Pompey started poorly at Pride Park last night amid a fierce Derby onslaught and never looked like improving as they slipped tamely to their first defeat in eight. Frustration showed all over the faces of the Pompey team as they simply failed to get started.
I will ignore the pun headlines like lambs to the slaughter and ram raided but this was poor fare for the fans who travelled and those of us watching at home. Coincidentally the run started and finished on Sky Sports.. Did we miss Dave Nugent? Yes but while that unbalanced Pompey with Liam Lawrence playing out on the left it is no excuse, Derby were simply by far the better side.
I am mystified that Derby are allowed to use Multi ball system but only when they have the advantage too, perhaps some-one could advise me on that.
At least we only have three days to get that out of the system when current leaders QPR drop in.
Today
There is no doubt that the 7th November is definitely a day to forget in Pompey history. Heavy defeats 6-1 at Bolton in 1953, 7-0 at Ipswich in 1964 and 4-1 at Palace in 1998 prove my point.
And only one win over Cambridge United who are now a non league club.
Such a busy column last week had no time to remember Mark Hateley`s two hat tricks in the first week of November 1983. Cambridge United and Grimsby Town were the unlucky victims. Mark also scored three goals in the return games later in the season as Pompey won at both the Abbey Stadium and Blundell Park. That meant that of Mark’s twenty two league goals that his only season nine came against Cambridge and Grimsby!!
Freedom for the Axe
Aaron Mokoena has been nominated for the Freedom of the City of London. He has been recognised for his charity work and the way he has taken the game to the people of his native South Africa.
Famous Honorary freemen include The Queen, Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela, Florence Nightingale, General Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill so it is without doubt quite an honour.
The City of London tell us – ‘The City may invite individuals who have made a significant impact in their field of work or in the City to take up the Freedom to acknowledge their personal contribution and the Honorary Freedom is occasionally awarded to world leaders and other internationally prominent individuals in recognition of their achievements.`
A number of ancient privileges are associated with the Freedom – although they are more a product of collective memory than of documented evidence. They include the right to herd sheep over London bridge, to go about the City with a drawn sword, and if convicted of a capital offence, to be hung with a silken rope. Other advantages are said to have included the right to avoid being press-ganged, to be married in St Paul’s Cathedral, buried in the City and to be drunk and disorderly without fear of arrest.’
Now some of those could come in very useful!!
The new Linvoy?
Linvoy Primus sadly hung up his boots last year but will always be remembered as a real Pompey legend. Few will forget the welcome he got when making his final appearance against Sunderland in May 2009.
Flash back to last Saturday and the reception given to Hermann Hreidarsson when coming on as a last minute substitute after seven months sidelined with a serious achiles injury. Every challenge was cheered to the rafters and I think HH was near to tears at the end.
Is he about to become the new Linvoy?
Club 1898
The club is about to launch a new initiative to bring ex players back into the community. Linvoy Primus has enlisted the help of fellow former Blues stars to form Club 1898.
Alan Knight, Vince Hilaire and Mick Mellows have joined Pompey`s head of club liaison to spearhead the project which will operate with the help of, and on behalf of, former players.
Club 1898 will create an umbrella organisation for the current strands of work being carried out involving former players, most notably the ex-players reunion club, ex-professionals` football team and the Pompey Hall of Fame committee. These have been admirably operated by individuals for many years, but now, with the support of the club, these will come together under one banner with the emphasis on bringing former players into the extended family that is Portsmouth Football Club.
The launch of Club 1898 is planned for Pompey`s home match against Scunthorpe on December 18. The Club will have its own section on the official club website which will feature forthcoming events, former player interviews and other relevant information.
Linvoy said: “Former players are a great part of the history of this club and my ten-year career at Fratton Park only happened because of what players before me had done.
There are people like Lyn Powell, Pat Neil, Jake Payne, Tony Male and Richard Owen, who have all done some great things involving former players. We got together with those responsible for the ex-players reunion, the legends team and the Pompey Hall of Fame and we had several meetings centred on the idea of bringing it all together.
The ex-players reunion, which still holds an annual dinner, was about working in the community from the very start and we would like to enhance that. Initially it’s about gathering as many of the former players – and former staff – as we can.
We want former players to know that they held high regard and valued for their contribution to the club. I think now is absolutely the right time to acknowledge that and in some ways it may serve to restore relationships that might have broken down.
We want to say thank you for what they have done and see what they could do in the future. We are planning our official launch to get Club 1898 off the ground for the home match against Scunthorpe in December.
In the meantime we are in an ongoing process of creating a database, so if anyone has any contacts with former players – from any decade – please don`t hesitate to come forward and contact us through the club’s supporter`s liaison officer Johnny Moore (johnnymoore@pompeyfc.co.uk).
“We want them to be part of Fratton Park and give something back to those who gave so much to Pompey.”
Supporters will also be able to join Club 1898 for an annual membership fee, which will be used to fund specific projects involving the ex-player network and their activities.
Membership will be limited to a maximum of 100 and will allow access to the Jimmy Dickinson lounge on matchdays, so members will be able to socialise with former Pompey legends.
There will be a special limited edition Club 1898 tie. The club will also sport a unique crest with the club badge, mounted on a pink and burgundy scarf – the club’s original colours. Details of how to join Club 1898 will be announced soon.
I have no doubt some of you have contact details for ex players, if you do let Johnny know or pass them through me
The last time they came
Both of next weeks Fratton Park visitors will be making their first trip to the stadium for some time. Queens Park Rangers last visit was back on 14th April 2001 when the two sides fought out a 1-1 with Lee Bradbury – Lee also score in the 1-1 draw at Loftus Road.
Doncaster Rovers last visit was much further back – the 27th November 1982 to be exact when a Steve Aizlewood penalty and a Neil Webb goal beat Donnie by 2-1 – that Rovers goal was the only one they have ever scored at Fratton Park – it was scored by full back Glenn Humpries.
Both games will be tough.
and finally
Picked up a copy of the new Pompey Life magazine the other day which is a joint venture between my old mate Maurice Snowdon and Portsmouth Football Club,
The full colour glossy mag is packed with features on Pompey including an interview with David Lampitt. Aaron Mokoena, Fabio Capello, Miss Portsmouth (an Eastney girl!) and George Clooney are also included.
All in all a nice job but perhaps a bit pricy at a £2.50 considering all the adverts. It is forty eight pages in size and looks and feels like a matchday programme.
PUP
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