Danny Cowley discusses signing Portsmouth’s Magnificent Seven. After the three-word message.
Danny Cowley makes it clearly apparent that he does not deserve a mention in dispatches when appraising Pompey’s Championship comeback.
Indeed, The News approached the man who followed John Mousinho, rather than Colchester’s current manager putting himself forward to bask in reflected glory.
Nonetheless, it is undeniable that seven of the Blues’ League One title-winning players were signed during his Pompey tenure, which concluded in January 2023.
Marlon Pack, Joe Rafferty, Joe Morrell, Colby Bishop, and Connor Ogilvie were key players and first-team picks when available.
Others, such as Zak Swanson and Tom Lowery, contributed despite recurring injuries that limited their participation, a common source of frustration for them at Fratton Park.
Cowley admired Mousinho’s success from afar, as the managerial rookie secured promotion with two games remaining in his first full Pompey season.
And with a sense of satisfaction in some of his former pupils’ crucial contributions to a spectacular campaign.
‘John Mousinho has done an amazing job, making football management appear incredibly simple. Only those who have lived that job realize how difficult it is, and he deserves so much praise. Cowley told the News.
‘To be honest, I don’t deserve any credit for Pompey’s promotion, and I want to make that plain. I honestly feel the success is down to the players as well as the present staff, which includes Rich (Hughes), John, and Andy Cullen. Andy has made a significant effect at that football team.
‘People have no idea where the club was when we took it, but it has made enormous progress behind the scenes. The provision that currently supports the first-team has greatly improved, undoubtedly allowing first-team players to perform at a far higher level.
‘Pompey has also done an excellent job with recruitment. Hopefully, they have a good platform and foundation to expand on.
“Abu Kamara has come in and done so well,” said Alex Robertson. Wow, what a player he was. Regan Poole was an obvious choice. I know Will Norris well; he started with me at Braintree and was fantastic for us then.
‘During my time at Pompey, we also made some mistakes, including Denver Hume, and sadly, this is recruitment.
‘We’ve had tremendously good years at Concord Rangers, Braintree, and Lincoln, and while the clubs were incredibly successful, you don’t always get the recruiting right. I don’t know anyone who does, regrettably.
‘Recruitment is an impossible science; it is not simple. We always remember the ones we got wrong more than the ones we got right, that’s how it is. However, when it comes to Pompey, we got more right than wrong.
‘With Colby, we went into that window without a number nine and were waiting to produce finances when Marcus Harness left Ipswich. This allowed finance to sign him.
‘Before we joined, the club had most likely made some blunders in the transfer market with costs for former forwards. John (Marquis) and Ellis (Harrison) had not really worked out.
‘However, it appeared that Colby was heading to Blackpool. He was sitting in their changing room, waiting for a medical, and the manager had gone home, so there was no one to greet him.
‘I don’t think he felt appreciated, but he knew we were extremely interested. Colby changed his mind, and we received a call from his agency asking if we were still interested. Absolutely!
‘I understood why Colby wanted to join Blackpool at the time; they were in the Championship, and it was a genuine dream of his to play at that level.
‘His medical there was not easy; he had some injury difficulties that hindered Blackpool’s deal. They had sent him for scans, and something came up, so they wanted him to see a specialist – and we were caught in the middle.
‘My best buddy is a doctor, and we usually employ him in that capacity; he’s brilliant, and we put a lot of faith in him. We had no major concerns. When we completed Colby’s medical, we were delighted with what we saw: a really strong athlete.
‘I hired Simon Bassey to drive him from London; we didn’t want him abducted on the way, so he was chaperoned into Portsmouth! He arrived extremely late at night.
We had a friendly against Bognor that evening, so I kept one eye on the game and one on my phone. I had to leave the dugout to take a call during the first half!
‘He has proven to be an excellent purchase for the team.’
Bishop signed for Pompey for £500,000 in July 2022 and has since scored 45 goals in 100 appearances, missing only two league games in two seasons.
Surprisingly, he is also the first player since Guy Whittingham to score 20 goals in consecutive seasons, a feat he accomplished in 1989-1990 and 1990-1991.
Cowley also spent about £280,000 to sign Morrell from Luton in August 2021, knocking off Ipswich for the Welsh international.
After previously working together at Lincoln, where the midfielder spent the 2019-20 season on loan, Pompey’s then-head coach was overjoyed to acquire his man after thinking it wouldn’t happen.
He went on to say, “Joe was going to Ipswich, everything was set, but we were pulling on his heartstrings.” We must have tugged hard because the money offer there was substantially higher than ours, yet he selected us.
‘What a fantastic kid; he has a winning attitude and is an amazing professional. He exercises really hard every day, constantly striving to improve and grow his game.
