IPSWICH IN THE FA CUP
Wednesday, 5 December, 2007

Pompey have a trip to Portman Road for their third round FA Cup tie against Ipswich Town. The last time Pompey visited Portman Road was two years ago, also in the third round of the FA Cup. Dario Silva scored the only goal of the game to send Pompey through to a home tie against Liverpool.
Ipswich have an impressive home record so far this season and Redknapp reckons they will be a tough test for Pompey. He said, "It is a tough game because Ipswich are a good tema who are fantstic at home at the moment. They are always hard to beat and I think they are one of the top clubs in that division. I remember the year we came up to the Premier League they were the only team to really beat us well at their place. It was another difficult game there in the FA Cup two years ago, though the side I have has changed beyond recognition since that day. But they always provide stiff opposition for us and I don't expect this game to be any different."

RESERVES GAME CALLED OFF
Wednesday, 5 December, 2007

Pompey's reserves game against Reading reserves scheduled for tonight has been called off. Local referee Rob Styles made an inspection of the West Leigh Park pitch and decided it was unplayable and called the match off at 11:30am this morning.

HARRY SPEAKS AT PRESS CONFERENCE
Thursday, 29 November, 2007

Harry gets a bit miffed at the end when asked about the BBC Panorama programme in which allegations of financial irreularities were made against him and others. Harry hasn't spoken to the BBC since the programme was aired in July of this year.

DIRTY HARRY?
Thursday, 29 November, 2007

Five men have been arrested in connection with alleged corruption in football, police have said.
Those held included Pompey manager Harry Redknapp, the club's chief executive Peter Storrie and its former chairman Milan Mandaric.
The five men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.
Mr Redknapp and three others have since been released on police bail. A 30-year-old remains in custody.
He is understood to be Charlton player and Senegalese international Amdy Faye, currently on loan to Rangers.
The City of London Police inquiry is believed to be centred around the transfer of Mr Faye to Portsmouth, a deal set up by agent Willie McKay.
Police refused to give details of those arrested and would only confirm they were aged 69, 60, 55, 48 and 30.
On his release Redknapp said: "We all helped the police with their inquiries, but it doesn't directly concern me, it's other people involved. I've been answering questions to help the police. I am not directly concerned with their inquiries. They have to arrest you to talk to you, for you to be in the police station. I think that's the end of it, it didn't directly concern me."
The solicitor representing Redknapp and Storrie emphasised that his clients were cooperating with police.
Speaking outside the police station Paul Martin said: "The inquiries do not relate to either of those individuals, they relate to entirely different individuals. They are ongoing investigations in relation to those other individuals, and for that reason they are unable to comment further, and there is nothing that they can discuss."
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mr Mandaric confirmed that the Leicester City chairman was asked to assist police enquiries.
He said: "While the investigation remains on-going Mr Mandaric will continue to offer his full and total support to the police."
The arrests are part of City of London Police's on-going inquiry into alleged corruption, a spokesman said.
The men were held as officers carried out raids on 12 locations across the country. Two of those searches are still ongoing.
Detectives from the economic crime unit of the City of London Police are investigating allegations of corruption within football and its impact on owners and shareholders.
In July, officers raided Newcastle United, Portsmouth and Rangers football clubs as part of the inquiry.
A spokesman for Portsmouth said on Wednesday that the club's chief executive and manager had "been asked to help police with their inquiries concerning a matter dating back to 2003. This was prior to the new owner taking control of the club at the beginning of 2006," he said. "The club is fully supportive of Peter and Harry who are co-operating fully with City of London Police in this ongoing inquiry. Both are playing major roles in the continued success of Portsmouth Football Club."

TRAINING GROUND HITCH
Thursday, 29 November, 2007

Pompey's proposed new training facility at Titchfield faces the prospect of failing in its planning permission. The Titchfield Village Trust ^[1] have said that there is evidence of an Iron Age and Romano-British ditched settlement which could be potentially of national significance on the site.
English Heritage have stuck their oar in and written a letter to Fareham Borough Council ^[2] asking for the planning application to be refused.
Pompey were hoping that the planning application, due to be heard on 19 December, would go through so that the complex would be ready for the start of next season.

