Stewie's Corner - The Off-Topic Chat Thread

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too Beddytare !

 

Boardroom Renamed In Honour Of John Jenkins MBE.

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Portsmouth Football Club have paid tribute to John Jenkins by renaming the boardroom in his honour.

The John Jenkins MBE Boardroom was officially opened ahead of Pompey’s League One victory against Sunderland.

The D-Day veteran sadly passed away just before Christmas, having celebrated his 100th birthday in November.

Jenkins – who began supporting the club back in 1928 – had worked as boardroom steward at Fratton Park for many years.

He is one of the few fans to watch the Blues lift the FA Cup at Wembley in both 1939 and 2008, and played a key role in the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of D-Day last summer.

Pompey chairman Michael Eisner said: “My family and I enjoyed talking with John whenever we were at Fratton Park.

“We were always struck by how much love he had for this football club and Eric, in particular, developed a great friendship with him.

“He spent much of his time at the club in the boardroom and so it is a fitting tribute that it has now been named in his honour.

“John will be missed by so many people from the city and further afield, so it’s wonderful that his name lives on in the John Jenkins MBE Boardroom.”

Chief executive Mark Catlin added: “It is fitting that one of the ways we are paying tribute to John is by renaming the boardroom as the John Jenkins MBE Boardroom. This was an area that he managed with pride for so much of his time at the club.

“Our chairman Michael Eisner and his family developed a warm relationship with John and it’s great that they were over to unveil this commemoration to him.”

 

New Portsmouth Sports Complex To Be Named After John Jenkins

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A new £3.5 million state-of-the-art community sports complex in Portsmouth is to be named after D-Day veteran and lifelong Pompey fan John Jenkins MBE.

The John Jenkins Stadium will be at the heart of the facility to be built on the Moneyfields site in the Baffins area of the city.

It is named after the veteran who featured in last year’s D-Day commemorations and who died in December at the age of 100.

Pompey in the Community (PitC) – an independent charity affiliated with Portsmouth Football Club – is developing the sports complex to include two of the latest 3G all-weather pitches, a boxing gym, dance studio, social club and many more facilities.

They have been gifted six acres of land at Moneyfields by Riversdale Developments, which is to build houses and flats on the remaining one acre of the site.

Now the charity has to secure funding for the £3.5m development of the new facility, which will be used by PitC Moneyfields FC.

Portsmouth FC Women will train at the centre and it will be used by thousands of school children, disability sport groups and members of the public every week.

Clare Martin, chief executive of PitC, said: “John Jenkins was a massive friend to Pompey in the Community and would regularly call in to see what we were doing – often bringing home-made baked goods with him.

“It is only right that now we have got the go ahead for this new stadium and sports facilities at Moneyfields, we name the stadium after him.

“He was a huge part of the city and this is the least we can do to recognise what he meant to all of us.”

Fundraising is now starting in earnest for the project, with work expected to begin on the site later this year – there are applications for grant funding from sporting and statutory authorities.

In addition, the Pompey Supporters’ Trust have gifted £250,000 and offered to help with a crowdfunding project to raise a further £250,000.

Other projects include having a blue ‘Pompey wave’ for each of the four races in October’s Great South Run, a sleep-out at Fratton Park, a golf day on April 29 in Petersfield, a sponsored bike ride and a ‘play on the pitch’ event at Fratton Park.

Clare added: “I’m thrilled so many people in our community will benefit from this ground-breaking project. It’s crucial for what we do as a charity that we have a bigger base now.

“We currently spend more than £120,000 hiring pitches for the programmes we run for 36,000 children and adults throughout the local community every year, and often we have to bus our teams out of the city to places as far away as Alton to find a pitch.

“This new development means that for the first time, we will have pitches of our own that we will be able to use.”

 

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Roy Hudd actor and comic, dies aged 83. RIP.

 

Food Donated To Worthy Causes - Matchday supplies help feed those in need

The late postponement of Saturday’s scheduled match against Accrington meant there was plenty of food that might have gone to waste.

But Portsmouth Football Club joined forces with Pompey in the Community (PitC), as well as catering partners Elior and Sodexo, to ensure it was instead donated to worthy causes.

