Perhaps missing out is not a bad thing?

So, we now know that Steve Cotterill and Liam Lawrence have missed out on October's awards for the nopower manager and player of the month.

Alan Curbishley and Mark Clemmit, who are the chairman and a member of the manager and player panels, respectively, that decide explained why Cardiff's Dave Jones and Jay Bothroyd won these awards.

On Jones, Curbishley said: 'Cardiff enjoyed a fantastic month. With Dave Jones guiding his team to a 100 per cent record for October they are very well placed ahead of the busy winter schedule.'

With Clemmit commenting the following on Bothroyd: 'he is fulfilling his potential and out-headlining Craig Bellamy at the moment, which takes some doing.'

We are biased, of course, so we would think that both Cotterill and Lawrence deserved these awards, right?

Lawrence has been fantastic since he arrived and October was a month where he was very much at the forefront of things as we moved forward, although to be fair Bothroyd has looked impressive from the little that I have seen, and scored some outstanding goals - let him have his moment in the sun.

Cardiff might have won every game in October, compared to our 4 wins out of 5 - with the other being a draw - so 'technically' Cardiff did have a better record but I am pretty surprised, strike that amazed, that the 'panel' did not take into account the fact that we were rock bottom without a win before a phenomenal run.

With that in mind Cotterill surely deserved the managerial award?

How often though does this award prove a poisoned chalice though, as a club quite often loses the game that follows when this is announced and can also then go on an indifferent run - so with that in mind 'perhaps' it is not a bad thing that Cotterill did not get this...

Also, there is the concern that gaining such an accolade 'might' have gone to his head a little too much and then who knows what might happen.

Yep, as much as - and trying to be unbiased - I do think that our record and return from October is more impressive than Cardiff's, even if their points haul was greater, I think that what we achieved was more impressive than them.

Even so I do not think that I will lose too much sleep at the Pompey guys not claiming these awards, although it would have been nice I guess...

PLAY UP POMPEY!

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