Kranjcar committed

The news that Niko Kranjcar is up for the fight to keep us in the Premier League, and is committed to Pompey if we keep our Premier League status is absolutely superb.

There were a lot of worries surrounding Niko moving in the summer.

Rumours of a move to Panathinaikos, Arsenal, Spuds, and a few more, but Niko has in fact come out saying that he hasn't been approached by anyone yet, he is not fussed about Panathinaikos, and is entirely committed to playing for Pompey as long as they are in the Premiership. 

He also believes that we will definitely stay in the Prem, and doesn't think it is a worry at all!

Although we could probably make a nice little profit from selling Niko in the summer, I think he is a great acquisition in our midfield, and if we can build up this midfield around Niko and Sean (Davis), as well as introducing a new attacker to the picture in the summer, then we can once again, be challenging for a place in Europe.

"What's that coming over the hill?

  It's Niko Kranjcar

  It's Niko Kranjcar!"

Reduced transfer profit to make settlement

Pompey are rumored to reduce the amount Manchester City have to pay for Benjani, so that the club's current debt can be paid during the summer.

The Blues were paid an initial £4m up front for the Zimbabwean striker, with the rest due when Benj makes a certain amount of appearances. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we're trying to get the money up front from City, and therefore are asking for a lesser amount.

It is also rumored that a similar deal is being done with Lassana Diarra's move to Real Madrid - worth £19m, and Jermain Defoe's move to Spuds.

I for one would like to see Benjani back at Pompey, and maybe canceling out this debt could see him returning?

Not attacking enough? Pompey 2 West Brom 2

Although a point isn't all that bad with four points between us and the relegation zone - providing Stoke beat Newcastle this afternoon.

With 10-15 minutes to go we were trying so hard to score and get that all crucial winner which may have seen us not be so nervous in the last remaining fixtures, but Hart refused to stick on that much needed second striker on until injury time.

I think Hart and Kidd have done a tremendous job, and especially with tightening up our defence, but we needed that goal so much, and with Kanu, Utaka and Gekas all on the bench, why did Hart wait until the last two minutes of injury time to stick him on?

I think Theofanis Gekas could have sneaked that crucial goal, with the Macheda affect from United's win against Villa and Sunderland! He had a good bit of support after he came on, and would definitely be buzzing after making a first but small appearance in the Premier League.

What is the point in getting the guy on loan until the end of the season and not play him. Yes admittedly it was Tony Adams who brought him in, but he's there to be used.

Let's just focus on Bolton next week, another home game which we should win, even though they just put Chelsea to a very close 4-3 drilling after being 4-0 down.

Taylor and O'Brien returning to Fratton Park, will surely have a big influence, although you have to feel they are out of the relegation running, so may not be going all out, with Pompey welcoming the returns of Glen Johnson and Super Sean Davis!

Well at least we're not four points off safety in the Championship with administration worries and a board that can't stop chickening out of the problems!

I for one, am looking forward to seeing these 'goal of the season' style goals on Match Of the Day tonight, seen as I couldn't make it down to Fortress Fratton this weekend.

No appeal for two yellow card - Glen Johnson - West Brom - Injuries

I think it is ridiculous the fact that after Glen Johnson's two yellow cards against Hull last weekend, we cannot appeal against him being banned for the home game against West Brom at the weekend!

Johnson didn't deserve one let alone two yellow cards last weekend. The second yellow, Johno tried to pull out and had no intent to hurt the player at all!

A FIFA representative has even come out this week saying that it is a stupid rule and needs to be looked at.

Missing Glen against West Brom could be crucial to the result - although I'm guessing we're all thinking we should be able to bury the Baggies easy enough when we're at home!

Sean Davis is also missing the game due to his injury, but we're hoping he'll be back by next week's game against Bolton - seeing the return of the all mighty Matt Taylor.

Peter Crouch has also dropped out of the top 5 Premier League goalscorers this week, so hopefully a couple from the big man will see him get back up there where he belongs - above Defoe!

We played well against West Brom when we played them away, but we'd just returned from Wolfsburg. The atmosphere was poor from both sides, and the side were obviously gutted about the events of what happened in Germany, so putting that aside lets give West Brom a hammering when they visit Fortress Fratton on Saturday.

