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WIGAN REVIEW
Monday, 31 March, 2008
Next stop Wembley, but what on Earth would Pompey do without David James? The England goalkeeper may have been at fault for his country in midweek - though even that is debatable - but yesterday he was simply irrepressible.
Pompey were ahead through Jermain Defoe - who else? - when James dived full-stretch to push away Ryan Taylor's 62nd-minute penalty. He then ensured the FA Cup semi-finalists take on West Brom next weekend in good heart by pulling off two more extraordinary saves that extinguished's Wigan's brave fight.
If Pompey were indebted to their ageless goalkeeper, how frustrated they must be that their other consistently outstanding performer will be conspicuous by his absence at Wembley. The cup-tied Defoe, whose omission from the England squad appears increasingly baffling, made it eight goals in seven games since moving to the south coast.
Defoe refused to sign a new contract at Tottenham partly because he could not be guaranteed a starting role. Spurs wanted to keep him but, wisely or unwisely, decided to pocket £7.5?million for a proven marksman who now seems a snip at the price. Yesterday, Defoe squeezed in Portsmouth's first goal from the tightest of angles, then doubled his tally on the counter-attack with virtually the last kick when Wigan, ironically, had five strikers on the pitch.
"He had half a chance in the first half and one at the death, and takes them both," said Wigan manager Steve Bruce, whose side perhaps deserved a point. "In theory it was a good time to play Portsmouth, but the deal that brought Defoe here was a masterstroke. I've always said you're only as good as your strikers."
Harry Redknapp is not in the least surprised that Defoe and James have been such decisive players. "Manchester United wouldn't be at the top of the league without Ronaldo's goals. I knew what I was getting with Jermain. I watched him when he was 15 and even then he scored every week. James is the only keeper I ever wanted. Different class: the Ronaldo of goalkeepers."
Bruce can thank his own England man, Chris Kirkland, for the game's best save, just after his team went behind. In the end, it didn't make a difference but it might have, had Taylor converted his penalty, debatably awarded for a challenge on Antonio Valencia.
At least Wigan remain five points above the bottom three. But Bruce, without three suspended players yesterday, was unhappy he had no time to prepare. "What has upset me more than anything is people returning on Friday from stupid Mickey Mouse testimonial friendlies," he said. "But four of our remaining games are at home and I think 38 points should be enough. Next weekend's a huge cup final for us."
WIGAN PREVIEW AND OTHER STUFF
Friday, 28 March, 2008
Sol Campbell and Jermain Defoe will return for Pompey's Premier League clash with Wigan, however, Lassana Diarra misses out. Hermann Hreidarsson and Lucien Aubey are also injury doubts ahead of the game, but Lauren has recovered from a virus and could be involved.
Campbell returns after two weeks out with knee trouble while Defoe is back in action after being banned on a technicality from facing Tottenham Hotspur last week. Niko Kranjcar may be due for a rest and Diarra (hamstring) will not be risked before next week's FA Cup semi-final against West Brom, for which he remains a doubt. Sulley Muntari and Papa Bouba Diop complete two-match bans.
Steve Bruce will be forced into a reshuffle with four key players missing through injury or suspension. Erik Edman is set to be out for up to six months after rupturing his cruciate knee ligament in last week's 3-1 defeat at Blackburn, while midfield trio Michael Brown, Wilson Palacios and Jason Koumas are all suspended.
Bruce has received some positive news, however, with Chris Kirkland expected to be available after withdrawing from the England squad to rest a back injury, while Antoine Sibierski has recovered from a calf problem.
Harry Redknapp has warned his defence to watch out for Emile Heskey. Heskey is a player the Pompey boss knows well - having considered signing him in the past. Redknapp said, "Heskey up front is a handful and there is Marlon King too now. On his day he is a test for anybody and him and King will be a real test for us.Heskey is what I call an old fashioned centre-forward and there is not many of them about these days. I would have him any day - I looked at signing him in the past. Look at how well he was playing for England until he got injured, he was superb. I went to watch Wigan against Manchester City a few weeks ago and Heskey caused them big problems. He's a real danger and we've got to watch him."
Meanwhile, League One side Yeovil have signed Pompey's understudy goalkeeper Asmir Begovic on loan ahead of the derby with Bristol Rovers this weekend. Yeovil boss Russell Slade was forced to move swiftly in the loan market after promotion-chasing Crystal Palace recalled stopper Scott Flinders from his loan spell with the Glovers.
