Dan

Mateus Mane and the art of having patience Read here ⬇️ dbutleranalysis.substack.com…

Doyle for Rodrigo Said for Munetsi Mane into the left 8, Doyle into the right 8 and dropping into a double pivot off the ball, Fer on the right. Trust your technicians, add some ball security on the left.

Overloading the right side to create space and opportunities for 1v1s on the left for the only winger in the side. This is better!

Trippier first time ball back across goal is cash AGAIN

Tolaj noticeably sagging off YM in early build up to stop Andre getting on the ball. It's working, but it's opening up that raking cross field ball to Said which Mosquera definitely has in his locker. Need MM and AA crashing the box as soon as Said gets wrong side of his man.

500 career appearances for AA yet somehow he's not crashing the front post when his winger is hitting the byline and delivering.

(It took one drop of the shoulder to beat our press in this clip)

Not as visible in this format (?) - but shout out to Munetsi for the dummy run into the box. Forces the CB to choose between following it or sticking with AA, he chooses wrongly which ultimately leaves the space for the header.

Bueno and Trippier drifting inside during build up now. Element of trust in those central players to play under pressure as less space, but it drags markers away from the touchline and leaves 1v1s for the wingers. Side note - Watford are appalling. Like seriously bad.

This was the chance to move Mane into one of the 8s, instead we inexplicably persist with Munetsi.

I'm sure Bertrand Traore also has this shift and shoot in his locker.

Watch any part of this game back and you’ll see how just how slowly we build out of this shape too. No intent to shift Pompey from side to side, very few vertical passes, Krejci WALKS the ball to halfway at one point. Red flags everywhere.

Amazed that Mane was the one winger to be hooked early too. Came out for the second half looking a lot more threatening, finding third man runs from deep, dangerous crosses, then subbed…

I’ll continue to bemoan the quality of goals we’re conceding, but if we’re not interested in killing teams off while we’re in the ascendancy then the door’s always open.

That’s a clinic of a second half.

Think Neave had a good 45 there. Not hiding in possession (unlike some), dropping deep to link the play with some nice little flicks. Outside of him, an utter mess.