From the Snooze (Monday)

[stefeni]

POMPEY have signed a new kit deal to provide club replica shirts – and received a £10,000 donation in the process.Portsmouth Football Club has signed a partnership with Sondico Professional to supply with replica shirts, training gear and merchandise.

The company has also forked out £10,000 to the Pompey Supporters Trust to buy community shares in the club. Pompey bosses say they believe the replica shirts will be the cheapest in English football.

Mark Catlin, Pompey’s new chief executive, said: ‘We are proud to announce our new partnership with Sondico Professional.

‘Throughout negotiations with us they have demonstrated they have a real desire to engage with our team. They understand our history and what a big club this is.

‘It’s a fantastic start to the deal to say, hand on heart, that we believe we have the cheapest shirts in English football, and hope to see as many kids as possible in the south east wearing them.’

Replica home shirts will be available for pre-order from the middle of May.

They go on general sale in Pompey’s new megastore at the end of June.

Adult shirts will cost £34.99, junior shirts £24.99 and infant shirts £19.99. Sondico belongs to the Sports 
Direct Group, so as part of the deal, Pompey shirts will be sold in Sports Direct stores throughout the south.

Neil Burke, from Sondico, said: ‘It gives us great pleasure to work with Portsmouth FC at such an exciting time in the club’s history.’

Sondico was due to present a cheque on the Fratton Park pitch at 1pm today, and supporters are welcome to attend.

Sondico and Pompey will also join forces to run a pilot scheme to promote youth development in sport, through the creation of youth development centres in the area.

Engagement manager Micah Hall added: ‘Their work on the In Pompey We Trust T-shirt campaign convinced us we have made the right choice from an incredibly competitive field.’

Guy Whittingham has revealed he has offered fresh deals to all his Pompey squad.And he has reiterated Liam Walker definitely has a future at the club.

The Blues tasted a losing end to their campaign with a 3-2 defeat at Shrewsbury on Saturday.

It was a largely-disappointing display, although they did show fight to score through Ashley Harris and Patrick Agyemang after going three goals down.

Whittingham will today continue his Blues rebuilding mission as he seeks to assemble a squad which can be competitive in League Two.

The Pompey boss insists he wants every player who has featured in the impressive run of the past few months to remain.

That includes Walker, who had been rumoured to have been shown the door, and John Akinde –both unused substitutes at Greenhous Meadow.

Now it’s a case of seeing who is keen to stay on the financial packages offered.

Whittingham said: ‘Today I will go into the office, make plenty of phone calls, go and meet people and try to do the hard work as quickly as we can to get a squad that is going to be able to compete in League Two.

‘I have spoken to every one of the current players – whether I have talked to them or an agent – so I know where every one of them is.

‘They have brought some pride back into the team and I think they deserve a chance to help us rebuild.

‘I’m interested in having them all back but what I won’t do is go back to where we have been.

‘They have got to realise the budget we are on is the budget we are on.

‘If they can get more elsewhere, good luck to them.

‘But if you fancy being part of a group of people on and off the pitch who want to restore some pride and want to help this club rebuild then you are the one for me.

‘I have told them they all have a chance.’

Walker is a player who has been in and out of the Pompey side during his maiden season in England.

Meanwhile, forward Akinde has started just three matches and struggled to make an impact.

But the Blues boss wants them both to remain.

Whittingham said: ‘I have heard all the rumours about Liam.

‘He is a good kid and wants to play for Portsmouth.

‘He has to realise – and he does realise – it’s physical in this league but it is a lot more physical in League Two.

‘He knows he has a future here if he can prove he can be physical enough to withstand the battering his body is going to get.

‘I hope he’s going to come back for pre-season. We will see.

‘John Akinde is a good guy and you need people around like that.

‘I wouldn’t dismiss anybody.

‘I know he hasn’t had time on the pitch but he is a presence.

‘People have said to me that he is a handful.’

Simon Eastwood wants his Pompey future resolved quickly after starting talks over a new deal.Eastwood has met new Blues boss Guy Whittingham for talks over a contract.

The 23-year-old is happy to stay put at Fratton Park, with discussions progressing well.

But he is keen to have his situation wrapped up quickly after operating on month-to-month contracts all season.

Eastwood said: ‘Guy is in the process of sorting players out.

‘If we can keep the majority of the players here that will be a massive boost for us.

