Time to rediscover Fortress Fratton

As we all know, our current form and league position is not very good. Tomorrow against Newcastle United is our chance to help lift the team and do something about it.

Us Pompey fans have a nationwide reputation for getting behind the team and creating an intimidating atmosphere which opposition players fear.

Maybe some fans have become converted to the premier league's "prawn sandwich" brigade but we need 100% support tomorrow and show our true worth as the 12th man.

We need a wall of noise for the whole 90 minutes and give our unconditional support to the team and manager.

So let's hear those Pompey chimes ring around Fortress Fratton to help us acheive 3 vital points and our first home win of the season!

Play up Pompey!

Portsmouth v Newcastle United - Preview

Tomorrow we kick off without star striker Lomana Lua Lua who has malaria and winger Laurent Robert who is ineligible.

Robert is ineligible to play under the terms of his move from St James' Park.

Norwegian loan man and current Pompey boo boy Azar Karadas could be handed a further chance to impress in Lua Lua's absence alongside Dario Silva after failing to find the net in eight appearances.

Hopefully he has taken Alain Perrin's advice onboard and does not try to do everything. If he sticks to his strengths and does not try to over complicate his play, he could pose a handful for the fragile Newcastle defense.

Both Andy O'Brien and Andy Griffin are available to face their former employers and transfer deadline day signing Zvonimir Vukic is hoping to be fit to stake a claim for a midfield slot.

Under fire Alain Perrin will be on the bench after avoiding a touchline ban for his dismissal against Bolton.

Newcastle will be without hamstring victim Emre but Kieron Dyer is available after recovering from his own hamstring injury.

Summer signing Albert Luque is a long-term absentee with yet another hamstring injury, meaning that Dyer is likely to line up alongside Scott Parker, Lee Bowyer and the in-form Charles N'Zogbia in midfield - although our former player Amdy Faye will also be keen to face us.

My starting XI and substitutes bench for the game tomorrow is:

Ashdown
Priske - O'Brien - Stefanovic - Vignal
O'Neil - Diao - Vukic - Taylor
Karadas - Silva

Subs: Westerveld, Mbesuma, Todorov, Hughes, Viafara

Although if my recent efforts to preempt Alain Perrin's team selections are anything to go by, expect a totally different team to take the field tomorrow!

Mbesuma scores again - Is it time for a first team call-up?

Collins Mbesuma was on target again as Portsmouth reserves crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace at West Leigh Park last night.

The Zambia striker, who has made just one brief appearance as a substitute for Pompey this season, put us ahead in the ninth minute with a close-range finish.

The Londoners fought back and equalised when Tommy Black set up Wayne Andrews in the 75th minute.

The same two players combined again for Andrews to seal the win seven minutes from time.

Collins Mbesuma nearly levelled in a goalmouth scramble right at the death.

Here is how the Pompey Reserve team lined up:

Westerveld
Day - Donaghey - Silk - Pearce
Cousins - Swayne - Fordyce - Settle
Wilson - Mbesuma

Subs: Guatelli, Carter-Harris, Compton, Bye, Roberts

In my opinion, Collins Mbesuma looks a decent player and you can see why he has scored many goals at his previous club (the Kaiser Chiefs).

He looks a natural goal scorer and seems to have that knack of being in the right place, at the right time. He seems to be lacking the sharpness and quick thinking on the ball that distinguishes good players from Premiership players. Hopefully this will come as he adapts to the English game.

The title of this post asks "Is it time for a first team call-up?". On his performance last night, it's a no, but with our current scoring problems, and with our star striker Lomana LuaLua out for weeks with malaria, this may mean Mbesuma gets fast tracked into the first team squad very shortly.

LuaLua out with most virulent type of malaria

You ever get that sinking feeling?

Today when I got home, I was quickly informed that our main striker Lomana LuaLua will be out for some time, after it was diagnosed today he contracted the most virulent type of malaria. Although it is not life-threatening, it is serious.

Our former striker Yakubu, now at Middlesbrough, was twice laid low by malaria after playing for Nigeria, but he contracted a milder form.

LuaLua collapsed at training and was rushed to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham where malaria was diagnosed in the Medical Assessment Unit.

We now face the prospect of losing the talented LuaLua for several weeks and possibly longer if recovery is slower.

This is all we needed, especially with our well documented problems in front of goal. I bet Alain Perrin is wondering what he has done to deserve this bad luck.

Get well soon fella!

Demolition work update - Study Center has gone

As the weather was not too bad this morning, I thought id take the opportunity to do another update on the new stadium work.

I am pleased to now report, all of the Study Centre building behind the current North Stand has been demolished and all the rubble has been removed.

As you can see from my photograph, the site looks pretty clear and I would assume that this stage of the development has almost been completed.

According to the official stadium plans, Stage 1 should be completed in November 2005.

