Diarra Doubtful As Harry Plans For Niko Return
Portsmouth have doubts over the fitness of both Lassana Diarra and Richard Hughes going into the trip to Villa Park this weekend. Meanwhile, Redknapp has indicated the he will find a role for Niko Kranjcar on his return from injury, despite the form of both Traore and Belhadj….
First on to the injuries and Diarra has knee trouble once again. He sustained the injury against Vitoria in the UEFA Cup and has been under the watchful eye of French medical staff all week having joined up with the national squad. Diarra is due back at Fratton Park later this week but remains a doubt for Villa.
Team mate Richard Hughes is also struggling. He picked up a groin injury in training and will be assessed prior to the weekend. Should he and Diarra fail to make it, then Davies and Diop would form the likely central midfield pairing, with Little deployed on the right of midfield. Utaka apparently has a hope of challenging him for that role but he is still feeling the effects of a hamstring injury.
As for Kranjcar - he is on the road to recovery after suffering ankle ligament damage two months ago and has begun running and light training. A return by early November should be on the cards according to Harry.
“Niko is coming back, hopefully by the back end of the month, which is a big bonus for us,” proclaimed Redknapp.
The Pompey boss is already indicating that he will find a role for him in his eleven, despite the options he now has with Traore and Belhadj performing well on the left of midfield. Over to Harry once more…
‘Obviously, Armand and Nadir have done fantastic down that left for us since they came to the club, but Niko can play in other positions…He has played a lot on the left for us but he can also go on the right – he’s naturally right-footed – or he could operate behind the front two if you wanted.”
There’s a chance then that Kranjcar could be employed in a central midfield role just behind the strikers, possibly as part of a 3-5-2. That could well make him an interesting mid-price option should it materialise. It’s also worth noting that such a tactic would force Redknapp to choose between Traore and Belhadj for the left wingback role. I would say that the Arsenal man is slightly in the box seat for that one right now. One thing is for sure, Kranjcar’s return is going to shake things up in the Pompey lineup
Andy
Goonerboy
JWF
Rich Uncle Skeleton
Luke
skilla
From the games I’ve watched of Portsmouth; Belhadj seems to be better at keeping possession and defensively (though wouldn’t say that either were great). I know both are on loan, but Belhadj is on loan with a view to a permanent signing, whilst Traore is their for the experience. Wouldn’t it be in Harry’s best interest to play Belhadj if he wants him there for the long term? Just throwing that line of thought out there…
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Reply by kopthislot on October 14 12:50 pm:
Ps: Just read that Ballack is doubtful for the international game this week. I know some people brought him in as a replacement for Deco.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/n.....mp;cc=3888
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If Krancjar plays just behind the striker he will be a must have IMO. His best position is in the centre, so much better there than on the left.
And his price is now down to 6.1m, he will go into my team once he’s fully fit.
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Mmm, this is a key issue, i’m considering putting Traore in. Are there any Pompey fans out there that have a good idea of Harry’s first 11 once everyone is fit?
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————Defoe Crouch
———Diop Kranjcar Diarra
Traore ———————— Johnson
—–Campbell - Kaboul - Distin
—————-James
——–Defoe Crouch
–Traora Diop Diarra Kranjcar
Belhadj Campbell Distin Johnson
————–James
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Fantastic news, Kranjcar is a superb player and looks like he might be a bargain buy in a few weeks time. Players like Ireland, Valencia and Geovanni are in that price bracket and none of them have a better chance of scoring well this season. Portsmouth seem to be over their poor fixtures and defensive woes and should start to perform like a top 8 team from now on.
This guy will take the majority of set pieces (including pens?) and will have several 6ft plus players to aim for! Also wit the addition of Traore he should play further forward, may even be given a free role..
Exciting FF Prospect!
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Ireland out, Kranjcar in.
Its just a question of when….
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Is Kranjcar expected to improve on last year? Cos 4 goals, 4 assists and 10 bonus pts is ok, but it doesn’t seem outstanding-eg petrov last year got 5/11/21.
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Well last season Pompey ground out a lot of clean sheets and got most there points that way. Now with Crouch and Defoe upfront they will be scoring a lot more goals and Kranjcar will be there main creative influence.
I would be suprised if he got around 8/8/15 this season, which is a great return for a 6m man.
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Reply by Jonny on October 14 3:36 pm:
Does anyone think he might threaten to eat into Defoe/Crouch’s points?
Or, alternatively, will he simply provide more opportunities for them to rack up the points?
Currently pondering the merits of Defoe vs. the slightly more expensive (0.3m in the Guardian game) Torres, and this could be a factor.
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Reply by Jonny on October 14 3:37 pm:
*Correction* Torres is in fact 0.5m more expensive.
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Reply by will on October 14 3:45 pm:
I don’t play the guardian game so I’m not sure of the scoring/prices etc-but 0.5 mil more for Torres seems like a bargain to me!
But to answer your question, I would think he’d improve defoe/crouch by giving them more opportunites to score.
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Reply by Jonny on October 14 4:11 pm:
Yeah I know what you mean, I just don’t have a huge amount of room for manouevere, finance wise.
It’s going to involve moving other people around too, and it’s a case of Defoe and Davies, or Torres and someone cheaper- I’m looking at Cole/Elmander in particular.
The alternative is to downgrade Clichy and get them both! I think that might be a bit drastic though…
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Reply by Andy_P on October 14 4:30 pm:
Krancjar will definatly help Defoe and Crouch to score goals. He might take a few BP’s away from them but nothing substantial.
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Reply by a bloke on October 15 11:43 am:
not a massive amount of choice in that price bracket, so could be worth a punt at some stage.
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wouldn’t*
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Hi guys I’m thinking of playing my wildcard this week and was wondering which team you’d choose -
A.
Cech (Turnbull)
Boswinga, Arbeloa, Garrido, Figueroa, Dawson (Hull)
Young, Ronaldo, Lamps, Ireland, M. Taylor
Zaki, Defoe, Harewood
Or
B.
Cech (Turnbull)
Boswinga, Cahill, Garrido, Figueroa, Dawson (Hull)
Young, Ronaldo, Lamps, Ireland, Teixeira
Zaki, Defoe, Carew
Any comments would be appreciated
Cheers
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Reply by Jonny on October 14 4:28 pm:
I think the second one, purely because Carew is likely to play a lot more than Harewood.
I’d be a little worried about Teixeira though as he hasn’t played yet this season: it’s unsure when he’ll get his first start, or how he’ll play when he does.
Otherwise I’d say it looks pretty good!
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Arbeloa is one yellow away from a suspension. Something to consider.
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i was looking at Traore for a couple of weeks time to replace Luke Young, but may have to reconsider that idea.
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