June 2009 - Front Page Articles

We are proud to publish OzPompey's diary covering Pompey's FA Cup Final triumph. This is really brilliant and well worth a read.

It all began at......

11.55pm western Australia time, Sat.5^th April....

Final whistle has gone....I am dancing around the room shouting at the top of my voice, we've won, were in the final...the FA CUP FINAL!!!!...

Where is my laptop, got to find a cheap flight home. HAVE TO BE THERE!!!....

Sun.6^th April... the next morning...

Have booked my flight, bit of a roundabout route, Perth to Kuala Lumper, KL to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Heathrow.....now I have my flight sorted, got to find a ticket for the game....

Fri.25^th April.....

Tried to get a ticket from Pompey, but no chance, they are like gold dust.., had to buy one from an online ticket agency. Cost me an arm and a leg...so far have spent 2970 dollars for flight and final ticket, ticket going to my sister Ann in Leigh Park.

Thurs.8^th May...

Text message from Ann....my Final ticket was delivered today.......WEMBLEY HERE I COME!!!!!!!.......

Weds.14^th May

Finally I am going, my partner Karen reckons I have been murder to live with these last few weeks.....a few other Pompey fans at the airport on their way back....sadly  all on different flights to me.

5.00 pm..  The plane takes off and my journey begins...

Thurs.15^th May.....   08.45 am London time....

22 hours and 45 mins of flying and hanging around in airports I land at Heathrow...another 30 odd mins later and I am in terminal 4 arrivals, my sister her husband and my niece there to greet me. My mum who lives in Cornwall now has come up to Pompey, but she has waited at my sister's house......a couple of hours later, for the first time in 6 years I am back in Pompey, nothing seems any different....first thing I do is check my Final ticket, I want it in my hands just to make sure I have it.....off to the Pompey shop at Fratton Park later........

Back from the Pompey shop...spent a fortune, but saves paying postage to Australia when I buy online.....

I  am tired but can't settle down, the closer the kick off gets the more nervous I am.....Ann says she feels sorry for Karen having to put up with me like this for a few weeks, she is glad it is only for a couple of days...

Fri.16^th May......

Got up around 5.00 am..  just can't sleep, lucky my brother in law is a very early riser, the coffee is already made......

9.30 am..... Off down commercial road, have a look around, see what the atmosphere is like around the town....spent a fortune , lots of banners and posters splashed around the city, even met a guy wearing a shirt who is part of pompey's supporters club in Spain....we swapped a few airport stories.......

11.30pm....  have spent all evening just doing nothing, can't watch TV, don't seem able to concentrate on the screen, conversations with me are apparently one sided, can't eat, have drunk gallons of coffee I think, wander from one room to the other, out to the garden, family keep telling me to sit still or go out, I am driving them mad. What on earth is wrong with me they ask....I am acting like a kid, not a grown man...I tell them what's wrong with me. I have been a pompey fan for over 45 years, have followed them all over England, in all 4 divisions, now I am gonna watch them in the cup final , and I know we are gonna lose ,it's typical pompey!!!....so here I am laying in bed, can't sleep, just lying here with the fear of losing tomorrow coursing through me..........

Sat.17^th May...

6.15am..... Not much sleep again. Restless till around ten waiting for my niece, I got her a ticket next to my seat, so going up together...finally Rachel, my niece, arrives and we are off. My sister tells me if we lose, to get straight back on the plane home, she doesn't want to put up with me if we lose.....Drive to Petersfield , then jump on the Waterloo train from there....

The lack of sleep really show's on my face in this picture.......

Lots of Pompey fans on the train, I became a sort of minor celebrity when I  mentioned I was back from Australia for the game...everyone wanted to shake my hand.... great journey to Waterloo, talking about Pompey and reliving old memories.....train arrives at Waterloo and we all pile off and head to the underground.....hearing "the Pompey chimes" ringing around Waterloo makes me shiver....been too long since I was amongst the Pompey fans....it is the one thing I really miss, living in Australia......tube train arrives and I am  walking down Wembley way, only ever saw it on TV, but have dreamed of walking along it with thousands of Pompey fans around me....

We stop for a coffee and a bag of chips, just watching the fans go past, listening to the songs....looking back down Wembley way, I still can't believe I am here, watching Pompey fans stream towards Wembley...

