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The Season Ahead Part Fourteen : Portsmouth

Published by Ian John on September 14, 2009

Prospects for 2009 :
In a word. Grim. With their Russian owner quickly tiring of pumping his money into the club, only to see Harry Redknapp jump ship for Spurs as soon as the opportunity presented itself, the club has been in free fall for some time now. Harry seems keen on bringing most of the Fratton Park squad he assembled back to Tottenham, Defoe, Crouch and now Kranjcar have gone and the players remaining really don’t look of the quality to steer the team into the positions of safety in the top flight. A new owner has taken over the club, Sulaiman Al Fahim, though it remains to be seen if he will back current manager Paul Hart with the sufficient cash needed to rescue the club from what appears to be a season of struggle.

2009 is a big season for :
David James. The England keeper has long been linked with a move away from the club but such a move has not transpired. Given that he is 39 years old and with the world cup coming up in the summer, James will be hoping that his performances for his club can keep him firmly at the forefront of the thoughts of manager Fabio Capello. Certainly given his clubs financial problems and the fact that a number of quality players have left the club, it looks like James will have every chance to impress the England manager over the coming season.

Guaranteed to irritate in 2009 :
Those blinking bells. Every single home game or away game involving Portsmouth always involves a small but audible selection of fans who decide to support their team by ringing bells, not only is this annoying as it makes you think you have tinnitus, but also means that some poor saps, not understanding that this is a game of football, will think that a troop of lepers are passing through the locality. Also what does “Play up Pompey” mean in the historic Pompey chimes? Play up? Play well would perhaps suit better, play half decent may be more accurate and play like you actually care would be appropriate for some. Oh and there is also that ‘devoted’ Portsmouth fan who has three billion badges, two thousand tattoos and has named himself after the club. That’s devotion is it? Personally I’d call it dementia.

Things they’ll moan about in 2009 :
Given their start to the season, I don’t think it will be too long before the Pompey fans are going to get on the back of manager Paul Hart. Already his reign has eerie echoes of that of predecessor Tony Adams. Hart has the added complication of having a squad that is nowhere near as good as the one Adams inherited but even so that won’t save him from the ire of many. They’ll also moan about Harry Redknapp taking the poisoned chalice at Tottenham, but I have some sympathy with them for that as it’s the second time Redknapp has left the club in the lurch. I can’t see him being on the Christmas card list of too many of Pompey’s faithful.

Song that sums up their chances in 2009 : “A change would do you good” by Sheryl Crow
Pompey need to ring the changes at all levels. The club has been in stagnation since Redknapp left the club and the shipping out of the clubs best players has hit the team considerably. A new owner has taken over and I don’t think it will be too long before a new manager is at the helm too. All will then depend how much Sulaiman Al-Fahim decides to invest in the club and allow the manager to spend on players. If it isn’t a considerable sum, then don’t expect Portsmouth to be in the Premier League next season.

Image Courtesy of ***islandsportsblog*** at Flickr.com