Spurs 2 Pompey 1 - Jols smugly philosophical

Its easy to be philosophical when an injustice has just gone your way and won you the game.
Martin Jols reaction to the incorrect penalty decision that cost Pompey the game was; ‘You win some you lose some’.
Cheers for your support and your sympathy Jol, we’ll remind you of those smug words next time you have a bleat, and hopefully shove them right back frrom where they came.
For the second season in succession a refereeing mistake has lost us the match at White Hart Lane. Highly irritating, especially when Spurs looked so ordinary and undeserving of their win, except in the eyes of their blinkered fans. Personally if I was them I would be embarassed rather than smug, but maybe thats why we dont like Spurs and their ilk.

Man City 0 Pompey 0: Is Dermot on his final public warning?

Man City 0 Pompey 0
Could well have been 3 points for Pompey had Irish ref Dermot Gallagher not made 2 massive errors.
Missing a blatant City handball in the penalty area was bad enough, but that poor decision was nothing compared with his earlier failure to send off Ben Thatcher after he’d knocked Mendes out cold with a running fore-arm smash that Rollerball Rocco would have been proud of (though surely have been disqualified for).
Gallagher was due for retirement last season, and apparently has only been kept on due to the lack of quality refs coming through the ranks. If this is the best they can come up with then the mind boggles at how shit the rest must be. And what about the 4th official? And the third and the second come to that. What a waste of space they are, if they couldn’t influence the terrible decision to let Thatcher remain on the pitch.
Harry is quite rightly calling for a punishment for Thatcher, but ridiculously it seems this is not straightforward or guaranteed to be successful.
Browsing the net, I stumbled upon a 2001 Dermot Gallagher demotion article. In that instance it was Man Utd that were the team wronged by Gallaghers refusal to send someone off, and we all know there’s 1 rule for Man Utd and one rule for the rest. Will the FA prove this once again, or will they show some consistency and consign him to the referees room 101?

Shearer prefers Zidane

‘Zidane is the definitely the best player Ive ever played against’ Alan Shearer admitted during last nights World Cup match between France and Portugal. Whilst Id agree that Zidanes talent is colossal, I think Shearer is in danger of putting someones nose out a bit, unless he has forgotten the occasion only a year ago, 19th of March 2005, Newcastle v Pompey, when Shearer was fortunate enough to share the pitch with the awesome talent of Giannis Skopelitis. Show some respect.
In other news it appears that the original handwritten resignation speech by David Beckham has been unearthed (see photo). Certainly looks authentic.

The England manager job: Marry in haste, repent at leisure

Now Phil Scolari has indicated that he would be prepared to listen to future offers from the English FA, it raises the question of just why did the FA rush the decision to appoint nobodys favourite, Steve McClaren, as the next England manager?
Scolari was the FA’s number one choice, a man in a different league in terms of class, experience and success than McClaren. He is also evidently a man of integrity, refusing to promise himself to England before the World Cup as it could have (and would have) undermined the fortunes of his current employer, Portugal.The English FA don’t seem to have understood his integrity. Maybe it is an alien concept to them, maybe they have become too used to dealing with people without any integrity, maybe it is something they themselves lack. With an indecent haste in April they instead appointed Steve McClaren, a man who we could have judged much more thoroughly after this World Cup. As it is now, we can see he has been a fundamental part of an England management regime that has repeatedly failed to record any level of success with arguably the most talented group of English footballers in a couple of generations. England are ready for a fresh direction, a new beginning. Instead we are left with the legacy of an inexplicably rushed decision by the FA to award a multi-million pound contract to a man who promises to do little more than deliver more of the same.

Movement at Fratton at last

Some comings and goings at Fratton Park at last to report on. If the rumours are anything to go by there will be another 1001 signings before the start of the season, but we all know it for what it is - gossip - so Ill leave all that for interfering old women.
And so, Pompey sign Glen Johnson and show Brian Priske the door; effectively a straight swap, though I dare say that Johnson is the better player. Onto the coaching team comes Tony Adams - hmmm, never really been a fan of his - he's come across in the past as a bit distractable and, errr... fick. Prove me wrong Tony.
In case anyone missed it last week D'Allessandro has surprisingly managed to secure an even fatter salary elsewhere - and to anyone who think that shows a lack of ambition by Pompey GET OVER IT - though he's a great player there's plenty more talented, more committed right wingers at that money than D'Allessandro - Id rather have a Steve Stone in that position any day.
And in other news - the playuppompey fan forum has a new temp home; http://s7.invisionfree.com/Play_Up_Pompey/index.php.

What's happened to playuppompey.org.uk?

If you havent used the forum playuppompey.org/forum , Id like to recommend it. At least I would if the site existed anymore, but it seems to have suddenly sunk without a trace, here one day gone the next. Hopefully it will return soon - can anyone shed any light on its whereabouts??????

Did Pompeys season leave us in good shape for 2006/2007?

Continued from Tuesdays - 'Was it a good or bad year for Pompey?'
Part 3; Did Pompeys season leave us in good shape for 2006/2007(or are we on a downward spiral?)

In February it looked as if everything would come crashing down on Pompey. We had abandoned our long-term vision for the short-term goal of Premiership survival, but this too seemed to be failing. We had gambled £10 million on new players, none of which had hit the ground running, and few of which would want to be around for the seemingly inevitable Championship football. We were facing needing a new manager and a major rebuild of the side for the third time in a year, and we all knew that this further instability would cause serious longterm damage to Portsmouth Football Club.
Happily from the depths of despair, the seeds that were sown in the January transfer window suddenly took root. Not only did they enable us to achieve Premiership survival, but they have given the club a strong base on which to build. Redknapps January spending not only achieved the short-term survival goal, but contributed towards longer-term aims aswell, for which the club must get credit. It would have been easy to buy a team of expendable relegation battlers, but instead Pompey took the risk of rebuilding the side with players that could achieve survival and also provide the quality to take us to the next level. A very canny gamble indeed. The consistency of good football in Pompeys last 10 games gives great promise for the 2006/2007 season. We have the nucleus of a very good side, one that will benefit from their familiarity with eachother and the absence of a need for major changes to the team personnel this preseason.
So despite this turbulent season and against all the odds, assuming there will be a few key additions to the squad, I feel that we will enter next season in better shape than any of our previous 3 seasons in the Premiership.