Clare Martin, CEO at PitC, explained: “I emailed the food banks network to see who could make good use of the food.

“The pies and sausage rolls that would have been sold to fans in the kiosks went to various homeless charities and hostels.

“Meanwhile, food that would have been enjoyed by corporate guests went to St Simon’s Church for their ‘Sunday Suppers’ initiative.

“Amidst all the doom and gloom caused by the coronavirus, it was nice that we were able to do something so positive.”

Jim Campbell, the ‘Friday Fridge’ leader at St Jude’s Church, said: “We benefitted from a very generous donation of pies and sausage rolls to help feed the homeless and marginalised in our city.

“I wanted to pass on sincere thanks to all concerned in making this happen. Our guests and volunteers were most grateful.”

 

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Cardiff City Club Statement | Peter Whittingham
Club News

6 hours ago
It is with an immeasurable amount of sorrow that we must inform supporters that Peter Whittingham has passed away at the age of 35.
We are heartbroken.

The news of Peter’s sudden and untimely passing has shaken us to our very foundation. Our love goes out to his wife Amanda, their young son and family. They are at the forefront of our thoughts and, on their behalf, we ask for their privacy to be respected at this unfathomably cruel and difficult time.

First and foremost, Peter was a family man - and somebody who could light up a room with his sense of humour, warmth and personality. Then, as a professional footballer - as a Bluebird - he excelled with talent, ease, grace and humility. Nobody did it better.

The loss of Peter will be painfully felt by our city, supporters and indeed all who ever had the pleasure of knowing him. We love you Pete and your memory will eternally stay with us.


RIP Peter Whittingham - I saw him play for Cardiff against Pompey at Wembley in the 2008 FA Cup Final. A very underrated player.

 

Pompey Mourn Ray Hiron - Former Blues striker passes away

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Pompey are mourning the death of Ray Hiron, who has passed away at the age of 76.

The Gosport-born centre-forward struck 117 goals in 364 appearances during his 11 years on the south coast.

A Hall of Fame inductee, he was spotted playing for Fareham Town and also worked in the city’s dockyard

He hitched a lift on a friend’s motorbike in 1964 to pen professional terms at Fratton Park during his lunch break.R

With just two reserve outings behind him, Hiron was handed his senior debut in a 1-1 Division Two draw at Bury.

The towering target-man was a constant nuisance to opposition defences and once hit four goals in a 5-2 victory over Norwich at Fratton Park.

He brought up a century of league goals for the Blues by diving full length to head home Ken Foggo’s cross against Nottingham Forest.

Hiron was awarded a testimonial against Southampton in 1975, fittingly scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Pompey’s south coast rivals.

He left to sign for Reading in the summer of 1975, spending three years with the Royals and later working at the Mountbatten Centre.

The thoughts of everyone at Portsmouth Football Club are with Ray’s family and friends at this sad time.

Remember watching him playing many years ago, alongside the likes of Albie McCann and Harry Harris. A good goal scoring striker..........R.I.P. Ray

 

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In memory of Scott, a Portsmouth fan who took his own life at 24.

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Scott Perry was Dave’s oldest friend. They both grew up in Portsmouth and started going to football matches together from around the age of 14, and continued to do this even when they both moved away from the city.

“We followed Portsmouth together through the FA Cup finals all the way to being relegated to League Two, going through the highs and lows of football and of life together," said Dave.

“Football was our escape. A chance to get away with mates and follow something we feel passionate about. At times, it was the things Scott did feel passionate about, like Portsmouth, that kept him going. If one of us was feeling a bit down, we would plan our next away day to give us something to look forward to.”

Dave and Scott spoke openly about mental health to each other and Scott struggled for a long time, admitting to Dave at the age of 16 that he’d attempted to take his own life. Despite feeling like he could reach out to Dave, and it being a time when it seemed like he was getting his life together, Scott took his life in February this year at the age of 24.

Dave reflects that: “Just because someone seems ok, it doesn’t mean that the demons aren’t there because we can’t see inside someone’s head. If anyone thinks something isn’t normal or quite right with a friend, just speak to them and ask more than once.”

