The story continues.
Having arrived back from my travels up north last week, I have developed my understanding of why players seems so willing to join clubs like Portsmouth over others (with heritage and prestige) like Newcastle.
My trip up north included passing through Newcastle, Birmingham, and Manchester – well, more past Manchester – and my immediate reaction was that, were I a footballer, they probably would not be where I wanted to play. Ok, that’s not quite true, my first reaction was “its cold” then “what lovely plumes of smoke coming out of those towers” then “its grey” – but they are all somewhat on the same lines.
Going north up the A1 to Newcastle just isn’t the same as going south down the A3 to Portsmouth. There’s just some difference between going past massive industrial areas, and going past the devils punch bowl. Obviously, some people might like watching billowing clouds of smoke forming different shapes as it streams out of huge towers, but personally, I thought that even the “angel of the north” just looked like a rusty piece of scrap. Of course, as will have to keep saying, everyone is entitled to there own opinions – but as I have also previously said, it’s not where I would choose to live.
Which brings me on to why Pompey makes such a good retirement village for clubs like Arsenal? See part one by clicking here.
It’s not a status I would particularly complain about, as I will never complain about seeing the likes of sol Campbell playing for Pompey, or for that matter, Lauren, Kanu, and maybe in the future Henry (I can wish). The rolling hills of the South downs (soon to be) national park, the beautiful “sandbanks” are where Harry Redknapp and Sulley muntari live, and the open countryside – which so few people outside of Southern Surrey, Hampshire and Sussex – appreciate. Looking at these things, it is no wonder Sylvain Distin chose to further his career down on the South Coast rather than up in Newcastle, Andy Cole presumably hoped to end his career (before the epic failure) and David James seems so comfortable.
The landscape that we have around Portsmouth is something, which many of us don’t appreciate – myself included – until we get the opportunity to visit the slightly more industrialised cities of Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle. But more importantly, as Pompey becomes a thriving force in the premiership, it should be something we can build on, and exploit.
Everyone talks about the draw of having Harry Redknapp as a manager – well what about the draw of living in one of the most beautiful areas of England? Surely in the near future, we can hope for some great players to want to join Pompey, even if it is just to se out the end of there careers – but if we can take full advantage, we can bring in some top quality young players, as it is not just the old and experienced that can appreciate what a great area of England the south is. Not least because its not so ****** cold!
Written by pompeycarpet.
The views within this article are the views of the individual who wrote and submitted this piece, sometimes solely theirs. They are not necessarily shared by the Vital Pompey Site Journalists.
