Can Portsmouth kick-start their season?

When Sulaiman Al Fahim announced his plans regarding the takeover of the club this summer, Pompey fans started hoping Portsmouth would soon be able to challenge European places in the least. However, completely the opposite happened as Paul Hart’s side achieved the record of worst start in the history of the Premier League, having lost no less than 7 opening games. The proposed takeover has been completed in time for the club to bring a contingent of new players, but the only question is if that was a bit too late.

After the departure of key players Crouch and Johnson (Redknapp, Diarra and Defoe had left earlier last season), Pompey desperately needed to buy some new players in order to reinforce the team. However, Paul Hart had his hands tied amidst uncertainty regarding the proposed takeover of the club and he entered the new season with severely weakened squad. The takeover was finally completed just few days before the end of the transfer window and that allowed Hart to sign a number of players including Aruna Dindane, Jamie O’Hara, Tommy Smith, Michael Brown, Kevin Prince-Boateng and Tal Ben Haim among others. However, Kranjcar and Distain also left and the boss now has an utterly average squad. Are they capable of kick-starting the season? Well, we will see.

The gap behind safety is not too big as Pompey are just six points adrift of 17th-placed Fulham but in order to improve their position, they need to notch a couple of good results in succession, which could prove difficult. This team obviously need some time to gel but when they finally click, the new owner will probably bring some more players in January and then it’s all over again. Paul Hart is not exactly a manager that can take the maximum out of this team and if I were a Pompey fan, I would definitely fear for the outcome of the season. It is difficult for players to pick themselves up after losing games week in week out and things will only get worse as the season unfolds.

Next up are Wolves, the team Pompey definitely can beat and if Paul Hart’s side fail to get anything from Molineux, then you should seriously consider backing them to get relegated this season. 188bet is paying 2.88 on Portsmouth to finish at rock bottom and that could be one of the best Premiership betting picks this season.

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