2010/11 season v Norwich in the league at Fratton, Friday 30th April – Tuesday 3rd May 2011.
It seems an age ago now, although the reality is it was less than 2-weeks back…
Thanks to sky, for a second time in three seasons this has happened, our final home game of the season was altered from a Saturday to a Monday night – a bank holiday Monday in this case so it was not ‘that bad’ really, although I suspect some had problems getting home.
Luckily I had not booked any train tickets by the time the fixture change was announced so I could do this without missing out and my cheapest proved to be a Saturday night so I set out from Dawlish in the early evening, the 17:55 – Exeter St Davids, changing to pick up the 18:26 – London Waterloo. The journey ran smoothly enough and I was in Cosham and indoors at my Aunties, via changes at Salisbury and Scumhampton Central, by 10.15pm. Although I do not think this was the route I was booked on and probably would not have been in until near on midnight but hey ho, when in Rome…
Sunday was a rather uneventful day all in all. My cousins, their partners and the kids all came round for a Sunday lunch but a ‘very mild’ case of a nasty sickness bug that was going around saw me laid low for most of the day.
Monday was spent much more productively really as getting on with some work was on the agenda, and achieved. A lift with Chixy was organised for around 6.10pm although a 10-minute window either way was agreed and by the time I arrived, just after 6pm he was already there waiting. As always, if he is not out on the boat, Rob (sea-juicer) was picked up and our journey took us to The Rutland for the last time this season.
Come around 7.30pm it was time to make our way to the Park one last time, at least for the 2010/11 campaign…
Ending the Fratton season with defeat was not the way that we would have wanted it but that is what happened when we went down 1-0 to Norwich, who secured their promotion to the premier league as a result. Congratulations to Norwich, best of luck to them next season back in the big time…
Things could have been different I reckon and I do hope that Cotterill – assuming he is still here next season? – decides to dispense with this 4-3-3 come 4-5-1 formation that he continues to persist with and goes with a conventional 4-4-2 formation. At least if he does keep with that formation I hope that he has someone at the head of the attacking threat that can do such a formation justice and the players out wide are not being utilised in a negative way, as some of our supporting players have in some ways this season and that had detracted from what they might have offered us in a more central role perhaps.
Quite why we did not go with this on the night surprised me, and why we did not change to this at 1-0 down, at least sooner, even more so but there you go.
In what was a first, for some years, I did not stay for the ‘lap of appreciation’ as I needed to get back to meet Chixy for my lift back to Cosham. As it happens it seems like there was quite a delay so it was best we did not wait – few did by all accounts due to the time it took. Back at my Aunties for 10.30pm the goodbyes to my cousin Matt were made, as it was unlikely he would be home from work the following day before I would leave for home.
Tuesday was spent with all at work so this enabled me to crack on with my own without any disruptions at all. Again, to be honest, I think I was booked on a later train, 19:39, but caught the hour earlier and more family 18:39 Portsmouth – Cardiff Central one, because I knew if all went according to plan I would be back into Dawlish a little after 11pm…
Of course the season, at least at home (away), could not end without a disruption so a delay getting into Exeter St Davids meant going through Dawlish to Newton Abbot, a fairly long wait there eventually meant getting back into Dawlish the time I would have had I caught the 19:39 anyway! So it was a little after midnight when I arrived.
So, another season was almost done, just one more fixture – and journey – remained. To be honest my hopes were not overly high for this trip to Scunny but you never knew…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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