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August 03, 2009

Portsmouth: Peter Storrie is key to club's future

Things might be looking up ever so slightly in the transfer market for Portsmouth (well, slightly, if you count Mark Viduka as a replacement for Peter Crouch).

But another thing is worrying me - do we have the best man in charge to guide the club into its new and (much, much) leaner era?

Some people think that Peter Storrie has been at Pompey for years and years (which worries me slightly and further compounds my earlier point about those that have started supporting Pompey as a 'fashionable' club, however very, very wrong that notion is) but lest we forget he joined in 2002.

In fact, he joined at Harry Redknapp's request after being cast out into the relative wilderness of Notts County (which would go some way to explaining the unfortunate rumour of Matt Ritchie heading off there).

The problem is this: some fans (and by some, I mean the majority of message board posters) think that Peter Storrie is looking after number one and getting the best deal for himself instead of the club. They think that he is buying the players that represent the best deal for him.

Of course, the allegations arising from his and Harry's arrests in 2007 hardly help matters (although no charges were brought against the pair), as well as the fact he's apparently earning the third highest salary for a chief exec at a club that has the lowest ground capacity (and one of the lowest revenue streams, although not the worst).

Continue reading "Portsmouth: Peter Storrie is key to club's future" »

Posted at 03:35 PM in Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)

July 27, 2009

Portsmouth: 'fans' need to get a grip

Harryredknappthetimes

Having been a Portsmouth fan for more years than I can reasonably state, I can't remember a time when I've been more incensed by our own fans.

Not content with having lived through arguably the most successful period in the club's history (when you consider how much harder and financially powerful football has become and the fact Pompey hasn't invested in the facilities to keep up) these same 'fans' now think we're a club that should be competing with Tottenham to perhaps break the top four year on year.

Well, sorry to tell you, but if we beat Bolton and Blackburn, we should be happy. These are clubs with a better infrastructure, larger grounds and ultimately longer top flight histories in recent years whereas we have a ground that can hold 20,000 fans and a training pitch that was shared by a university (which was actually an upgrade on what was there).

Continue reading "Portsmouth: 'fans' need to get a grip" »

Posted at 05:10 PM in Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (50) | TrackBack (0)

May 13, 2009

Portsmouth 28-1 to go down? That's almost worth taking...

Paulhart_185x185_495994a I recently read on a major betting site that Portsmouth were 28-1 to slide down into the Championship, and I almost fell out of my seat. 28-1? At those odds I'm almost tempted to have a punt myself, as it would certainly make the drop a lot easier to bear...

Although of course I never would. It would be unethical, immoral and other such words that would cast aspersions on my football fandom. But I'd love to know what inside information these bookmakers have, as I know we Pompey fans would like to have some of that confidence.

Because I groaned loudly when Newcastle won (not just because we're going to have to endure another year of bleating about another 'Geordie Messiah' when this is his first win in six attempts) but because a draw would have seen us nearly safe.

Continue reading "Portsmouth 28-1 to go down? That's almost worth taking..." »

Posted at 01:01 PM in Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

April 15, 2009

Pompey - European Champions in waiting

After running home from work last night, crate of lager-y goodness in one hand and a pass from the missus in the other, I quickly sat down in front of the TV just in time to watch what I hoped would be the best game of the season between Liverpool and Chelsea.

The stakes were high, the mission almost insurmountable, but the promise of one of 'those' matches was almost too much to bear.

And ye gads, it was one of the THOSE matches. Goals a plenty. Liverpool needed to score 3. They scored 4. Chelsea were allowed no more than 1. They scored 4. Back and forth the two titans clashed, punching then counter punching, completely ignoring the fact that they previously had managed a paltry amount of goals in previous Champions' League encounters.

I'm sure there will be other posters here to wax lyrical about the glory of the match, the sheer footballiness on show that transcended all that's wrong with the game. But it made me realise something - the Champions' League has become the FA Cup we used to savour.

