Archive for the ‘football’ Category
A Neutral View on the Plight of Portsmouth
At the time of writing, Portsmouth are basking in the light of a silver lining on the single cloud covering their sky. They sit at the foot of the Premier League two points behind the team immediately above, having played a game more.
This is actually a slightly experimental post, as it is being written by request, after I asked my facebook friends for subject ideas. The title is based on the way this suggestion was phrased, i.e. ‘The continuing plight of Portsmouth FC from an entirely neutral footballing perspective’. I think there are actually two sides to the Portsmouth situation though, and it’s the behind the scenes element that prompts the use of a word like plight. That may seem an odd thing to say about a team that’s just lost seven league games on the trot and props up the table, but I think they’ve been on the wrong end of some close games, and with them finally getting a win under their belts, they may now have a little more confidence and momentum to start the long hard climb up the table to safety. As long as the traumas over their ownership and financial problems don’t carry on for too long, or in fact get worse, then I don’t think they will get relegated.
It seems that no side has lost their first seven games of a Premier League season and gone on to survive, but I really do think that Portsmouth might buck the trend. Sadly, the team stats pages on football365 no longer show a comparison of results against each of the other teams in the league for the current and previous seasons, but while they did it was something I found a more real way of seeing how my team was getting on if it felt they weren’t in a league position that really reflected the way they’d been playing. Even without that though, we can see who it is that Portsmouth played and lost to in that horrendous seven game run.
For a couple of seasons Pompey were in the group of teams outside the real title challengers, but in with a decent chance of a European place and maybe a good cup run. Last season they fell off that pace a little though, and finished 14th in the table. The teams they’ve lost to so far this season all finished above them last season, apart from a promoted Birmingham City. Five of the seven games were only lost by a single goal, with Villa beating them 2-0, and Arsenal 4-0, though they certainly aren’t alone in taking a beating from the Arse this season and pretty much any other in recent years. Given that 1-0 losses have been against Everton and Fulham, that makes up positions 4 to 7 from last season, Man City were 10th but I doubt anyone would expect them not to improve on that, and even the lowest of last seasons finishers were Bolton, and you never quite know which Bolton will turn up, and losing 3-2 to them isn’t exactly shameful. Given that as a list of fixtures prior to any of the games being played, I doubt many football fans or pundits would give Portsmouth more than 6 points at best, and maybe if they got draws with Bolton and Birmingham, only 2 points, which prior to the win against Wolves would leave them in the same position at the bottom of the table anyway.
I watched the televised game against Everton, and on the balance of play, Portsmouth deserved at least a draw*. From watching results shows and Match of the Day, I’d say they were a side having a very poor run, but not one that was getting easily turned over on a regular basis. Given that there have been so many difficulties off the pitch, a massive amount of credit is due to Paul Hart for at least keeping them near the right track, and when the opportunity presented itself to finally put some points on the board in their most recent game, they managed to keep their lead.
Oddly enough, as I’ve been writing this, news has come through that Ali Al-Faraj has completed a takeover of the club. I dare say this won’t be a cure all, but if it means stability off the pitch , it should hopefully let the players get in with playing, and the manager get on with doing his job.
Four of Portsmouth’s next five fixtures are against Hull, Wigan, Blackburn and Stoke. It’s often said, but in spite of the fact that no games are easy in the Premier League, that is a much kinder run than the one they’re coming out of. The next game is a very big one for them too. What better way to go into the four games mentioned than on the back of a home win against their ultimate Judas when Spurs visit on Saturday. If they only get one scalp from the teams near the top of the table this season, the timing of this one could be enough to keep the momentum going, and take them to safety before other sides even realise they’re starting to slide in the other direction.
An extra filip could be the fact that in spite of their poor league record, they hadn’t entirely lost the ability to win. Granted, the opposition wasn’t of the highest standard, but they’ve progressed through a couple of rounds of the League Cup without any sign of a banana skin, scoring seven goals in the process.
* Impartiality only goes so far. I do think that Portsmouth should have got more from the game against Everton. Most likely a draw, they’d have been flattered by a win, but beyond any doubt they should have had a red card for whoever it was that tried to decapitate Bilyaletdinov almost as soon as he came on (I think it was Kaboul).