Did Pompey achieve their pre-season aims?

Continued from yesterdays - 'Was it a good or bad year for Pompey?'
Part 2; Did Pompey achieve their pre-season aims? In a word, no. At the onset Pompey seemed to be aiming to introduce a fresh forward-looking way of running the club, and to consolidate our place in the Premiership. A new structure at the club gave manager Alain Perrin greater responsibility for coaching and picking the side, and less influence on the recruitment of new players. The success of this 'vision' depended on our young foreign manager establishing an adaptable, more tactically advanced team capable of producing stable results, and his introduction of a European-style ‘modern’ approach to personal discipline, training, diet, conduct etc. The plan failed miserably – maybe Alain Perrin couldn't produce results quickly enough, maybe the club didn’t back him as well as it could. The players rebelled, as did an increasing section of the fan-base who had paid a lot of money for their season tickets only to endure half a season of very dire, sterile football, a lack of ambition and a general lack of results or even goals, to provide any optimism at all.
Harry was bought in to do a short-term rescue job by any means necessary, without regard to the Perrin-era long-term vision, and he achieved this fantastically.
But the bottom line is that this season, despite Harrys wonderful achievement of ensuring Premiership survival, Pompey did not achieve the pre-season aims. Infact the pre-season 'vision' now seems to have been discarded and no longer seen as the best way to progress Portsmouth Football Club.
Tomorrow; Did Pompeys season leave us in good shape for 2006/2007?

2005/2006 – A good or bad season for Pompey?

As another Premiership season ends its time to reflect on whether it was a good or bad year for Pompey. It’s a difficult question to answer, as it was a season of 2 extremes. So in the next few days I will be trying to find the answer by looking into the following questions;

Was it enjoyable?
Did Pompey achieve their pre-season aims??
Did Pompeys season leave us in good shape for 2006/2007?

So, was it enjoyable?
Though we all like a degree of success a true fan will support his/her team whatever the results. All us fans really ask for is entertainment and value for money – without those, well, there are other ways to spend a Saturday afternoon (so Im told).
The first half of the season was the least entertaining (and the least value for money) football I have seen at Fratton Park for a long long time, maybe since the John Gregory days. Not only was it boring, not only were the new players and manager lacking in charisma, not only did the results and lack of goals compound the air of depression, but the media and fans of other clubs had turned on us, and we had little respect from anyone. The daring gamble of reappointing Harry Redknapp was greeted with distain and general disgust and seen as laughably desperate by people outside of Portsmouth. Was I starting to regret buying a season ticket? Not 'arf.

The second half of the season was fantastic – Roy of the Rovers stuff – with moments that will live in the memory long after more steady seasons have been forgotten. Infact I cant remember a time when there was such a cluster of unforgettable matches. Toddys first massively important goal - special after all his injury problems, Mendes’s crucial last minute strike, the great goal gluts at West Ham and Fulham, the last 2 amazing matches where we came from behind both times. Infact the whole season was like coming from behind to score the winner in the last moment and everyone involved came out with maximum credit; not only the players but Harry for masterminding this fantastic achievement, Milan for bravely making the necessary gamble, Sacha for backing us with the cash, and the fantastic way the most passionate fans in the country got behind Pompey. Did I enjoy that? Not 'arf.

Tomorrow; Did Pompey achieve their pre-season aims?

RIP Tommy Rowe - True Pompey legend

The Portsmouth official site are reporting the sad news of the passing of Tommy Rowe, who was the last surviving member of the glorious 1939 FA Cup final winning side. Tommy Rowe, a 6 ft 1 central defender, was the tallest man on the Wembley pitch in Pompeys 4 1 Cup Final win over Wolves, playing alongside the 10 other heroes; Walker, Morgan, Rochford, Guthrie, Wharton, Worrall, McAlinden, Anderson, Barlow and Parker.
After football was suspended following the outbreak of the Second World War, Tommy Rowe volunteered for the Portsmouth City Police, then 2 years later became a Bomber Pilot. He became Squadron Leader and was shot down whilst on his 40th mission over Germany. Tommy Rowe returned to Portsmouth an even bigger hero in 1945 having served 2 years in a prisoner of war camp.

Pompey 1 Liverpool 3 - how nice not to be bothered

With Pompey having the luxury of nothing to play for, the last match of the season was always going to take on the look of a friendly. Does it matter, no not a jot! It was no more than a nice day out in the sun for most. Well done Liverpool and well done Robbie Fowler for showing respect to Pompey in the postmatch interview. As for the match itself, Pompey-fans.com saw it like this, not really any different from how Anfield-online saw it. Most important thing really is that my wheels were still left on my car after the match, more than can be said for my office chair.....

A call for the disbanding of the Judanistas

The Judanistas have been behind Pompey but not behind Harry since his return to Fratton Park; particularly in the dark days of February 2006 the Judanistas were calling for Harry’s head. In light of Harry’s fantastic achievement in keeping Premieship football at Fratton Park, a fantastic managerial feat and fantastic for Portsmouth Football club and all the fans around the world that follow Pompey, Heaven’s Light Our Guide call upon the Judanistas to issue a formal apology and for an unconditional disarming and disbanding hencewith.
Maybe Fratton Park this Saturday will be the perfect stage for the Judanistas to confirm an end to all hostilities????????

