Match Day Thread The (Everlasting) South Coast Derby Tuesday 24/09/19 KO 7:45pm

Does he think Cedric is a better option at LB than Bertrand?

 

Cedric is certainly better at LB than Djenepo!

 

I watched Lowe today at wigan (part of Pompey side last year) and he was the best player in the first half.

 

... I think we’ll struggle to hold on to a lead for three days mind.

 

Oh, ok then.....

 

Just getting in the mood

 

Not far from where I was stood for that game.

 

That was a terrific Saints team and arguably far better in it's time than our current squad. I can remember listening to this match live on the radio and thinking it was going to go to a replay before Moran scored. That goal cemented Moran's reputation as a Saint even though at the time he was really highly considered. I think this was the first derby match I can remember. I started going to watch Saints in 74/75 but I have no recollection of any Portsmouth matches when we were both in the old League Two. This might have been because Portsmouth were relegated at some point before we got promotion.

The derbies only started to kick in for me when Alan Ball got Portsmouth promoted in the late 1980s and any rivalry prior to this point was muted simply because Portsmouth had been off the radar playing in the old 3rd and 4th divisions. In fact, I don't recall ever paying them any attention until Ball became their manager. In the 1980s, for some reason, the team everyone seemed to hate most of wall was Luton Town whose plastic pitch made them very much the villain of the time. I would still have to say that the thumping we received at Fratton Park in the season we got relegated is still the most shocking defeat I have witnessed and the end result did not reflect the mauling we received. One of the worst ever Saints performances I have seen.

 

I remember walking back into town from this match and Watts Park was a sea of brawling fans. It was the first time I had witnessed the nasty and unpleasant rivalry between the fans. A short while later I ended up working in Portsmouth and it was then that I witnessed for the first time their bitter hatred of Saints brought about by their inferiority complex and their total loss of top dog status. They know Saints are the better club and have been for a long time now and it rankles with them. It hurts them and long may it do so.

 

I agree with 90% odd of this, including being chased by a horde of Portsmouth supporters into Southampton Civic Centre Library, and I hadn't even been to the match, although I was wearing my Saints scarf that I've pictured here before. I agree with the inferiority thing, and it doesn't help that the teams meet so fleetingly, so it always raises the tribal temperature. And although Portsmouth football supporters can appear to be feral at times, ordinary non-football supporting Portsmouth folk are fine in my experience. So it doesn't have to be like this. I want Portsmouth FC to join Us, Bournemouth and Brighton in the same league. There are pundits who, remarkably, don't want that. Gary Neville has bemoaned the rise of south coast [SC] football at the expense of traditional northern clubs. As if they have a divine right to success. 1966 World Cup hero Bobby Charlton always disrespected SC football. So no, I don't want Pompey supporters to keep on suffering. I want them to be in the PL, which makes the whole of SC football even more competitive. And while we're all in the same league, at the very least, being the best of the bunch football club means that, by default, our club won't be relegated. And gives more exposure to SC football. And consequently, more sponsor money to help do better.

 

Why are we the best of such football clubs? Bournemouth have finished above us for the past two seasons.

 

Read it again Libby

 

Apologies I understand now

 

There was an interesting article several years ago in "WSC" about the change in fortunes amongst clubs in the North and South within the lower leagues which suggested that the latter we better run. At the time, a number of southern clubs had been entering the 2nd division at that expense of the traditional, northern clubs. I don't think that this is something that typically effects the just south coast and is a phenomena that extends quite far in land.

Working in the Portsmouth throughout much of the 2000s I got to experience a lot of the rivalry which coincided at a time when Portsmouth were winning the FA Cup. I think there is a passion in Portsmouth which is far in excess of anything we have in Southampton. Portsmouth fans are probably amongst the most passionate in the country about their club yet I also thing they are the most fickle. There seems to be little patience and understanding amongst Portsmouth fans. You regularly hear about Portsmouth being "different" and having it's own unique culture. I totally agree with this but think that it is not necessarily a good culture. Portsmouth fans will scoff at Southampton and despite the two league's superiority, those fans rarely feel that they are inferior. There is certainly a grievance there which was not so evident when the boot was on the other foot. On top of this, you rarely see fans supporting other clubs in Portsmouth and I don't think you can say this in Southampton. Even the local media in Portsmouth has a tendency to be rabidly against Southampton and one particular journalist in the News 10 years ago used to regularly snarl against Southampton is a way which was wholly inappropriate. A Portsmouth supporting colleague used to bring these bile-filled articles in to work for the Saints fans to read. It was dreadful journalism but clearly spoke to the small-minded attitude and limited intelligence of my colleague. I like the fact that the Echo never descends to this level and is far more savvy in it's Portsmouth coverage - the lady in the mobility scooter outside Fratton Park being a regular image which always amused me. There was no strap line beneath the photo as it already summed up our perception of the club.

It is not surprising that the same fans singing Jackett's name last season have now turned against him. The expectations at Portsmouth are immense but they are also becoming increasingly unrealistic.

 

Rupert's really bloomed late as a player.

He was crap here. Did 'buy' me a drink once though.

 

If we do not win this by 5 clear goals then we have failed.

 

I'd accept any win...we'd be in the draw for the next round. That's all I need.

 

Failed what exactly?, the bottom line is to beat them and be in the hat for the next round we will have only have failed if we don't achieve that.

 

Yeah a big win would be nice but any will do.


Not sure how long I can watch us being one nil up mind