But as I look up the giant screen and the Pompey flags snap me out of it. It's not a dream, its real, Pompey are in the final of the FA cup and I am here to see it....dreams and wishes do come true!!

1.30pm....We decided to head into the stadium, I want to take it all in, want to soak up the atmosphere as the ground fills up.....

1.40pm... We are in and find our seats -

Sitting here looking around this magnificent stadium, I think of the old run down stadiums I have been to over the years, Rochdale, Wigan, Halifax, Northampton and all the rest before the Taylor report. All those times I never thought I would get to Wembley with Pompey, but here I am and the bitter disappointment I felt at Highbury and Villa Park all those years ago when we lost the semi against Liverpool is gone....this time we did it.

2.45pm.... The ground erupts, me with it as the teams come out..

3.00pm... National anthems are over, all the dignitaries have left the field and it is just the two teams and the officials left..the game begins...

3.37pm..... Utaka crosses, keeper parries, kanu pounces, YESSSSS!!!!!!...

Pompey have scored, I jump about twenty feet into the air, I hug my niece, I hug the people around me, I even hug the steward, he must think I am a complete lunatic, as I jump around grabbing everybody in arms reach of me, all the time shouting yessssss at the top of my voice.....

3.48pm.... It's half time, thank god, I need to get a cold drink and calm down a bit....send a few text messages to my partner, she is watching it on the telly back home in Australia...

4.03pm... The second half kicks off..."c'mon Pompey" I think to myself "don't blow it. Don't be so cruel to me again...you have done it to me so many times through the years, please don't do it this time, I couldn't stand it!!!".....

4.52pm.... The final whistle goes at last...the added time has dragged, I think I had a dozen heart attacks in those few minutes...

But it's all worth it, all the nerves and restlessness, all the lack of sleep and unable to eat, all the fears and worries, have all been dismissed..We have won the cup!!!!!

Watch the officials and the Cardiff team go up and collect their medals with unabashed impatience....come on get on with it...I want to see Sol lift the cup!!!!!....

Don't think I have shouted so loud before in my life as I watch Sol hold the cup up......after all these years, all the highs and a lot more lows, supporting and following Pompey all over England, this makes up for it, I cannot begin to describe how I feel at this moment...but god I love this Club!!!!!....

We watch all the celebrations on and off the pitch, my niece, Rachel, is absolutely delighted to be here, I am glad I arranged it for her, it is a magical 20 minutes or so....

5.20pm.... Time to head home...down Wembley way all you can hear is the Pompey chimes and renditions of "when Sol went up to lift the FA cup we were there"....it's an absolute emotional kaleidoscope....

On the tube, can't believe we got the wrong one!!!..It's full of Cardiff fans!!!....no trouble, but we wanted to be with the Pompey fans...

At Waterloo and it's a sea of blue and white, Pompey fans everywhere, everybody hugging and shaking hands with people they don't know....there are no strangers today, only fellow Pompey fans.

Some are only young and don't know the dark old days...some are of my generation, and like me can't quite take it all in....it's surreal to us to be the cup winners...we were used to dreary stadiums and relegation......the train back is another few hours of delirium, everyone is singing, everybody is best friends, it's a great time to be a Pompey fan !!...

Sometime around midnight....am in bed, have spent all evening talking about the game, read the football mail about ten times, watched every news programme and BBC highlights....now I have driven everyone mad, I will finally have a decent night's sleep, for the first time in weeks I think...got an early start tomorrow, off to Cornwall to see other family who live there now, for a couple of days before I fly home.....

Sun.18th April..... 8.30am,  on the train to Cornwall, can't believe it is going to take two hours longer to go from Pompey to Cornwall, than it took me to fly from western Australia to Malaysia....

4.00pm.... My sister and her husband pick  us up at the train station, stop in the local shop on way to my Mum's house...and can you believe it???....there is a guy in the queue wearing a Pompey shirt!!!!!...he didn't go to the game,s o spend twenty  minutes or so telling him all about it...spend most of the evening telling my family all about yesterday I can't shut up, I am still as excited as a dog with two tails.


Weds 21st May.....9.00am....

Spent the last few days doing next to nothing....now it's time for the long journey home....