In terms of the following fixtures, we have a good run-in, and should be looking good for staying up. Providing we beat West Brom today, they're done and dusted. Middlesborough are going to really struggle to get back out of the relegation zone, and then I reckon it will be a massive toss up between Sunderland, Hull, Newcastle, Blackburn and maybe us.

A note to Tony about Sean Davis

No matter who Tony Adams signs in January or next summer, no matter where we finish in the table or whether we retain our FA Cup or not, the most crucial thing Adams needs to do to help Pompey's success' is to renew the contract of the outstanding Sean Davis.

Davis has been absolutely superb for Pompey this season, and although he has only managed to reach Pompey's 5th highest appearances so far this season, he has made the most appearances in Pompey's midfield, and as far as I'm concerned has been the best player out there.

I recently praised Nadir Belhadj for his efforts, although he has had a poor run in his last two games, he tries hard and has quality skill.

Sean Davis has these similar qualities, not giving up, working hard, fighting for his place in the team. Not only have his passes, crosses and tackles been solid, the effort he puts in to games is fantastic.

The "hard workers" of Pompey are now a dying breed, but have always been popular amongst the Fratton Faithful. Players such as Benjani, David Nugent, Gary O'Neil and Nadir Belhadj have all been creditted for their hard working attitude and Sean is no different.

I believe his performances this season have by far earnt him a new contract and I hope to see him at Fratton Park next season. In fact I may even go as far as saying I am more excited about the prospect of Davis playing for us in future seasons that any other superstar we may sign.

Play up Sean, Sean Play up!

Darren Anderton Retires

Bournemouth midfielder Darren Anderton announced on Thursday that he was to retire after Bournemouth's game against Chester City at the weekend.

The ex-Pompey midfielder will be bringing an end to an 18-year professional football career which starting at Fratton Park.

Anderton was born and grew up in Southampton playing as a kid for Itchen Saints in the Southampton Tyro League before joining Pompey.

The young Englishman played 62 games in a Pompey shirt, scoring 7 goals for the Blues under Jim Smith, most notably in the semi-final of the FA Cup against Liverpool.

Through quality performances and a promising cup run from Pompey, Anderton started to turn heads, and after a two year period at Pompey, Anderton signed for Spurs for £1.75million.

This is where Anderton earnt such a good reputation, with 305 appearances and 37 goals for Spurs, before earning a call up to the England squad, and featuring as a key player during Euro 96.

Anderton went on to earn 30 England caps, and scoring 7 goals for his country.

After a successful 12 years at Spurs, having lifted the League Cup in 1999, the England winger moved on to play for Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and AFC Bournemouth, at which he finishes his career on Saturday.

The players from Chester and Bournemouth shall bid farewell to the 36 year-old by forming a guard of honour before his 568th domestic game.

Darren will be missed by many, and his influence and performances in English football has been outstanding, I would like to take this opportunity to wish Darren the best for the future, as I believe he plans to do a bit of travelling with his girlfriend and put his feet up.

Good luck and Thank you Darren, you'll be missed.

Pompey out of UEFA Cup - Wolfsburg v Portsmouth

Calamity James does it again.

A sad night in Portsmouth's history, the opportunity to progress to the knockout stages to the UEFA cup was not taken, as Adam's men lost 3-2 to Wolfsburg.

Four goals in 22 minutes opened up an entertaining match at the Volkswagen Arena on Thursday night, with Pompey needing to match or better Braga's result to still have a chance to qualify, the news of Heerenveen going 1-0 up gave Pompey fans the belief to spur on the Blues as they fought back from going 1-0 down in the opening five minutes. Bosnian striker Edin Džeko latched upon a Wolfsburg cross that pinged across the 6-yard box.

It didn't take long for Pompey to equalise as David James through a long ball out to Armand Traore whose cross was fumbled by Wolfsburg keeper Benaglio, before falling to the feet of Jermain Defoe who tapped it in to go level.

Pompey went 2-1 up minutes later as Arnold Mvuemba hit a thundering shot past the Wolfsburg goalkeeper, although it looked like Mveumba's shot may have taken a deflection from defender Andrea Barzagli.

Defoe went close to extending the lead as his shot was driven just wide of the post.

