With so much doom and gloom around Pompey at the moment with this and that – things I will not go into here, as to be honest I have covered most of these kinds of topics a few times this week, plus there is a decent debate going on in the forum – here too, besides I have to leave for Wembley shortly! – it is good to hear some positive vibes coming from Pompey captain Sol Campbell.
Whilst he acknowledges that we could do with a few players he has put his weight behind the quality that we do have – as he should, as it is true! – and believes we are good enough to carry on moving forward: ‘we probably do need another couple of players.
‘I know the gaffer looked to go for three top players this summer but whether the money is going to be available, I don’t know.
‘It’s up to the board isn’t it? For certain, we need a new training ground and a new stadium here and now it’s up to us to keep going as a team to ensure we get them.
‘We’ve done well. Winning the FA Cup was fantastic and we did well in the league even though we let it go a bit towards the end.
‘It’s a bit different to a few years ago. People looked at Portsmouth and said there’s not much happening there but we’ve taken off and a lot of that’s down to Harry. He’s been fantastic here and, for me personally, he’s been brilliant.
‘I know he feels we need more players this year but you can never stop believing. Your aim has always got to be to improve every year – at least it’s mine – and I think it is still achievable.
‘We are in the UEFA Cup for the first time and the benefit of Europe is that it attracts players to sign for you.
‘We’ve got Peter Crouch now and he’s a great player as well as a great lad. I can see his partnership with Jermain Defoe doing well.’
Normally, although I am happy to use quotes I would not publish the whole lot, but as I think this is the kind of talk we want to hear – well I do – and is the kind of talk that is true I was happy to do so.
Things are fantastic with Pompey and I am happy, more than happy in fact. Yep, I do not want to be blinkered to financial matters etc. involving the club but these are matters we know nothing about, only those involved really know, everything else is all speculation and guess work! Maybe not all the papers can be wrong with what they are saying about us and money as you can argue not all can be wrong, but you cannot always believe what you read can you…
However if you have not got the money you cannot spend it, if you spend what you do not have you get in trouble – just ask the likes of Leeds… Should we not be happy with out lot? Maybe we should not become ‘content’ as this can bread complacency but things really are not as bad as we are sometimes led to believe. Maybe we do not have any money, but lets face it in the current credit crisis who does…
Campbellalso spoke about his own future again and says he would be happy to stay for another 3-years if he was wanted, but also said no new contract has yet been discussed with this ending at the end of the season: ‘and I’m certainly still happy here. A new contract? It’s not been mentioned but I’m going nowhere. I never was. No. I think I could give it another three years before I looked at the situation.
‘It’s great to be going back to Wembley. I’ve had a bit of a virus but I’m okay now and glad I can play.
‘We want to put on a show for our fans, we want to win and I don’t rule that out but the main thing is preparation for the season stepping it up. ‘
His international ambitions are still burning brightly and he says that he hopes to impress Fabio Capello and win his place back in the England squad. Whilst I do think this is improbable – but not impossible, if he can be rested sufficiently then he can prolong his career with Pompey. If he cannot be rested then as we saw at times last season this has a negative impact and the signs of aging became much more evident.
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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