replaced the energetic Andy Cannon but hardly noticed him until be blazed his shot over the bar at the end of normal time. Is he worth keeping beyond this season?

Angry Ginger Man

If you are going to make a judgement on Ben Close, I feel Saturday would perhaps be a harsh place to start.

The midfielder has made one league start this season and then was flung into the middle of fast and furious FA Cup battle, which was being played at a frantic pace.

Close produced a couple of nice touches, but, of course, it was the big miss at the end of normal time which is remembered.

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It’s fair to say he struggled to influence the game after the break as Pompey lost their way, though, and that is a criticism which has been levelled at Close before along with fans asking for more forward passing.

The statistics shine a slightly different light on that, however, with the 24-year-old’s stacking up alongside his team-mates.

Using Wyscout, Close’s numbers for this and last season are favourable alongside Andy Cannon, Bryn Morris and Tom Naylor.

That’s in terms of total actions, passes and completion (both long and short), interceptions and recoveries.

It’s the change of formation which has probably hurt Close this term, with Jackett turning to Andy Cannon who is seen as more forward-thinking option. That’s borne out with Cannon’s dribbles far outweighing those he’s competing with at present, although intriguingly he does the same when it comes to duels.

With Cannon facing a spell on the sidelines, there’s every chance the Southsea man will now get the chance to show what he can do.

And the demand, certainly from this perspective, is to get back to producing the kind of dynamic performances we saw in the first half of last season.

Close showed then he has got the ability to both drive at defences, be incisive and forward-thinking in his play and bring a cutting edge to his game. We need to see more of that.

When playing in a 4-2-3-1, it’s fine for the academy graduate to offer defensive insurance, intercept and get moves started. More is now being demanded of him, however, especially in a 4-4-2.

This could be a big couple of weeks for Close - just as this is a big season with his existing deal up in the summer.

I wouldn’t be ready to pass judgement yet on whether he should stay - from both his and the club’s perspective – but the next few months will be revealing.

I was surprised Kenny Jackett didn't make as many changes to his line-up on Saturday as other League One rivals. Can Pompey afford the distraction of a Cup run when promotion is the main aim?

Steve Donaldson

Hi Steve, I can’t say as I was surprised as you about the strength of Pompey’s side at Ipswich, given Kenny Jackett’s history of putting out powerful teams in cup competitions.

On this occasion, however, there was the consideration it could conceivably be 13 days between games for those senior players not involved, with it likely to be a young-ish side out against West Ham.

So Jackett went strong and we saw Andy Cannon sidelined as he picked up a groin issue, to add to the three others already out (Callum Johnson is expected to be okay after coming off with a dead leg).

The benefits of doing so is continuity and confidence is maintained after picking up a sixth away win on the bounce, along with the obvious financial benefits.

Conversely, however, there’s the fatigue factor to consider and how detrimental a backlog of fixtures could be this term.

In the 2018-19 season Pompey played 62 fixtures under Jackett and, for my money, that had a negative effect on their promotion bid.

With a smaller squad under the new restrictions voted in this summer, I can only see the situation exacerbated if there’s another backlog.

My personal view is the cups are a distraction Pompey don’t need this season, but when the games are underway we, of course, will the team on and they play to win.

It’s not necessarily a popular point of view, but an honourable defeat which doesn’t knock confidence would be ideal for the knockout games - leaving Pompey to concentrate on what really matters.

Why were we not wearing poppies on our shirts ? A city with huge military history and no respect shown.

David Kelsey

Hi David, this is something I’ve been asked a lot about since Saturday - and an issue I picked up with in conversation with Mark Catlin today.

Essentially, Pompey’s remembrance game was the last home fixture against Charlton where poppies were worn.

The shirts were then sold with the proceeds going to the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.

Poppies were not worn on the kits at Lincoln and Ipswich and the club have today apologised if that did cause any upset.

They are now trying to organise poppies to be embroidered on the shirts for tomorrow’s game against West Ham under-21s, but have stated there may possibly be some issues with doing so as a result of the latest lockdown.

Will we be able to keep Marcus Harness next summer if Pompey are not in the Championship?

Russell Fenwick

Ooooh, a good ‘un to finish with from Russell - and I’m afraid it might not be an answer that Pompey fans are going to like.

Even before this season started, it was becoming clearer Marcus Harness was beginning to emerge as the current Pompey player who is generating the most interest from suitors.

A source within the club told me a couple of months ago, there is more interest in Harness than any other player at the club.

Since then he’s gone on to thrive and show what a danger he can be as a second striker as well as a winger.

It’s seven goals so far from the 24-year-old, as well as three assists in league action as his star continues to rise.

Have I heard of any specific interest in Harness? No, not as yet.

But there’s more and more admiring glances being cast his way, which leads me to believe he’s going to be playing Championship football next season - one way or the other.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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