This includes the construction of the new North stand and new West corner.

As soon as this work starts, I will be down there with my camera and posting the photographs on here.

Hopefully it will not be long before we see some tangible evidence of our new stadium being constructed!

Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Portsmouth - Report

Another game, another disappointing result for Pompey.

After the mid week cup exit at Gillingham we were all expecting a positive reaction from the team. I can not fault the majority of players for effort, but the lack of quality is evident for all - especially in the forward positions.

Instead of moving forward and progressing on our previous two seasons in the Premier League, we seem to have gone backwards. The PremPlus commentators summed it up perfectly when discussing our problems.

You can not get rid of the leadership qualities of Arjan De Zeeuw and the goals of Yakubu; not replace them with similar or better quality and still expect to survive.

We got £7.5 million for Yakubu! What have we replaced him with! Utter rubbish.

Not wanting to rip into our own players, but the likes of Dario Silva and Azar Karadas are not Premiership quality and are not the sort of players to take us forward and onto the next level.

Dario Silva gives 110% which in the old Division 1 days was all we expected from our players. The likes of Lee Bradbury made a career at Pompey by doing just that.

The problem is, this is not Division 1 (or the Championship as it's now known). This is the Premier League. The "best league in the world" Second rate, ageing players of limited quality just don't cut the mustard.

We play against some of the best defenders in the world, week after week. I bet them defenders don't get worried when they see Silva and Karadas on the Pompey team sheet.

I don't blame them. We are the ones that brought them to the club. It's the management and board who made these decisions. They will now have to live with them until January. Hopefully by then, it will not be too late for us.

I am sure a lot of people reading this will think I am going over the top and being too negative. The thing is for me, it hurts to see the team I love and support go backwards instead of forward!

Anyway, enough of the rants, and onto the game itself...

The game started with constant pressure from a confident Bolton side that had taken 10 points from the last 12 on offer.

The first chance fell to Nolan, but he fired his half chance over the bar. More attacks followed with the next falling to former Southampton striker Davies. His shot went over from the edge of the box after good interplay with Gardner.

The Pompey defence looked very fragile and was cut open regularly with relative ease.

It took until the 7th minute before we made our first attack on the Bolton goal. The chance was created by Robert's pinpoint cross. This cross found Silva, but his flicked header went over the bar.

Then after 12 minutes, we started to come into the game. We worked a great chance from Priske's surge to the by-line. He cut the ball back for Silva who teed up Taylor. Unfortunately for Taylor, Silva's layoff was not perfect, which gave Hunt the chance to block his shot.

On 25 minutes, the Bolton pressure paid off as Nolan scored the one and only goal of the game. The goal was created when Davies headed Pedersen's cross back across the goal. Nolan acrobatically fired an over head kick past the helpless Ashdown. The Pompey defenders resembled statues as they watched the ball go in the net. This was not helped by a suspected offside in the build-up to the goal - but that's football.

For the rest of the half, our passing was poor, and our balls to the lone front man were inaccurate and lacked quality.

Bolton were content in knocking long balls up to Davies and feeding of the second balls with Nakata causing a constant threat throughout.

Half-time came with the score Bolton 1 Pompey 0

The second half started with the same pattern and tempo of the first. It took until the 65th minute until our first attack of quality and penetration came. The opportunity was created when good passing set Priske free. He delivered a tempting drilled ball into the box which seemed to be in the grasp of Robert but he failed to get a touch with the goal at his mercy.

The manager then decided to change tactics and replace Taylor with Karadas to give us an extra option upfront.

Then on 69 minutes the Pompey defence was all at sea as a simple ball from Okocha put Davies in. It required a magnificent saving tackle by Stefanovic to prevent a certain goal.

Songo'o then replaced O'Neil - who was one of the few Pompey players having a decent game.

We were then spared again as another Bolton attack created an opportunity for Nolan who missed a one-on-one which would have settled the game after a pass from Davies.

Then with the game coming to a disappointing end, a furious Alain Perrin was sent to the stands for his protests to the fourth official after Priske was cautioned for dissent after the award of a foul throw.

This brought to the end a very disappointing week for everyone at Fratton Park!

wanc.co.uk's Pompey Man of the Match: Brian Priske

Bolton Wanderers v Portsmouth - Team News

The Portsmouth team for todays game away at Bolton Wanderers is:

Ashdown
Priske - O'Brien - Stefanovic - Vignal
O'Neil - Diao - Hughes - Taylor
Silva - Robert

Subs: Westerveld, Karadas, Todorov, Skopelitis, Songo'o

and the Bolton Wanderers team is:

Jaaskelainen
Hunt - Ben Haim - N'Gotty - Pedersen
Nolan - Okocha - Speed - Nakata
Davies - Gardner

Subs: Walker, Stelios, Diouf, Borgetti, O'Brien

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Play up Pompey!