With the pressure on Braga as Pompey were on track to get all three points, Braga scored an equaliser in their game, and as Wolfsburg also scored an equaliser minutes later, things were looking bad for Pompey's chances with poor defending being Portsmouth's main threat and problem.

Wolfsburg's equaliser came as Gentner's cross/shot passed a number of Wolfsburg and Pompey players in the box before somehow finding its way into the net.

Pompey carried on pushing to try and restore the lead and a good bit of play from Glen Johnson, Sean Davis and Jermain Defoe saw the England forward go close again before Benaglio had to pull-off a decent save to deny Defoe.

Slyvain Distin gave away the ball minutes before half time as Misimovic's shot was tipped around the post by Jamo.

Half-time came and news started to travel around the stadium that Braga had gone 2-1 up early on in the second half, so the Blues would need to get another goal if Pompey were to progress.

Nadir Belhadj's worst performance in a Portsmouth shirt resulted in him being replaced by Noe Pamarot as half-time, the Algerian failed to link up well on the left with Traore and consistently gave the ball away and was turned by Wolfsburg's attackers.

Noe Pamarot gave a bit of strength into the defence at half-time, but the width and pace down the left seemed to disappear after half-time.

Pompey went close to getting that much-needed goal on 52 minutes as Adams' side were awarded a free-kick 20-yards out, as Niko Kranjcar stepped up for the set piece as his thunderous shot rattled the crossbar.

It looked as if there was definitely going to be another goal in the game, and sadly it came from a David James mistake, as Wolfsburg capitalised on the opportunity.

Distin's pass-back to David James left Jamo in a pickle and unable to clear the ball, striker Misimovic dispossessed James before taking it round him and putting it into an empty net.

Things went from bad to worse as Braga went 3-1 up and Sol Campbell gave away a penalty.

But to try and make up for his blunder David James was on form to deny Misimovic a second goal by saving the penalty.

Peter Crouch and Kanu were both bought on to try and salvage a goal for Pompey but neither could do any justice for the Blues, but it seemed that they had no steam left, and with Armand Traore coming off in the last five minutes injured, and all the Pompey substitutes being used, Adams' resorted to having to play with 10 men, and despite his final shout from the touchline to encourage the side to push on, no chances came Pompey's way as we exited the UEFA Cup.

Pompey Pages Man of the Match was Sean Davis who controlled things in midfield, and unlike a few players, notably Niko Kranjcar and Nadir Belhadj who has very poor performances, Davis was jumping in for every challenge and running everywhere, wearing his heart on the badge.

David James was unlucky and I guess it was only a matter of time until he made another mistake, although he still is by far the best English goalkeeper around at the moment.

The referee made a majority of correct decisions unlike the ref from the Braga game, and the Wolfsburg fans sang at times.

Although a disappoint to the night, as well as the result, was the organisation by the security and staff of Volkswagen Arena as it took many people 20 minutes to get in, therefore missing three goals.

People were made to wait as the security insisted on searching everyone thoroughly and making fans empty their pockets. A bad case of arrangement on behalf of Wolfsburg.

Pompey face Heerenveen a week on Wednesday for their final game in the UEFA Cup this season, although neither side can qualify, so it seems that both sides will just play for dignity.

For the Official Match Highlights click here

What a game!

Going into the game with AC Milan, I am sure most of us would have taken a 2-2 draw, but following our performance and circumstances, it was a bit disappointing.

I am sure there were many people attending last night's match that were looking forward to seeing some of AC Milan's million pound superstars in action, but it was Pompey's players who were showing to be far more attractive in play.

Nadir Belhadj for one, had the best performance I have seen from a Pompey player in ages, that kind of performance was world class, and was far better than any performance I have ever seen from the money-grabbing Ashley Cole.

Credit to the Pompey fans attending the match, including myself, we were thunderous and definitely made ourselves heard, and I think it's about time we turned Fratton Park back into a fortress. Hopefully we can keep up the support every week in the Premiership, and not just when Ronaldinho and Kaka stroll along.

The performance from both wing-backs was tremendous, I have already spoke of my praise for Belhadj, and Johnson's input to both goals was superb.

