Neville Dalton is a journalist and a Portsmouth
Continuing my trek through the facts and figures of Pompey's eventful season, I focus this time on a comparison of the performances under our three managers.
It's oft been said that some of the senior Pompey players did not give of their best under Tony Adams, with David James in particular leading the public criticism of the former Arsenal and
It's certainly true that Pompey's worst run of results came under his stewardship - but was that bad luck, bad management or bad attitude among the players?
We'll probably never know for sure, but some of the details below help build a picture of what went on under Adams, his predecessor, Harry Redknapp, and his successor, Paul Hart.
And some of it may be a little surprising.
Unlike the first part of this analysis, which was based largely on actual results, this is much more my opinion, based on my personal ratings of the players' performances in the games I saw this season.
That includes every competitive home match, all but two of our games in
Clearly, not everyone will agree with my personal ratings of each player and the team. But given that my judgments have remained consistent, signs of improvement and deterioration will still be a useful indication of the genuine ups and downs this season.
And in view of my consistent criticism of the football played under Hart, together with his selection policy, some of my conclusions may come as a bit of a surprise.
Team performances:
Under Redknapp: 6.75 (average over eight games watched)
Under
Under Hart: 6.43 (seven games)
Yes, overall I thought our football under Hart was the worst of all three. But some of our very worst performances came under
Not that I was over-impressed by some of the stuff under Redknapp, either. His average of 6.75 may have been above the season average of 6.48, but it was still below last season's 6.86 (and although that included a top-10 finish and the FA Cup success, it also featured a number of throwaway league games as we edged closer to Wembley).
Best performers:
Under Redknapp: Richard Hughes, Glen Johnson and Sol Campbell
Under
Under Hart: Angelos Basinas, Glen Johnson, Niko Kranjcar and Younes Kaboul
A few surprises there. Richard Hughes has many fans as well as critics. By and large, I've been a supporter, but have become frustrated by his growing lack of positivity and by the way he slows the team's momentum, regardless of whether his pass is successful.
When he's played alongside top players - particularly against the bigger teams - he has often performed admirably, which begins to explain his high scores in the early part of the season, when he often partnered Diarra and/or Diop.
It's when he's pitched alongside players similar to himself, particularly with a singular lack of pace between them, that he's so often looked poor. And under Adams - and especially Hart, where he has been a regular - that has generally been the case.
It's also worth noting that fatigue may well also be responsible for his continued decline in performance levels under Hart.
At the other end of the scale, however, look who has performed best under Hart - none other than Angelos Basinas, the man we've all criticised Hart for not picking.
My understanding is that Hart selected the Greek international captain twice after inheriting him from
It's interesting to note, too, the continued improvement under Adams and Hart of Younes Kaboul - a Redknapp signing. His average peaked under Adams, for whom I saw him play three games, but remained impressive under Hart, who should be applauded for gambling by playing the left-footed centre-back at right-back, where he became as potent an attacking threat as our regular right-back, Glen Johnson.
And speaking of Johnno, he proved the model of consistency under our three managers. His highest average was under Redknapp; his lowest under
Hart will also take some credit for Niko Kranjcar's revival since he played him at the head of the midfield, with a freer role than under Redknapp and Adams. But he was also lucky enough to have him when he had recovered from the injury that kept him out for so long in the first half of the season.
Worst performers:
Under Redknapp: Kanu, Hermann Hreidarsson and
Under
Under Hart: Noe Pamarot, Richard Hughes and Hayden Mullins
Nothing much should be read into the appearance of Kanu, whom I saw play only once under Redknapp this season. And Hreidarsson's early-season performances, together with the arrival of the pacy Nadir Belhadj and Armand Traore, explained why he was briefly dropped.
It was Adams who recognised the value of bringing him back, and who probably got the best out of him this season, while Hart kept faith with him - possibly for slightly too long, as his performances waned as his ageing legs were continually tested.
Interestingly, Mullins' worst performances came under the man who signed him (or at least was manager when he came in) - Tony Adams. They actually improved (based on my objective ratings of the matches I saw) under Hart, although I'm afraid they never rose much above mediocre at any stage.
And I've no confidence that they will next season.
Pamarot's poor marks probably relate to the bit-part role he played under all three managers. He never played enough games to build up any consistency; but then again, his rare performances seldom warranted being picked again for the next match.
Other facts and figures
q The team performed best under Redknapp (despite two heavy defeats to
q David James suffered a slight dip in form under
q Sol Campbell suffered a major decline under
q Lassana Diarra suffered a dramatic overall decline under
q It was a similar story with Jermain Defoe before he rejoined Harry at Spurs.
q Peter Crouch was the model of consistency - achieving identical scores under Adams and Hart, both only slightly lower than his average under Redknapp.
q Arnold Mvuemba showed a big improvement in the few games he played under
q Rather like Hughes, Sean Davis played his most consistent football of the season alongside Diarra and/or Diop. Despite his all-action game and indisputable commitment, I thought he was largely poor under Hart, where he invariably partnered Mullins and/or Hughes.
q Traore declined dramatically under
q Belhadj was a revelation under Redknapp, but suffered a major decline under Adams and Hart. Fatigue? Irregular selection? Tactics? Or had opposition defenders sussed him out?
q David Nugent played at a similar standard for both Adams and Hart, both of whom showed more faith in him than the man who signed him. But his largely average performances are mitigated somewhat by the fact that of all the squad, he was probably the one used least often in his right position - up front, alongside another striker.
Conclusions
I believe my match ratings represent a fair picture of the ebbs and flows of Pompey's season and that of the individual players.
There are always going to be dips in form, whoever is in charge. And in a season of turmoil such as that which they've just endured, the fluctuations are likely to be more marked.
In some cases, the improvements or deteriorations are likely to have come in part from the manager's influence. Kaboul and Kranjcar, for example, flourished under Adams and Hart.
But what is more intriguing is whether there is substance to the suggestions that some of Pompey's big names played for Hart in a way that they never would for
Some of the statistics might seem to bear out this theory to some extent. But maybe they can also be explained by dips in form; fatigue; loss of regular playing partners; the turmoil of Redknapp's departure or even injury.
I have to say I rarely saw any Pompey player performing in a way that suggested they weren't trying for the manager.
But it must have been galling for Adams to read and hear so much retrospective public criticism (no doubt also voiced to his face) of his regime - and support for his successor - by players who could do worse than reflect on their overall performance standards under the rookie manager.