Agent Redknapp poses with new away kit

Just when you thought you had seen it all, the Scumhampton manager Agent Redknapp was photographed yesterday by a Saints supporter at a Golf day in Hayling Island. No; it's not our new striker, it's former manager Harry Redknapp – with a smile on his face!

There were reports on the Portsmouth Official Website yesterday concerning boxes of the new away shirt being stolen from the Pompey Shop warehouse. The police advised the club that the best way of catching the thieves was to delay the launch but not publicise it. Police were then in force at Fratton Park on Saturday taking photographs of anyone wearing the red replica shirt.

The police said they were looking for a dodgy, saggy faced, twitching Judas in connection with theft.

Maybe we have found the culprit!

Bolton Wanderers v Portsmouth - Preview

I'm sat here with nothing better to do with my day, so I thought I'd do a preview for tomorrow's important game.

I will start with Bolton Wanderers.

Bolton will hand fitness tests to Jay-Jay Okocha and Abdoulaye Faye. Okocha was forced to miss the victory at Manchester City with an ankle injury, while Faye (a different Faye to the useless and lazy one we managed to sell to Newcastle last season) picked up a slight groin strain at Eastlands and will also face a late check.

Wanderers are definitely without Ivan Campo who broke his foot in training and is facing two months on the sidelines, while Fabrice Fernandes (scummer! scummer!) has a slight hamstring strain and may be forced sit out the game. Hidetoshi Nakata, Ricardo Gardner and Nicky Hunt are all pushing for a recall to the first team.

Now on to the team well are all interested in.

We are definitely without Serbian midfielder Zvonimir Vukic who (as reported on here yesterday) has picked up an ankle injury and is facing at least two weeks on the sidelines.

Lomana Lua Lua has not trained all week following a shoulder injury but boss Alain Perrin says he will play if he passes a late fitness test. I also heard he has been suffering with a Virus all week, which could also keep him out of the game.

Linvoy Primus (knee) and Aliou Cisse (ankle) are the other casualties but Laurent Robert is certain to return after being rested at The Priestfield Stadium.

That is the official news – now onto my views for tomorrow.

This is a big game for Alain Perrin and the players. The performance and result against Gillingham was not acceptable and everyone at the club knows it. The team that will start on Saturday will be made up from the majority of placers that started the midweek game. Let's hope we get a positive reaction from them.

Collins Mbesuma scored his first goal for Pompey in the reserve game on Wednesday. Hopefully he has now done enough for at least a place on the bench. John Viafara who also scored in that reserve game will be looking to regain his first team place from either Salif Diao or Richard Hughes.

My starting XI and substitutes bench for the game tomorrow is:

Ashdown
Priske - O'Brien - Stefanovic - Vignal
O'Neil - Diao - Viafara - Robert
Lua Lua - Silva

Subs: Westerveld, Mbesuma, Todorov, Hughes, Taylor

Zvonimir Vukic sidelined for 2 to 3 weeks

Portsmouth have been hit by the news that Zvonimir Vukic will be sidelined for 2-3 weeks with an ankle injury.

The Serbian midfielder had been due to travel with the squad to Gillingham on Tuesday but was forced to pull out after picking up a knock during training.

Vukic has been used as a substitute in Pompey's last two league outings and has impressed with solid performances on both occasions.

Hopefully he will only miss the away game against Bolton and the home match with Newcastle.

Collins Mbesuma scores his first Pompey goal

Ok it was only for the reserve team, but hopefully it's a sign of big things to come from the Zambian striker.

The goal came in the 89th minute and was only a consolation as we crashed to a 5-3 defeat against Arsenal Reserves.

As I was not there, I will have to rely on the Portsmouth Official Website for a report on the game.

Arsenal out-gunned Portsmouth in the first half, but Pompey staged a grandstand finish to take the gunners to the wire.

Lupoli put Arsenal ahead on ten minutes after a slick attacking move.

But out of the blue Pompey equalised on 17 minutes when in a rare attack Fordyce's corner was headed on my Mbesuma and Jason Pearce ghosted in to plant past the Arsenal keeper.

After a series of lightning Arsenal attacks they were ahead again on 26 minutes with a goal of simplicity. The ball was sent forward and Lupoli ran past a static Pompey defence to lob Westerveld for his and Arsenal's second.

Another good move on 33 minutes brought Arsenal's 3rd, when 3 men got involved to set up Bendtner who shot past Westerveld. The Pompey Keeper made a fine save to keep out Owusu-Abeyie, but that was a temporary abasement as a minute later Owusu-Abeyie out-paced the visitors defence and latched onto a through ball to round Westerveld and stab home.

It was a much more even second half given that Arsenal were 4-1 ahead but then on 70 minutes Lupoli outpaced Wilson who got back to dispossess him only for the referee to deem it illegal and point to the spot.