Pompey beat Wigan to survive the drop – a sober summary

What a match, what a season. A thoroughly deserved 2 1 win at Wigan ensures Premiership survival in Pompeys penultimate match of 2005/2006. Was a great day and great atmosphere before, during and after the game, and credit should go to Wigans fans as great hosts for the day. As for us Pompeys fans, as Frankie Burrows told us all those years ago WE ARE THE BEST IN THE LAND and at Wigan we showed it to be true again(as we have for much of this relegation battle). Another classic day that will live in the memory, the passion was intense but the belief was such that we were still able to create and enjoy a carnival atmosphere. Fantastic.

It was the corresponding game at Fratton Park earlier in the season that pretty much cost Perrin his job. This time the bouyant team spirit was in sharp contrast to that weak and feeble punchless Pompey side that rolled over for Wigan in November.
After a season of knocking Pompey, revelling in our demise, kicking us when we were down, and generally writing us off at every opportunity, wasn’t it nice to see the Sunday papers have to fake joy that Chimes ring out as Pompey survive. The Times enthused that Pompey thank Harry Houdini, and the Guardian hailed Taylor for making it safe for Pompey. How about eating some humble pie you hypocrites? Well, no time to worry, its partytime for Pompey right now!

Pompey 2 Sunderland 1 – Super Matt saves the day

For me that match summed up why football is the greatest show on Earth. A total rollercoaster of a match, culminating in an absorbing last 20 minutes when even the most impartial of spectators would have found it hard to keep their heartbeats down to a safe level. No concerts, not Shakespeare, not opera, not any theatre could compete with just how emotionally involving that match was. Totally exhausting, and topped off with that unbelievable climax of a moment; the crowd, intimidatingly loud in vocal support, almost erupting at the penalty award in the dying minutes of the match. Taylor kept a cool head and sent us all into a delirium that 20 minutes earlier had not seemed possible. These are the moments football fans live for and they don’t come round too often.
All other events in the match were instantly meaningless after that moment, but reflecting upon them in the cold light of day, I think it is fair to say that Pompey were not firing on all cylinders and were sorely missing the spark of Mendes and Lua Lua. Toddy showed great composure though allowing him to score a belter. And of Benjani? More fantastic touches, but again he looks like he couldn’t score in Joanna’s – a Teddy Sheringham type player without the goals. Still, we’re looking good being 2 points in front of our rivals with 2 games to go - any more twists in the script and it will start getting too unbelievable.

Back in the bottom 3 - Brum leapfrog Pompey

Don’t panic Captain Mainwaring! The last few days has seen Pompey fall to our first defeat in 6 weeks and Brum bag a lucky win over Blackburn, and its been enough to set the doommeisters all a flutter again.
Im calm. I really dont think we will go down. Its still in our hands and we have an opportunity to better our goal difference on Saturday against Sunderland. After the good football we have shown in the last 6 weeks, we are still favourites to avoid the drop.
Another reason for remaining calm is that after the spirit we have recently shown, relegation would not neccessarily be a colossal disaster nor threaten the future existence of the club. We have regained our self-respect, respect for our owners and our manager, and no-longer look like a shambles of a club that is about to freefall through the divisions (unlike scum). Before Harry's run of great results things were looking very dark and more upheaval seemed inevitable. Now there is unity and direction at Pompey, we’re capable of producing great football again and we’re no longer a laughing stock. As long as we’ve got those things relegation would not have me slitting my wrists. Its all very tight and luck can play a big part at this stage, but the smart money is on us, and either way I think we'll be OK now.

Pompey still in the driving seat despite Charlton blip

Charlton 2 Pompey 1; Well, the run had to end sooner or later. Maybe it is better to have lost having pretty much controlled the match, than to have lost having been outplayed for 90 minutes, so we shouldn’t get too downhearted, though we did let the 3 points slip away as both Kiely and Redknapp agree. Our defence is pretty rocky to say the least and the fact that it got us through the previous 6 matches unbeaten is testament to the great work done by the midfield and attack in scoring more than we let in. But with Lua Lua and Mendes out, other players playing with knocks, fatigue and bad form, and the defence further weakened by the loss of Stef and AOB, it is no small wonder that we would struggle to cover all the cracks this time. With some of our key players back and refreshed on next Saturday, ready for the final push towards safety, I see absolutely no reason why we should worry about yesterdays blip. Let punchless West Brom or the shambles that is Brum do the worrying. Nice to see Bruce getting his excuses in early.

Pompeys resurrection nearly complete

Pompey 1 Middlesborough 0 and another massive 3 points for Pompey. Not the most exciting of performances, but we just about deserved the win. Happy days at Fratton Park are back – there was even a positive song for Benjani. The last 5 minutes was a bit fraught though and seemed to be played in slow motion. The anxious crowd made a terrific noise to try to lift our tired team and ensure we continued our storming run – Bruce at Brum is knocked for 6.
So now we look to complete a happy Easter with a trip to Chalton – a point would go along way for us, and 3 would seriously demoralise our sorry-looking relegation rivals.

Portsmouth 1 Arsenal 1 - Honours even

One team is supposedly heading for Championship football whilst the other is gunning for the Champions League European Cup, but there wasnt much to choose between the sides in a gutsy battle. Another passionate performance from Pompey saw the unbeaten run extend to 5 matches. Ultimately Arsenal could have nicked all 3 points if their finishing wasn’t so woeful, but it would have been an injustice to Pompey. Wengers comment that they should have won by 5 goals is a bit wide of the mark – either side could have nicked it. The Arsenal goal was a fantastic affair, made and finished by currently the best player in the world, Thierry Henry, after Sean Davis was caught in possession. But Pompey’s magician, Lua Lua, is also in redhot form at the moment and he grabbed a great goal with a bullet header. Who knows, he may have gone on to get the winner if he hadn’t had to go off injured as result of his somersaulting goal celebrations, but thats Lua Lua all over, awesome one moment, frustrating the next. On the positive side, sounds like he might be fit for the weekend, and if not then we have another redhot striker in Todorov to take his place in the starting 11. Toddy seemed well up for it when he came on as substitute, and theres always a feeling when he’s around that a goal is about to come – this time it took 10 seconds, the only surprise was that he didn’t score it himself. The man keeping him out the side, Benjani, is a different sort of player, though he did start to bring some influence to the side; his strong challenges and incisive passing caused plenty of disquiet in the Arsenal defence, and Campbell had far from the comfortable, international-class performance that the BBC imply (maybe they are Campbell fans?). I thought Primus was more deserving of credit.
Harry was well pleased to keep the unbeaten run going, but he knows there’s plenty of work to do – we are still in the relegation zone after all.

