Dan Brett aka PompeySedge shares his thoughts on Paul Hart’s sacking and another ‘transitional period’ it will bring.
It seems in the wake of Paul Hart’s sacking as Portsmouth boss, that the club are set to go through another period of change.
The last 12-months have been a roller-coaster for all concerned with Portsmouth Football Club. Most teams are lucky for one multi-million pound takeover.. We’ve had two, three different managers and more arrivals and departures than Heathrow Airport… But are we about to go on another trip?
It’s not surprising to me as a Pompey fan, as in my book any manager that only wins two of their opening thirteen Premier League games isn’t cut out for the job in hand.
I personally wish Paul Hart all the best for the future, and really wished that he’d have taken up the club’s offer to move back to his old job with the youth squad, a position that famed him within the club before taking up the poisoned chalice left behind by Harry Redknapp’s over-the-top spending and Tony Adams’ unfortunate but similar run of results.
I’ve spoken to a large number of Portsmouth fans since the sacking of Hart and it seems to me like there’s a clear divide among supporters. Some, like me, feel that the time was right. No offence to Paul as an individual, as taking on the team at a time which he didn’t have to, and could’ve sat comfortably on the wage he was getting speaks volumes about the man’s character.
He’s a clear football fanatic and lover of the game, and saw a fantastic opportunity to get back into management but unfortunately this time it didn’t seem to fall quite right for him. However the uncertainty surrounding the club affected the players (in terms of wages and settling at a club that was clearly on a downhill spiral), so for him to try to motivate the team on the back of this would’ve been a challenge for any manager in the modern day game.
On another note, many fans feel that he should have been given extra time, in that he had a lot to deal with as manager and should have been offered at least a few more games to turn it around, at a time where the team weren’t playing that badly, just lacked the finishing touch of a clinical striker, which could’ve been brought in during the January window.
Regardless of however you feel about the situation, one thing remains clear. No matter who’s in charge of the team or who’s sitting in our boardroom, we are Portsmouth. We all need to continue to show our passion for the club (especially during ‘back against the wall’ times such as these) and show just how much we love our club.
We could have a potential gem on our hands, in terms of bringing new managers in, which I believe to be Darren Ferguson. A manager recently sacked by Peterborough Town, son of Sir Alex.. Could he be the answer? Personally I think yes. He’s had an incredibly successful time during his spell at London Road, and has all the attributes to make him a top manager.. And let’s not forget, he’s got his dad for advice!
Overall, I’m not too shocked by the recent events and think it’s time once again for fan solidarity. We’ll all still go if we’re sat in League Two, looking forward to away games to Rotherham and Grimsby Town once again.. But if we’ve got a chance to motivate the team and use our famous 12th man to help keep the team in the World’s top league.. Then for me it’s a no-brainer.
Play Up Pompey!
Written by Dan Brett aka PompeySedge.
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.