The striker picked himself up to hammer home Arsenals 5th despite Westerveld getting a firm hand to the ball. As time was being played out Pompey staged a grandstand finish. On 86 minutes, out of the blue, Viafara hammered home a shot which rocketed in off the post, then a minute later Mbesuma raced clear, and buried the ball past Mannone. 30 seconds later Viafara shot narrowly wide as suddenly Arsenal were hanging on.

Arsenal's anxiety showed as Ryan Smith received a red card for pole-axing Viafara, moments before the final whistle.

Here is how the Pompey Reserve team lined up:

Westerveld
Day - Donaghey - Silk - Pearce
Songo'o - Skopelitis - Viafara - Fordyce
Wilson - Mbseuma

Subs: Swayne, Jordan, Roberts, Settle, Cousins

Lua Lua has no problem with Perrin

Some good news at last!

Our Congolese forward has reported on his Official Icons Website that rumours of a split between himself and Portsmouth boss Alain Perrin are false and insists he has not become a negative influence at Fratton Park.

"Further to stories that have been circulating in the media these past couple of days, I would like to go on record as saying that I have not had a bust-up with our coach Alain Perrin and certainly didn't storm out of Fratton Park following our game with Birmingham at the weekend."

"Granted, I was very disappointed to have been taken off after 75 minutes, particularly as the game was so delicately poised at 1-1, but it's not in my nature to start creating problems for the management or the team.

"I've never been a trouble-maker in my life and would hate the Pompey fans to think there is a problem with me behind the scenes.

"At the moment, I feel I am playing some of my best football of my career and having scored our only goal on Saturday, was feeling confident that I could double my tally.

"That's why I showed little emotion when I walked off, but if you look at any striker who's being substituted, they will react in the same way.

"Still, Mr Perrin had his reasons to take me off and I respect that. I know there has been some criticism aimed in my direction since Saturday but the best response is to get my head down, keep working hard and keep scoring goals."

Gillingham (3) 2-2 (2) Portsmouth (AET) - Report

Well that was fun while it lasted!

Tonight we crashed out of the Carling Cup at the hands of League 1 side Gillingham.

This performance by a near full strength side will raise major concerns with all Pompey fans. The team lacked effort, lacked heart and most of all lacked the desire to play for the Pompey shirt. Was this the result of signing 19 different nationalities? Were these players not up for a hard fight against lower league opposition on a cold September evening?

The fans at the end made their feelings clear by beating their chests and shouting abuse towards the team and management. Those fans deserve all the credit in the world of making the 200 mile round trip for a not very glamorous midweek cup tie.

So were did it all go wrong?

Any ideas that Pompey were going to treat this competition as second rate were quickly put to bed as Alain Perrin sent out a near full-strength side against League 1 opposition.

With this strong line up, we started the game ok and took the lead on 24 minutes with a quick break away. Andy O'Brien's long ball up field was perfect for Dario Silva to latch onto. He laid the ball back to an unmarked Gary O'Neil, who hammered the ball into the top corner of the net.

This should have enabled us to take the heat out of the game and control the tempo - let our supposable Premiership class shine through.

Instead of this, the rest of the half was a scrappy affair with both sides guilty of giving the ball away, but Pompey's lead looked comfortable until a comical misunderstanding between Ashdown and Taylor gifted Gillingham an equaliser.

Ashdown rolled the ball out to Taylor but the defender was unaware of the impending Darren Byfield who was re-entering the pitch after going off injured. Byfield stole the ball in front of Taylor and smashed it past Ashdown into the bottom corner.

We then made the ideal start to the second half. In the 48th minute O'Neil ran from deep with the ball and when he attempted to poke the ball home after Jason Brown blocked his shot he was fouled by Sancho and Matthew Taylor emphatically converted the penalty.

Six minutes later it all started to go wrong for Pompey. The impressive Darren Byfield worked some space and shot towards goal. His low drive struck diving Jamie Ashdown's right-hand post but then rebounded onto the back of the keeper's head before spinning over the line.

With time running down Pompey were gifted a golden chance to seal the game when a sweeping move sent Todorov clear. His tumble as Sancho tackled him looked dramatic, but the referee awarded a penalty only for the Bulgarian to fire the spot kick well wide.

Unlike the previous two halves, Pompey started extra time poorly and Gillingham looked to ram home their advantage. After a spell of sustained pressure the home side took the lead when Chapman got to the by line and crossed for Andrew Crofts in the 94th minute to coolly fire home from ten yards.

For the rest of extra time, we lacked a spark and never looked like scoring.

This ended a very short and disappointing league cup game for Pompey.


wanc.co.uk's Pompey Man of the Match: Gary O'Neil

In short, we gave Gillingham too much respect. We needed to go out there and dominate the game and make Gillingham work for this victory. We lacked a goal scorer. Fans moaned that Yakubu was lazy, but he did something Karadas and Silva can't - score goals!