Pompey 2 Blackburn 2 - The verdict

Overall there's plenty to be happy about with the way things are progressing with Harry Redknapp at the helm. True we could of and should have had all 3 points, but didnt get that little bit of luck our performance deserved. At least it feels like we are watching Pompey again, not some sterile, spiritless club managed by someone bent on entering into Premiership games with European tactics (mentioning no names). The passion is back - the defence might not look so tight, but the bottom line is that certainly look like scoring more than we concede.
Its hard to criticise when our manager has produced such a turnaround in results, but I really do think Harry should let Todorov have his chance - Toddy knows he's earned it, and being left on the bench must be starting to feel like a snub when the player in his place isnt having as much impact in front of goal (thats putting it politely).
Other points to mention - I have regained alot of respect for Craig Bellamy, the player not the man, though my zero respect for Mark Hughes remains so after his pathetic comment that he feels 'hard done by that we didnt win'.

Davis happy as yellow Brown sees a red

Fulhams Brown showed just how yellow he is with a shocking lunge at Davis, and the man in black had no choice but to show him a red. Now our Davis is no shrinking violet but if he’d had he foot on the green he could well have broken his leg, and ended up in a white flashing van. Anyway, Davis was obviously tickled pink with Pompeys win over Fulham, as he treated his Blues teammates to a meal.
Davis’s true opinion of Brown no doubt uses much more colourful language than his comments reported in the media.


Meanwhile Portsmouth look to secure the services of both Harry Redknapp and Amdy Faye for next season, déjà vu, and Frenchman Vignal raises his white flag.

Pompeys purple patch continues

Fulham 1 Pompey 3. What more could a Pompey fan ask for? Three goals away from home, another 3 points and Pompeys 3rd win on the trot. Sky report ‘Brilliant Pompey Cruise past Fulham’.
The feel-good factor is back, and that extends to our complex relationship with Harry Redknapp. Seems today was the day when even those that had found it difficult to forgive Harry finally warmed to him. He rejoined Pompey at enormous risk to his reputation within football, but if he can keep us on course to avoid relegation then he will emerge with his reputation miraculously intact, and in the case of how we see it in Pompey, his reputation miraculously rebuilt.
Meanwhile West Brom crashed to a home defeat and Brum got only a point, so premiership survival really is now in our own hands.

Great result for Pompey - Spurs 2 Baggies 1

Lovely result, and Harry was delighted. Was more nervy than watching Pompey – strange how Spurs seemed to fall into some Pompeyisms of playing the other team off the park but not being able to put the ball in the back of the net. Was great though fortunate when they eventually did – I thought Robson was going to cry. Glad to see that the pressure has got to Robson and he actually believed that West Brom were the better team. Delusions of grandeur. Hilarious! He’ll be able to cry into his pint with his old Man U mate Bruce, sad old has-beens.

Double standards favoured Arsenal at Fratton

Arsenal came away from Fratton on Saturday with the result Arsenal were most looking for; the match called off. With combination of injuries and the biggest match for Arsenal in years 4 days later, the last thing Arsenal wanted was a scrap against Portsmouth, lets be honest. Pompey are currently on a roll and would have had every chance of continuing it at Arsenals expense. Wenger and Co obviously used their influence to persuade yet another star-struck referee that ‘big clubs’ opinions carry more weight than those of premiership relegation battlers. The irony is that some narrow-minded Arsenal fans actually think that its Pompey facilities that were not up to scratch. What a joke! The ref said he feared for the players safety. Strange that other refs haven’t felt the need to in far worse conditions.

Pompey turning it around -Fortnights roundup

What a time for me to go AWOL. Whilst Ive been away attending to my wife and our newborn son, we’ve seen a massive turnaround in Pompeys fortunes. Two weeks ago we were on a serious losing streak, we hadn’t scored for weeks and fans were becoming dejected with our new signings, questioning Harrys judgement and whether we should continue to employ him. Id lined up a title for my next match report – ‘Its all over now baby blue’, which I thought was quite neat as I thought it would sum up Pompeys status in the Premiership, tying-in with my newborn Pompeyfan-to-be and with a Bob Dylan song title reference too - a weakness of mine! Happily I don’t have to use that title as its Game On; Pompey are fighting back at last.
The turnaround began with a fighting display against Man City, particularly in the last 15 minutes when the football was the most passionate, flowing and uplifting we’ve seen all season. It culminated in that unforgettable moment when Mendes slammed in the winner with virtually the last kick of the game, sending Fratton Park into scenes of euphoria. Shades of Alan Biley.
The result was everything, but it was also very encouraging that individually and as a team, Pompey looked class.
The following game saw a massive 4 2 victory at West Ham. What a great time to find our scoring boots again. We oozed confidence. Six points from two games, added to the happy run of defeats for our fellow relegation strugglers and suddenly the gulf between us and safety has all but disappeared. The battle to avoid relegation is very much in our hands now, and with our form and confidence in good shape, there is reason to believe we can do it. Bring on the Arsenal.