Drive to Newquay airport, flight to Gatwick, coach to Heathrow terminal 5, tube train to terminal 4, flight to Amsterdam, flight to Kuala Lumper, flight to Perth then drive home.

Fri, 23rd May...00.50am Western Australia time.

After around 32 hours of travelling and hanging around airports waiting for flights, I am home. Karen wants to go to sleep, but I want to tell her everything, she knows we won of course, but I have reminded her of that at least 20 times since I got off the plane. She forgives me, she know just how much Pompey winning the cup means to me. Somewhere during my tenth time of explaining how Kanu scored she has drifted off to sleep, but I can't, I am not sure whether it is today or next week, my body clock gave up somewhere over eastern Europe......still I have three days before I go back to work. Probably bore everyone to death in the next few weeks reliving the day Pompey won the cup.....but I don't care!!!!....we won!!!!!...Pompey won the FA cup!!!!!!.......and the best thing about it all is, when SOL went up to lift the FA cup.....I WAS THERE!!


Sat.24th May.....Sometime in the morning...

Karen came back from the local shopping mall, she tells me that the Canterbury clothing shop has a really nice Pompey top in the window. I go and have a look....AND it's the new home shirt for next season, I immediately buy one. I am amazed that it's not even released in Pompey yet, but here I am on the other side of the world wearing it. The woman in the shop said it's the first one she has sold...what an end to the greatest last week or so of my life to be the first Pompey fan in the world to wear the new home shirt for the 2008/09 season

I think I mentioned this before, but just in case I never.....

WE WON!!!!....... Pompey won the FA cup!!!!!!!!!!!!.....

God, I love that Club.....

PLAY UP POMPEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The picture of me in 2008/09 home shirt. Taken Saturday 24th may 2008. Printed in the Portsmouth evening news, Tuesday 9th September 2008

Are you tired of the damaging nonsense printed about Pompey by the Sun?

We are and as a result Vital Pompey and myPompey have teamed up to create a powerful coalition which will endeavor to Boot the Sun out of Pompey until it mends its ways.

myPompey and Vital Pompey are independent fans sites and as such we are 'rivals' in many ways given we try to ensure that each is a first port of call for Pompey fans – let’s be honest here!

That said, with Vital Pompey and myPompey being among the best and most respected Pompey sites out there, we felt that joining forces on the issue of tackling the Sun will be beneficial for all Pompey fans and of course, the Club we all love.

We are tired of the slurs that this 'rag' keeps pushing our way and are we tired of the pain and hurt that this causes Pompey fans, the Club and the effect it has on the City as a whole. Not only does this publication damage us but it also influences others with its often inaccurate and mischievous reporting.

 That’s why we have joined forces to help... Boot the Sun out of Pompey!

How can you help?

Portsmouth and the surrounding area is one of the largest subscribers to the Sun. So we ask you to stop buying the rag and get it booted out of Portsmouth.  Hurt them where it hurts most, in the pocket!

You can also help by refusing to read it online and generally wherever possible, avoid it like the plague.

Perhaps if enough sales are lost the Sun will sit up and take notice and who knows, it might even mend its ways. Even if it doesn’t, you know you will have done your bit for the Club and the City of Portsmouth.

Feel free to copy and distribute the 'Boot the Bun out of Portsmouth' graphic for your own related campaigns.

I bet Peter Storrie feels like a circus juggling act some days. Keeping the business running but unsure as to whether the takeover will proceed as planned. How can you prepare for the new season not knowing whether you are broke or being bankrolled by a new owner?

One of the more obvious problems during this period is how to ensure the squad is in place for either scenario before the start of the season. No easy task when you consider the potential difference in budgets and the personalities involved. We put the following questions to Peter Storrie:

Where do we stand on new players coming in? We understand that scouts have suggested targets for both scenarios, but how does that tie up with the manager situation? Is Paul Hart involved in selecting targets for either scenario? How confident are you that we will be able to bring players in before the end of the window considering it could be late July or later before everything is settled?

Peter Storrie:

"We have a very detailed scouting system and have several players in a range of positions lined up once the DD [due diligence] has finished."

"Paul Hart has been involved in the names as have the advisors of Dr Sulaiman."

"We should conclude several mid to late July."

