Pompey struggling without Muntari

Last season was a superb year for Portsmouth Football Club, but they face a big challenge to trying to match that again this term.

Harry Redknapp has added some new faces to his squad over the summer, yet the loss of Sulley Muntari to Inter Milan should prove to be a massive blow for the FA Cup holders.

The huge transfer fee that was offered for the Ghana ace proved to be too good to turn down, especially since the club had broken their transfer record to bring in Peter Crouch from Liverpool. So the funds from the midfielder's sale were needed - much like the sale of Pedro Mendes to Rangers - to balance the books.

However, the departure of Muntari has already signalled a change in how Pompey go about things - at least tactically. In the opening two Premier League fixtures, they adopted contrasting formations, yet both saw two strikers (Crouch and Jermain Defoe) start up front. Last season, they played only one up front with an extra midfielder pushing forward in support.

That extra midfielder was Muntari, who developed a knack of helping out in winning the ball and then streaming forward in counter attacks. His tenacious streak allowed him to work from box to box, while his intelligence and ability on the ball saw Pompey use him as an extra attacker. Five goals in one season might not seem like a noteworthy return, but his influence on the team as a whole was quite evident when he was absent.

Without Muntari bursting through from a central position, Pompey are missing a creative streak from midfield that Lassana Diarra, Richard Hughes, Sean Davis, and Papa Bouba Diop simply do not have. So in order to combat this, a change of formation has arrived with two strikers now leading the attack and both full-backs looking to overlap as much as possible (essentially playing as wingers who track back as other midfielders can tuck into the centre and an centre-back can cover in defence). The capture of Armand Traore on loan from Arsenal hints at this being a system that Redknapp will look to use over the course of the season as he depends on Crouch & Defoe to get the goals.

One option that the experienced manager could explore would be to play Niko Kranjcar in a free role. The Croatian attacker spent the majoirty of last season stuck out on the left wing, where he was hampered with defensive duties that didn't suit him. In fairness to the player though, he put in the work and was one of Pompey's most consistent performers. But if he was given a free licence to roam from a central area, then he might chip in with more goals and assists.

Some people may state that the season has only started and Portsmouth did come up against the top two teams in the league in their opening fixtures. But the signs are there that a less successful campaign could be ahead of them, unless a replacement for Muntari is found.

Let's hope that Redknapp snaps up an attack-minded midfielder to fill that role and ensure that the club keep moving forward with their ambitions of turning the big four into a big five.