I was reading a well-known monthly football magazine, and had just got to the letters page, when I noticed a picture of Distin, Davis, Pennant and Hreidarsson all celebrating a goal.
The caption to the picture confused me as it read “Yes! We’re going down. Can’t wait to play at Deepdale”. I didn’t understand what the magazine was on about, so I looked at the accompanying letter and this is what was said:
“I’m a Portsmouth fan and I’m bored of the Premier League. When we first won the Championship I couldn’t wait for our first game, but as the years have gone by I have lost interest in the top-flight – it’s all so predictable. Yes, on a financial side, it is easily the best league in the world. And yes, it has most of the world’s top players. But for me, that’s not enough. For sport to have any appeal there has to be some unpredictability; this just does not exist in the Premier League. The same teams win week-in week-out, year after year. With Pompey threatened by relegation, I’m not too worried. I wouldn’t mind swapping defeats at White Hart lane, Villa Park and Anfield for action-packed games, which could go either way at Preston and Blackpool. On a fan level, going down to the Championship wouldn’t be all that bad.”
I could not believe what I was reading!! Was this guy serious? I appreciate that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I really didn’t realise that this was going through any Pompey fan’s minds!
At the end of the day, I agree with a few points raised in the letter. It is the best league in the world, and it does have top players! To an extent, the league is predictable. However I wouldn’t say that it’s as predictable as he thinks it is. This season, Liverpool are pushing for the title, which they hardly ever do and there are about eight teams fighting for Premier League survival. Not only that, Hull were punching above their weight for the first part of the season, and teams like Villa and Everton are closer to breaking into the top four than any time I can remember!
From a Pompey perspective where do I start?! A positive start to the league, then we get spanked 6-0 at Man City, who saw that coming? Harry Redknapp leaving us out of the blue, and I know it`s not the Premiership, but we turned over AC Milan, one of the world’s best teams! We then hit a downward spiral, get our third manager of the season, and there are so many missed chances, last minute goals and shots hitting the post that I’m losing count of the lot. Not only that, we’re playing football that at times is neat, tidy and aggressive. Even though most of it is negative stuff, it doesn’t ever cease to be exciting!
Defeats at Villa and White Hart Lane (which haven’t happened this season) could, on their day be wins, as has been proven before! In fact, we won at Villa last season, and although we lose at WHL (except this season), we’ve beaten Tottenham at home numerous times, so it seems to me that this guy hasn’t done his homework, or following Pompey for very long!
I am at a loss as to why anyone would want to get relegated for better football. Look at Leicester City, Leeds United, Oldham, Swindon, Nottingham Forest, Charlton and more recently Scummers – relegation can really royally screw the club up, and it’s only a few that manage to actually bounce back up to the Premiership.
I for one do NOT want to get relegated. Having teams such as Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool visit you, as well as being able to visit their grounds, is brilliant and I wouldn’t swap it for the world. It seems like the writer of this letter has had the FA Cup win and expects more from the club, and it isn’t happening. Whilst ticket availability will be better if we go down which would suit me down to the ground, I don’t think I’m willing to swap Premier League status for that. I love the Premiership, and even though I would support Pompey if we plummeted to the Conference, I would be absolutely bitterly disappointed if we left the top-flight after so many years of fighting for Division One survival!
What do you guys (and gals) think – am I being too harsh? Do you agree with him?
Written by PFCGino.
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.