‘We have some good players and it’s going to be important to keep those good players going into next season.

‘We’ve had a sit down and have spoken about things.

‘I’ve said that I want to stay here. I think Guy knows the players he wants to keep.

‘We’re finished now but hopefully in a week or so the players who are signing will travel to the club and sign.

‘It’ll be nice to sign a proper contract.

‘I was here from the first day (of the season), so I’ve signed eight or nine now at least.

‘I’m looking forward to getting it done and not worrying about it. Then you aren’t panicking about sorting it out.

‘I appreciate playing for a club like this.

‘But we’ve got a challenge ahead of us now.

‘We’ll be bookies’ favourites to win the league.

‘There will be a lot of expectation on us, so hopefully we can manage them.’
Shaun Cooper slammed Pompey’s first-half horror show which led to their end-of-season downfall and admitted: It wasn’t good enough.The Blues lost 3-2 on the final day at Shrewsbury, as they signed off from League One following their relegation.

It was a nightmare first-half display from Guy Whittingham’s side as they gave a jaded performance.

They went in two goals down at the break and it got worse when they fell 3-0 behind in the 56th minute.

Cooper pulled no punches about the display and questioned the motivation of some of his team-mates.

The 29-year-old was adamant the level of performance simply wasn’t good enough.

Cooper said: ‘The first-half we didn’t do enough and were massively disappointed about that.

‘We had it all to do after that but came out second half and did better.

‘It wasn’t enough, though.

‘I don’t find it hard getting up for a game like this.

‘I want to win every game I play in.

‘Maybe for some of the others it’s a bit different but not for me.

‘The following was outstanding, so that adds to the disappointment of the first half.

‘Once it’s done it’s done, so we came out and tried to put it right but it wasn’t enough.’

A defeat brought down the curtain on a promising finale to the League One campaign which had seen Pompey lose just two of their past 11 games going into Saturday’s clash.

Now it remains to be seen what will happen to the current squad of players in terms of their futures.

Cooper is anticipating a major turnover in players in the coming months.

He said: ‘We’ve been on a decent run and have to carry that into next season.

‘It’s bound to be a totally different squad. We have to see what players come in.

‘I don’t think anyone knows how it’s going to go. It all remains to be seen.’

Cooper now becomes a free agent after his deal with parent club Crawley came to a close.

He’s looking to get his future resolved sooner rather than later but has not had a firm offer from Pompey yet.

Cooper said: ‘There’s been nothing concrete yet.

‘Now the season’s out of the way, I’m sure all of those things will be dealt with and then made official.

‘I’m a free agent now so we’ll see what happens.

‘I’ve enjoyed the second half of my stay here. It’s a fantastic club to be at, that’s for sure.

‘It’s the biggest club outside of the Championship.

‘Pompey will certainly attract a lot of players. It’s going to be a busy summer and nobody knows who will be here or not.

‘It’s disappointing getting relegated even when you consider the circumstances.

‘It still hurts and it’s disappointing to end how we did.

‘But I’ve enjoyed being here.

‘No-one wants to have an uncertain future, so the quicker it can get sorted the better.

For Guy Whittingham it was the timing of the goal rather than an inspirational substitution which came so close to sparking a comeback.The Blues were 3-0 down to Shrewsbury when Adam Webster was introduced in the 60th minute for Gabor Gyepes, the side then switching to a wing-back system.

Within a minute Ashley Harris had pulled one back and in the 78th minute Patrick Agyemang netted to spark thoughts of an unlikely point.

In the end the leveller would not arrive but it was still an encouraging fighting late display from the visitors.

And Whittingham was pleased with his team’s second-half spirit.

The Pompey manager said: ‘Of course I am disappointed we lost because we all want to win every single game.

‘But I am very pleased at the way we were 3-0 down and suddenly rolled our sleeves up and got back into the game.

‘With a bit of luck we could have got a draw.

‘We didn’t, however. Still, we scored the last two goals – our fans outsung their fans, so I’m quite happy with that.

‘We scored just after the substitution but I don’t think there was any play in it, so although I would like to say it was down to that at that moment I don’t think it was!

‘But it certainly got us back in the game. We had players further up the pitch and Jed (Wallace) was causing problems in there.’

The Blues played the last 14 minutes with five products of the Academy system on the pitch.

Harris, Jed Wallace and Dan Butler started the match, while Adam Webster and Jack Maloney came on.