Given the flamboyance of Al Fahim compared to the laid back nature of Paul Hart, I should imagine the names being scouted are very different, both in terms of costs and playing style. I doubt very much if there was one name common to both lists.

Although in saying that Peter Storrie did comment at the end of the season that Paul Hart would change his approach once  relegation had been avoided.

Let's put Wigan down to an off day then shall we and hope that in either scenario next season we adopt a playing style that doesn't set out to bore the pants off us in our efforts to avoid relegation.

Come on 'Doc' let's see some new shirts...

As reported on myPompey a couple of weeks back, Johnson is readying himself for a move up north. Well, north of Pompey at least. That is unless free spending Madrid or one of the other Euro heavyweights suddenly realizes that Johnson is every bit as good as Diarra or Muntari and then some.

As it is the press are claiming that Liverpool is in the driving seat for his signature with Chelsea and City waiting in the wings. I guess Chelsea is an unlikely destination now, given Johnson's recent comments about his experiences there, plus of course you need to take into account the small matter of what we paid for him, £4m, as against his current value in the region of £18m.

City too, despite their riches can surely offer little more than we can. In fact arguably less. With summer spending just about to get into its stride there's no guarantee of what the City first eleven will look like come kick off in August. In saying that if Johnson did swap the Blue of Pompey for the Blue of City then who knows, a certain Benjani might be part of the deal.

The Blues of City, Chelsea and Pompey aside, Liverpool may well end up being Glen's new home.  With Champion's League football on offer and no previous transfer dealings to muddy the water, Liverpool looks a likely destination.

But with squad rotation not an if or a maybe but a certainty, plus £300m+ of loans currently in question, Anfield may well end up being a very poor choice.  I would have thought that Johnson would seek stability both in his football and his contractual arrangements. Ok, let's be honest, nobody really expects Liverpool to go bust in the summer but the very thought of it must surely play on the mind of a player who won't regret leaving similar issues behind at Pompey.

The fact is when you get to Johnson's level, career moves are a minefield. Brits tend not to do too well overseas leaving the home country as the only realistic choice. It says something about the progress of Pompey that our best players now attract the best Clubs, even if losing them feels very much like a double edged sword.

Much of this is down to the extraordinary abilities of Redknapp. OK his youth work is nonexistent and he exiles faces that don't fit, but there is no doubting his eye for talent.  On the one hand we berate him for his ethics or lack of them, but on the other you can't ignore his ability to sniff out players and then sell them on for massive profit often only months after acquiring them.

So as Johnson peruses his future and we await ours, there are many lessons to be learned from this situation we collectively find ourselves in.

The first is that whatever we think about Johnson leaving or the past exits of Diarra and Muntari, there is no doubting that the fees that swap hands as they leave are very, very welcome and without them, in the case of the guys that went south, we'd probably already be relegated.

The second is that there will be another Johnson. As good as he is, he is no King of time and as it ticks by someone better will come along and why not to Pompey? With that in mind the future may already be here. Kaboul is one hell of a talent and although currently lacking the polish of Johnson is probably a better athlete and has arguably a shinier future in front of him.

Furthermore, let's not forget the underlying reasons we are so disappointed with the news that Johnson may leave us. Yep it's that man Redknapp again. He may well have left us with another hell of hangover, but he was also responsible for the good times, especially in terms of the players his presence enticed to Fratton Park.

So with the takeover hopefully nearing conclusion there is one final lesson to be learned. It's not the players that make a Club as they can and will be replaced; it's the manager that makes the long term difference.

Ok, so nobody wants Redknapp back, but the odd faux pas aside his time here is a blue print for success and as the Doc and Peter Storrie plan for the future they need to keep this in mind. Remember guys, we need a manager with Redknapp's charisma and his eye for talent and hopefully some stability, so that new players that come in don't need to be sold every few months in order to balance the bloody books.

With the ‘Doc' being diligent about his diligence and the Club saying little about anything, our attention turns to Ronaldo's impending move to Real Madrid. Or rather it doesn't. Personally I think the guy is over hyped and overrated. Greatest player in the World? Maybe when he's playing the right type of opposition but as for the undisputed #1 - forget it.

Ok so the bloke can take a good free kick and does manage to knock in a few goals, but the nagging doubt for me is that he's only ever showed his stuff when playing for United. Given a team full of stars you'd expect a donkey to do well if the service is right and the service from Rooney and Co most certainly is very, very right.