First-choice goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall is still injured so 20-year-old Begovic is set to make his debut against Rovers on Saturday.
EXTRA FA CUP SEMI-FINAL TICKETS
Tuesday, 25 March, 2008
A batch of 1,180 tickets for Pompey’s FA Cup semi-final with West Brom will go on sale from the club’s ticket office at 9am on Wednesday, April 2.
They will be available to season ticket holders only and be limited to two per person.
The bulk of the seats are left over from the first phase of ticket sales when 1,100 season ticket holders did not take up their option to buy a seat for Wembley.
The remaining 80 are £99 Club Wembley seats that have been made available to Pompey fans following negotiations with Wembley.
The tickets will be sold on a strictly first come, first served basis.
The fourth phase of 6,500 tickets go on sale at 6am on Thursday, March 27 to supporters who are on the club’s database.
They are restricted to a maximum of two per person and are not available to season ticket holders.
The seats are only available through Ticketmaster on 0844 847 1898.
'LOAN' SIGNINGS
Tuesday, 25 March, 2008
Jermain Defoe was unable to play for Pompey against his former club Spurs at the weekend because of a 'stupid' new ruling by the Premier League.
Redknapp did not know a rule prevented a loaned player turning out against his previous club in the season of his move, even if the transfer became permanent. "It's a load of nonsense," said Redknapp. And it is. Tottenham and Portsmouth dealt honorably and the player wanted to play; but that was not the case with everybody, hence the new directive.
The Premier League acted because Manchester United converted Tim Howard's loan to Everton to a permanent transfer last season, then struck a side deal stating he could not play against them. Sheffield United did the same when Steve Kabba went to Watford. To get around third-party interference rules, these clubs made gentlemen's agreements. When the scams were uncovered, the Premier League came up with a poor compromise, not a solution.
The way forward is to outlaw the loan system and introduce an imperative that any private arrangement influencing the team selection at another club would incur severe punishment. The Premier League did not do this, as selfish chairmen always vote in favour of loans, and gentlemen's agreements are by their nature devilishly hard to prove. Instead, they introduced rule M7, which snared Defoe. It was a fudge, for in the case of Howard, he would still not have been able to play against Manchester United, but would be available against United's rivals, which was what was wrong. All that could be said is it made the issue black and white.
This decision may have cost Pompey three points at White Hart Lane as Defoe is certainly in a rich scoring vein at the moment. This makes it hard to understand why Fabio Capello has left him out of the England squad to face France when the likes of Peter Crouch, who has hardly been prolific this season, is in. Theo Walcott and Michael Owen are another pair that are hardly doing the business for their respective clubs.
NOT QUITE ENOUGH
Tuesday, 25 March, 2008
He thought Pompey had done enough to get a point.
But instead Harry Redknapp was left disappointed as Spurs struck twice in the final ten minutes to claim victory at White Hart Lane.
"I thought it was going to be a great point," he said.
"We've come here with six enforced changes. We lost some key players - Diop and Muntari were suspended. We lost Diarra with a hamstring injury, Jermain Defoe couldn't play. Sol Campbell's injured and Lauren's got a virus. And I thought we did great. I was sat there with 10 minutes to go thinking 'this is going to be a terrific point for us.' We were away to Tottenham, missing six of our best players - there's not a question about going out there to attack them. A point would have been a good result for us away from home at Tottenham, who are a top, top team. You just have to look at their squad to see that. It was difficult for us but I thought we'd taken what they had to offer and it was starting to even out. Kanu's shot was cleared off the line and I thought if we'd got one goal up we certainly wouldn't have got beat. We had worked on some plays with Lassana yesterday, but after training he felt his hamstring was very sore and you can't risk a boy with a hamstring injury. If he tears it you can get a long term, so he wasn't available. Richard Hughes came in for me, and he did a great job - as he always does. Sean Davis and Pedro Mendes came into the middle of the park. John Utaka had to play and I thought Lucien Aubey did ever so well. He did a good job on Lennon. It was his first start and he did well. This is the strongest squad we've had at Portsmouth. We haven't got great numbers - you look at Tottenham today and they've probably got 14 more than us but we've got some quality in our squad. We've got some good players. All lads who came in did well, they all worked hard."