Villa 1 Pompey 0

What more is there to say. Its all been said elsewhere – a gutless display, diabolical marking leading to the goal, and it would have been worse if not for Kiely.
Pompeys side wouldn’t have been much weaker on Saturday if the 9 January signings had never happened; to date only Kiely and Mendes have made a competent contribution, and though Routledge and Koroman look like they might be useful there is little to be positive about the rest of them so far. Our defence is a shambles, and yet this was an area that was overlooked in the transfer window, apart from the signing of the injury-prone Paramot, who has limited Premiership experience. I could go on, but it feels like Im just kicking out at Pompey when they’re down, so Ill try to focus on the positives. Stefanovic is recovering well from injury and is aiming to be back for the Arsenal game. Oh, and springtime has begun.

Match Preview - Villa Vrs Pompey - away win?

Some might think that Pompey have gone past the point of must-win matches, and maybe the pressure has eased a bit now there aren’t any expectations of us other than another defeat. Maybe it is for this reason that I feel strangely optimistic about our chances this Saturday at Villa. We have a pretty strong full squad to choose from, Villa are ordinary, have Melberg suspended and Delaney out injured, and although they are 13 points ahead of us, they are one of the sides we should be aiming to leapfrog if we really are going to get out of this predictament. 3 points please Harry, we CAN do this.
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill

bbc stats dont dampen my optimism, and Harry seems in 'bring it on' mood, tipping Routledge as the match-winner.

Chelsea 2 Pompey 0 - Hughes answers his question

Last week Richard Hughes, in a fit of pique, came out to the media and publicly asked Harry Redknapp ‘What did I do to be axed’?
Well, Richard, its not so much what you do than what you don’t do. Yesterday at Stamford Bridge he answered the question for himself and everyone else, failing to put the ball in the back of the net when presented with a golden opportunity from a Wayne Routledge cross, thereby squandering a massive chance for Pompey to get something out of the match.
Harry noticed it, and made a point of publicly mentioning it. Touche.

Match Preview - Chelsea V Pompey

Second from bottom Pompey travel to run-away leaders Chelsea this Saturday, and looking at the Premiership table there’s only one result any credible pundit can predict. Chelsea have been machine-like in their efficiency this season and had effectively won the league by Christmas. However, the last 3 matches have shown serious signs of chinks in their armoury. The midweek home defeat to Barcelona followed an indifferent display against Colchester and a 3 – 0 thrashing by Middlesborough. The air of invincibility has gone, but are Pompey strong enough to capitalise on this? Redknapps rebuilt side havent gelled at all but maybe this will be the match when the new recruits start justifying Harrys faith in them; surely his judgement cant be as wrong as the performances have been recently suggesting (can it?).
Certainly we don’t want to see a winning Mourinho doing his sulky arrogant routine in the post match interview, his desperate bad-loser excuses are much more comical.
BBC have some good stats.

Positively 50 years ago today

Its 50 years since Portsmouth FC hosted the first ever league match to be played under floodlights. The Times have chosen to use this event to reinforce some negative stereotypes about Pompey, mentioning that we suffered a ‘familiar’ defeat on the night, focussing on the logistical problems, and generally making it seem that we wished we hadnt bothered. The Times didnt even get the date right, releasing the story 2 days before the 22nd February anniversary. Shoddy.
The Official Pompey site is neutral in its reporting of the anniversary.
So its left to me to be positive. In 1956 Pompey were one of the top clubs in the country, just a few years after winning 2 league championships in consecutive seasons, and only 10 years after handing back the FA Cup after having held it longer than any other club. Fratton Park was a high-profile venue to pioneer the first ever league match played under floodlights and this reflects the prestige of Pompey at the time. On the night Pompey missed the chance to go 4th in the league with a 2 0 defeat to high flying Newcastle. I feel better now.

Has Lua Lua earnt a payrise?

A couple of days ago LuaLua announced he wants a new contract. At the time Vital football interpreted this as he’ll stay at Pompey whatever, which seemed great news. But in light of the fact that he still has 18 months left on his contract Im now interpreting it as; LuaLua’s agent has told him that this is the best time to negotiate a payrise, as if Pompey go down there’ll be no chance of one.
Harry’s having none of it, and has deflected it nicely, though that hasn’t stop some of the rumour-mongers jumping to the conclusion that LuaLua is Tottenham-bound.Cheers LuaLua, you appear to be rocking the boat and jeopardising the team spirit for the sake of your own greed. Concentrate on keeping us up you dick.

Stats give hope for Pompey

Optimism is not high around Pompey, with our club stuck 2nd from bottom and Chelsea to play next. A defeat there would leave us having played 27, with a return of 18 points.
Not good, but last year West Brom had exactly the same games played and points total and were bottom of the Prem, and yet went on to escape the drop (thanks FrattonFaithful for the stats). They did it by winning 4, drawing 4 and losing 3 of their last 11 remaining fixtures.
Does that seem so impossible for Pompey to achieve? Looking at this list of remaining fixtures on Pompeys Official site, I can certainly see plenty of winnable games.
Maybe those who are calling for Pompey to sack Harry, just about guaranteeing relegation in the process, might do well to consider these stats, and get behind the club instead of undermining it.

Real Pompey fans do NOT want Harry sacked

Typically of the press they have seized upon a quote from Milan where he says
"I got text messages from supporters saying we should get rid of Alain [Perrin] and now I am getting messages saying we should sack Harry",
and have added their sensationalist spin so it now becomes ‘Fans want Pompey sacked’ by Ananova, or ‘Mandaric: Fans want Redknapp sacked too’ as the Pompey-hating rag also known as The Mirror spins it. The Guardian uses its journalistic licence to distort by inventing the fact that Milan has been ‘bombarded’ with texts. Even the BBC are billing it as a ‘text attack’. There is no basis for these claims.
Most Pompey fans I have spoken to, whilst some might have reservations about Harry, are currently 100% behind him and what he is trying to achieve. There will always be a minority of fans at every club who want the manager out, be it Man U, Liverpool or whoever. It is not impossible that Milan got half a dozen texts from a similar minority. That does not constitute a unanimous voice of Pompey at all. Milans comments have been grossly taken out of context by a sad hyena-like section of the media eager to lay into our currently vulnerable Portsmouth Football Club, and yes you do get to know who your friends are at times like these.