Peter Crouch was unlucky not to score with a few efforts, and the partnership with Kanu seemed to work, although I was dreading the thought of the two long-legged lads up front, but it did cause problems for Senderos and Favalli in AC's defence.

Our midfield played well also, with Glen Little throwing his weight around, Bouba Diop's quality passing (well something had to make up for his shooting) and Hughes doing what he does best, destroying the legs of big names, we don't have to worry so much about Diarra, Kranjcar, Defoe or Campbell leaving in the January transfer window - although it would be a big loss.

I also believe we have found our replacement for Sol Campbell in Younes Kaboul, as well as a great header from the centre-back he had a solid performance in defence. Slyvain Distin's captain-like qualities also shined through with 'Big Sol' missing.

Although we seem to have problems with finishing off teams, notably Hull, Wigan, Fulham and now AC Milan, but we are in a situation where if we win both of our last two group games in the UEFA cup then we will definitely qualify.

The performance that we showed last night also proved that we can at least go on and reach the next round, and then we'll see where it goes from there, but our performance was a great credit to Pompey, and to English football.

And to think that only six and a half years ago we were struggling at the bottom of the old Division One.

Well done Pompey, lets push for more success!

Ben Sahar and family not happy with Pompey

On-loan striker Ben Sahar has stated his unhappiness about not being played in the first team so far this season.

The Israeli has yet to feature for Pompey this season despite looking very handy in pre-season, and although Sahar is only on a 6-month loan from Chelsea, it doesn't look like he's going to be getting a game soon.

Sahar said: "I'm fit and I feel ready to play. It's difficult because of Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch. They are great players. I'm training well, but it's not all about training.

"I can't say I regret going to Portsmouth. I wouldn't have preferred to stay at Chelsea."

As well as Sahar expressing his annoyance at a lack of first team football, his mother has been quoted in the Jewish Telegraph over-reacting about the situation.

"It's nothing to do with fitness," Batia told Sportsword. " It's because his name isn't da Santos and he's not from France or Italy or Spain.

"For Ben, football is everything I cannot look at him every day so disappointed. If he was happy we wouldn't need to live with him.

"If he was Ben Sahar da Santos it would be different matter. If he was from any other country he would be playing. It's unfair not to give him a chance.

"He's living in Portsmouth and has no friends there," said Batia. "They are all in London. The only thing he's thinking about is football. It it was me I would go home, but he's strong. It doesn't break him."

I think this is absolutely ridiculous, if Sahar and his family are that unhappy then jog on back to Chelsea where you will never get a chance. As for life in Pompey, I am sure the players have been kind to him and made him feel at home, and there will be plenty of places where you can get kosher food (another thing that Mrs Sahar has been moaning about) in Pompey, you just haven't looked.

Also we have no Spanish or Italian players at Pompey, and I would like to point out to the dippy Batia Sahar that in my eyes, our current star player is Nadir Belhadj, and he's Algerian.

Despite this, I would like to see Ben Sahar feature for Pompey, maybe in the early rounds of the FA cup or late on during a Premier League match would be a good time to give him a try, but don't expect to jump ahead of Crouch or Defoe da Santos quite yet!

Derek McGovern = Idiot

I haven't used this blog for many rants despite within the Pompey set-up, but today I read a report by the Mirror's betting guru Derek McGovern.

If you read the link below you will understand why I am so grumpy about this report. With Adams' odds of leaving or being sacked being quite low, we kind of expect bad reports and news surrounding Adams' future, but the way in which Mr McGovern claims that a loss tomorrow against West Ham will be a very bad set of results with one win from five games.

Did he not see the unlucky point against Fulham, the four times we hit the bar and three times the ball was cleared off the line against Wigan, and the unlucky penalty that left us hanging our heads at Anfield? If you ask me, we have had a really unlucky set of results, and despite playing our worst in four games against Sunderland, we picked up all three points, but McGovern has decided to claim and suggest that Adams should and will be out of a job if we fail to beat the Hammers.

For this statement I think he is a complete idiot, and needs to get his facts straight when giving his opinion. Four great games against mixed opposition, and we were unlucky with all three results. McGovern if you want an opinion on Pompey and their manager's future then maybe you should watch their games and try being a manager following in the footsteps of the legendary Harry Redknapp.