TRULY, SADLY, DEEPLY
Tuesday, 18 March, 2008
Film director and big Pompey fan Anthony Minghella has died at the age of 54.
Minghella, whose films include Truly, Madly, Deeply and Cold Mountain, was chairman of the British Film Institute.
In 1996, he won an Oscar for directing The English Patient and was also Oscar-nominated for writing the screenplay for 1999's The Talented Mr Ripley.
He has also directed a TV episode of book The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, due to be screened this Easter.
A 90-minute pilot, directed by Minghella and co-written with Richard Curtis, is due to be screened on BBC One.
Minghella began his career as a writer with his early radio plays winning several awards.
He made his first film, Truly, Madly, Deeply, in 1991, followed by The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley.
When he took on the role of chairman of the British Film Institute (BFI) in 2003, he told the BBC: "We're not getting enough movies made here, our studios aren't busy enough, we don't have enough studios.
"We're not good at lassoing the talent we have here and containing it within the British Isles, and we should all be working to address that."
He was instumental in organising the fans in Pompey's hour of need when they faced administration.
The thoughts of Pompey fans are with your family.
RIP ANTHONY MINGHELLA
6th January, 1954 - 18th March, 2008
DIOP GETS TWO MATCH BAN
Tuesday, 18 March, 2008
Papa Bouba Diop has been given a two match suspension following his booking in the game against Aston Villa at the weekend. That brought his total for the season to 10 and means an automatic two match suspension.
He will miss the games against Spurs at White Hart Lane and the home game against Wigan Athletic.
He will be available for the FA Cup semi-final.
Some cynics are suggesting that he deliberately collected his 10th booking of the season so that he would serve his two match ban before the semi-final. They might like to think that but I couldn't possibly comment.
NEWCASTLE GAME SWITCH
Tuesday, 18 March, 2008
Pompey's home game against Newcastle United on Saturday, 12 April has had it's kick-off time put back to 5:15pm. This is to accommodate the all-seing eyes of Seatanta Sports cameras. It is,apparently, the 16th Pompey game to have had the kick-off time changed for one reason or another; mostly for televised games.
The West Ham game at Upton Park has also been moved (again). It was oroinally scheduled for Saturday, 5th April but was moved to Monday, 7th April because of engineering works and Setanta wanting to show the game live. However, as we all know by now, Pompey are involved in the FA semi-final against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, 5th April so the West Ham game will now be played on Tuesday, 8th April. Whether or not Setanta will still be showing the game remains to be seen. My guess is that they won't as they are now showing the Newcastle game.
FA CUP SEMI-FINAL TICKET INFORMATION
Thursday, 13 March, 2008
Pompey have been given an allocation of 32,600 tickets for their FA Cup semi-final against West Bromwich Albion at Wembley on Saturday, April 5, kick-off 12.15pm.
Tickets will cost £55, £45, £35 and £25 for adults and £45, £35, £25 and £15 for concessions (16 and under, over 60 or students with a valid NUS card that are currently registered on the club's ticket database).
There will be no tickets available to buy from the Pompey ticket office. All sales will be through Ticketmaster on 0844 847 1898.
First Phase:
Tickets will go on sale to season ticket holders and Blue Army/Junior Blues members from 2pm on Tuesday, March 18 until midnight on Saturday, March 22 (one ticket per season ticket holder/member).
Please Note: Season Ticket Holders and Members MUST have their Client Reference Number ready when booking your tickets or we will not be able to process your booking.
Supporters groups (including exiles) and away season ticket holders will be dealt with directly via the ticket office.
Executive and commercial partners will be allocated one ticket per application via the commercial department.
The maximum number of tickets available in this first release is 18,000.
Second Phase:
There will then be a second phase on sale between 6am on Monday, March 24 and midnight on Wednesday, March 26 where season ticket holders ONLY can purchase tickets. In this phase there is a maximum of two tickets per season ticket holder. There will be 4,000 tickets available and these will be sold on a first come, first served basis.
Tickets will cost £55, £45, £35 and £25 for adults and £45, £35, £25 and £15 for concessions (16 and under, over 60 or students with a valid NUS card that are currently registered on the club's ticket database).
All sales will be through Ticketmaster on 0844 847 1898.
Third Phase:
3,000 tickets will be made available to supporters who attended the FA Cup quarter-final match against Manchester United at Old Trafford or the Premier League matches against Birmingham or Aston Villa at Fratton Park.
