Wycombe at home..

[Lindford Saint]

I can feel it pulling me, tickets cheap, plenty of leg room and under those lights..

Back from the game report at your service.

Looking forward to reading it Widders......

[Lindford Saint]

Bit of a melt down on POL tonight then, surprised they were not at the game....?

[Lost in Transportation]

Bit of a melt down on POL tonight then, surprised they were not at the game....?

Was there? Curious...

[formerly known as]

Few pints in the wine vaults could not have prepared me for the delights on offer at the old lady tonight...

20 seconds in one down, didn't actually see it as 100's were still outside queuing to get in, in fact I think more were queuing than in the ground, anyway just get in to see the comedy goal I was expecting, shocking defending, chalky like keeping, sit down two down to plucky Wycombe ...

Bizarrely after that Pompey were the better side and had their fare share of chances, it's a strange kind of footy this lower league stuff, I cannot believe how many chances are created by both teams, even at 2-0 down you still had the feeling we could ( or they) score plenty more, at this point in the first half it was a good atmosphere and it felt like fun for the first time in ages.. With the rain changing directions and the possibility of no more goals, nipped out for a quick beer, and so missed the next goal, and apparently a disallowed one ( I know this ain't the report you were wanting, but heyho)...

The fun and reasonable footy of the first half was replaced with utter ***** in the second, and the fun disappeared, passing seemed impossible,, vision nonexistent and movement shocking and when they went 3-1 up due to a pen I couldn't see. I wonder why the ****** I was here. Even the arrival of Ashley Harris couldn't help, his 15 wide effort the highlight of the second half... Wycombe had what looked a decent fourth cancelled out and having missed out on two goals I stupidly stayed to the final whistle.

The Pompey crowd seemed Appy, think we,re in denial.

IT WAS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING.

[pompeypanther]

My 2 cents worth (best Kent Brockman voice).... Claire - We stand at the football: we have always stood at the football - if you don't like it, buy a ticket for elsewhere in the ground. Sorry, but that's the way it has always been. Main stands are normally quite safe for people who want to sit down (blankets and flasks not provided).

Last night's game I fully blame Webster. He was caught for speed and skill level (especially the first goal) and gave away a penalty. His passing (as were most others) was atrocious. He naively assumed he could do what they do in training - flick the ball, feint and turn, etc. Mostly he just looked a tit when he was disposessed. He did make some good tackles, but they didn't counter the crap.

[Mefmet]

Bit of a melt down on POL tonight then, surprised they were not at the game....?

Didn't know you were a lurker on there, why don't you start posting?

[formerly known as]

My 2 cents worth (best Kent Brockman voice).... Claire - We stand at the football: we have always stood at the football - if you don't like it, buy a ticket for elsewhere in the ground. Sorry, but that's the way it has always been. Main stands are normally quite safe for people who want to sit down (blankets and flasks not provided).

Last night's game I fully blame Webster. He was caught for speed and skill level (especially the first goal) and gave away a penalty. His passing (as were most others) was atrocious. He naively assumed he could do what they do in training - flick the ball, feint and turn, etc. Mostly he just looked a tit when he was disposessed. He did make some good tackles, but they didn't counter the crap.

Webster was truly shocking, but he wasn't alone. Over the loudspeakertannoythingy they announced Howard was the Pompey motm! Really?

Agree about the standing, times, they are a changing and especially as the crowd numbers drop it seems ridiculous for over zealous stewards to continue to ask six fans to sit when there's no one behind or in front of them...

[Milkins]

Few pints in the wine vaults could not have prepared me for the delights on offer at the old lady tonight...

20 seconds in one down, didn't actually see it as 100's were still outside queuing to get in, in fact I think more were queuing than in the ground, anyway just get in to see the comedy goal I was expecting, shocking defending, chalky like keeping, sit down two down to plucky Wycombe ...

Bizarrely after that Pompey were the better side and had their fare share of chances, it's a strange kind of footy this lower league stuff, I cannot believe how many chances are created by both teams, even at 2-0 down you still had the feeling we could ( or they) score plenty more, at this point in the first half it was a good atmosphere and it felt like fun for the first time in ages.. With the rain changing directions and the possibility of no more goals, nipped out for a quick beer, and so missed the next goal, and apparently a disallowed one ( I know this ain't the report you were wanting, but heyho)...

The fun and reasonable footy of the first half was replaced with utter ***** in the second, and the fun disappeared, passing seemed impossible,, vision nonexistent and movement shocking and when they went 3-1 up due to a pen I couldn't see. I wonder why the **** I was here. Even the arrival of Ashley Harris couldn't help, his 15 wide effort the highlight of the second half... Wycombe had what looked a decent fourth cancelled out and having missed out on two goals I stupidly stayed to the final whistle.

