‘A Tale of Two Cities’

Charles Dickens’s literary classic ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ was written in 1859 and has gone onto sell well over 200 million copies worldwide since its original release.  Born February 7^th 1812 at Landport in Portsea is seems very apt that 200 years after Dickens’ birth that this August kicks off a very modern tale of two cities separated by the M27 motorway. For 1859 and the original settings for Dickens’ book read London and Paris, in 2012 Portsmouth and Southampton. The modern day have not’s and haves.

Whilst modern rivalries between the two football clubs have been well documented in current times it’s worth noting that this hasn’t always been the case between the fans of the south coast neighbours. Way back in 1939, pre-World War II Portsmouth players paraded the FA Cup inside The Dell (the then home of Southampton) to a standing ovation from their fans. To state the obvious Sol Campbell and the FA Cup winning squad of 2008 were not awarded the same offerings in the new surroundings of St Mary’s decades later.

The reality the two neighbours now find themselves in couldn’t be more contrasting with Portsmouth beginning their campaign following last season’s relegation from the Championship in NPower League One whilst Southampton start in the Premier League following automatic promotion.

To begin the modern ‘Tale of Two Cities,’ where better to start in a week that saw Southampton Manager Nigel Adkins agree a club record fee of £11.8 million for Uruguay international Gaston Ramirez from Bologna whilst Portsmouth manager Michael Appleton ended the midweek Capital One Cup fixture away to Plymouth Argyle with ten players aged 18 or under on the field having also been forced to name a 15 year old on the bench.

The summer of 2012 has seen an exodus of players from both clubs but for very different reasons. Whilst Southampton manager Nigel Adkins has set about building a squad he hopes is capable of staying in the Premier League cutting away any dead wood, Michael Appleton in comparison has watched everyone of his senior professionals leave the club to avoid the very genuine threat of liquidation.

Back to the signing of Ramirez for a reported fee of £11.8 million; Pompey’s entire squad minus those who’ve risen through the academy ranks were all signed on  month long contracts this week in what can only be described as a very hectic couple of days for Manager Michael Appleton and the club’s administrator Trevor Birch. It’s worth nothing for the record that Portsmouth as they begin the season still remain in administration without an owner and have the possibility of a ten point deduction hanging over their heads should they exit administration via the process of a CVA.

So as the season begins again in earnest once more we find two cities with two sets of fans with very different aspirations for the coming season. For the fans in the Blue corner the survival of the club is first and foremost in the minds. Whatever happens on the pitch will come as a welcome relief for 90 minutes at least win, lose or draw. For the fans in the Red corner, they will be buoyant after two successive promotions that have seen their club return to the promised land and will no doubt be hoping to not only avoid relegation but to push on further up the league.

A TALE OF TWO DUG OUTS

MICHAEL APPLETON (Portsmouth FC)

36 year old Appleton was announced as Portsmouth Manager on November 10^th following the departure of Steve Cotterill to Nottingham Forest who had managed to keep the club in the Championship the previous season following relegation from the Premier League when they became the first club in EPL history to enter administration and were subsequently docked 9 points.

As debuts to management go Appleton must have been left scratching his head and wondering what on earth he’d let himself in for as he watched the club owner Vladimir Antonov arrested for the alleged asset stripping at Snoras Bank. The clubs parent company CSI soon followed into administration and were subsequently docked a further ten points and the season ended in relegation to NPower League One. The fact Appleton remains in charge shows testament to the honour, pride and will of a man to want to succeed against all odds having left his position as first team coach with West Bromwich Albion. It should be pointed out that West Brom finished 10^th last season which is their highest ever finish in the Premier league.

Part of Appleton’s drive and desire to succeed will no doubt in part have come from his early retirement from the game in November 2003 aged just 27.

NIGEL ADKINS (Southampton FC)

Adkins 11 years Appleton’s senior at 47 joined Southampton on September 12^th 2010 from Scunthorpe United. Adkins rise in management is an unusual tale straight out of the pages of a Dickens novel. Whilst he may have overseen titles wins in 1994 and 1995 in the League of Wales whilst in charge of Bangor City, he was originally employed by Scunthorpe in the role of physio.

Adkins took over the helm from Brian Laws in a caretaker capacity before being confirmed as Manager on a full time basis on December 7^th 2006. The physio turned Manager once more lead Scunthorpe to the League One title in 2006 / 07. Whilst they were relegated from the Championship the following season, Adkins guided his side back the following season via the Play Offs and managed to keep the club up at the second time of asking.

Adkins guided his new Southampton side into the Championship at the first time of asking before gaining back to back promotion’s finishing runners up to eventual Championship winners Reading last season.