He also believe strongly that more awareness about the services on offer for people with mental health problems, such as Mind’s Infoline, is crucial and that the stigma around using services needs to be addressed: “It’s really just someone to listen to what’s going on in your head and help you understand.”

Dave’s football shirt has Scott’s nickname ‘Play Up Perry’ and the number 24 on the back, the age Scott was when he died, memory of his friend and is passionate about breaking down the stigma around talking about and getting support for mental health problems. “I really want to share Scott’s story more widely as I know there can be a lot of difficulty opening up about mental health, especially among men. If I can help one person by sharing Scott’s story it would be incredible. It would make sure everything he suffered through won’t be in vain".

 

Jamal Lowe: Swansea City's ex-teacher aims to go from non-league to Premier League

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Jamal Lowe (right) celebrates fellow Swansea league debutant Morgan Gibbs-White's winner at Preston on the opening day of the season.

The Premier League looked a long way off when Jamal Lowe was teaching at a London primary school and playing part-time football in the seventh tier of English football.

Only four years down the line, the top flight is within sight for Swansea City's close-season recruit from Wigan Athletic.

"That's 100% the aim," Lowe tells BBC Sport Wales.

"It's always been the aim for me. I have worked really hard to get to the Championship, to prove myself at every level.

"I have played in all the leagues from the seventh tier up apart from the Premier League. My aim is to get there with Swansea."

A versatile player who is happy anywhere across the forward line, Lowe's desire to progress also makes him appealing to a manager.

Hence Steve Cooper urged Swansea's owners, who have spent very little on transfer fees in recent times, to stump up around £800,000 to bring the 26-year-old to Wales.

Really, Lowe should have cost considerably more than that, but Wigan's financial problems allowed Swansea to seal a cut-price deal.

Only 13 months ago the Latics paid around £2.3m to sign Lowe from Portsmouth.

Paul Cook, the then Wigan manager, had given Lowe his big break in the EFL during his spell as Pompey boss.

"He has been a massive influence," Lowe says.

Lowe's early footballing steps were taken in the professional game.

Born in Harrow, he came through the youth ranks at Barnet and played a handful of League Two games for the Bees as an 18-year-old.

After loan spells at various non-league clubs, Lowe left Barnet permanently when then boss Edgar Davids, the former Champions League winner, told him he was not part of his plans.

By this stage Barnet were a non-league club, and Lowe joined sixth-tier St Albans City before dropping down another level to play for Hampton and Richmond Borough.

At the same time he was working at Coombe Hill Junior School.

"I only trained on Tuesday and Thursday," Lowe recalls. "There's no money at that level so I had a full-time job as a PE teacher.

"At some points I thought professional football wasn't going to happen. I'd had a chance in the Football League at 18 but at 19 I was playing, or sometimes not even getting in the squad, in non-league."

Lowe began to shine at Hampton and Richmond, helping them to the 2015-16 Isthmian League title and promotion to the Conference South.

A trial at Millwall followed but came to nothing, then life changed when Lowe was offered a deal by Portsmouth, who paid an initial £15,000 for his services midway through 2016-17.

It proved a smart move by the Fratton Park club. In April 2017, Lowe's brace at Notts County sealed Portsmouth's promotion from League Two and he also netted in their title-clinching victory over Cheltenham.

Cook left that summer for Wigan, but Lowe continued to thrive under Kenny Jackett, scoring 26 goals over the next two seasons, including a memorable lob in the 2019 Checkatrade Trophy final triumph over Sunderland at Wembley.

"I had some good moments at Portsmouth," Lowe says. "I don't want that to be over. I want more at Swansea."

Having stepped up to the Championship, Lowe had another positive year at Wigan - he scored six goals in 48 appearances - before joining the DW Stadium exodus this summer.

Wigan should have finished in mid-table, but dropped into League One having been docked 12 points for going into administration, with their Hong Kong-based owners conceding they could not support the club financially.

"It's really, really sad the way whole club was let down," Lowe says.

"There was nothing the fans, the players or the staff could do about it.

"One minute we were the form team in the league and everything was looking great, then we had a 12-point deduction and a lot of good people were losing their jobs."