After years of watching the underdog raise its game on the smaller domestic stage when overcoming the might of First Division opposition, last night was the spirit of those encounters reincarnated. The underdog might have been one of the best teams in Europe, but still the odds were stacked against, and time and time again, they came back and came back and came back.

And it got me thinking: if Pompey were able to win the FA Cup (in doing so, becoming the first to break the stranglehold of the Big Four on the trophy in over a decade) then surely it's only a matter of time before we move on to the bigger stage? I mean, we've proved we can raise our game against European champions before (AC Milan, a game we should have arguably won) so it's got to be a possibility right?

In that game, a maverick left-back and an Arsenal reserve team player managed to destroy a midfield containing the winners of the the last three World Player of the Year awards. We shouldn't have been able to, but we did, and we should have won that game.

We beat a team at full strength in Manchester United to win the FA Cup (let's not pretend THAT wasn't the game that won us the Cup... although West Brom and Cardiff were tough to beat, disposing of the Champions was the biggest feat I've ever seen Pompey achieve) so we've got the credentials.

I know that you could point to our league position, to the fact that we're quickly losing our best players to bigger clubs in order to get the cash because our owner is pulling out. Not exactly conducive to building the best team in Europe, I grant you.

But let the buyer come in, and the groundwork is there and already complete. All he will need to do is continue the production of our flourishing youth team, make sure the new stadium stays on track, pop in a decent manager (you can hire the best for less that it costs to buy a flop striker these days) and that's all that's needed (oh, a few quid to reassemble the team would be nice too).

We, the fans, pledge to urge the team to the greatest heights in order to win European glory as well, and don't worry, we'll keep our end of the bargain.

Assuming we don't get relegated, that is. The Champions' League is difficult to enter from the Championship.

Gareth Beavis

Posted at 09:24 AM in Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

April 02, 2009

Celebrity FC - a case for the prosecution

After last night's triumphant win / scrappy three points (history will eventually delete as appropriate) it's easy to think that the world of football is all back to normal, England will qualify easily and Portsmouth will stay up (I know that doesn't have much to do with last night, but I've found it's important to keep saying it).

But one thing, right in the middle of the joy and worry in equal measure before Ukraine scored that goal, I found my thinking of the well-written article by James Henderson which asked the media and fans to lay off Ashley Cole as the scapegoat of all that is wrong with the beautiful game, and I found myself thinking... well... he IS.

I'm not saying that Ashely Cole is by any means a bad footballer, nor does he not warrant a place at one of the top teams in the country, or even the world. I don't begrudge him for earning whatever he does... he's pretty much middle of the road for a Chelsea first teamer, and you wouldn't ask for less in a job out of principle.

But what I do take umbrage to, and I think this is the point that Mr Henderson missed, is the notion that we should celebrate him in some way just because he's good at football, and we, as football fans, should love anything that can kick a ball in the right direction at the right time.

Last year I wrote an article called 'Thinking of jacking it all in' where I said I wanted it all over. I wanted to walk away from football and not have the worry and fear of Saturday at 3PM (or Sunday or Monday or Wednesday when Sky decides that a game needs to be moved).

I've barely been a football fan for a third of the time some of the more world-weary and long sufferering fans I know have been, but I still am starting to despair at the state of the game as we currently see it.

But here's Henderson's theory: "And for everyone who thinks this [that footballers are cocky foul-mouthed morons] is true then why don't you put that extra bit of money you earn every week into the savings account instead of paying to watch these animals play a sport you are falling out of love with. It's as plain as the nose on your face."

I'm sorry, but surely you realise it isn't that easy. It's not like giving up chocolate. Or smoking. It's not even like finally ending a relationship that stopped being pleasurable years ago... it's something so much worse.

Call it tribal, call it an escape, call it what you want, but the love for your football team cannot be eradicated for the simple reason that you disagree with the morals of a player, it's in the blood, it's part of your childhood and growth into an adult, it's as much a part of you as your hometown and often more... because you can leave the place you were born.

