Portsmouth 3 - West Bromwich Albion 0

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Brendan Clegg:

Oh dear oh dear.

The really sad thing is, I think anyone who saw that lineup probably knew that the result was coming, and even the optimists who thought we might actually lineup as a back 4 would have also given up when, from kickoff it was clear the 3-4-3 was what we were going with.

That Ramsay went with it, with Taylor back on the left, after Norwich and after really we got lucky against Derby after a terrible second half, just triggers all sorts of alarm bells that he's another deluded, arrogant type who puts his system and his coaching above everything that is painfully obvious.

And it was painfully obvious - from minute 1 we were all over the place. The back 3 looked terrified, the midfield and forwards didn't know where to be, when to press, when drop. We couldn't win the ball or get hold of it anywhere and when we did, under absolutely no pressure we would just wallop it up the pitch.

It was extreme Val-ball. It was total rubbish and, worse, because of our chronic lack of pace at the back and the rest of them not knowing where to be - there were just massive gaps everywhere for Pompey to play through the line. Out back 3 knew they couldn't go and try and win first balls in the air because they'd be killed in behind so they stayed goal side in the aerial 50/50s and Pompey won everything. We even survived a couple of penalty scares that might have been given, though they would have been harsh.

We were standing in squares or zones. Pompey, a team below us with loads of players out including their best and who are actually rubbish, passed and moved around us like were were not there.

There were warnings in the first 10 minutes - I'd seen enough that we should have gone to a back 4 then. We didn't and soon we were one-nil down... a simple cross and shot. We had plenty of bodies back but again none of them marking players. It was so easy.

By about the 20th minute I wouldn't have just changed the system... I'd have hooked Taylor for Styles and gone to back four still. The only thing that looked certain otherwise was a Norwich style outcome. We had been worse at that point.

But nothing changed... a decent but not spectacular pass in our inside channel between wingback and slow centreback opened us up again and the striker put the ball through our keeper to make it 2-0.

Watching agog at how bad we were, it was amazing changes didn't come before the break.

If we want to take a tiny bit of progress out of the 2nd half - we went to a back 4 with 3 changes... probably one too many because, let's be honest, Maja is absolutely done... so it's like playing with 10 men.

We looked less bad and started to get hold of it a bit more but conceded another calamity goal - powderpuff defending and O'Leary nearly saved it point blank.

It was drab and pointless from there... we didn't really improve and Pompey didn't have to do anything. Did their keeper make a save? Did we put them under any pressure? I don't think so. We couldn't keep the ball, couldn't string passes together and it took us ages to make any obvious pass forward.

Mercy came at the full time whistle. the fans made their views clear about the football on show - Price seemed to show more aggression to the crowd than he did to any opposition player all night. I also have to say that I thought Ramsay's interview after the game was a load of old rubbish.

So here we are, in massive trouble.

I hate to say this but I think Ramsay has got one game left and he's lucky to get that.

The idea that you can come into a team that kept marginally losing results, with no money or ability to change the squad, with mounting injuries and games and introduce a system many of the players will never have played, which requires specialist players, pace and time to drill it into people - it's just so laughably arrogant and deluded. You wonder what planet these coaches live on.

What we needed was someone to come in and tweak things until the summer - do Mason-ball but make better decisions in games and adjustments so that individual errors would not be so costly. A few percent more to turn draws into wins and losses into draws. That's it. If we don't see a massive shift in pragmatism against Stoke then he's probably got to go - which is utter madness but that madness has been bestowed on us by Patel and Nestor.

I honestly think Brunt or Morrison and Abella would have done that and would still do that and give us a fighting chance of being the 4th worst team in the division... which would be enough.

What an absolute mess.

• O'Deary - Probably is marginally better than Griffiths or Wildsmith but had to do better for the 2nd.
• Mepham - 4 another underwhelming one where he plays like he's wearing wellies
• Phillips - 5 had to take the booking thanks to Taylor and then was on a tightrope
• Taylor - 3 If you have to resort to playing him... you need to change the system. Absolute disaster area.
• Imray - 4 I'll be kind because he chucked in due to injuries... but he nearly gave 2 penalties away
• Molumby - 4 outnumbered and 2nd to everything
• Diakite - 6 probably the only player who won a few headers and some 50/50s... he didn't play well but he was our best player by being bang average
• SIJ - 4 Poor, rushed, looked worried about Taylor all the time
• MJ - 4 pissing around on the edge of his box for their 3rd... but shouldn't be there in the first place. Couldn't get into it.
• Heggebo - 4 We haven't given him service for months but he was sloppy and cheap today, nothing worked
• Price - 3 Another headless chicken cowardly performance - looks like he's running but his decisions, selfishness, where he runs (lost causes he'll never get) are all just fake

• Gilchrist - 5 just about okay although hasn't got a clue about passing forward and also fist pumping at 3-0 down... get real kid
• Styles - 5 All effort, no brains, nothing ever comes to anything
• Maja - 3 It's done, he's finished at this level... he's a last resort in a 4-4-2 if you can get pace around him.. honestly give Bostock the minutes
• Mowatt - 5 managed to make a few passes
• Jed - 4 Couldn't impact it but the service again was woeful

Big couple of days in the window and then for Ramsay in training. He should swallow his pride and get them in tomorrow working on a 4-5-1. It's not looking good for him!

A wee ask - I'm running the Manchester Full Marathon for Refuge on April 19th... if you can sponsor me the price of a pint that'd be amazing. I will be giving a hearty BAGGIIIIIEEEES shout as I run past Old Trafford. Thanks!

Link: Brendan's fundraiser for Refuge

Kev Buckley:

This will be a short report, I don't have enough adjectives to describe, without constant repetition, how abject nearly every minute of this performance was.

Losing both Bielik and Campbell from the back three options, meant both Mepham and Taylor started, whilst the injury to Grant saw Price move up to the left of the front three. The specialist wing-back we'd identified and brought in loan, Imray, went straight in, in place of Price, whilst Styles made way for Iling-Junior as the left-wing back.

First goal: Molumby, for some reason dragged towards to the ball in the right back area, leaves a man all alone between the penalty spot and edge of the box and he has no problem finishing. You could even see Heggebø asking why the scorer was unmarked: it was that obvious.

Second goal: ball played into our right back area finds all three centre backs in a line and so unable to cover as the winger comes inside and finishes from a tight angle, by putting it through the keeper's legs.

Third goal: couple of cushioned passes from the edge of our box sees a striker able to turn and fire home, and although it was nearly saved, you do have to wonder why the two players closest to the ball, as it looped into the net, were Diakite and Styles, and not one, or more, of the three centre-backs.

Fair to say that we were completely outplayed by the side that had started below us, but the worry has to be that we didn't even look comfortable under the ball, when Pompey went more direct.

Absolutely awful.

More worryingly, should Blackburn beat Sheffield Wednesday when both sides play their game-in-hand on us, we'll drop into the bottom three on goal difference.