We're off to Fratton Park next season, as Portsmouth got promoted to the Championship, beating Barnsley 3-2 to seal the League One title, after 12 years away.
Southampton determined not to hang around for a South Coast derby with them though, defeating PNE 3-0 to maintain their push for the PL.

Friday night, first fixture Pompey v Clarets on Sky

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 2:04 am

Friday night, first fixture Pompey v Clarets on Sky

I did think last night that this fixture has opening night written all over it.

No chance. It will be Leeds v someone.

Quite like Pompey, just the unscrupulous dodgy owner and allegedly manager and his side kick Rosie the dog that spoilt them.

As a resident of north Hampshire, a consolation for out relegation would be that it enables a possible trip to Fratton Park to see the Clarets. Last time I was there (our last game there I think) was the 5-1 win. 1-1 at half time then a goal from Ings and 3 from Charlie Austin in the last 20 minutes or so.

Possibly another easy trip to Southampton but no (easiest of the lot for me) trip to Reading this time.

I wonder if that guy with the large hand bell and big hat still goes on the kop end? He was forever on camera in the days they were often on tv.

I live 10 miles from Fratton Park, and know a lot of supporters. They have certainly been through the mill in the last 10-15 years!

IF we go down, will be a good local trip for me, and as per LeadBelly, my last trip there was our 5-1 win.

Southampton have two massive games at Leicester and Leeds in their final games to determine if they'll go up or have a south coast derby.

John (Portsmouth Football Club) Westwood has been banned several times, for several 'minor' offences, but sure he'll be there if allowed.

pompeyclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:22 am

I live 10 miles from Fratton Park, and know a lot of supporters. They have certainly been through the mill in the last 10-15 years!

IF we go down, will be a good local trip for me, and as per LeadBelly, my last trip there was our 5-1 win.

Southampton have two massive games at Leicester and Leeds in their final games to determine if they'll go up or have a south coast derby.

John (Portsmouth Football Club) Westwood has been banned several times, for several 'minor' offences, but sure he'll be there if allowed.

Haha -yes I just looked up "Portsmouth fan with bell" and see he has a Wiki entry to himself. Still going strong as you say and accruing a fair few bans.

Relegation favourites next year the Championship is a hard league.VK totally underestimated the jump from Championship to Premier. The gap between all the leagues is now massive.

Woodleyclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:58 am

Relegation favourites next year the Championship is a hard league.VK totally underestimated the jump from Championship to Premier. The gap between all the leagues is now massive.

Look up Ipswich Town

Woodleyclaret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:58 am

Relegation favourites next year the Championship is a hard league.VK totally underestimated the jump from Championship to Premier. The gap between all the leagues is now massive.

How do you work that one out ? - they’ve hardly lost a game in the last 18 months in division 1.
The gap between division one and championship is nothing like the gulf between championship and Premier League.

The championship is a hard league in terms of the top 8 clubs or so as invariably you are going to have a few teams who have recently been relegated from EPL and still getting parachute payments.

But go beyond these clubs and you have a whole raft of teams who are struggling financially. The amount that many of these teams spend on transfers is not that different to some of the div one clubs.

Money and budgets is obviously still a big thing in the lower leagues. The bookies favourites in division 2 at the start of the season were Wrexham and Stockport. The 2 clubs with the biggest budgets. Look who got promoted.

Never been to Pompey so might make a weekend of this one. Hopefully it doesn't get moved to a stupid time for TV or a midweek game.

Pompey - the COLDEST I've ever been at a football ground

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 12:10 pm

Pompey - the COLDEST I've ever been at a football ground

If it was colder than what i regularly experienced at Hartlepool Vegas, it was indeed cold.

That wind up there that whips off the dockside
cuts right through you.

ElectroClaret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 12:42 pm

If it was colder than what i regularly experienced at Hartlepool Vegas, it was indeed cold.

That wind up there that whips off the dockside
cuts right through you.

others will remember the game I'm talking about, we lost 2-0 on Jan 2nd 1995. We did the Um-Ba-Ba for large parts of the game just to get warm
Same thing, wind blowing in off the sea towards the open end

edit: Also, who decided our New Years fixture would be the local derby away at Portsmouth

Is their big tattooed fan still around?

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 12:51 pm

others will remember the game I'm talking about, we lost 2-0 on Jan 2nd 1995. We did the Um-Ba-Ba for large parts of the game just to get warm
Same thing, wind blowing in off the sea towards the open end

edit: Also, who decided our New Years fixture would be the local derby away at Portsmouth

My only visit to Portsmouth thus far was that New Years game..although I think it was on Jan 2nd? A lovely sunny day but an incredibly cold wind and a pitch like concrete. I was amazed the ref let the game go ahead. A long punt..Marlon misjudged the ridiculously high bounce and pulled down the striker as he ran past him and was sent off. The only other game that comes close cold wise was Coventry away on one of our first visits there....and I have been to Hartlepool too

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 12:10 pm

Pompey - the COLDEST I've ever been at a football ground

New Years Day? I was still exceedingly drunk and can't remember if I was cold or not. The vague memory I do have is the pitch was frozen solid and we lost 2-0?

dougcollins wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 7:06 pm

New Years Day? I was still exceedingly drunk and can't remember if I was cold or not. The vague memory I do have is the pitch was frozen solid and we lost 2-0?

you must have been beyond smashed to not remember how cold it was !!! yes, 2-0 Precki scored both their goals

Is the ground still a hotch potch and something of a mess? I know when they were in the PL and doing ok, they were trying to either develop it or build new and move because it holds 20,000 or thereabouts and is regularly full and they could get considerably more if they had the room.

