John Mousinho Portsmouth Tactic
When looking at the EFL Championship table one might think that 16th place is a poor position at the end of the season. However, considering that it was achieved at the beginning of the senior managerial career, leading a club that not long ago was part of the EFL League One, the perspective changes.
Born in Isleworth, Greater London, John Mousinho is of Portuguese descent. He grew up supporting Tottenham Hotspur and states his footballing heroes were Darren Anderton and Teddy Sheringham after watching the style of football Tottenham played during the early 1990s.
He signed for Brentford in 2005 after returning from the United States where he was studying and playing football at the University of Notre Dame.
John Mousinho had loan spells at Woking, Slough Town and Yeading, while being still a Brentford player.
By the conclusion of the 2007–08 season, manager Andy Scott placed Mousinho on the transfer list, citing his exclusion from the club’s plans.
His contract was terminated by mutual consent with a year remaining on 16 June 2008, and he joined Wycombe later that day.
Throughout his first season, he contributed significantly, appearing 38 times in all competitions and scoring twice, helping Wycombe secure promotion to League One by finishing in the third automatic promotion spot.
The following season saw Mousinho maintain his momentum, playing 41 matches and scoring in a 5-2 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. Despite his efforts, Wycombe faced relegation back to League Two at the season's end.
After the season ended, Mousinho turned down a contract extension at Wycombe and moved to the newly promoted League Two club Stevenage on a two-year deal.
Despite setbacks that threatened his career during that time, John Mousinho earned 23 appearances and scored three goals. In May 2012, he declined an improved contract and left the club and at the end of that month, he joined League One club Preston North End on a two-year deal.
Following the manager’s departure, Mousinho's appearances were limited under new manager Simon Grayson, leading to a loan move to Gillingham in November 2013.
He made an immediate impact, scoring the winning goal against his former club Stevenage in a 3–2 victory.
He joined League Two club Burton Albion on a two-year deal in June 2014 and quickly became a vital player. His contract was extended in October 2015, and he played a crucial role in securing back-to-back promotions to the Championship.
Despite starting the 2017–18 season with Burton, Mousinho joined Oxford United on a two-year deal in August 2017. He was soon appointed club captain and scored his first goal for Oxford in a 2–1 win against Rochdale.
During the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2019–20 season, he made 33 appearances and signed a one-year contract extension, playing in Oxford's play-off matches. After making 151 appearances for Oxford, he left the club to become the head coach at Portsmouth.
Portsmouth F.C. were formed on 5 April 1898, with John Brickwood as chairman. Although the founding of Portsmouth F.C. had been agreed upon, a football ground or a team of players did not exist until 1899.
Portsmouth's first 1899–1900 season in the Southern Football League Division One was successful, with the club winning 20 out of 28 league matches, earning them the runner-up spot in the table behind champions, Tottenham Hotspur.
In the 1920s, Portsmouth climbed to the First Division, achieving a record win and reaching their first FA Cup final. By the late 1920s, they had established themselves in the top flight, marking the start of a period of regular top-half finishes.
The Football League resumed in the 1946–47 season and Portsmouth won the First Division title in the 1948–49 season.
In the following 1950–51 season, Portsmouth finished in 7th position and after narrowly avoiding relegation in previous seasons, they finished bottom of the First Division at the end of the 1958–59 season, ending their 32-year stay in the First Division.
The club further tumbled down the football pyramid in England and ended up in the Third Division following the 1960-1961 season.
Following spells in the Third and the Second divisions, the new format of the English pyramid system found them in the newly created First Division, one level below the new Premier League.
Serbian-born US businessman Milan Mandarić decided to buy them in May 1999. Fresh owner, fresh manager in Tony Pulis, as he steered the club to safety. Harry Redknapp became manager in 2002. After a 17th-place finish, he led Pompey to the First Division title in 2002–03, after an absence of fifteen seasons from the first tier.
In Portsmouth's Premier League debut season in 2003–04, the partnership of Harry Redknapp and Jim Smith resulted in a 13th place final position at the end of the season. Almost halfway through the following season in the Premier League, Harry Redknapp unexpectedly walked out on Portsmouth in November 2004 after a row with chairman Milan Mandarić.
However, in an interesting turn of events, during the 2005–06 season, Harry Redknapp made a surprise return to manage Portsmouth again after leaving the relegated Southampton. In January 2006, Portsmouth was sold by Milan Mandarić and bought by businessman Alexandre Gaydamak.
Money came together with Alexandre Gaydamak and Portsmouth were the new kid on the block in the Premier League. The club finished the 2006–07 season in the top half of the table for the first time since their promotion, in 9th position.
The following 2007–08 season, Portsmouth finished eighth in the Premier League and defeated Cardiff City in the FA Cup final 1–0. This marked the club’s first FA Cup final since 1939.
The FA Cup win had also earned Portsmouth a place in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, the club's first time playing European football. In October 2008, however, Harry Redknapp left Portsmouth for a second time, leaving his assistant Tony Adams to be promoted to the managerial role. But Adams was dismissed in February 2009.
Following several other takeover and administration periods, the club ended up competing in League One.
And that is where John Mousinho took over as manager and led them to promotion to the Championship following a 1st place finish, earning 97 points.
I noticed that John Mousinho prefers multiple formations and tactical setups, depending on the opposition faced. Having this in mind, I focused the tactical recreation on the 4-2-3-1 formation.
With a sweeper keeper on defend duty in goal. The back four is made of two wing backs on support and two central defenders on defend. The wing backs seem to be important in John Mousinho’s system, but I aimed to keep it all balanced, so that’s the reason for the support duty.
The defensive midfield area is made up of a defensive midfielder on defend and a deep lying playmaker on support. An anchor, a half back or a ball winning midfielder role could also be used instead if the DM one. But I preferred a more mobile role, that would help the possession game and get closer to how the team plays.
The deep lying playmaker is the heartbeat of the team. The passing game starts or goes through him, and the attack highly depends on this player being able to avoid opposition pressure and finding passes move forward.
And the front four are two wingers and an attacking midfielder on support, complemented by a poacher or an advanced forward.
The wingers are supposed to give the formation its width, but to also surprise the opposition and cut inside with the ball, making room for the wing backs to attack into.
The attacking midfielder is the second passing hub of the team, looking to find open spaces, pick up the ball and pass it forward to his teammates.
Take more risks and dribble less as player instructions for him. And the striker is either a poacher or an advanced forward. I tried both roles and I kind of like the advanced forward one more. But your choice should depend on the players available in your squad.
I chose positive as mentality.
In possession, fairly wide attacking width and play out of defence. Slightly shorter passing directness and a slightly higher tempo. And play for set pieces.
In transition, counter-press, counter and distribute the ball to the center backs through short kicks.
And out of possession, a high press and a standard defensive line. Trigger press slightly more often and prevent the goalkeeper short distribution.
John Mousinho seems to be asking his team to put pressure on the opposition as they try to build up play, but to keep it as balanced as possible, to avoid having his exposed.
I have played using this tactic in a new save, building a nation with FCSB, in Romania. And we managed to win the league title and the Romanian Cup.
John Mousinho is at the beginning of his managerial career, and I believe there is more to come from him. Either managing Portsmouth or moving to another club.