But that doesn't mean that you should be forced to accept it when the state os the game starts being something you don't agree with. I don't think that booing a player on the pitch is ever going to help matters, but Ashley Cole should be (and is being) held up as Exhibit A in the case for the falling standards of football.

We can all accept that footballers want to go out with their mates and have a few drinks. We all do it, and we all have at some point pushed it to excess. And yes, probably at that point were we to be harassed by a mob of photographers that want to claw and lech at our every move, twisting and turning it into something terrible for a few more paper sales, then we might end up doing something drunk and disorderly.

But after the allegations with that hairdresser, coupled with this incident (and the 'issue' of not enough money, and the fact he constantly disrespects referees, AND the fact his wife has seemingly become a national treasure that would surely be the best friend and fashion guru of all our girlfriends if only they got the chance to meet her... apparently) it holds him up to be the reason football is failing.

It's not fair to just point the finger at Cole. He could go and live the life of a monk and only come out of the monastery once a week to play at the weekend (although he might not have the level of fitness required, but I'm sure something could be worked out) and football as a concept wouldn't suddenly get better.

We would still have Ronaldo being accused of diving, still have Terry accused of haranguing referees, still have a number of players refusing to play for the reserves because they think they're better than that.

But that's the problem. Football has become so distanced from the fans that we're forced to just guess at what's happening behind the scenes. We can't watch training the way we used to if we wanted to see our heroes any more. We don't see them walking down the street any more because they live in massive houses with gates and long driveways miles and miles away from the stadium that's a Mecca to its fans.

No, we have to pay more, and more, and more money each week, each month, each year, in tickets, programmes, travel, even blooming PIES (why is it around £7 for a pie and a drink now? Is it sprinkled with magic? Does the team captain make them? Actually, I'd pay £7 to have that, watching him sprinting off the pitch at half time to deal with the rush).

And because we know those costs are almost directly related to the wages being paid to the footballers, we start to get frustrated. We want to vent somewhere, at someone, because you can't really do it against the club you've loved for so long without feeling a sense of betrayal.

No, we choose a player who we think we'd hate to socialise with, and unfortunately for Cole, he's the one that pushed his head furthest over the parapet with his antics. If players like him want to stop being singled out for abuse, then they should make the effort to change and show the world they're doing it, not just retreat and 'let the football do the talking'.

Because the sad fact is it no longer does. You invest £100 a weekend to go and watch something for 90 minutes (and with Pompey these days, it invariably has ended with a sigh and trudge) and you expect to see players pushing for everything as hard as they can. We don't care about what happens to them at the end of their career. We don't care whether they had to sacrifice it all as a child. We don't even care about their outside life, just as long as they maintain grace and dignity in keeping with wearing the shirt we all love. We just want to see football played by players that love the club as much as we do and represent the values we (often romantically and erroneously) associate with it.

So when my friend laughed at the TV when Ashley Cole made yet another poor 'Hollywood' pass as he called it, then turned to me and said 'I hate Ashley Cole'... I couldn't disagree.

Gareth Beavis

Posted at 11:28 AM in Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

March 13, 2009

Pompey have turned a corner... so how are we in the bottom three?

There's nothing like a spot of relegation fear to really get your year off to a rubbish start, and the first three months so far have been just that. The waking on a Saturday / Sunday / Monday / whatever day Sky deems worthy to host our matches with trepidation rather than actual promise.

Such is the life post-Redknapp.

I won't go into how much I still hope Tottenham get relegated. Well, actually, I've got nothing against the club, just want Redknapp to go down. He can change teams to West Brom (no offence Baggies, you're just at the bottom as I write this) if he wants, just as long as he's forced to flounder in the Championship next year.

But the fact of the matter is we are now in the bottom three thanks to Fulham deciding that a home record wasn't that much fun anyway, and the season looks ultimately bleak.

The game against Middlesbrough on Saturday has now grown to epic proportions. I remember when we went to Birmingham three seasons ago, knowing that win would help us massively on our quest to safety. Do you remember as well? Those that don't will probably have forcefully erased it from their memory, as a 5-0 spanking at the hands of a relegation rival is pretty much a signed death warrant.

