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There is no doubt that he wasn't the only player to have a below par day and the 2-1 defeat was probably the most disheartening result so far this season.
The pre-match news was a surprise. We knew David Nugent couldn't play with Martin Paterson the most likely replacement. That was confirmed but Brian Laws also brought both Wade Elliott and Robbie Blake back for Jack Cork and Chris Eagles. It was the exclusion of Cork, who'd had such a good game at Aston Villa that caused the surprise.
Our visitors Portsmouth had been left with virtually nothing to play for and they started the better side. Burnley looked tense and that was not just on the pitch. The support from the stands was nothing like as vociferous as it has been for most games and there really did seem to be an edginess.
Portsmouth had already wasted one opportunity when they got the ball in the net through Danny Webber, but the assistant's flag came to our rescue and that finally prompted us to get going.
Paterson was the architect of our first opportunity when he got down the left and played the ball in. David James, looking absolutely ridiculous with the latest in his collection of stupid hair cuts, parried the ball but there was no one there to take advantage.
I don't think anyone was surprised though when Pompey went in front, but it was something of a disaster for Carlisle. A ball in from the right saw Frederic Piquionne get round the back of the acting captain and have the easiest of chances which he wasn't going to waste. Carlisle put his hands on his head as the visitors celebrated the lead.
They weren't in front for long, some six minutes to be exact, and it was almost an assist from Brian Jensen. His long kick up the pitch was headed on by Steven Fletcher and Paterson superbly flicked it over James' head and watched it drop in.
It was no more than he deserved, he'd been our best player by some distance in the first half hour.
Unfortunately it didn't rouse us too much and the only two other opportunities of the first half went Portsmouth's way and I think it is fair to say one came as close as it could without going in while the other was not very close at all.
Jamie O'Hara, who always seems to be at his best against us, hammered a shot against the underside of the bar which thankfully bounced out, but just a couple of minutes earlier Nadir Belhadj had managed to hit the ball over the top of the cricket field stand. We still await news as to whether it was signalled four or six, but I certainly can't recall that happening before.
There is no doubt that Portsmouth started the second half the better and they should have restored their lead when Carlisle inexplicably brought down Piquionne. The Portsmouth forward was going nowhere and it was a poor decision by the defender.
Portsmouth had 'won' a penalty against us down at Fratton Park. That was a shocker of a decision by Phil Dowd who fell for the antics of Hermann Hreidarsson, who I have to say was at it again today. This time there was no argument at all.
As at Portsmouth, Jensen came to the rescue as he went left and saved O'Hara's spot kick. Surely that would get us moving and into the game, and it did just that. For a while we were the better side and had our best spell of the game.
We created one good chance, in fact one sitter. Paterson brilliantly got a cross in from the right and it could not have been better for Fletcher. But the striker somehow got his header all wrong and it sailed way over the bar when we should have been in front.
On came Eagles and Cork as Laws changed things and although we weren't creating very much there was no suggestion that Portsmouth would get themselves back into the game.
They didn't, but we gifted them a winner, and all from our own throw in on the left hand side. Why Danny Fox elected to throw it into his own penalty box is anyone's guess, but once he had both Jensen and Carlisle could and should have dealt with it.
Jensen left it to Carlisle who, unaware of John Utaka's presence, just virtually handed the ball to him and then brought him down. Another penalty and another easy decision for Mark Clattenburg.
This time the penalty luck run out and Hassan Yebda hit it to Jensen's left with the goalkeeper going the other way.
We pushed men forward and put Portsmouth under pressure. They were losing it and two yellow cards for Rocha saw him go just into stoppage time. We couldn't find a second goal though and when the final whistle eventually blew it signalled a third home defeat of the season.
It really wasn't good enough. Carlisle and Fletcher might have been the players making the crucial mistakes but there were some poor performances all over the pitch, no more so than in the centre of midfield where Bikey and McDonald just handed it to them.
We HAVE to do better than this if we are to have any chance of staying up, but the odds must surely be stacking against us now. We've been the worst team in the Premier League, in terms of picking up points, since the last week in August, virtually the whole of the season. Things are going to have to change if we are to get anything like the number of points we need.
Too many players had off days today, the system didn't look right and it was difficult to find too many positives. One was definitely Martin Paterson, without doubt the man of the match. Given that this was his first start since September this was a tremendous effort from him.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. We always knew how difficult it would be in this league and anyone who didn't think we would be in a relegation battle was clearly living in cloud cuckoo land. We are in that relegation battle. We're not below it but well and truly in it, and that means we've still got a chance. But it will have to be a lot better than this.
The teams were;
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Leon Cort, Danny Fox, Wade Elliott (Chris Eagles 63), Andre Bikey (Jack Cork 63), Kevin McDonald, Robbie Blake (Steven Thompson 79), Martin Paterson, Steven Fletcher. Subs not used: Nicky Weaver, Michael Duff, David Edgar, Stephen Jordan.
Yellow Card: Clarke Carlisle.
Portsmouth: David James, Steve Finnan, Hermann Hreidarsson, Ricardo Rocha, Nadir Belhadj, Mark Wilson, Hassan Yebda, Jamie O'Hara (Michael Brown 90), Danny Webber (Pape Bouba Diop 90), Frederic Piquionne, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (John Utaka 39). Subs not used: Jamie Ashdown, Hayden Mullins, Nwankwo Kanu, Aruna Dindane.
Yellow Cards: Wilson, Ricardo Rocha.
Red Card: Ricardo Rocha.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).
Attendance: 19,714.