West Brom's Josh Griffiths - the on-loan Portsmouth scapegoat through no fault of his own

The on-loan West Brom keeper has been on the receiving end of some heavy criticism from sections of the Blues’ fan base, who have questioned his ability and distribution just months after arriving on the south coast.

It was never going to be easy for the 21-year-old to fill the large void left by Manchester City rookie Gavin Bazunu following his successful loan stint last term.

But Griffiths appeared the perfect replacement following coming-of-age spells at both Cheltenham and Lincoln, where he showcased his capabilities and suitably for Danny Cowley’s goalkeeping requirements.

Of course, there are going to be errors or slight miss-judgements from a player who is still learning his trade, right?

We saw that last season with Bazunu, who’s costly mistakes contributed to disappointing 4-1 and 4-0 defeats to Rotherham and Ipswich respectively early into his loan spell.

And with that in mind, Pompey fans must remember the Republic of Ireland international was far from flawless during his 12-month tenure as the Blues’ No1.

In fact, Griffiths has kept the same number of clean sheets (six) as the now Southampton stopper registered at the same stage during his stay.

That is some feat given Pompey’s recent difficulties in the league.

We see it every season with the Blues, when fans scapegoat a player when things don’t go according to plan.

But to place the team’s dip in results solely on the keeper and nick-pick at his performances is wholly unjust and wrong.

The youngster, for example, was barracked for Hereford’s opener on Friday night, despite being dropped in it by two of his Pompey team-mates.

In the build-up, Sean Raggett’s loose pass led to Miles Storey winning the ball off Reeco Hackett, allowing the striker to bare down on goal, with just Griffiths to beat.

Yet at no stage should the England youth international come under fire in the way he did when the odds are heavily stacked against him in such a situation.

Similarly, Griffiths’ quality was questioned after Pompey’s 3-0 defeat to Charlton last month.

It was a disappointing evening for everyone at the club, but Ryan Inniss’ opener, in particular, was poorly defended by both Sean Raggett and Michael Morrison, leaving the stopper exposed once again.

Meanwhile, the Baggies stopper made several flying stops to keep the score respectable at the Valley.

Like every young gun bidding to flourish, mistakes can happen and they, understandably, are not the complete package if they’re competing in League One.

Griffiths is on the England pathway for a reason and Blues fans must remember how lucky they got with Bazunu last season.

Indeed, it would be wrong to judge every keeper who comes along by his standards.

So instead of making Griffiths an unnecessary patsy at this stage of the season, let’s just scrap the finger pointing and let Griffiths’ hands – and feet – do the talking for now.

There’s no doubt, he’s currently a Pompey scapegoat through no fault of his own.