With many senior players leaving Portsmouth FC today, the playing squad is now smaller than it has ever been.
Mustapha Dumbuya, Jon Harley, Brian Howard, Lee Williamson and Lubomir Michalik all left Fratton Park for good and Luke Rodgers will also not be returning from his loan spell from Shrewsbury.
The squad is now at a meagre thirteen players and many of them are inexperienced. Here is a ful overview of the squad according to the official website:
Goalkeepers
Simon Eastwood, Phil Smith
Defenders
Gabor Gyepes, Adam Webster, Ricardo Rocha, Dan Butler
Midfielders
Liam Walker, Johnny Ertl, Darel Russell, Jed Wallace
Forwards
David Connolly, James Keene, Ashley Harris
So there you have it. Pompey's squad is made up of four teenagers and nine players who could leave at the end of the month. How much quality is in that squad? Not a lot to be truthful but this is the price the club has had to pay for administration.
It's no wonder that Guy Whittingham is struggling to attract players to this club to build the squad. Nobody in their right mind will want to join a team that is at its lowest ebb in generations and is almost certain to go down.
At least a former manager in Harry Redknapp has helped the cause somewhat. Queens Park Rangers youth Frankie Sutherland has signed a one-month loan deal with Pompey subject to international clearance.
The 19-year-old midfielder has captained the QPR academy side and represented Ireland at under-19 level.
Perhaps Guy and Andy will try and persuade Harry Redknapp to allow Sam Magri to join his QPR comrade so we can finally see what he can do.
It is highly likely that any new arrivals this month will only be youngsters from Premier League or Championship clubs that need experience. It might be that some of these players are borrowed again next season for League Two and so it would be good for them to have a taste of competitive football at Portsmouth.
Whoever arrives will have the full backing from the Pompey fans, even if the cause on the pitch seems futile now.