We get to know a little more about ‘the landlord’ pompeyrug.
1 – Vital Pompey username?
Pompeyrug. Clearly Pompey for Portsmouth, but the Rug part, that is a nickname that I picked up as a kid! Why? I do not have a clue, but it has stuck and this is the name that I am known by by literally everyone I know.
2 – Where do you come from/where do you currently live?
I currently live just outside of Plymouth; originally I am from Leigh Park.
3 – How long have you been a Vital Pompey member?
Since July 2006, but in July 2007 I was offered the top position and took it without any hesitation! So I am now ‘the landlord’.
4 – What do you think of Vital Pompey? Be brutally honest!
I love it!
It did not take me long to realise it is a great place to visit, but actually participating is something else. Being a site journalist – originally – and now the big cheese is fantastic – writing about a club I love is basically a dream come true.
5 – How did you find out about Vital Pompey?
Through my brother, so you ultimately have him to thank – or blame! – for having me as the editor. He had been keeping on at me for months ‘to check out this great site called Vital Portsmouth’. I kept telling him I was too busy, but one day his nagging got the better of me – the rest as they say is history.
6 – When did you first watch Pompey live – not on box unless this is the only way you have been able to see them? Not necessarily at Fortress Fratton though.
Leaving Portsmouth as a youngster, and not seeing Pompey before doing so would make it hard to travel to games due to finances, so my first taste of football at the Fortress came in the 1998/99 season against Sunderland. They were head and shoulders above anyone else and a favourite of mine at the time Sammy Igoe scored in a 1-1 draw, with us just 7 minutes away from a win.
7 – How often do you get to watch Pompey?
Even though I live away from the area I am a former season ticket holder, but sadly, lack of finances again means visits to the Fortress – or elsewhere for that matter, as home and away games were common – are very few and far between now, but this does not make you any less of a fan does it.
However the season ticket is coming back next season!
8 – Who is your favourite Pompey Player – current and/or former?
Benjani is a player currently much admired. I have always liked the look of the fella despite the lack of goals, but I had always been adamant that with the right players around him he would score goals, as well as create for others – and so he is.
My favourite Pompey player of all time is Robert Prosinecki. A world-class footballer and a player I never imagined seeing playing at the Fortress, especially in a Pompey shirt. He is the greatest player that I have ever witnessed playing with my own two eyes in the flesh.
9 – What is you favourite Pompey moment?
I have so many favourite moments, but also so many lows – but one highlight that always sticks in the mind is the trip to Selhurst Park for the game with Palace in November 98, we came up against Terry Venables and Terry Fenwick for the first time since the infamous departures from the Fortress.
The 4-1 defeat, also losing Fitzroy Simpson to a red card were irrelevant, the after match scenes will never be forgotten. We would have stayed there all night had it not been for the late, great – Sir – Alan Ball, who pleaded with us to leave in the end?
10 – What are your realistic hopes for Pompey in the future?
I am so proud of the club I love it is unreal, I never thought – although I clearly always hoped – we would be where we are now. I am just enjoying the ride, but if I could see us play in Europe, taking my nephew and hopefully one day my own kids to watch us would be a dream come true.
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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