[1] A bunch of scumpties if ever I saw them
[2] I remember when it was Fareham Urban District Council (FUDC)

POMPEY SET NEW CLUB RECORD
Monday, 26 November, 2007

Pompey set a new club record of nine Premier League games in a row unbeaten after their victory over Birmingham at St Andrews on Saturday.
The deadlock was broken on 33 minutes when a goalkeeping blunder from Richard Kingson, making his Premier League debut, handed Portsmouth the lead.
Sulley Muntari was played in by Benjani and his right-footed shot handed him his second goal of the season.
Birmingham looked like they could grab an equaliser midway into the second half. A goalmouth scramble led to Liam Ridgewell being challenged by Noe Pamarot before Sol Campbell and Glen Johnson led a joint effort to prevent Mikael Forssell getting a shot away.
The Blues then had a goal disallowed after 77 minutes when Ridgewell's perfectly weighted chip over David James was ruled out for offside.
Portsmouth sealed their victory with a superb free-kick from Niko Kranjcar after Fabrice Muamba had fouled Pamarot 25 yards out. Kranjcar powered his shot into the top right corner and Kingson had little chance of stopping it.
Pompey's victory means they have now won five league games in a row away from home while Birmingham suffered their sixth defeat in their last seven games.

BENJANI WANTS TO STAY AT FRATTON...
Monday, 26 November, 2007

Striker Benjani will snub an offer from Juventus to extend his contract at Portsmouth.
Juve have tabled a £7million bid for the Zimbabwean hotshot. But Benjani said: "I want to stay here."

AND SO DOES HARRY
Monday, 26 November, 2007

Harry Redknapp celebrated his 200th game as Portsmouth manager with a victory over Birmingham and plans to notch up another 200 despite being touted for England duty.
Redknapp is among the candidates to replace Steve McClaren, but the former West Ham and Southampton boss has promised Pompey supporters he is fully focused on leading the club into Europe for the first time in their history.
"It doesn't seem that long since I took over and we have come a long way since," said the 60-year-old. "There have been a few downs but mostly ups and it's a terrific club to be at. The club is going in the right direction, the young owner is building a new stadium, we have a new training ground on the way and we have a great squad of players. I doubt I would get offered the England job to be honest, and I have my work cut out at Portsmouth. There is a lot still to be done here. When you look back on when we were struggling and now we are being talked about for Europe, it's been a fantastic time."

POMPEY EYE-UP DYER
Friday, 16 November, 2007

Pompey and Spurs head the queue as scumpton prepare to cash in on Nathan Dyer this January.
Dyer is one of the prize assets at St Mary's Stadium and is the latest player to roll off their highly successful youth production line.
But unlike Big Nose Matthew Le Tissier, who played his entire career with scumpton, he is likely to follow Wayne Bridge, Gareth Bale and Kenwyne Jones on the road to fresh pastures in the Premiership.
Spurs sporting director Damien Comolli has watched scum this season and Dyer's youth and technical touch will not have gone unnoticed while Pompey assistant coach Tony Adams has also been tracking the Wiltshire-born teenager, who turns 20 this month.
scum have little alternative to sell Dyer for as much as possible although the fear is that they will barely scrape into seven-figures if the transfer goes to a tribunal.

LINVOY TO HAVE OP IN USA
Friday, 16 November, 2007

Linvoy Primus will undergo surgery in the USA in an attempt to save his career.
Primus, 34, flew out to see renowned knee-specialist Richard Steadman in Colorado after a nightmare period on the sidelines.
The veteran remains a massive favourite with Pompey supporters despite not yet appearing in the side this season after a summer operation failed to clear up the lingering knee problem.
His agent, John Mac told the Portsmouth News: "I've spoken to Linvoy's wife Trish and we're awaiting updates. We don't know for sure what is going to happen until they go into his knee. That is the way someone like Richard Steadman works. It could be three or four different things. I guess we won't know for sure until he does it. It could just be an exploratory thing and he will soon be back in rehab and we are keeping our fingers crossed."

LUTON TAKE WILSON
Friday, 16 November, 2007

Luton Town have completed the signing of Portsmouth utility man Marc Wilson on a short-term loan.
The 20-year-old, who can play in midfield or defence, has had two loan spells during 2007 with Bournemouth.
Luton boss Kevin Blackwell said: "He can play in couple of positions and that is key for me at the moment. I need people who have a few tricks, as opposed to being a specialist in one position. He can play left or central midfield and has played centre-half."

TAYLOR'S GOING NOWHERE
Thursday, 15 November, 2007

Harry Redknapp has denied that Matt Taylor is set to join fellow Barclays Premier League side Sunderland in January.
Taylor's heroics last season saw him linked with an England call-up, but he has started only two Premier League games this term.
The 25-year-old midfielder's frustration fuelled reports that he is being lined up for a move to Sunderland, but Redknapp insists he is not for sale.
"I have not heard a thing from (Sunderland manager) Roy Keane about Matt Taylor. I spoke to Roy only last Friday," Redknapp told The News. "He rang up to ask me about Newcastle before they played them. Matt Taylor was never, ever discussed. "He has not played a lot lately but Niko Kranjcar has been playing well. He's not the only one who has been missing out."

