The performance sounded pretty bad. The defence were all over the place with Pamarot having a real mere, the midfield seemed quite anonymous although it was good to have Gary O'Neil back whilst Lua Lua and Todorov didn't perform to anywhere near what they are capable of. The only real positives were the fringe players like Mornar and Hughes having a point to prove and playing pretty well, albeit against lesser opposition.
Of course, this defeat will soon be forgotten about as after all, it's only a friendly and there are factors that we could pin the defeat on such as having to play Andy Griffin at left back (pushing Taylor forward), the players are still trying to find their fitness whilst Southend have been in pre-season longer than us and therefore should be fitter as well as the fact that Harry Redknapp wasn't even at Roots Hall and he was believed to be in Ireland watching Cork vs Red Star Belgrade scouting Nikola Zigic. Either way, this game has highlighted how badly we need new players, especially in defence where we could have conceded loads against Premiership opposition. I sincerely hope Harry doesn't plan on playing Pamarot in the first team either, as he really does seem to be a liability more often than not.
Here's hoping that we make at least one decent signing before our next Friendly match against Bournemouth on Saturday to rise the spirits of the Pompey fans and players. Rumour has it that Petrov could sign before the weekend is out. Reports also suggest a couple of Norweigan 16 year olds have been invited to have a trial at Fratton Park. Alexander Bakken and Martin Thomt Jensen are going to train with Pompey in the coming days.
All in all, a disappointing performance that made a strong point that we need some quality players signed so the fans and players can become more optimistic for the coming season. It could be a very interesting few days.