TWO TO WATCH

SOUTHAMPTON

Ricky Lambert

Signed by Southampton for £1 million from Bristol Rovers in August 2009 Lambert’s rich vein of goal scoring (which has seen him win 3 of the last 4 golden boots) has been pivotal to Southampton’s return to the Premier League this season and successive automatic promotions. Lambert was voted the Championship player of the season for 2011 and the Southampton fans player of the season for the second time in three seasons. Last season saw Lambert find the net 31 times in total including 27 goals in the league.

His career has seen him play for Stockport, Rochdale and Bristol Rovers before joining up with the Saints. Whilst prolific in the lower leagues questions will remain whether their talisman goal scorer will be able to replicate the same sort of goal scoring form in the English Premier League. However anything remains possible and people will no doubt point to Norwich City striker Grant Hoult who had no trouble adjusting to life in the English Premier League last season finding the back of the net on 15 occasions for the Canaries and was voted their player of the season for a third successive season.

Adam Lallana

The diminutive 24 year old attacking midfielder Lallana is one of many players to have rolled off the highly successful Saints Academy production line which has produced other players of note which include full England internationals Theo Walcott and Alex Oxade-Chamberlain who now both ply their trade with Premiership outfit Arsenal.

Whilst not as prolific as Lambert it’s Lallana that pulls the strings in the heart of the midfield engine and he ended last season with 11 goals in 41 league appearances. Like Lambert a lot will be expected of Lallana this season to see if he can also replicate the fine form of the past couple of seasons on the big stage.

PORTSMOUTH

Whilst Southampton’s two to watch were quite obvious and easy the same cannot be said back down the M27 in the Blue City. Whilst several of the players signed in the past week on a one month contract lined up in the club’s pre-season friendlies, apart from a couple of youngsters from the academy development squad, none of the current squad has made their league debut ahead of the new season.

Enter stage left; Andersen, Long, Clifford, Connolly, Howard, McLeod, Eastwood, Dumbuya, Harley, Rodgers, Compton, Williamson, Dijali and Walker. The names of youngsters such as Harris, Magri, Wallace, Thompson, Webster and Colson amongst others shouldn’t be overlooked either. Identifying the two key men is only slightly easier than trying to predict this week’s Euro Millions winning numbers it would appear.

Izale McLeod

My first choice goes to the 27 year old forward.  Despite an array of highly paid players on display during the previous two seasons in the Championship it was ultimately the lack of success in front of goal which finally condemned Pompey to relegation alongside the ten point reduction for going into administration.

54 goals in 116 appearances for the MK Dons saw McLeod attract the attention of Charlton who signed the forward but he was never able to replicate his success for the South London side. Having seen his career stall with the Addicks, McLeod found himself at Barnet where he scored 32 in 73 appearances for the Bee’s before joining up with Portsmouth on their pre-season tour of Gibraltar. McLeod scored his first goal in a Pompey shirt in the 2-0 pre-season win over Aldershot town away.

Brian Howard

Whilst there may be strong calls to have included Ex-Chelsea player Jon Harley or Sheffield United’s Lee Williamson in the two to watch, my vote goes to Brian Howard who left newly promoted Reading in the summer and the player it would appear most likely to be handed the captain’s arm band by Manager Michael Appleton when the season starts.

The 29 year old midfielder stands at just 5ft 6” tall but his height shouldn’t be an indicator of the presence he gives for his team on the football pitch. Howard is best remembered for scoring the 90^th minute winner for Barnsley which dumped Liverpool out of the FA Cup in 2008.

Howard’s experience from his time at Swindon, Barnsley, Sheffield United, Reading and at loan to Millwall last season will no doubt prove invaluable for Portsmouth and their manager Michael Appleton who had convinced the midfielder to stay despite having previously stated that he would take up other options if he hadn’t been offered a contract by August 1^st 2012. The fact that Championship clubs were after the player should add testament to what a great coup the club pulled off by keeping the player at the club.

So there we have it for now as both south coast sides begin new challenges ahead of the 2012 / 13 season. Portsmouth face fellow south coast neighbours AFC Bournemouth at home at Fratton Park on Saturday August 18th in front of what is hoped will be a near capacity crowd. Southampton kick off their season facing the daunting task of facing newly crowned Premier League Champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday August 19^th. Two cities, two very different expectations from fans ahead of the new season. For one club the very real possibility that they might not even finish the season for the other buoyed by two successive promotions they will be believing that the world is their oyster. It’s fair to suggest that this modern tale of two cities will be an interesting one to say the least as the season kicks off once more.