NUGENT PUTS ON BRAVE FACE
Thursday, 15 November, 2007

David Nugent is determined not to let his early Fratton Park struggles destroy his ambition.
The £6million summer signing from Preston is still awaiting his first Premier League goal after seven appearances - most from the substitutes' bench - and has lost his place in the England squad.
But after hitting the post in Sunday's goalless home draw with Manchester City, Nugent is keeping a brave face.
He said: "That's just the way things are going for me at the minute. My luck's just not in and when it's not in, the goals just don't come for you. It's disappointing but I'm still confident in my ability and it won't get me down."

DUO FIT FOR BIRMINGHAM MATCH
Wednesday, 14 November, 2007

Despite Pompey's Nigerian duo of John Utaka and Kanu being ruled out of their international side's forthcoming friendlies against Australia and Switzerland they are expected to be fit and ready for action when Pompey face Birmingham City at St Andrews.
The pair were pulled from the Nigerian squad after both suffered injury in Saturday's goalless draw with Manchester City.
Utaka failed to emerge for the second half of the City match after complaining of a sore groin. Kanu was replaced by David Nugent with 27 minutes left after limping off with tight hamstring.
Pompey physio Gary Sadler said: "Both Kanu and John Utaka have got muscle strains, and they're both having scans, but we don't think either injury is very serious. They're both coming into the training ground and being treated conservatively."

Martin Cranie is seeing a foot and ankle specialist over his fractured fibula. The 21-year-old defender is back at Pompey having treatment after suffering the lower-limb injury while on loan at QPR.
Sadler said: "Martin's had another X-ray. We don't want him to have an operation as we don't think it's needed. The fracture looks stable and we're seeking a second opinion from a foot and ankle specialist. We're getting all the opinions we can so we can decide which direction to go in."

REDKNAPP'S FRUSTRATION
Tuesday, 13 November, 2007

Harry Redknapp was left scratching his head after his side failed to hit the target for a second successive league game at Fratton Park.
The frustrations suffered against Liverpool - when Kanu and Benjani Mwaruwari missed penalties - resurfaced in Sunday's 0-0 draw with Manchester City as the woodwork and Joe Hart's brilliant goalkeeping defied them.
Hart tipped Glen Johnson's stinging 34th-minute shot against the crossbar and then saw substitute David Nugent's long-range effort crash away off a post 18 minutes from time.
Redknapp said: "It's amazing. We scored seven against Reading a few weeks ago with just one man up front and we won 4-1 with the same system at Newcastle last week. But it is not systems that win matches it is the players who perform in them.
City's centre-halves Richard Dunne and Micah Richards are their strength. This time we dominated possession and the chances but their keeper made a fantastic save from Glen and the shot that Nugent struck would have gone in off the inside of a post nine times out of 10. But is was another good performance and we are eight league games without defeat now. It's 23 points and I would certainly have settled for that at this stage if you had asked me at the start of the season."

POMPEY DUO RULED OUT
Tuesday, 13 November, 2007

Harry Redknapp has pulled strikers Kanu and John Utaka out of Nigeria's friendly against Australia at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
But it is not a punishment for the sudden drought that has hit Redknapp's high-flying side, who yesterday played out their third goalless draw in four home Barclays Premier League matches.
Kanu, who made his first start since September 23 in the game against Manchester City, has pulled a hamstring and Utaka has a groin injury.
Redknapp said: "Now Kanu's injured again. He won't be reporting to Nigeria for their internationals, because of a hamstring (problem) - and neither will John Utaka, who has a groin strain."

POMPEY DENIED BY WOODWORK
Sunday, 11 November, 2007

Pompey had to make do with a share of the spoils in this rain-sodden top of the table clash with Manchester City.
Redknapp was forced to make one change from last week's team that battered Newcastle; Papa Bouba Diop was suspended so in stepped Kanu as Pompey reverted to a 4-4-2 formation.
There was an impeccably observed minute's silence to remember the dead of armed conflicts on this Armistice Day.
But after that things quickly burst into life with Kanu testing Hart in the City goal after just two minutes. The early encounters saw Pompey pin City back in their own half and went close on several ocassions; Johnson having the best of them when he burst into the area and forcing Hart to tip the ball onto the crossbar.
City's first chance came just before the break when Petrov should have done better than to fire straight at David James.
Probably the best chance of the match fell to Darius Vassell just after the re-start but he failed to connect with Petrov's cross.
Taylor - on for Utaka at half-time - went close with a header before another substitution was forced upon Redknapp as Kanu, making his first start in seven games, pulled up with a hamstring problem. That gave a chance for Nugent and he was unlucky not to be rewarded with a goal as his shot came back off a post and Hart was on hand to smother the rebound before Benjani could pounce.
The game more or less fizzled out as Pompey failed to break down a resolute City defence marshalled by the impressive Richard Dunne and even more impressive Micah Richards.
So it ended goalless, the first time this result has happened between these two teams at Fratton Park in over 70 years.