Let's hope the same team can pull off a shock result on Saturday when we play away at Bolton.

The last line I will leave to the victorious Gillingham fans - "Premier League, your having a laugh" - based on this performance, I tend to agree!

Gillingham v Portsmouth - Team News

The Portsmouth team for tonights game away at Gillingham is:

Ashdown
Priske - O'Brien - Stefanovic - Vignal
O'Neil - Diao - Hughes - Taylor
Karadas - Silva

Subs: Westerveld, Songo'o, Todorov, Viafara, Skopeletis

and the Gillingham team is:

Brown
Sancho - Hope - Johnson - Rose
Hessenthaler - Flynn - Crofts - Jarvis
Byfield - Shields

Subs: Hislop, Pouton, Williams, Jackman, Crichton

Play up Pompey!

LuaLua injured by a giant cotton-bud

The News in Portsmouth is reporting that Lomana LuaLua is out of tonight's squad to face Gillingham after it emerged he injured his shoulder playing Gladiators.

The striker will see a specialist tomorrow after tearing muscles during the team-bonding exercise.

LuaLua was hurt when a member of the club's backroom staff knocked him off a podium with a giant rubber cotton-bud.

The Congolese forward, who was wearing a helmet, fell awkwardly when landing on a bouncy castle-type surface during last week's team-building day.

He played through Saturday's 1-1 draw against Birmingham with a heavily-strapped shoulder. I did wonder at the time what was wrong with his neck and shoulders at it were visibly strapped up during the game.

Hopefully for us, he should be fit for the Premiership clash at Bolton on Saturday.

Skopelitis and Taylor to start

It looks like I got my team prediction yesterday all wrong. The squad which has gone to Gillingham for tonight's Carling Cup Second Round game has been announced. There is no place for Svetoslav Todorov or Collins Mbesuma, but Giannis Skopelitis will play. I am totally amazed at this. I would have though, with the greatest respect to Gillingham, this would be the perfect game for these strikers, to get a good run out and maybe get some goals under their belts.

Also confirmed by the Portsmouth Official Website is the starting place for Giannis Skopelitis. Why? Ok I am not his biggest fan, and a game like tonight should be no problem for him. That is not my point thought. We now have players in our squad who are ahead of him in the pecking order, and did not start against Birmingham City on Saturday. The likes of John Viafara come to mind. Should he not be starting alongside someone like Salif Diao or Gary O'Neil to build up an understanding? This again is the perfect game for him to get 90 minutes experience playing with many of the first team players, without the pressure of premier league opponents and three points at stake.

This may seem like a pointless rant, but these small things really irritate me and make me wonder what goes through a manager's head sometimes!

Here is a link to the Portsmouth Official Website for all the team news ahead of tonight's game.

Time to unleash The Hurricane?

Since his transfer from the Kaizer Chiefs us Pompey fans have not seen much of our Zambian striker - Collins Mbesuma. In my previous article on Mbesuma I said how his current physical condition was causing concern with the Portsmouth management. So much so, he has not been near the first team squad since his brief cameo appearance against Tottenham on the opening game of the season.

On Tuesday night, we start our Carling Cup adventure away at League 1 side Gillingham. Our Kent opposition will be the perfect opposition for our young Zambian to cut his teeth in front of goal.

After a good 6 weeks of training at the Wellington Sports ground with the rest of the Pompey squad, I would hope Mbesuma is now physically fit and ready to start for the first team. A lot is expected of the lad, labelled the new Yakubu upon his arrival in England. After watching LuaLua and Silva on Saturday, the need for a consistent goal scorer is evident.

I received criticism for my views on Silva after the game. I don’t believe signing a 32 year old who was released by his previous club is really showing ambition and moving the club forward. That is why I am paying so much attention to Collins Mbesuma. If he lives up to the hype, we have a true star on our hands. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

After the game tomorrow night (depending if he starts of course) we will hopefully have a better idea what sort of player we have signed.

The team I would play tomorrow against Gillingham would be:

Westerveld
Griffin - Priske - Stefanovic - Taylor
Songo'o - Diao - O'Neil - Vukic
Todorov - Mbseuma

Subs: Ashdown, Viafara, LuaLua, Robert, O'Brien

Portsmouth 1-1 Birmingham City - Report

The day started with me full of optimism but ended in disappointment. Today was my first game back at Fratton Park since my holiday kept me away from the opening games against Tottenham and Villa.

The excitement started for me the night before; dreaming of a Silva hat trick, Vukic magic and thrilling football that flowed so freely one week ago verses Everton.

The stage was set. The sun was shining, the players were signed and the Fratton Faithful came in expectation.

The team was unchanged from the team that beat Everton. The only change came on the bench where Griffin dropped out and replaced by Skopelitis.