You've lost that loving feeling

Redknapps honeymoon period seems well and truly over. The Mirror, that bastion of anti Pompey sentiment, is reporting The Russian owner wants Redknapp Out at Pompey. Plenty of journalistic license being used there I suspect, but it is probable that our 2 co-chairman arent impressed with Redknapps results so far. Harry still has time to turn it round, and thats what we all want to happen, but its not getting any easier to believe it will. In response to questions about the new signings, Redknapps says he 'had to do something', but as none of them have hit the ground running, did he recruit wisely?
Also unimpressive all round is the fact that we've paid £500K to Silva to tear up his contract. He was a last minute so called 'bargain', bought on the eve of the season, and another who has gone on to cost us more in the long-run, financially and in results, than if we'd spent the going rate for a premiership striker in the first place.

Pompey 1 Man Utd 3

Another terrible result, but it has to be said that it was a fantastic first half display by Man U, and their finishing was top class.
There were signs of passion and commitment in the 2nd half from Pompey, which is always heartening to see, but we still dont look dangerous in front of goal. As The Guardian mentions, we now have a fortnights break in which we need to get it right.
A worrying post match realisation is that the 9 new signings have not made a particularly positive impact, and it is tempting to wonder if we would have done better without them. Apart from maybe Kiely, none of them have added anything to the side, and I just hope that they will start contributing soon as we really dont want to have to rebuild the side again this summer.

Match Preview - The Uriah Rennie Show

There are not many talents in football who can guarantee a full house more than Uriah Rennie. A star performer of great stamina and the ability to turn the course of a match late in the game, we’re all looking forward to seeing this legend in action at Fratton Park on Saturday.
His recent form has been a bit patchy, but we all know what he is capable of; his match winning decisions in favour of media-friendly corporate clubs is second-to-none.
Rennie will preside over 2 teams with very different agendas. The 3 points for Portsmouth are more important this time than the kudos of having got one over Man U. The Reds could do with a result to remain on target for 2nd place in the league. But you don’t want to hear about that. Rennie is in town, it’ll be an event to recall to the grandchildren one day, so sit back and savour.

A whisper of discontent

A run of defeats always makes the cracks in a club appear, cracks that would otherwise be smoothed over when things are going well.
A niggle doing the rounds recently is that Harry Redknapp favours his signings and wont play Perrins signings, and that this is more down to egotistical reasons than the players merits.
Now Priske has come out and said the same things some of the fans are thinking.
I would like to think that Harry is acting in the best interests of PFC, and not his own ego, but like all things in football it only really matters whether we’re winning or not. If we don’t start winning this issue could be the one that defines Redknapps second spell at Pompey.

Newsnow here we come

Those awfully nice people at Newsnow have given the greenlight to this site, and have agreed to publish some future Heaven's Light Our Guide articles on their site. A cause for celebration(thats a novelty this season!) Thanks and Cheers to Newsnow!

Pompey chants

Those who remember standing on the terraces at Fratton Park will enjoy this fantastic listing of Pompey chants compiled by Brian and William Fellows on Pompey-fans.com. Top one gents - hadnt realised just how many songs used to get sung, and cant think of any songs you've missed. Reading through them all bought back many great memories of a time when there was a healthy smidgeon of anarchy in the air on matchdays. By 'eck, those were the days!

Nice one Lua Lua

Sky are reporting that Lua Lua wants to go to Spurs.
Is it asking to much for him to keep his mouth shut? We pay him thousands, we let him go off to Africa when we really need him, we pander to his sulks and select him when he really deserves to be dropped. And he rewards us by completely undermining our faith in him. Its fine for him to think it, to plan it even. But to announce it to the press? Im not impressed. 10 out of 10 for thoughtlessness.

Newcastle 2 Portsmouth 0

Can it get any worse. Another defeat, another terrible performance and to top it off, the sight of the self-obsessed, personality- challenged, Alan Shearer breaking a club record, then playing it up to be a national event. Or international event even, as the ChinaDaily thought it important enough to headline. Dont remember too many comments from them when Guy Whittingham had that record breaking season. Its all in the way you hype it.

As for the match itself, even Pompeys official site admits that its a blow to our hopes of avoiding the drop. The Independent, and the rest of the national press , when they werent stroking Shearers oversized ego, were totally dismissive of Pompey.
And for the record, Portsmouth and England's Peter Harris scored 208 goals for Pompey, outstripping Jackie Milburn and Alan Shearer. And do we go on about it every week? They dont know what real legends are up there.

Pompey 1 Bolton 1

Another match that Pompey deserved to win but didnt. Although some, including The Times, see the performance, particularly Alessandro's, as reason for optimism Im afraid Im starting to worry. We really needed 3 points last night, and the bottom line is that we didnt acheive it. Harry sounded equally disappointed.

Match Preview - Pompey V Bolton

This is the time to be playing Bolton - their best players are out injured or out in Africa. Only 3 points will do tonight. I dont want to hear any problems about gelling.
The BBC provide the matchstats.

Pompeys transfer deadline spree

Pompey have added well regarded Argentinian playmaker Andres D'Alessandro to the ranks. Sounds very exciting if we can get the best out of him, as this BBC profile of Alessandro explains. He is the 9th Portsmouth signing in this January transfer window - incredible.
A few departures have helped balance this including John Viafara to Sociedad and Vukic to Partizan Belgrade.
A few more deals that werent completed before the deadline including Benni McCarthy (ambitious!), Diawara of Senegal (I would have liked Pompey to add another solid defender), and the exit of Matthew Taylor to Spurs (who might well come in useful here).