What is it with fans of teams that begin with 'Manchester'? Arrogant, self-obssessed, ungracious muppets. They can only come up with "Pompey are a bunch of bell-ringing, face-painted, jester hat-wearing, ner-nerring songsters who play in a crap stadium (OK, I'll give them the last one). If those who play in that gay-as-you-like sky-blue strip think they should have won today then they really are deluded. They are the football-fan equivalent of Saddam Hussein and hope they would suffer the same end.

POMPEY TROUNCE TOON
Wednesday, 7 November, 2007

Pompey gave a Newcastle United a footballing lesson with the Blues' first win at St James Park since 1949, and what a win it was. Noe Pamarot, Benjani and John Utaka blitzed Pompey into a 3 - 0 lead in a three minute burst.
Pamarot opened the scoring on 8 minutes with a left-foot rocket past Harper in the Newcastle goal.
Benjani put Pompey two up just a minute later after shrugging off the attentions of two Newcastle defenders before curling a left-foot volley from the right of the penalty area past Harper in the Newcastle goal.
Utaka then made it three for Pompey two minutes later after beating a couple of defenders and rounding Harper in the Newcastle goal.
Newcastle managed to claw a goal back. David James was unfortunate after saving Charles N'Zogbia's shot and Owen's follow-up only for the ball to hit Campbell in the chest and bounce into the goal.
Kranjčar wrapped things up for Pompey with a 71st minute strike from a free-kick that was deflected past Harper in the Newcastle goal.
The win was Pompey's fourth on the trot away from home, something unheard of in previous Premier League seasons, and raised them to fourth in the table. But Redknapp is playing down the prospect of a European place finish though.
Things are set up nicely for Sunday's visit of third-placed Manchester City. Herman Hreidarsson is targeting this game to make his comeback from a groin injury. Papa Bouba Diop will miss the game though after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in Wednesday night's Carling Cup defeat against Blackburn.

CRANIE INJURED
Wednesday, 7 November, 2007

Pompey's England U21 international Martin Cranie suffered a suspected fractured fibula last night. He had an x-ray this morning to assess the extent of the injury and it has been confirmed that the fibula is indeed fractured.
Cranie is currently on loan to Championship side Queens Park Rangers. He suffered the injury in the first half of QPR's 2 - 1 defeat against Coventry City.
It will be big blow to Rangers and will put the youngster's Pompey career on hold for a while.

POMPEY ON THE TELLY BOX AGAIN
Thursday, 1 November, 2007

Sky have claimed another couple of Pompey's fixtures. The game at Sunderland's Stadium of Light has been switched from Saturday, 12th January to Sunday, 13th January with kick-off at 1:30pm.
The match against title contenders Manchester United at Old Trafford on 30th January has also been claimed by Sky with kick-off at 8:00pm.
With all the fixture changes due to live televised matches it makes a mockery of the Football Data Co Limited stopping and threatening people like me from publishing the full fixture list when it is first realeased.

POMPEY DUMPED BY BLACKBURN
Thursday, 1 November, 2007

Pompey were dumped out of the Carling Cup by Premier League rivals Blackburn Rovers last night and Harry Redknapp was left rueing missed opportunities; the most glaring miss being by summer signing David Nugent.
Pompey were trailing to Benni McCarthy's 11th minute goal when Nugent rose at the far post head John Utaka's cross wide from just two metres (I've gone metric). Had he put the ball in the net like he should have done Pompey could well have gone on to win the game as they were in the ascendancy at that time.
Redknapp said, "We missed a couple of great opportunities - opportunities that you just can't afford to miss. If Nugent had scored then that would have given us a great chance to go on and win. It was a chance he would score 99 times out of 100. But I don't want to blame him for the loss, these things happen in football."
He went on, "We were bang on top and the suddenly we lose possession in our area and the game's over. But we should have played better in the first half. We were very poor. They scored and then it was just stop-start with injuries - the game wasn't flowing at all. I would have loved a cup run and to have gone all the way but we'll keep pushing on in the league."
Redknapp did see something good in the game though; Niko Kranjčar. He said of the Croatian international, "Niko's a good player who keeps getting better. He's got good control under pressure. I'm delighted with him and he's a player with a big future. When I took him here I spoke to Slaven Bilic and he told me that he was the best player Croatia have produced since Robert 40 ciggies a day Prosinecki - and now he's starting to show that."