That is not even taking into account the presence of Shaun Cooper, who rose through the Fratton ranks a decade ago.

Whittingham, though, has warned such youth numbers in the first team will not necessarily be commonplace next season.

He added: ‘That second half shows we have promising players at our football club that we have brought through.

‘But it doesn’t automatically mean we will have five or six on the pitch next season.

‘Just because you have come through the Academy doesn’t mean you are playing, you have got to step up to the mark.

‘It’s men’s football now. It’s whoever best will be playing, so if they’ve got the appetite they will be playing.’

Guy Whittingham believes the uncertainty over his players’ futures contributed towards their below-par season finale.Pompey went three down at Shrewsbury before fighting back with two second-half goals to make it 3-2.

For the most part, the Blues were clearly not at their best, especially during a woeful first half.

It was unlike the Pompey which had performed so well in recent months and Whittingham feels it was down to ongoing talks over keeping the players at the club.

He said: ‘There’s a lot going on in people’s heads at the moment, a lot of talk about who is staying and who is going and everything else that has been going on.

‘I suppose that happens who you have a group of players who aren’t quite sure where their futures are.

‘You can say it is easy going out and playing 90 minutes of football but there are things to think about,

‘We scored and that gave us a bit of a boost. Then we scored another one with 10 minutes to go and you thought that was a chance.

‘But we just didn’t get that one other chance.’

Pompey almost staged a stunning fightback but slipped to a 3-2 defeat at Shrewsbury as their season was brought to an end.Guy Whittingham’s men were, for the most part, a shadow of the side which had impressed so much in recent months.

They found themselves behind in the sixth minute following a Connor Goldson free header for Graham Turner’s side.

Dave McAllister had an effort ruled out for offside, while Joe Jacobson and Akwasi Asante netted with deflected efforts as the Shrews reached 3-0 after 56 minutes.

It appeared to be game over, then Ashley Harris - making his first start for almost three months - scored in the 61st minute to spark hope.

With 12 minutes left Patrick Agyemang reduced the deficit further, turning home Jed Wallace’s cross from close range.

But the Blues couldn’t quite find the equaliser as they finished life in League One with defeat after another eventful campaign.

Whittingham made just one change to the side which last week defeated Sheffield United, with Harris recalled.

He replaced David Connolly, who dropped to the bench, while Ricardo Rocha’s hamstring injury again kept him out.

It would take just six minutes before the deadlock was broken with Shrewsbury taking the lead.

Jon Taylor swung in a corner from the left and Goldson rose unopposed to plant a free header into the net from close range.

The Blues then had a let-off in the 33rd minute after Taylor’s shot from outside the box took an awkward bounce in front of Simon Eastwood and the keeper couldn’t hold it.

Tom Bradshaw followed up, squaring for Dave McAllister to slot the ball into the empty net, but the offside flag was already up.

The Shrews did extend their lead in the 37th minute, though, after Therry Racon was adjudged to have made a foul on the edge of the area.

Jacobson stepped up to take the free-kick and saw it take a wicked deflection off the wall and loop in at the far post to leave Eastwood wrong-footed.

Whittingham’s men went 3-0 down in the 56th minute through another generous deflection.

The move originated down the left and Asante saw his shot strike a visiting player and bounce into the far corner of the net.

At least Pompey did pull one back in the 61st minute when Harris squeezed a shot home at the second attempt after Wallace’s shot was initially saved.

With 12 minutes remaining Wallace pulled the ball back from the right byline and it was touched home by Agyemang to spark an exciting finale.

A total of four minutes were added on but that third goal couldn’t come for the visitors as it finished 3-2.


League One

SHREWSBURY TOWN 3 (Goldson 6, Jacobson 37, Asante 56)

POMPEY 2 (Harris 61, Agyemang 78)

Att: 8,021 (1,620 Pompey fans)


Shrewsbury Town: Weale, Jacobson, Summerfield, Bradshaw, Taylor, Goldson, McAllister, Wildig, Mambo, Asante, Gayle. Subs: Anyon, Purdie, Richards, McGinn, Parry, Woods, Hurst.

Pompey; Eastwood, Moutaouakil (Maloney 75), Gyepes (Webster 60), Sodje, Butler, Wallace, Cooper, Ertl, Racon, Harris, Agyemang. Subs: Smith, Walker, Awford, Akinde, Connolly