These applications should be made by post only and will be accepted between Sunday, March 16 and Saturday, March 22.
Only £45 adult tickets and £35 concession tickets (16 and under, over 60 or students with a valid NUS card that are currently registered on the club's ticket database) are available in this category.
Only supporters who are in possession of a ticket stub for any of these matches may apply. This phase is NOT open to season ticket holders or members.
One ticket will be allocated per stub and there is a maximum of two stubs per application.
The following is required for postal applications (if any elements are missing, the application will be void):
Send applications to:
PFC Ticket Office,
Rodney Road,
Portsmouth,
PO4 8SX
Applications will NOT be accepted in person and only successful applicants will be notified.
Please Note: If any of the stubs are found to belong to a season ticket holder or current member, the application will be rejected.
Fourth Phase:
6,500 tickets will then go on general sale from 6am on Thursday, March 27 until midnight on Wednesday, April 2. There is a maximum of two tickets per person and you must be on the current PFC database to be eligible for these tickets.
Tickets will cost £55, £45, £35 and £25 for adults and £45, £35, £25 and £15 for concessions (16 and under, over 60 or students with a valid NUS card).
These tickets are only available through Ticketmaster on 0844 847 1898.
Any tickets unsold in earlier phases will be added to the number of tickets available in this phase.
Tickets for wheelchair applications and the visually impaired:
There are also 100 wheelchair and 50 visually impaired tickets available at £25 each (includes carer).
Current PFC disabled season ticket holders need to apply by post to Allison McNeil at:
PFC Ticket Office,
Rodney Road,
Portsmouth,
PO4 8SX
Postal applications only will be accepted between Tuesday, March 18 and Saturday, March 22.
The following is required for postal applications (if any elements are missing, the application will be void):
Disabled non-season ticket holders need to apply between Monday, March 24 and Wednesday, March 26. Applications need to be sent to the same address.
Tickets will be allocated on a first come, first serves basis.
The following is required for postal applications (if any elements are missing, the application will be void):
UNCONVINCING VICTORY
Thursday, 13 March, 2008
Pompey moved up to 7th pace in the Premier League with an unconvincing victory over a workman-like Birmingham City. The 4 - 2 scoreline will show that Pompey were the better side but they allowed Birmingham into the game after having taken a two goal lead after just nine minutes.
Defoe opened the scoring on six minutes with a penalty after Danny Murphy handled Milan Baros' cross.
Three minutes later and he had scored again after Maik Taylor in the Birmingham goal had parried first Muntari's long range shot and then Baros' follow up, but there was little he could do about Defoe's.
Birmingham pegged a goal back when Ridgewell nodded on Larsson's corner and Muamba poked the lose ball past James.
Birmingham got themselves back into the game 5 minutes before half-time when they won a free-kick just on the edge of Pompey's area. Larsson lined it up and was able to bend the ball over Pompey's wall and past David James.
The game was frantic and often physical but without malice.
Pompey began the second half the brighter of the two teams and it was the big Icelander Hreidarsson who stole in to poke home from Muntari's free-kick.
The game then seemed to get bogged down with neither side making any real progress, although Pompey were able to display nice tricky football but with no end effect.
Diarra came on to replace the flagging Bouba Diop just after the hour and 10 minutes later kanu replaced Baros.
Pompey sealed victory at the end as Mendes was able to swing in a cross which was met by an unmarked Kanu, who headed home his 5th goal of the season.
Birmingham, who had not lost in their last 4 games, were not as bad as their league position suggests, and if they play to the system they did last they should be safe.
FA CUP SEMI FINAL DATE
Thursday, 13 March, 2008
Pompey's FA Cup semi-final against West Bromwich Albion will be played on Saturday, 5th April. Kick-off is at 12:15pm and will be shown live on BBC1.
It will be 16 years to the day when Pompey last played in an FA semi-final when they played Liverpool at Highbury. That day they were 3 minutes from their first Wembley final since 1939.
Here's hoping they can go one better this time round.
Ticket details for this match will be released later this week.
LEAGUE MATTERS
Wednesday, 12 March, 2008
Harry Redknapp says that despite the FA Cup being Pompey's best chance of a route into Europe he's not discounting the league.
