Blackburn, D'Alessandro and the dumb abuse of a Southampton fan

Blackburn Match Previews

This might be out of date by now- and I'm sure it's a syndicated article from elsewhere- but it's speculating on Pompey's team tonight
...and here's a preview from Scottish Fitba.

From a Lancashire Paper (and obviously from a Blackburn perspective)
From A Blackburn website and is hopefully a bit optimistic.
...and this is also from a Blackburn point of view. I did not know that Blackburn were playing Liverpool and Man. Utd in their next two games after tonight. Hopefully tonight we will knock the stuffing out them and they will struggle to get back to the form they have shown in their last couple of games.

Other Stuff

Someone else is miffed at our recruitment policy. The whole deal looks messy-if indeed it is true.
Here Andy O' Brien says that he has no regrets about leaving Pompey. Which is far enough because neither do I.
LuaLua seems to be quite happy having moved on. Despite what he did for us in one game in particular I never had that much time for him.
This is a long article about Harry- from the Telegraph.
Here is a really daft- and quite funny Myspace video of a Southampton fan being abused.

Finally- a short essay.

During the 2002/3 season (I think) I found myself watching the Copa Liberdatores (South America's Champion League) on the telly. It was a brilliant competition that year- the final being fought out between Boca Juniors (featuring Tevez) and Santos (featuring Robiniho) with Boca winning.
On the way to the final I saw one of the most entertaining and daft games of football I had ever seen-it was America de Cali (from Colombia) against River Plate in the quarter final - I think 5 or 6 players were sent off -as was one of the managers but the thing I remembered most about the game was towards the end of the match. There was loads of space all over the pitch- because so many players had been sent off and a young River Plate player-one Andres D'Alessandro picked up the ball in the left back position and ran the length of the pitch and as he tore down the pitch the Columbian fans hurled down a barrage of rocks, flares, stones, coins and mobile phones at the young player. I'm a big fan of a tricky winger-(I know that he really likes playing in the number 10 position) but watching him run the length of the pitch under a hail of debris from the terrace was about as brave a thing I've seen on a football pitch. I'd never have believed he would ever play for Pompey and was delighted when he did and pretty depressed when he left.
...and now there are vague rumours about him coming back.
This YouTube Video does not really give full justice to how bonkers the match was and does not show the moment that I remember with D'Ale



But this video does do him justice:

No Rotation for Blackburn, A good blog piece from the Times - all padded out with old news.

Right- time to look forward so here's an upbeat post from the News about Harry's plans for Blackburn. (the story also appears in the News links in the right hand column- but I wanted to post it here because I wanted to start with something that had nothing to do with last week's news much of which was a bit depressing)

Here's a good piece on Saturday's game from the Time's fan's blog thing. He's right to point out that it not unreasonable to say that we have dropped 7 points this season- against Derby, Chelsea, Liverpool and West Ham and I'm worried that those dropped points are going to be what hinders our campaign to get into Europe next April.

Here is an Mp3 of Harry's post match press conference from last Saturday's game. (Might not work in all browsers)

Here is a rumour
..and this is someone from a lower league club having a moan

I guess most people know this but just in case- here is the Guardian reporting Harry getting his new contract- and here is the Times' take on it.

Likewise -this story-about Songo'o going on loan to Palace is old news- but I'll post it anyway

I've posted this article about Saturday's game from the Mirror in which Carlton Cole talks about the moral support his granny gives him. I suppose if that's what drives him on (rather than the fact that he is reasonably talented and is paid a very decent salary) then fair enough, but I couldn't imagine a player coming out with this stuff twenty years ago.

..and also on that subject of the good old days- The Telegraph has given a little plug to a new magazine called Backpass- which is dedicated to football in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. It has this little snippet about Harry's first game as a manager

"Many fans might believe that English football is racing down a super highway.

But like all sports supporters, they still enjoy little detours down Amnesia Lane, which is why one welcomes the launch of a new magazine called Backpass, dedicated to football in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties.

The first issue carries a feature called "First Games in Charge", focusing on Harry Redknapp's managerial debut as caretaker boss of Bournemouth on Dec 18, 1982, for a game at Lincoln in the old Third Division.

As Lincoln were top at the time, a 2-0 half-time deficit on an icy pitch did not seem too bad to Redknapp, but Lincoln scored seven more after the break, giving the Cherries their record defeat. Redknapp, who recorded his 1,000th game as a manager earlier this year, says: "I thought about jacking it in after that match. The pitch was frozen solid and our players didn't have the right studs. When two of them fell over running up the tunnel I knew it wasn't going to be our day."