The Pompey crowd seemed Appy, think we,re in denial.

IT WAS ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING.

Yeah - but it was shocking before "the" Northampton game. In fact it was shocking during "the" Northampton game. We got lucky 'cos Bradford lost but in the end we were promoted. Burrows was a hero and we eventually moved back to our usual struggles in the second tier.

Whilst waiting for our return to the holy land of Championship football, sit back, relax, enjoy the comedy (who can forget losing to Plymouth and Middleton's slip allowing the ball to bounce over him and land at their striker's feet for a tap in...?) and remember the times we used to dream about having a decent team.

IMHO the dreams about having a decent team were better than the reality. There's a certain artistic nuance in shocking football and it definitely brings out the best wit.

"Oi McCaffrey! Do you wanna farkin' cushion to sit on? Tackle the bastard!!!"

Happy days...

[formerly known as]

yeah but indeed.

I'm not saying it wasn't fun (in parts), whatelse did you say?

[Portchester PFC]

Bit of a melt down on POL tonight then, surprised they were not at the game....?

Maybe they were doing the same as all the saints "fans" on Sunday, and the game before, and i think the game before.

[Milkins]

yeah but indeed.

I'm not saying it wasn't fun (in parts), whatelse did you say?

Just the usual b0ll0cks.

Carry on.

[rumourmonger]

well I'll add my twopenneth as well. decided at last minute to go down as my son and two of his friends were going. Still in the queue outside for the first goal . Man I sat next to said Eastwood couldn't do much about it but added that it was too easy for them to get into the shooting position in the first place. That bodes well I thought. In the next few minutes it rapidly unfolded that we were all over the place defensively. Webster had a mare. Nothing went right for the lad. His passing (like the rest of the team) was poor , his attempted crosses flew over everyone's heads and in the second half he tried a couple of long range shots and endangered the spectators more than the goal. Gyepes gave the ball away at every conceivable opportunity , Michalik is what he looks , a lumbering giant with no pace and Harley whilst playing one or two delightful passes also mixed a few horrendous ones as well.

But our main problem from my angle was our midfield. We were (I think) trying to play a diamond midfield. The problem is that this formation relies on having a reliable accurate passer at the base of the diamond and two wide men who can cross and provide service to the front two. We had none of those things. Howard's passing is quite shocking at times making him the least effective "quarterback" I have ever seen. Ertl and Williamson reminded me so much of Diop and Utaka. Can be quite effective if played centrally but fish out of water when played out wide. Unwilling to take on a defender and unable to cross the ball is not a good CV for someone playing in that role. Buszacky lookes as though he could be useful but is woefully short of match practice and did well to last as long as he did. As for McLeod and Thomas , they were starved of decent service and didn't do much with what they did get. All in all , when you take the weather into account as well , a blooming awful night.

[formerly known as]

I'd agree with all that, that said, if pfc are going to pitch these games at a tenner, I think more would go...

Forgot to add, my personal favourite part of the night - steward and fan arguing over his fake nicotine fag, steward telling him to put it out, no really...

[rumourmonger]

I'd agree with all that, that said, if pfc are going to pitch these games at a tenner, I think more would go...

Forgot to add, my personal favourite part of the night - steward and fan arguing over his fake nicotine fag, steward telling him to put it out, no really...

One of the points to come out of the supporters meeting with Mr Stone the Head of Security was :- "Electronic cigarettes are not allowed in the ground due to the difficulty for stewards in telling them from the real thing." Whether this bloke didn't know that or was doing it just to wind the stewards up and be confrontational we'll never know. Mind you the steward could be just as much to blame for that.

[Selsey Bill]

Lads, get used to it. There's a lot more of this fare to come. In a rather perverse way, I'm actually enjoying watching Pompey more this season than I have done since us winning the Championship 10 seasons ago. Don't get me wrong, watching Sol lift the FA Cup was amazing, though almost surreal, and seeing the likes of Arsenal and Milan at The Old Lady was a joy to behold. But now we are back where we were when I first starting supporting us, possibly where we belong? OK, so we are crap really, but what should we expect? Our team is a cobbled-together bunch of misfits that most other teams didn't want that don't know whether or not they will have a job in a month's time. However, from what I have witnessed so far, most of them are actually trying their best which personally means a great deal to me, especially after watching the effort put into the performances of some of our so called stars of recent years. My top tip of the season: Expect the worst, and you never know, you may be pleasantly surprised. So let's get behind the Appy and the team and enjoy the ride.