Pompey take on Alex McLeish's Birmingham City tonight at Fratton Park and although the Bluenoses are struggling in the wrong end of the table Redknapp knows that his team will have a fight on their hands.
Birmingham are just one point and one place off the third relegation spot ahead of tonight's game but they have produced some excelent results over the last few weeks: beating Spurs 4 - 1, drawing 2 - 2 with Arsenal and 1 - 1 with West Ham.
Redknapp said: "There’s only five European spots for the league now and if you’re honest you’ve got to say that Liverpool and Everton look odds-on to finish fourth and fifth. The cup’s our best bet for getting into Europe but we want to finish as high as we can in the league. You don’t want to get of the winning habit. Birmingham will be a tough game – it always is when you’re playing teams that are struggling and fighting for survival. They’ve had two great results lately. They picked up a fantastic point against Arsenal, despite playing almost the whole game with only 10 men. Then they went and slaughtered Tottenham the following week. They’ve got McFadden and Forssell up front who are both a real threat. I might have to rest one or two though, because they put an awful lot of effort in on Saturday. I’ve got some good players here who aren’t in the team at the moment. Birmingham are in good form and they can definitely survive. I wouldn’t like to say who’s going to go down. It’s going to be tight – I’m just glad we’re not involved in it."
SEASON TICKET PRICE DETAILS RELEASED
Wednesday, 12 March, 2008
The details of the cost of a season ticket to watch Pompey next season have released by the club. They are again offering an 'Early Bird' scheme which can save you money.
They are also offering options to spread the cost of buying a season ticket.
To qualify for the 'Early Bird' scheme you need to either pay in full or a 50% deposit from 17 March, 2008 to 7 April, 2008.
The easy-payment options allow you to pay a £20 reservation fee and pay off the balance in 5 interest-free monthly payments or pay a £30 reservation fee and pay off the balance in 10 monthly payments. The latter option will be subject to interest charges.
Full details of costs and payment dates and options can be found here.
JAMES SIGNS NEW CONTRACT
Wednesday, 12 March, 2008
David James has signed an extension to his contract that see him stay at Fratton Park until the end of the 2009/2010 season, with the option of an extension beyond that.
The 37 year-old keeper said, "It’s been a tremendous week and I’m delighted to get the opportunity to sign a new contract. I’m enjoying being at Pompey – it’s a fantastic environment. I never envisaged the club being in this position when I joined."
James has been hugely instrumental in giving Pompey some of their best seasons in years, last year helping them to finish 9th in the Premier League and this year helping them to an FA Cup semi-final and, hopefully, the final.
His form this season persuaded new England boss Fabio Capello to install him as number one keeper for the recent friendly victory against Switzerland.
James has won 36 England caps and has made over 700 appearances in a career which includes spells with Watford, Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham and Manchester City.
CUP IS BEST ROUTE TO EUROPE
Tuesday, 11 March, 2008
Pompey's best chance of European football next season would be to win the FA Cup.
Forget the league as it looks as though the fifth placed team in the Premier League will take the last Uefa Cup slot. Pompey are currently ninth in the league and a whopping 12 points adrift of Everton who are holding on to fifth place.
Redknapp said, "The way it has panned out looks to me as though there will only be five European spots from the league so whoever wins the cup will get the last one - unless it's Cardiff of course as they can't qualify. And if you are honest you would have to say that Liverpool and Everton look odds-on to finish fourth and fifth. They are 12 points ahead of us and that would take some cutting down with 10 games to go. The cup is our best route but we still want to finish as high as we can in the league. We want to keep going and keep going."
But Pompey must keep plugging away at the league, and tomorrow night they face Alex McLeish's Birmingham at Fratton Park. Jermain Defoe, who missed the quarter-final match against Manchester United on Saturday as he was cup-tied, looks likely to start up front with Milan Baros. Baros will be hoping that he does enough to earn himself a permanent move to Fratton.
Redknapp said,"He has done well and has a great attitude. Even when he has not been playing he has still been part of everything. There is a possibility of the move becoming permanent in the summer. We will have to wait and see but he has a big part to play for us before the end of the season."