Manchester City have won just one game in seven, on top of a multi-million pound spending spree in the summer and most likely another one in the january transfer window, Mark Hughes isn't being slated by McGovern is he?

To read the article by McGovern click here

Arsenal reunion at Pompey?

Is Portsmouth becoming a reunion for ex-Arsenal players who want to become coaches?
As much as I think Tony Adams was the right man to be put in place for Pompey manager, the way in which Martin Keown and now Dennis Bergkamp have been linked with coaching roles at Pompey is a bit strange.

It seems that now that Adams has been given a chance, he wants to give his ex-Arsenal mates a similar chance. I don't think we should be the club to do it, although the experience and talent from the two ex-players linked is phenominal, I just don't think we should have so any new faces in the backroom.



The link of a January transfer move for Patrick Viera amuses me, as I can not see Viera moving from Inter Milan to our little south coast side. Not because we're not good enough, because we are, but because he isn't for sale, and if he was, he would rather go somewhere else, than link up with his former Arsenal team-mates that he split with when moving.

Although one Arsenal player I wouldn't mind being link with is Thierry Henry, as well as one of the best strikers the game has seen, he still plays with passion and realises the support the fans give him - as you can see in the picture below when he clapped the Fratton Faithfull after a home game against the Gunners.



Maybe Adams should give a chance to Bergkamp or Keown but I don't think we need both, and Arsene Wenger will probably be chasing the two of them anyway. We want to be singing Play Up Pompey, not Play Up Ex-Arsenal.

Unlucky Pompey defeated by Wigan

Portsmouth will be wondering how they didn't beat Wigan at Fratton Park on Saturday, as Pompey hit the bar four times, and had the ball cleared off the line three times.

Campbell and Johnson returned to the starting 11, with Pamarot and Kaboul making way for the England stars.

Wigan started the better side, and evidently were the better team throughout the first half. Zaki nearly opened the scoring early on for the visitors, as his looping shot beat David James but was denied by the outside of the post, before going out for a goal kick.

The visitors followed up with a couple more efforts coming from Wilson Pacalios and Zaki, but James was on top of it.

It took a sketchy 17 minutes for Pompey to get their first shot away, and it came from Glen Johnson, his shot from the edge of the box was comfortably taken by Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland.

Pompey went a lot closer soon after, as Lassana Diarra's corner met Crouch who headed it onto the top of the bar. Jermain Defoe also went close minutes after, when he met Johnson's incisive pass to fire just inches wide.

Defoe went close again in the 38th minute as he skipped past Titus Bramble, but couldn't get a shot away before the ball was cleared behind.

Bouba Diop nearly broke the deadlock as his header was tipped onto the bar and then cleared by Palacios.

Then the Senegalese midfielder went from hero to villain for the second time in two games, as Bouba Diop clumsily brought down Bramble in the box, to give Amr Zaki a penalty that sent Wigan 1-0 up into half time.

Adams must have been writing notes during all of Harry Redknapp's infamous half time speeches, because whatever he said in the break gave Pompey a lift, and the blues were throwing everything that had into the match.

Kranjcar replaced Traore on the left, who nearly scored instantly with a free-kick following Figueroa's challenge on Defoe, Niko's shot deflected off Crouch, but was cleared off the line once again, this time by Emmerson Boyce.

Crouch headed Belhadj's cross just wide, before Pompey were given an indirect free-kick 9 yards out, following a Wigan pass-back. All 11 Wigan players lined up on the goal line, and Defoe's shot was once again cleared off the line to safety.

Zaki and Heskey could of put Wigan further in front soon after, but Heskey mis-timed his shot, and Zaki spooned over the bar.

But Pompey fought back to dominate the second half, as Johnson and Crouch both hit the crossbar in quite succession.
It looked like it wasn't going to be Pompey's day, and second half substitute John Utaka, who came on for Bouba Diop, had his throttling shot blocked. But on 82 minutes, Niko Kranjcar finally found the back of the net for Pompey with a well placed shot from the edge of the area to bring it back to 1-1

It looked like Pompey's fortunes had changed following the equaliser, and Adams' men carried on pushing forward and looked destined to get a late winner, but it was Wigan who got the late winner as Lee Cattermole picked out Heskey to fire it past James and leave Pompey in the dumps.