Ashdown
Priske - O'Brien - Stefanovic - Vignal
O'Neil - Diao - Hughes - Robert
LuaLua - Silva

Subs: Westerveld, Skopelitis, Karadas, Viafara, Vukic

The game started at a good pace and only took 4 minutes before the opening goal was scored. Lomana Lualua cashed in on hesitant defending from Maik Taylor and Nicky Butt to poke the ball home from a couple of yards after a Laurent Robert corner.


Queue the foolish "easy" chants from the 18,000 Pompey fans. This was soon shoved straight back down our throats as Birmingham hit back straight away. A needless fowl by Robert by the touchline gave Pennant the opportunity to deliver a quality free kick into the box. Slack marking by Priske allowed Jarosik a free header from eight yards which he made no mistake in converting.

Not a lot happened for the rest of the half until an off the ball incident between Silva and Butt caught the linesman's attention at a Pompey free kick. The incident involved Silva jostling for position with Butt. The former Manchester United and Newcastle reject reacted angrily to this and kicked him up the jacksie. This resulted in a straight red card.

Now with the opposition down to 10 men, you would have expected us to come out the traps in the second half and really take the game to Birmingham. This did not happen. The first 10 minutes of the second half was all Birmingham, and we looked like the team down to 10 men.

It took till the 60th minute until Pompey started to come back into the game. This coincided with a nailed-on penalty appeal which was turned down as Tebily grabbed a fistful of Silva's shirt right under Gallagher's nose, but he amazingly waved play on. Then Vukic came on to replace Hughes. Why was this not done at half time? This was a game we had to win.

With 70 minutes gone Maik Taylo superbly pushed away O'Neil's 18-yard drive after good work from Robert.

Then 5 minutes later our next clear cut chance fell to veteran striker Silva. A well worked Pompey move found Silva with time and space in the box but his low left-footed drive was pushed away by Taylor.

This was the second time in 5 minutes the Birmingham keeper had saved his team.

Then with 10 minutes of normal time to play, the creative Vukic wasted a glorious chance when played clean through by Silva, but he hit his shot over from a few yards. This was a really bad miss.

Then with seconds left on the clock, the lazy but talented Robert blasts a free-kick towards goal. Taylor finds this shot to hot to handle and spills it in the direction of O'Neil. Instead of going at it with his left foot, he tries to toe poke it with his right. Wretchedly for us, the ball rolls agonisingly wide.

At full-time it ended Pompey 1 Birmingham City 1

wanc.co.uk's Pompey Man of the Match: Gary O'Neil

I really thought we would get 3 points today. Given the chances we created, we should have beaten the 10 men of Birmingham.

In my opinion, we are still lacking a top class goal scorer. We should have broken the bank during the summer to replace Yakubu. Some fans thought he was lazy, but one thing he guaranteed was goals. This is something none of our strikers at present can guarantee.

While watching the Manchester United v Liverpool game this lunchtime, the commentators suggested that Djibril Cisse would become available in the January transfer window. Ok, he would cost serious money (in the region of £5 - £7 million) but we sold Yakubu for £7.5 million, did not spend the £2million+ on Kamara and where did the money we had available to sign Michael Carrick ever go?

Now that would be a player to "get the fans excited" as we were promised by Milan.

It is time we stop trying to stay in the Premier league on the cheep and buy 1 or even 2 top class players to really improve our side and take us to the next level. We really are not that far away from achieving this. That is why it's so frustrating!

At this rate, teams like Wigan and West Ham will be overtaking us.

Anyway, enough of the negativity. Roll on Tuesday with our Carling Cup game away at Gillingham. Let's hope for a long and successful cup run this year.

Play up Pompey!

Everton 0-1 Portsmouth - Report

At the fifth time of asking, Pompey finally recorded their first win of the season. Too add to this delight, the win was achieved away from home. Our last away win occurred on Boxing Day last year at Crystal Palace. This just shows how rare these are.

The winning goal came from an unlikely source. Everton striker Duncan Ferguson scored an own goal after connecting with a Laurent Robert corner. Too be honest, I don’t care where the goals come from, as long as they count for Pompey. We have been on the wrong end of two own goals this season, so maybe our luck was changing?

We were good value for this away win, with Lomano LuaLua striking the crossbar during the first half and our new Uruguayan international striker Dario Silva also coming close.

We did have our scares at the other end with recalled keeper Jamie Ashdown making a smart save to keep out a Mikel Arteta's free-kick. It was good to see Jamie back in the goal after many costly mistakes from former Liverpool keeper Sander Westerveld.

Portsmouth made a confident start to the game and twice LuaLua broke clear down the right, only to make a mess of his final delivery.

Richard Hughes was also denied a blatant penalty as he was held and pushed in his attempt to round David Weir, but referee Martin Atkinson waved away penalty appeals.