2 more signings

Wayne Routledge and Ognijen Koroman sign. Are we looking at another unfit Spurs reject and an obscure Eastern European who will quickly fade from memory OR could these be the missing pieces of the puzzle. Certainly Routledge will provide us with some much needed width (if he's fit).

You silly spanish sausage

Not impressed with Benitezs comments re the penalty. Then he puts a cherry on the top by complaining about the pitch and our 'long ball tactics'. Sorry for trying to win the game Rafa, I always thought thats what it was all about. He's gone way down in my estimation this week with those comments, on top of the signing of fat Scouse businessman Robbie Fowler.

Pompey 1 Liverpool 2

Am I BOVVERED?
Seems like the records stuck a bit; another Pompey defeat. However the way we played gives reason for optimism, particularly as some of the new signings seem to be settling in, as noticed by 4thegame, though I think Mendes needs to start performing if he is to justify his transfer fee. Meanwhile Harry correctly states that the dodgy penalty was the turning point.

Match Preview - Portsmouth V Liverpool

Scouser (skaus-sir) ~n – someone from Liverpool. Typically an untrustworthy low-level criminal with a dodgy barnet and a tache.
Scouse (skaus) ~n – a vaguely intelligible Merseyside dialect, based around the noise you make when you force yourself to cough up phlegm.
Liverpudlian ~n – Someone who is uncapable of concealing where they come from. Often has a clichéd sense of humour but finds all fellow Liverpudlians hilarious. Expects everyone to treat their football team with reverence, and are often surprised and offended to find that the rest of the country think they’re ordinary.

That FA Cup semifinal in ’92 still hurts. Was a long time before I could allow anything Liverpool-influenced anywhere near me – the radio would get switched off the instant ‘You’ll never walk alone’ came on, Brookside was a big No No, and the best jokes from the likes of Stan Boardman, Cilla Black and Jimmy Tarbuck would be met with a stoney silence. No change there on that last one.Things have moved on, and I can honestly say I was pleased for them last year when they lifted the European Champions League Cup. It was real Roy of the Rovers stuff, typified by their inspiration captain, homegrown local lad Steve Gerrard. This season they’ve added ex-Pompey and Scum man Peter Crouch to mixed reviews. Anyone who watched him in his season at Pompey will have known that he would come good in the end. Liverpool haven’t much chance of winning the league this year and are out of the League Cup, so will be very much focussed for this match. And as for Pompey? Who knows what our ambitions are – they seem to change week to week, from the skys the limit to basic survival.

Click for BBC Stats

Kiely signs

Has got to be good news that Dean Kiely joins Pompey, relieving some pressure from the shoulders of Jamie Ashdown. Kiely seems to be pretty dependable, though at 35 will not be a longterm solution. Maybe thats not we were looking for anyway - if Ashdown can continue to improve who knows how good he could become. In a meantime am looking forward the more stable defence that Kiely promises to deliver.

Pompeys goalie dilema

It seems likely that Pompey will sign Charlton reserve goalie Dean Kiely to be our new number 1. We really need to get this right as no-one needs reminding how an unstable goalie situation mucks up the results (think Kawaguchi, Chalkias, Westerveld), whereas a good longterm keeper solution provides great stability to the side.
Although Kiely is not an longterm solution I was prepared to accept that he might be the best for now. That was before the unpleasant surprise of finding that Charlton intend to buy Rob Green, previously our number one goalkeeping transfer target, and a great longterm prospect, using our money from the Kiely transfer to fund this . It doesnt look so clever now in this light.

Brum 5 Pompey 0

Didn’t realise blogging PFC required being masochistic, but that quality would make presenting this weeks match report much easier.
Match report from The Observer. Post match Harry comments from the Official Site. The pressures on a bit, and Fratton Faithful contains a defence of Milan as chairman of Pompey. Talking of Milan, he provides this weeks most humorous comments with his counter-complaint to the Premier League in response to Wuppert the scummer.

Chalkias departures

Pompey have had to fork out to get rid of Chalkias. So untalented was he that he vyes with Kawaguchi for the title of the worst PFC goalie ever. Loved the way he kissed the badge and held it to us in the Fratton End to say that he's one of us, then stabs us in the back by ripping us off rotten despite clearly not being up to the job. Nobber.

Match Preview - Birmingham V Pompey

Each match for Pompey seems more ‘must-win’ than the last as we flail in our attempts to drag ourselves out of the relegation zone. The result at Birmingham on Saturday is pivotal to the fortunes of both clubs. The stakes are high and in this tense atmosphere The Mirror choose to headline ‘Bruce: I fear gay pound’. No Elton John wont be at St Andrews, the article was referring to the effect of our Russian co-chairman, Gaydamak, and his millions. Despite our recent spending blitz, Brum manager Steve Bruce has easily outspent Pompey in assembling his expensive squad of rag-tag rejects, and Birmingham have as much, if not more, to lose as us if relegation were to happen.
Brum site SingingtheBlues has a comprehensive list of players who have played for both sides, and the BBC have all the stats.

Transfer talk latest

Still plenty of transfer rumours, the biggest ones surprisingly in the selling rather than buying department. The good news is that Graeme Souness is apparently looking at misfit Gregory Vignal, whilst the bad news is that Fulham have made a bid for Matthew Taylor. Meanwhile Pompey have supposedly lined up the accident-prone Liverpool keeper Dudek for 2.5 million. I do hope not for that sort of money.
Great to see that new Pompey striker Benjani has delayed his exit to the Cup of African Nations, and is available for Saturdays vital game at Brum.

Yet again its Pompey 0 Everton 1

I prefer not to have to comment on this one. An absolutely shocking performance. I thought we’d hit rock bottom in the defeat to Wigan at home, but this was just as bad. Very disappointing considering in was a massive opportunity to improve our chances of avoiding relegation. PompeyOnline calls it a tactical disaster. The Independent contains some quotes from Redknapp that hint at the Fratton Crowds frustration with LuaLua's performance. The Telegraph go for a very predictable negative line that the revolution has failed to net its reward and Evertons WhenskiesAreGrey feels it can afford to be a bit cocky.