Despite having only gained one point under Tony Adams, the blues nearly stole a point midweek against high flying Liverpool, and should have won with a magnificently unlucky performance against Wigan. I think the passion from Adams is there, and I am sure our luck under him will change - we've just got to give it time.

Play Up Pompey

A video diary journey - Braga v Portsmouth

Part 1



Part 2

Braga v Pompey - a view from the stands

A poor performance from Portsmouth, seeing them beaten 3-0 was only half of the story.
On Thursday ,during Pompey’s first ever UEFA cup group game with Portuguese side SC Braga, fights broke out among Pompey fans, drunks were being sick and the Portuguese police were just sitting back before violently trying to control the trouble.

Although it was a new experience for most of the Pompey fans, a few antics troubling the game were all too familiar in our parts.

Pompey went 1-0 down early on, after a well-taken free kick by Aguiar curled into the top corner, with David James only fingertips away. Despite a good free kick, there were clear signs that the referee had made a mistake, and the Braga player had made a meal of the challenge, this summed up the game on my front.

From the away end of the ground, it looked like the referee, Darko Seferin, had no experience with dealing in the English game, and therefore Pompey conceded a large amount of free kicks, thanks to the 10 out of 10 diving from Braga’s so-called players.

Jermain Defoe went one-on-one with keeper Eduardo twice, but failed to capitalise on either chance.
Pompey looked like maybe getting an equaliser as Crouch and Defoe’s partnership started to flourish, but the half-time whistle came too early for Pompey.



Prior to half time, fights broke out amongst the Pompey fans, upsetting all the surrounding fans and security, causing even more trouble. It had seemed that too fans, both supporting Pompey, had gotten too drunk and began to argue, one thing lead to another and fists were flying. The Portuguese police reacted quickly by hitting people with batons and trying to throw people out of the ground, and showed little organisation as it seemed they had no effect. This was to no credit of the police, neither was it to that of the English fans.

Obviously when Pompey came back on the pitch for the second half there was a big drop in Pompey support, and Pompey’s below average performance in the first half did not support this as the second half started similarly.

Braga continued to push forward,(and dive), but Portsmouth found it in themselves to push on with chances coming from the corners to head in an equaliser, but oh no despite not giving any Pompey decisions in the first half, the referee rules out the goal because of the goalkeeper being impeded, which is later shown on replays to have been by his own centre-back.

The blues were lacking in spirit and passion and it seemed that only Sean Davis, and second-half substitute Nadir Belhadj, were playing with their heart on their sleeve.
It may have been because of niggling injuries, or the heavy fixture list, or maybe even the daunting sound of the passionate Braga fans, but some of the Pompey players, notably the wings and side-backs, were failing to hit any sign of decent form, as the blues looked to be totally outclassed.

As a result of some poor performances, FA cup final goal scorer Nwankwo Kanu came on to try and fight Pompey back, but not even the King could help Pompey and the south coast side fell further behind as Aguiar’s through ball found Renteria through on goal, and unmarked, allowing him to calmly slot it past James.

Portsmouth conceded a third just before time as an unlucky pass-back from Sean Davis hit the post as Braga’s Alan lapsed upon the chance and put the game to sleep, although Pompey fans could debate whether half the team had even woken up in the first place.

Despite problems with the police and Pompey supporters fighting each other, both sets of fans clapped each other as the game drew to an end and send us back to the English seaside with zero points.

Is Sol too old for England?

Sol Campbell hasn't featured in the England squad since the poor performance during England's Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia.

Sol is yet to feature under England boss Fabio Capello, but the gaffer reckons the Pompey centre-back has what it takes to get back in the England squad.

"Sol is in fantastic form and did the business again against a good front two in Carew and Agbonlahor," said Redknapp.

"It is only last year that Sol played for England and now has certainly come back into great form again. Hopefully he will continue playing like that.

"Sol could do a job still for England. I'd love to see him back in the England squad. I think he is still good enough. He is fit and has got terrific pace."

With jokes being made by everyone that Capello should get a season ticket at Fratton Park, with other England stars in the squad, in the form of David James, Glen Johnson, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch, maybe Capello will keep an eye on big Sol on his next visit.