Portsmouth worked hard as a unit to deny Everton and their effort was underpinned by former Liverpool player Salif Diao who made some key challenges in a midfield anchor role.

Portsmouth were always looking to work the ball into the feet of the pacy front pair. Everton's attacking efforts were one-dimensional as they looked to find the head of Ferguson and hope Marcus Bent could feed off his knock-downs. This was food and drink of our dominating central defenders.

Overall, we deserved the win and I hope we continue to progress with this style of football. We look strong in defence, comfortable on the ball and break with pace and power.

wanc.co.uk's Pompey Man of the Match: Salif Diao

Everton v Portsmouth - Team News

The Portsmouth Team for todays game away at Everton is:

Ashdown
Priske - O'Brien - Stefanovic - Vignal
O'Neil - Diao - Hughes - Robert
LuaLua - Silva

Subs: Westerveld, Griffin, Karadas, Viafara, Vukic

and the Everton team is:

Martyn
Hibbert - Weir - Yobo - Nuno Valente
Davies - Arteta - Cahill - Kilbane
Bent - Ferguson

Subs: Wright, Beattie, McFadden, Ferrari, Osman

Play up Pompey!

Demolition work update - The progress so far

Lots of things have happened at Fratton Park since Thursday August 11th 2005 including new signings, poor results and speculation over our manager's future. But the thing most important to the long term future of the club is the new stadium.

I promised in an earlier post that I would keep everyone updated on the progress, and with nearly one month gone, I thought it was time for an update.

So on this hot and sunny day, while everyone is tucked up inside watching the Ashes, I decided to take a trip down to Fratton Park. This was my first trip down the Park since the work began as I missed the first two home games against Tottenham and Villa as I was on holiday.

I am pleased to report the study centre is no more. All that remains is a small pile of rubble. The demolishers seem to have made good progress in this area.

While I was amongst the rubble, I was trying to visualise the new stands surrounding me as I stood in the new centre circle. I am now even more convinced it is really going to happen!

On the negative side though, I was disappointed not to see more than two workers on the site. These two, in which were perfect conditions for work, were sitting in their portable office drinking tea.

I was also told by one of demolishers before the work began that after four to five weeks, ALL of the buildings would be down. As you can see from my photographs, this is not the case. I am not worried because as I understand it, there is a gap between the demolition being finished and the first construction of the new North Stand.

I will pop back in a couple of weeks, most probably on the 17th September as Portsmouth are at home that day to Birmingham City. Hopefully by then, everything will be down! Check back then for more updates.

FA Statement regarding Collins Mbesuma

Here is a statement from Kalusha Bwalya who is Technical Director and Vice President of The Football Association of Zambia regarding the reports made in press about our striker Collins Mbesuma. This statement exonerates him from the reports made before the World Cup qualifying game against Senegal at the weekend.

RE: Collins Mbesuma Newspaper Report From 'The Post'.

With regards to the above I would like to place on record the true version as follows;

On Wednesday afternoon Collins went to watch his old club Roane United Football Cub play and address his old team mates in the change room.

At the stadium where he watched the game a few unruly fans questioned his absence from National Team Camp given the importance of the impending World Cup Qualifying match.

When the fans realised Collins was present the police escort was necessary given Colins' popularity in Zambia.

He reported to National Team duty on Wednesday early evening and explained and apologised for being slightly late. An apology I accepted.

He reported to camp fully sober which was witnessed by my entire technical staff. The media reports that he was found drinking are false.

We have noticed the reporting medium, 'The Post' is particularly revengeful towards Collins because he rejected their invitation to attend a farewell party they had set up for him prior to his leaving for the UK to Portsmouth.

We find the reports as published and widely syndicated by 'The Post' deplorable and have reprimanded the journalist in question for the damage he has cause to both the player in question and the association as a whole.

From the three daily newspapers in Zambia, 'The Post' was the only to report this potentially destabilizing story.

Collins forms a key part of our National Team and his performance on Saturday against Senegal was excellent.

As the National coach, any form of indiscipline is unaccepted and we are quick to react when a player behaves badly.

Collins played the full 90 minutes and I was satisfied with his performance.

I hope the above puts paid to false reports and exposes the amateurish journalism which takes place in Zambia on a daily basis.

International Roundup and Alain Perrin News

After all the summer transfer signings, Pompey's 30 man squad now consists of 19 different nationalities.

These include; four Frenchmen, six Englishmen, two Greeks, two Serbs, two Senegalese, an Irishman, Welshman, Scot, Uruguayan, Colombian, Zambian, Norwegian, Dane, Dutchman, Croat, Congolese, Italian, Slovenian and a talented Bulgarian. This complements our Serb Chairman, French Manager and Croat Director of Football.