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 12:10 pm

Pompey - the COLDEST I've ever been at a football ground

Never been to Coventry? Brrrrrrrrrrrrr

Dark Cloud wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 7:29 pm

Is the ground still a hotch potch and something of a mess? I know when they were in the PL and doing ok, they were trying to either develop it or build new and move because it holds 20,000 or thereabouts and is regularly full and they could get considerably more if they had the room.

I think it was at Pompey that I was on the lower seats at pitch level and I noticed the six yard box seemed to be mounted on a hill

Really pleased for Pompey. As mentioned above, they were tarnished with their wrong doings, but in my mind, they’re a proper club with a cracking fan base. I’ve got a few mates in Pompey so I imagine I’ll try and make this one. Decent night out, too.

LeadBelly wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:16 am

As a resident of north Hampshire, a consolation for out relegation would be that it enables a possible trip to Fratton Park to see the Clarets. Last time I was there (our last game there I think) was the 5-1 win. 1-1 at half time then a goal from Ings and 3 from Charlie Austin in the last 20 minutes or so.

Possibly another easy trip to Southampton but no (easiest of the lot for me) trip to Reading this time.

I wonder if that guy with the large hand bell and big hat still goes on the kop end? He was forever on camera in the days they were often on tv.

Charlie came on as a sub and his last two goals were in stoppage time. It was also Danny Ings’ first Burnley goal. We haven’t played them since.

dougcollins wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 7:06 pm

New Years Day? I was still exceedingly drunk and can't remember if I was cold or not. The vague memory I do have is the pitch was frozen solid and we lost 2-0?

Marlon sent off and that cold I think my shoes froze to the terracing. I’ve had colder days though - Hartlepool, Oxford, Coventry come to mind.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 8:26 pm

Marlon sent off and that cold I think my shoes froze to the terracing.

vivid image !

Dislike the club intensely.

They had some of the most violent fans back in the day. The ground makes TM look like Bernabeu.

And their years of fraud and making scores of local firms insolvent shouldn't be forgotten.

Would quite like Oxford to come up with them in the play offs. Would make for a decent away game next season

ecc wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 8:58 pm

Dislike the club intensely.

They had some of the most violent fans back in the day. The ground makes TM look like Bernabeu.

And their years of fraud and making scores of local firms insolvent shouldn't be forgotten.

Football has a short and very selective memory, sadly. They will be welcomed back as heroes. One of the original spend spend spend clubs, no better than Leicester… but look how football manage to forget what they did over a long period (and more than once). We are paying the price for he rockets these clubs put under transfer fees, wages etc. Not to mention the businesses they ripped off.

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 12:10 pm

Pompey - the COLDEST I've ever been at a football ground

Me too. The only time I’ve been there…. Seem to remember Adrian Heath sliding around deliberately trying to get it called off once we were losing.

JohnDearyMe wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 10:40 pm

Would quite like Oxford to come up with them in the play offs. Would make for a decent away game next season

last time I watched us there was lost 5-0 (I think Heath was the manager ?)

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 11:33 pm

last time I watched us there was lost 5-0 (I think Heath was the manager ?)

Cracking day out, then.

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 11:33 pm

last time I watched us there was lost 5-0 (I think Heath was the manager ?)

Was that at their newer three sided ground or the old one? Can't remember if we've played at the Kassam stadium yet

Championship is sometimes easier for teams coming up from League 1 than say a Preston for example. Momentum can carry through.

Even if you say there’s a top 8 you don’t actually need results against all of them.

Win your 15 other home games that’s 45. You’ve got those teams away again and the top 8 home/away to get another 10 or so wins to make the play offs. You’d expect some top sides to struggle going to Fratton Park when it’s a loud mid week fixture too.

Vegas Claret wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 17, 2024 12:10 pm

Pompey - the COLDEST I've ever been at a football ground

I would agree with this and it was my first ever game watching Burnley. Can't believe I went back for more!

JohnDearyMe wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 18, 2024 6:59 am

Was that at their newer three sided ground or the old one? Can't remember if we've played at the Kassam stadium yet

the old Manor ground

I personally feel it's rather unfair of fans to wish ill will on another club who were stitched up many years ago by dreadful and unscrupulous owners. Those owners (charlotans) are long gone and as with every similar situation, the genuine fans are still there and were the ones left to pick up the pieces. It's happened to more than a few and it could easily happen to us one day. Having said that, I don't know who the current owners are at Pompey, so I'm making an assumption they are decent folk.

ecc wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 18, 2024 4:23 am

Cracking day out, then.

standard in those days !

"Umm Qasr is a city similar to Southampton," UK defence minister Geoff Hoon said in The Commons yesterday. "He's either never been to Southampton, or he's never been to Umm Qasr" says a British Squaddie patrolling Umm Qasr. Another soldier added: "There's no beer, no prostitutes and people are shooting at us. It's more like Portsmouth."

Portsmouth was the first place I saw anybody in an off licence wearing pyjamas.

Pretty common now.