All in all I thought last week was pretty depressing-what with the Stadium plans being changed and the flat performance against WHU. Still things are looking up with Harry's new contract and hopefully we'll get a good performance against Blackburn.

Pompey- West Ham Match Reports

The Times
Observer
Telegraph
Independent
The Sun

...and this from the Mail is not a match report-it's just daft

West Ham Previews, and Stadiums.

One story dominates all the others today-so I'll pretty much ignore talking about the new stadium (though you can read what I think here -or you can just scroll down to the next post)

Here are some West Ham Previews:

They have a lot of injury problems
Here is Setanta Sport's preview-not that interesting-(though I didn't know Sean Davis was suspended) - but they are showing it.
I probably can't watch it though because I've just found out that my in-laws are coming for dinner.

-Bollocks- it really is turning into one of those days.

..anyway more previews
I like these Vital football preview things
Here's another one-. I don't know if it is that Westwood bloke that they are interviewing- but as they are using his photo I suppose it might be.
This is a barking mad thread about Saturday's game from a WHU chatroom- the first part is libelous and probably not true (and anyway I thought Harry was a Spuds fan as a kid) and then it just gets weird as some bloke writes an odd song - set to a trad arr. tune- and then the libels continue to come thick and fast.

And here is some other stuff:

A good piece by Scottish Fitba on Benjy.
Yesterday's news-pretty sad stuff about Toddy -I hope he bounces back.
Finally-what with all this talk of stadiums-I quite like what this blog has to say on the subject- I've been to Derby and Fulham this season and I know which ground I preferred.

Finally here is the link if you want to look at my other -non-Pompey blogs

Portsmouth Revise New Stadium Plans and I'm a Bit Disappointed.

I'm pretty disappointed about the plans for the new stadium at the Hard falling through. I guess I can be a bit of a sentimental sod at times but whenever I travel back to Pompey and I see the Hard and that part of the harbour I feel the same way as some Geordies might feel about the Tyne bridges- or a Scouser might feel about- well, anything to do with Liverpool really.

Until a couple of years ago I lived on Holloway Road in North London and I watched Arsenal build the Emirates Stadium and I was so impressed by how the club just trampled over everyone's reservations - about traffic and crowd numbers and the impracticabilty of the proposal- they just sorted those problems out on the way to building the stadium. Now, when I travel from where I live in East Anglia to London, I pass the Emirates and I love the way it towers above the streets of Finsbury Park and Holloway- the stadium is still so much part of where Arsenal are from (sort of..) -and it does it on a scale that shows the ambitions of the club.

And that's what I thought about the Hard proposal- by having on the waterfront, and by using those architects it just shouted out to anyone that would see it that this was a big club which this city takes very seriously.

For the first game of this season I travelled up to Derby and I thought their stadium was a grim old place- tucked away amongst industrial estates- away from the city centre as if the city didn't care too much about their football club. I get the impression that the same is true of Middlesborough's and Sunderland's ground. So I'm a bit depressed that the new proposal seems to be more in the line of what Middlesborough, Sunderland and Derby achieved. I don't like that Peter Storrie said something about how the land fill will keep the ground hidden from the people that live in Port Solent. I don't want it to be hidden away- I want it it be a huge landmark-a place that makes me feel a bit tingly when I see it. Why can't they build it on the seafront in Southsea- a proud landmark-built by seasiders-towering over the English Channel.

However- I guess people travelling in on the continental ferries will see it on the new proposed site- and I think it'll look good from Hardway in Gosport- where I grew up. Finally, returning to my original point about me being a soppy sod- the other view of Pompey (and Gosport) that always gets me is the view from the top of Portsdown Hill and I guess from that vantage the stadium will still look great.

PS. If any more people from any other clubs laugh at our plans having to be changed- we should just remove the roof from the Milton End- that'll learn 'em.

Harry to Spurs or England and Sean Davis-comedy genius

Here's Harry's Column in the Sun- He's having a go at Berbatov

The Harry to Spurs rumour continues- this from the Telegraph.

This is a debate, hosted by Tony Cascarino about whether Harry should be England manager- from the Times.

Old story from yesterday -but Harry says he is going to recall Pedro Mendes against WHU

All of my other blog's updates today can be found here. (...though other than this page they don't have much to do with Pompey but I like them)


I'm glad Pedro Mendes is back in the team- but I've also grown to be a big fan of Sean Davis and this is one of my favourite moments

James and Pompey's goals

I could only find one thing worth posting and that's David James' Observer Blog

..and because that's all I could find I'll post this video that someone kindly made of all of Pompey's goals this season- up to the Fulham game.
(About 8000 people have watched it so it's not that exciting- and the music is really really terrible in my opinion- but I liked it)