So, in a weekend of no domestic Premiership football, I thought I'd see how our international stars got on in the World Cup Qualifiers (this was no quick job!)

Wales 0 - England 1
Richard Duffy (Wales) - Played the whole 90 minutes.

Zambia 0 - Senegal 1
Collins Mbesuma (Zambia) - Played the whole 90 minutes.

Former Pompey player Amdy Faye played the whole 90 minutes, while Diomansy Kamara watched the game from the bench as an unused substitute.

Turkey 2 - Denmark 2
Brian Priske (Denmark) - Came on at half time.

Serbia and Montenegro 2 - Lithuania 0
Zvonimir Vukic (Serbia and Montenegro) - Came on in the 89th minute.

Slovenia 2 - Norway 3
Aleksandar Rodic (Slovenia) - Played the whole 90 minutes. Scored a goal in the 3rd minute.

Congo DR 2 - Cape Verde Islands 1
Lomana Tresor LuaLua (Congo DR) - Played the whole 90 minutes.

There are still a few games to be played this weekend with our players involved. These include John Viafara for Columbia and Andy O'Brien for the Republic of Ireland. Good luck to them.

In other Pompey news this weekend, the Sunday Mirror newspaper are reporting that our manager Alain Perrin is set to become the Premiership's first managerial casualty this season.

They claim that he will be given just five more games to save his job with the Pompey board already drawing up a list of successors, with Luton's Mike Newell emerging as their prime target.

I really think this is just the usual newspaper rubbish, with them making up stories with no substance to back it up. We really need to give Perrin at least one whole season in charge before we can judge is capabilities as a manager.

Jeu vers le haut de Pomepy - or something like that!

Deadline Day Signings

Pompey were very busy up until the end of the summer transfer window. In the last few hours we captured 3 international stars.

The first player to join the ranks was French Under-19 international, Frank Songo'o which was described as a major coup for the club in picking up one of the brightest young talents.

Pompey fought off a number of other teams to gain the signature of the 19 year old midfielder, who came up through the ranks of Barcelona's youth set up.

Club Chairman Milan Mandaric told the Official Website of his delighted in Songo'o's arrival at Fratton Park and says the player is one for the future: "This is a player with a lot of potential. He has both pace and skill so he is an investment."

This has to be the signing I was most excited at. Finally a proper replacement for Steve Stone?

Then, after being promised a top class striker all summer that would excite the fans, his identity was finally revealed.

The player is Uruguayan striker Dario Silva from Spanish club Sevilla. The goalscorer was high on the list of targets and Pompey clinched his signature on deadine day with a two year deal much to their delight.

He is described as quick and strong, but at 32 years old, I wonder if his best years are behind him? Although saying this, it could be a masterstroke bringing in someone with vast European and International experience to bring out the best in our young and raw strikers (the likes of Collins Mbesuma, James Keene, Vincent Pericard and Lomana Tresor LuaLua)

Chief Executive Peter Storrie told the Official Website: "He is a top quality striker who will give us that extra needed ingredient up front and around goal."

"He is one of a number of strikers from around Europe that we've had our eye on and we have stuck at it right up until the deadline day and reaped our reward with this player."

"Dario has played at the highest level in Italy and Spain so the Premier League will not daunt him."

Time will tell if he is a Karadas or a Yakubu


The final of the deadline day signing came as a bigger surprise. As all Pompey fans were heading to bed after a day of nervous tension and excitement, the breaking news banner on Sky Sports News changed to sunshine yellow. "Portsmouth complete the one year loan signing of Liverpool's Salif Diao."

My first thought was why is he needed? But after watching the reserve team loose last night at Fratton Park to West Ham United, it showed we have no strength in depth in our squad. The main competition to Richard Hughes's starting place is Giannis Skopelitis. How this player can be classed as a Premiership player is beyond belief.

Hopefully this signing with bolster the squad and provide adequate cover in a position we lack quality. He must have something about him seeing as Liverpool played £5m for him.

Chief Executive Peter Storrie told the Official Website: "Salif is a competitive midfield man and with his addition we now have a very competitive midfield in itself.

"In the last few days we have signed an attacking midfield man, a goal-scoring striker and now another tenacious tackler with strength so we believe given these additions to the options already at our disposal we have an all round team capable of taking us in the right direction."

Chairman Milan Mandaric told the Official Webste: "It's late at night but I am satisfied we have done all we can after a lot of hard work to secure the signings we needed to strengthen."

"In the lead up to the deadline we have looked at all our options and acted by bringing in the players we think will make that difference."

"Our defeats have all been narrow ones so far, with not a lot to choose, so naturally the talent we have secured in the vital areas of the field should tip the balance in our favor.

"I am happy tonight that deadline day has concluded satisfactorily for us."

Overall I am now quietly confident about our chances this season. Well done Milan and the team for all the hard work in getting all of these deals done.

Play up Pompey!