Duncan Barkes

You can talk about physicality, but I just think he was a different profile, still a young lad, not the biggest anyway, and brought different qualities to the side.

That Charlton game was a good indicator of the level, and where maybe out of possession it was a difficult game for him, but he popped up with the winner because he's got so much quality.

His best performances were probably off the left, instead he subsequently featured on the right wing on two occasions, against Middlesbrough when he scored, he scored against Watford, he had the contribution against Leicester as well away from home, so he was better on the left-hand side.

I don't know, if John Massino had a pound for every time he was asked about injuries, I reckon we could afford Mbappé.

But there is something going on, and John is right to point out that it's a mystery, and he's right to point out that it's not happening to just us, it's happening up and down the country.

Although there are no stats available to clarify this, my guess is that we are almost worse off than anybody else with injuries, maybe the worst off.

for injuries in all four divisions.

I don't know.

The numbers are difficult to collate, but it's a widespread problem.

And it's possible that at some point in the future, somebody will rumble what it is that everybody's not quite getting right.

It could be the quantity of fixtures.

It could be the intensity of the game now that we all play the press.

Could be the expectations of fitness, which is very high now on professional footballers to run and run and run.

The ground they cover is now monitored to within half an inch and they're expected to put in a payload, put in a shift of getting around the pitch.

All of these things and then fast accelerations and twisting and turning, all putting pressure on muscles and ligaments and joints.

I remember going to a centenary match, so it would have been 1998, Pompey's 100th.

anniversary year and before a game about 10 to 3 of a Saturday afternoon they did a presentation of as many of the still living Pompey players who were around and could get there and they introduced them decade by decade so I think I'm right in saying that I don't think they were only from the 40s might have been and there were some from the 50s definitely quite a few from the 60s and the 70s

And they got out as many old heroes as they could.

I think there was a cut-off time, was perhaps the 80s, because then obviously you're getting towards players who are still playing and therefore can't be there at Fratton on a Saturday afternoon.

So I think it was from the...