Match Preview Pompey vrs Everton

A big 6 pointer humdinger of a match in prospect this Saturday. The history of the meetings between the 2 sides is well covered on the Official site. And as a double whammy they also have a good indepth look at the current Everton side and their recent fortunes. The Toffeeweb preview from the Everton perspective is strangely optimistic, the poor deluded fools, and as always the BBC provide an excellent preview summary and stats. With a full-blooded passionate atmosphere and everything to play for, this could be a baptism of fire for our new signings. This match promises to be all that is great about the English game. Heres hoping it lives up to expectations.

Mendes and Sean Davis sign

Excellent news as Pompey complete the signings of 2 of the 3 Tottenham transfer targets, as confirmed by the official site. Our chronically weak midfied is transformed in an instant. Spurs will be chuffed to get such big money for their 'dead wood', but make no mistake, Sean Davis and Pedro Mendes are top quality players who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

**Update - The anticipated signing of Noe Pamarot is now confirmed. Click links for profiles of Noe Pamarot, Pedro Mendes and Sean Davis.

More transfer rumours

Plenty of rumours, but no movement this week. The Sun reports Pompey are after Glen Johnson, and a Mandaric quote gives it credibilty. Green or Schwarzer look likely goalkeeping candidates reports The Independent. Spurs web report that we are about to sign a trio of midfield players in time for Saturdays match vrs Everton. Talking of which, Benjani is starting to look doubtful that match as he has permit issues to sort out.

Ipswich 0 Pompey 1

Great result, though the media seem to be less than generous to us. I get a distinct impression of sour grapes from the journo's now Pompey have some money. Fair enough the story of our Russian is a big story, but The Telegraph and The Independent, for example, are more interested in this fact than Pompeys fine away result.
Elsewhere an Ipswich fan was heartened by his teams performance, and The Fratton Faithful gives a brief decent summary.

FA Cup Preview - Ipswich vrs Portsmouth

Ipswich is a great place to go to as an away fan, cracking pubs and decent fans. Their clubs fortunes were dramatically different to Pompeys in the 70’s and 80’s and subsequent meetings have seen Ipswich swaggering like Alan Partridge with a TV contract, whilst success-starved Pompey look upon in envy. Now the tables have turned. Joe Royles young side will look up to our footballing aristocrats from the Premiership and it will be a surprise to all if they beat us. But its not a formality; Ipswich will be motivated by the prospect of claiming a Premiership scalp. Although the magic of the FA Cup is intensified this year with the lure of the Cup Final in the new Wembley stadium, Redknapp will remember how Scum’s victory over Pompey in the FA Cup last year ultimately contributed to their hilarious relegation, and maybe he will feel that this time concentrating on the league takes priority.
BBC Stats

Pompey smash transfer record

After the doubts about the reality of the Russian takover of PFC, we can now start to get excited. After 18 months of bargain basement signings, we really are spending some real money, indicated by the whopping 4.1 million we have splashed out for Benjani and the strong rumours of Lee Hendrie imminent arrival.

First new signing of transfer window

We have been linked with some very exciting names this week, I particularly like the Cudicini and Benni MCarthy rumour, Dean Ashton wouldnt be bad, Benjani sounds excellent, Andy Johnson would be great and Delaney would be solid.
So maybe it is somewhat of an anti climax that our first signing of the new transfer window, Olisadebe, is not a record-shattering redhot prospect. But closer inspection of his stats reveals he's no muppet, and may well prove to be a bargain.

The exodus begins

Our underacheiving players seem to be leaving Pompey quicker than shit off a shovel. Hurrah. Good riddance Laurent Robert you egotistical twat, ta-ta Skop, you were hopelessly out of your league, an heres hoping to see the back of you soon Vukic, you didn’t exactly set the Premiership alight!

Blackburn 2 Pompey 1

Good match and a great performance - we didn’t deserve to lose.
All goals were a bit soft, but there was plenty to feel positive about.The Independent says ‘Milans Men need the money’, a predictable way to tie in the 2 big stories of yesterday. World Soccer News report ‘Rovers rise against gritty Pompey’, and The News of Pompey report ‘New era begins with a defeat’. New era? Give us a chance - the Russian hasn’t even signed on the dotted line yet.

Milan sells 50% PFC stake to Russian billionaire

Russian billionaire Alexandre Gaydamak appears to have agreed to buy a 50% interest in Portsmouth Football Club, the Official site confirms. The Independent looks into the mysterious origin of his money – murky to say the least. The media seem to assume this will lead to a Roman Ambrovich-style spending spree and even Redknapp seems hopeful that big money may soon be made available.

Match Preview - Blackburn Vrs Pompey

Fair, honest and sporting were never words used to describe Mark Hughes during his playing career, and in his managerial career is very much following in the same vain, with his current Blackburn side reflecting the cynical, bullying, rule-bending that epitomised Hughes’ playing style. Blackburn have a history for being ‘dirty bast*rds’ – who can forget Pompeys explosive clashes with the Glen Keeley lead Blackburn side in the mid eighties, when we had probably the hardest side in the football league with wildmen such as Mick Kennedy, Noel Blake, Billy Gilbert and Kevin Dillon. Unfortunately todays Portsmouth is not of the same mettle, and if it’s a physical contest then Blackburn stand every chance of out-muscling us unless we can show a commitment and strength far beyond any of limp-wristed Pompey displays we saw under Alain Perrin.
Further info/stats from the BBC

Christmas and New Year roundup

Due to excessive Christmas drinking commitments was unable to keep up to date with all the Fratton Park news as it happened, but its been a pretty good Christmas for Pompey. A Boxing Day draw with West Ham, a predictable defeat to Arsenal, and a vital win against Fulham leave us in a position where we are able to climb out of the bottom 3.