Of course the investment Madrid is making is much more than what the Portuguese winger might do on the pitch. As Beckham demonstrated at Milan, the right player in the right marketplace can pay back the cost of acquisition many times over. Beckham for example has seen his name printed on more than 3,000,000 shirts since his arrival. Work that one out - the numbers involved in paying off Galaxy and Beckham's personal terms suddenly appear insignificant.

Despite the obvious merchandising opportunities, much of Ronaldo's perceived value I am convinced is as a result of him being born on the Peninsula and consequently being pursued non-stop by Real Madrid. You have to question how much United would have received for him for had his price not been inflated by years of Spanish kiss chase. Agreed, City are now flashing their Black Amex and appear to be prepared to pay the sticker price without attempting to negotiate, but take these two out of the mix and prices fall back to a more reasonable level.

So if a player's value is the sum of his contribution on and off the pitch where does that leave the likes of Glen Johnson? Yes I may be biased, but I think he is a far better all round player than Ronaldo and for that matter Gareth Barry, who incidentally is being put forward as his similar money team mate at City. 

At a touted £15m to £20m, Johnson has to be the bargain of the year. On current form he's in the top 4 or 5 players in the Premier League, yet the other 3 or 4 in this elite group would be on the market for £25m+ at least. Don't ask to me to name names because the list changes on a regular basis, but would you be talking of Gerrard as a sub £20m player? Or Torres? Or Tevez? And we know what Ronaldo is valued at.

So why then is Johnson so undervalued? Well a lot has to do with fact that Pompey don't get a lot of media coverage. How many people get to watch him on the box? Not a lot I'll wager when MOTD and Sky relegate us to weekly also-rans in their media schedules.

It hasn't escaped my attention nor yours probably, that pundits only rave about Johnson when Pompey play live on telly or he plays for England and in that respect the amount the Club eventually gets for him will be proportional to its own popularity.

Which presumably is part of the 'Doc's' game plan. Make Pompey a better known Club and then its assets fetch more when you sell them. Which is why the Doc will no doubt be working hard to keep Johnson at Pompey so that if and when he does go it will be at something closer to his truer value.

Doctor Sulaiman Al Fahim has confirmed that he was approached by "2 major clubs" following the announcement that he intended to buy Pompey.  The tabloids are claiming that the clubs concerned are Newcastle and Hammers, both known to be looking for new owners.

But it seems the Doc is having none of it, reconfirming his intentions to stick with his original decision, stating in the same breath that he has a "moral obligation to see the deal through".

Peter Storrie is also said to be "puzzled" by claims of third party involvement.  Although if the media can make up stories about player transfers then clearly they are going to have a field day when it comes to the Clubs themselves.

Mr Storrie is also quoted as saying that the Doc is financing the purchase himself, with no Middle East or Asian consortiums involved, including ex City owner Shinawatra. If the quotes are true then this appears to be a complete u-turn on what we were led to believe last week. Although in fairness none of the statements in the media claiming the involvement of a consortium appear to have to have come from the Doc himself.

Seems to be a case of believing nothing unless it comes directly from the parties concerned.

Pompey put a cap on spending....

Earlier this week we reported that Johnson was unaware of any deal that involved him being pre-sold to Liverpool or to any other Club for that matter. Now a few days later, the Club is reportedly discussing a big money deal that would see Johnson move to Chelsea.

Setting aside Johnson's personal ambitions which may include moving up the ladder, from the Club's perspective selling Johnson flies in the face of claims that the Doc's priority is to keep the existing squad intact.

Surely the ex Chelsea right back is the jewel in our crown and selling him now must substantially devalue the Club. Does it make any sense to do it for the money when money is what the Doc is supposed to have?

Ok Johnson may well not be on the move and the Club may well not be ‘locked' in discussions to sell him, but what worries me is that the media in general still sees us as a selling Club when I thought the opposite was about to be the case.

I suppose given we are the eternal whipping boys nothing will change until the ink is dry on the cheque. So please Doc, get a move on. We'd like a reasonably relaxed summer. We are not asking for the moon but neither do we want to lose our stars.

Do you have anything to add Glen?