Cook has since left Wigan, while the vast majority of his players have been picked off by clubs up and down the country.

Lowe, who was linked with numerous Championship sides as well as Celtic, feels he has made a smart move by opting for Swansea.

"The club has had some heartache after losing in the play-offs last season, but I think that only pushes you to make sure you achieve something the next year," he says.

"There's no beating around the bush. The aim for everyone is to reach the Premier League."

Victory at Preston on the opening day of the Championship season was a good start. Next up are Birmingham City on Saturday, when Lowe will make his competitive home debut in a near-empty stadium.

"It would have been a lot better if the fans were going to be there," he says.

"From what I have heard, that's not too far away, so I will have to have a double home debut."

 

Ex-Portsmouth physio Neil Sillett quits Premier League Brighton for Cyprus 'second-chance saloon'

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Former Pompey physio Neil Sillett has left his Brighton Academy role to work with Yakubu at the Bentley Sports Group

The former Aston Villa scout quit as Pompey Academy’s head of recruitment at the end of last year to take up a role at the Amex Stadium.

Appointed as the Premier League club’s under-18 national scout co-ordinator, he was challenged to fulfil a project which excited him.

However, following the coronavirus outbreak and the downturn in footballing finances, those plans have been delayed.

That prompted Sillett to push for his Brighton departure in favour of this month returning to the Bentley Sports Group, where he has continued to be a director.

His vision involves creating a football centre in Cyprus, offering promising players the opportunity to rebuild their careers under guidance from ex-Pompey defenders Adrian Whitbread and Kit Symons and former Nigerian international Yakubu.

And Sillett is relishing getting his new project up and running.

He told The News: ‘This is a second-chance saloon.

‘When kids are released they go home, perhaps sit there and play a guitar, and say it didn’t work out for me because someone didn’t like me.

‘Well, come and stay with us for a few months.

‘Even if you don't go back into a pro club, we can recommend something else. Or just feel better about yourself. Don’t sit at home doing nothing, come out, get fit, get mentally in a better place.

‘Come and train with us for 3-6 months or a year and we will give you a profile passport which will be legitimate.

‘It will be honest, we’ll analyse your strengths, your weakness, your height, your weight, your speed and your stats.

‘You will be coached by Adrian Whitbread, Kit Symons and Yakubu, we are on the doorsteps of Champions League clubs in Cyprus and Greece. If it’s not for your pro career, we have the USA option for scholarships through our Florida centre.

‘We are pretty well qualified to tell you what level you should be at. There’s a level for everyone – be it Sunday League or Premier League – and we can probably give you a good idea where you should be.’

Sillett departed Brighton in October, following just 10 months with the Premier League club.

But he is adamant his exit was on friendly terms – and wishes the club the best.

He added: ‘At Brighton, the project will happen in time, but goodness knows when.

‘I just felt this was a good time to go back into working with the Bentley Sports Group and build other projects I wanted to pursue.

‘I was national scout co-ordinator for Brighton’s Academy, with a remit to build an increased presence in London, including recruiting scouts on salaries and building in the south of England.

‘Their aim was to be a top-10 academy in five year’s time. That appealed to me and that's why I made the jump.

‘I had the budget at that time to sign boys from category two or three academies, which was appealing, rather than trying to get the rejects from clubs.

‘With coronavirus, that project has now been delayed and I just felt the timing was right to leave.

‘Dave Wright (Brighton’s Academy recruitment manager) is a really good professional, he will eventually get that section up and running because he has the passion. He will get there and I think they will do very well.

‘Brighton were disappointed, but I think they understood that they couldn't give me what they wanted – and what I had gone there for.

‘It’ no-one’s fault. In fact, while I was there, it occurred to me “This isn’t going to happen”. What I signed up to do and what they wanted me to do just wasn’t possible at present.’

 

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Sean Connery, the Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of James Bond, has died aged 90. RIP

 

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RIP Papa Bouba Diop (aka "The Wardrobe") who has died aged 42 after a long illness. Helped Pompey win the 2008 FA Cup. Former Senegalese international with 63 international caps.

 

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