Birmingham boosted their chances of survival earlier this month with a 4-1 thrashing of Spurs in the London club's first fixture following that Carling Cup triumph, and Redknapp is wary of a similar sting. He said,"They are fighting for survival and just look at their last two results. They went down to 10 men after three minutes against Arsenal and drew and then absolutely slaughtered Tottenham last week. They are playing well. They have signed James McFadden and Mikael Forssell is back to full fitness so they will be a threat, those two. They are capable of staying up, of course they are. I wouldn't like to say who is going down - I'm just glad we are not involved in it. It is going to be tight, a real scrap to the end."
NEXT UP: BAGGIES
Monday, 10 March, 2008
Pompey have been drwan against West Bromwich Albion in the semi-final of the FA Cup. Barnsley take on Cardiff City in the other semi-final. These matches will be played at Wembley over the weekend of 5th/6th April 2008.
The TV companies will be squabling over who gets which game.
After a weekend of sensational results, it means a club apart from Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea will win the tournament for the first time since Everton in 1995.
It will also be the first final to be competed between two teams outside the 'big four' since Tottenham beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 in 1991.
If anyone other than Pompey lifts the trophy, it will be the first time since West Ham beat Arsenal 1-0 in 1980 that a team outside the top flight gets their hands on the Cup.
As it stands, if Cardiff win the Cup they will not be allowed to enter the Uefa Cup, as Uefa regulations prevent the Welsh side from playing in European competition as England's representative.
As the Premier League's solitary representative left in the competition, Pompey will be favourites to go all the way.
Pompey boss Harry Redknapp will certainly fancy his chances of taking Portsmouth to their first FA Cup final since 1939.
Path to the semi-finals:
Third round: Ipswich 0-1 Portsmouth
Fourth round: Portsmouth 2-1 Plymouth
Fifth round: Preston 0-1 Portsmouth
Quarter-finals: Manchester United 0-1 Portsmouth
WEMBLEY HERE WE COME
Monday, 10 March, 2008
Once the celebrations had finally died down, it was time for Harry Redknapp to reflect.
The Blues boss had just watched his side stun Manchester United at Old Trafford to book their place in the FA Cup semi-final.
Despite suffering a torrent of pressure throughout the second half, Pompey secured a trip to Wembley thanks to Sulley Muntari’s 78th-minute penalty.
It sparked frenzied scenes in the stands as the 3,800 travelling south coast supporters looked forward to their first semi-final for 16 years.
Redknapp was thrilled with the way his players battled to victory against a Manchester United side at full strength.
And he is looking forward to leading out his side at Wembley in the semi-final in front of a vociferous Pompey following.
"It’s great for the club,” said an ecstatic Redknapp, who has never got this far before in the competition. What it means to us and our fans will probably mean 10 times more than it does to United fans. When you keep winning like they do every year – which is fantastic – you maybe become a bit blase about things. But for our fans going to a semi-final at Wembley will be the greatest day out in years. Let’s see if we can go out and get to the final now. We knew it would be a tough game. It was a draw no-one wanted, certainly not me. We played here a few weeks ago and got beaten 2-0 – it could have been 10. They absolutely slaughtered us from start to finish. It shows what character the players have to come back here and win. We had to hang in there a bit at times and take the opportunity when it presented itself. You’ve got to ride your luck a bit, we all know that. We came across with some unbelievable tackles late on. Campbell and Distin were throwing their bodies on the line and that’s what you expect from good defenders. United have got a fantastic side. I think the lads were hoping that they’d rest Ronaldo or Rooney. I hoped they would, it’s human nature. But I said to them before the game: ‘I keep telling the newspapers how good you are. I keep saying I’ve got the best goalkeeper, two centre-halves who I wouldn’t swap for anyone, a right-back who should be playing for England, there’s not a better midfielder player around than Diarra and that Kanu’s still a magician. Well go and prove it. They went out and worked their socks off. We didn’t capitulate – I think that’s the posh word for it! We hung in there and it was a great result for us."
There were two big decisions for referee Martin Atkinson to make during the game – he denied Manchester United a penalty when Cristiano Ronaldo went down under Sylvain Distin’s challenge but pointed to the spot when Milan Baros was sent crashing to the ground by Tomasz Kuszczak.
And Redknapp believes both decisions were spot on.
He said, "I didn’t think theirs was a penalty. Distin used his body and Ronaldo bounced off him. I think if the referee had the chance to give them a penalty he would have done. I’d hold my hands if I thought it was a penalty but I’d have been disappointed if it had been given. Ours was a banker penalty. We got a break with two against two and Baros has been brought down as he’s gone round the keeper."