It wasn't, but only because the Premier League Gods decided the league was due a miracle.

But what on earth is going on? According to the second caretaker manager this season, the players and gawd-help-us-all the media Pompey have 'turned the corner' after promising displays against Chelsea, Stoke and Manchester City. The players saying that they would have lost under Adams against Stoke (or words to that effect), the manager putting his faith in the team that so hideously crumbled against the likes of Liverpool... it's all the right stuff.

But it seems that the prophecy every Pompey fan is born with, emblazoned in the mind, is once again coming true: things can always get worse, and they often do.

So one season we win the FA Cup, the next we're in the bottom three, out of every cup and up for sale... I'll save the roaring 'We are Pompey fans, we will follow the ship no matter how far it sinks' battle cry for later in the season.

I just hope we don't need it.

Gareth Beavis
www.pompeyfans.com

Posted at 04:29 PM in Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

November 24, 2008

The Geovanni debate part two... he's still not that good

Well, it seems that an article slating a club's favourite player doesn't go down well with fans of said club... who would have thought it?

After putting forward my two penn'orth on the Brazilian magician currently gracing the KC Stadium Geovanni, it appears Hull's internet-savvy fans have rounded on me firmly. On the one hand, fair play, on the other hand... you're all wrong.

Continue reading "The Geovanni debate part two... he's still not that good" »

Posted at 05:44 PM in Hull City, Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

November 22, 2008

The Geovanni debate... he's not that good

Geovanni_edited3

Forgive me Hull fans... but I don't rate your top scorer. Geovanni might be the piece of Brazilian magic that has lit up the KC Stadium so far this season, and well done to him... but it's not going to last.

I'm well aware I'm tempting fate at the moment with this piece, but it needs to be said after Tony Adams told the media that Pompey turned down the signing of Geovanni.

As I recall, at the time the reason was that Redknapp wanted him as a squad player but he decided on a bit more cash at Manchester City. Perhaps that wasn't the case, but nobody at Pompey was that bothered it seemed, and neither were the fans.

Continue reading "The Geovanni debate... he's not that good" »

Posted at 03:08 AM in Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack (0)

October 29, 2008

Tony Adams: Nothing but a short term solution

Tonyadampress2_185x_421247aLook, believe me when I say that I want nothing more than for Tony Adams to be the next Bob Paisley, but I don't honestly believe that's going to happen. At best Pompey can hope for a steadied ship, a minimal loss of players and a few mid-table finishes. At worst, relegation and bankruptcy.

I know that's being overly pessimistic, and in all truth, something I don't believe will happen. But employing a 'make or break' manager is something I really love... but only when it happens to another club.

We all like watching a new manager, someone like Paul Ince or Roy Keane. Will he be amazing, poor or somewhere in between? Roy Keane is one of the best new managers out there, and Sunderland fans must be in dreamland considering the huge punt that was taken with his appointment.

Continue reading "Tony Adams: Nothing but a short term solution" »

Posted at 10:05 AM in Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)

October 26, 2008

Goodbye Harry, and if you think you're done here, good riddance

Harry_redknapp_360_420497aThis isn't an anti-Redknapp post. I want to take a few moments to reflect on the most successful manager in Portsmouth's history (when you take into account the fact the modern game is so much harder to succeed in), before the inevitable despair and anger sets in that he's deserted us for Spurs.

We all knew Harry wasn't going to be here at Fratton Park forever, but we though it would at least last a little bit longer.

But of more worry is the fact he's gone for £5 million. How is that good business for a top manager? Look at Spurs... they've spent £70 million in the close season and the team isn't working.

Spend as much as you like, if you've not got a good man at the helm, its worth nothing. So how is £5 million all it takes?

Continue reading "Goodbye Harry, and if you think you're done here, good riddance" »

Posted at 01:39 AM in Portsmouth | Permalink | Comments (28) | TrackBack (0)

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