After beating Manchester United, Redknapp says his side have no one to fear in the last four.
He said, "When the last draw was made I was playing golf with Jamie. I rang Peter Storrie and he said: ‘Manchester United’. My golf club went further than the ball! But we’ve got a fantastic result. It’s a big shock, everyone would have thought that Manchester United v Chelsea was the cert cup final. We’ll wait and see who we get – it can’t be any worse than this."
HARRY WANTS A 'CRAZY GANG' ATTITUDE
Friday, 7 March, 2008
Harry Redknapp wants the Pompey players to adopt a Wimbledon style 'Crazy gang' menatlity as they travel to Old Trafford for their FA Cup quarter final match with Manchester United. He, and the players, know that a win in the north-west will mean a trip to Wembley for the semi-final. He knows it is a tough ask but he believes they can do it.
He said, "I’d be a liar if I said it was the draw I wanted. I’d be a liar and an idiot. They’re a fantastic side and they’re playing ever so well, so it’s going to be a tough game. It was the worst draw we could have got but there’s no use moaning about things you have no control over. I’ve got a team here that I feel can go anywhere and pick up a result. I think we’ve proved that this season. We’ve gone to places like Aston Villa and Newcastle and won convincingly. We’ve got to believe that we can go up there and give them a real game - I’m looking forward to it. We’ll go there with two wide men who can’t defend to save their lives and a striker who can’t run around much! But they’ve all got ability when we get the ball."
He continued, "Most teams go there and get beaten, but anything can happen in a one-off cup match. We have to go there and be positive. We’re big, strong and athletic and have got some fantastic players. We didn’t have our African players when we played them in the league but they’re back now and we’re stronger away from home with them. A Premier League side will win the FA Cup this year, that’s one thing I can be pretty sure of – hopefully it will be us."
He remembered the tactics used by the old Wimbledon side. "The Wimbledon players would kick and bang on your dressing room door before you came out,” said Redknapp. “They’d wait in the tunnel for you and call you cowards. We could try that on Saturday but I wouldn’t like to be the one who has to threaten Wayne Rooney."
As long as Pompey go there and give a good account of themselves then I for one will be happy. If they go and submit even before a ball is kicked will make me just a little annoyed.
In the event of a draw between Pompey and Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-final tie at Old Trafford on Saturday, the replay will be played at Fratton Park on Tuesday, March 18, kick-off 7.45pm (date/time subject to change).
Season Ticket holders can claim their seats from 6pm on Saturday, March 8 by phoning the ticket hotline on 0844 847 1898.
They will have until Thursday, March 13 to claim their seats before tickets go on general sale the following day.
Tickets will be priced at the reduced rate of £30 for adults, £18 for seniors and just £5 for juniors.
IPSWICH SAY NO TO NUGENT
Wednesday, 5 March, 2008
Ipswich Town have pulled out of the deal to sign David Nugent on loan due to fitness issues.
Ipswich had given Pompey until Tuesday to decide whether the striker would be allowed to depart on loan in order to boost match fitness.
However, Ipswich boss Jim 'scummer' Magilton has been informed by Pompey that Nugent is unable to play immediately, forcing Ipswich to look elsewhere.
Magilton is disappointed not to have secured Nugent, whose goal knocked his side out of the FA Cup earlier this season, but says the club have other options.
"The Portsmouth medical people have told us today that David is still not fit and won't be until next week at the earliest," he told Ipswich's official website.
"Games are running out for us now and we have decided we need to move on and look at other targets. We have other irons in the fire and will step up our interest elsewhere now."
MENDES MAKES COMEBACK
Wednesday, 5 March, 2008
Pedro Mendes played a full 90 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly last night with Bournemouth. He returned from ankle surgery to help Pompey win 1 - 0.
John Utaka scored the only goal of the game with just five minutes remaining.
Redknapp sent a strong Pompey side which included Milan Baros, Lauren, Lucien Aubey and Shaun Davis down to the Fitness First Stadium. Martin Cranie came on for the last 15 minutes to set him back on the road to full fitness.
Pompey reserve team coach Paul Groves said: "The idea was to get a game into players who have not been starting for the first-team too much in the last few weeks. Lauren last played at Bolton and Sean Davis hasn’t started for a while, for instance, while Pedro is coming back from surgery. John Utaka has been on the bench since the Africa Cup of Nations and Milan Baros didn’t play at Everton. A lot of the players will not be available for our next reserve match against Fulham because it is the day before the first-team play Birmingham. So this game was important for fitness and was a useful exercise against a strong Bournemouth side.”
Pompey: Ashdown; Lauren, Duffy, Christophe (Cranie 75), Aubey; Mvuemba, Davis, Mendes, Hughes; Baros, Utaka.
ACADEMY GAME POSTPONED
Wednesday, 5 March, 2008
Pomey Academy's home game against Chelsea Academy scheduled for Saturday, 8 March has been postponed due to Chelseas youngsters being involved in the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup.
This fixture will now be played at a later date.
CRANIE RETURNS AS RESERVES WIN
Tuesday, 4 March, 2008
Martin Cranie made a return to action at Burton Albion's ground last night as Pompey reserves beat Derby reserves 2 - 0 in the Premier League Reserve League South. Cranie played the full 90 minutes in Pompey's defence and put in an accomplished performance. Cranie had been sidelined through injury since suffering a leg fracture while on loan at QPR in November.
Franck Songo'o was causing the Derby defence all sorts of problems with his pace and it was after he was brought down in the penalty area that he picked himself up and confidendly placed the resulting spot-kick past Price in the Derby goal.
Pompey were denied a second penalty when Paris Cowan-Hall was crudely chopped down in the area only for the referee to see nothing wrong with the challenge.
The Blues increased their lead in the second half when Danijel Subotic looped a header over the keeper after Price had earlier denied him when he got his head onto Songo'o's cross.
Begovic in the Pompey goal finally got to see some action late in the game as he was forced to make a couple of saves.
Subotic could have added to his tally in stoppage time but again Price denied him.
Pompey: Begovic; Blackman, Duffy, Wilson (Ward 15), Cranie; Songo’o, Christophe, Hughes (Castles 66), Ritchie; Cowan-Hall, Subotic
Subs not used: Smith, Reynolds, Collins, Castles
Derby: Price; Forde, Dudley, Booth, Addison; Hanson, Ojamaa, Richards, Robertson; Simmonds, Amory
Subs not used: Kean, Johnson, Connolly, Garton, Dillon
Referee: Mr I Scarr
Attendance: 262
NO BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR HARRY
Monday, 3 March, 2008
With Everton sitting in pole position in the race for the fourth and final Champions League spot, some may have settled for a Pompey point at Goodison Park.
More will have welcomed a draw after Yakubu Ayegbeni struck in the very first minute of the match.
But after Jermain Defoe’s 38th minute leveller, Pompey started to look more dominant.
They continued to pressure Everton after the interval until they were eventually undone by goals from Tim Cahill and a second for Yakubu.
Harry Redknapp thought his side should have taken something from the match.
And he revealed that as the teams came in for half-time, he believed Pompey could go on to claim all three points.
Pompey’s boss said: “I wouldn’t have settled for 1-1 at half-time because I thought we could go on and win the game.
"We started to get possession of the ball after a bad start and we passed it around nicely. We got stronger and stronger towards the end of the first half and I thought if we continued that way, we’d get the points. Being positive, that’s what we tried to do. Maybe we pushed forward a bit too much. We were pushing forward from the full-back positions and leaving wide spaces for them to run into. It left us with two against two at the back which was too easy for them and left us with a problem. We should have sat in and killed those spaces but we got caught a bit ragged on the counter-attack. You go 2-1 down and suddenly the momentum’s back with them. That’s how it goes sometimes. Overall I wasn’t too disappointed because I thought we played well enough to get something from the game. I was pleased with the way we came back after a terrible start. Defoe got in to level the scores and he’s had a good start for us, he’ll score goals. He was really bright in the first half and looked a real threat."
Pompey were ultimately undone by Yakubu’s goals and Redknapp is only too aware of the Nigerian’s talents, having managed him for two years at Fratton Park.
"He’s a goalscorer, that’s why they paid the money for him," he said. "He’s strong, a real handful and he’s a great lad as well. I brought him to Pompey but when I left they decided to sell him, which wasn’t very clever. I was left with some other strikers who couldn’t clean his boots! He scored 19 goals in his first season in the Premier League so he hasn’t just improved all of a sudden. We maybe could have brought him back in the summer but I just thought it was a bit too much money for him at the time."