A Tale of Two Cities (19^th August to September 3^rd 2012)

To trot out the old cliché – A week in football is a long time. Never has there been a truer statement when it comes to the trials and tribulations of the remains of Portsmouth FC on and off the field. I’ve been somewhat pre-occupied with other projects of late since the last Tale of Two Cities blog published on August 18^th 2012 so I will try recapping all the latest going’s on both here and down the M27 as neighbours Southampton continue their season in the upper echelons of the English footballing world.

The opening two games of the NPower League One Season had seen Pompey record two straight draws at home to AFC Bournemouth and away to Colchester United whilst Southampton had seen a 2-1 lead slip away at the home of current Premier League Champions Manchester City to eventually lose the game 3-2. We pick up the tale as Pompey travelled away to Brunton Park to take on Carlisle United and Southampton hosted Wigan Athletic in their first home game of the season.

Carlisle United 4 Portsmouth 2

Pompey’s unbeaten start to the season came apart in spectacular fashion thanks in part to some kamikaze defending which saw them leave empty handed from Brunton Park on the wrong side of a 4-2 score line. Trailing 2-0 going into the 90^th minute with only ten men following the second half dismissal of Kevin Long, substitute Ashley Harris scored his first league goal for Pompey with a short range header before Michael Appleton saw his side concede for a third time in the game. Fellow substitute Conor Clifford (on loan from Chelsea) calmly slotted the ball home to make it 3-2 before Pompey again came unstuck at the back and the fourth injury time goal was registered.

Pompey: Andersen, Dumbuya, Harley, Long, Connolly, Webster (Obita), Walker, Howard, McLeod (Clifford), Rodgers (Harris), Compton. Subs Not Used: Eastwood

Southampton 0 Wigan Athletic 2

The game saw manager Nigel Adkins restore Rickie Lambert to the starting line up as Southampton looked to secure their first home win in the Premier League for seven seasons as they took on a Roberto Martinez side who had lost their opening game of the season to Chelsea and were without the influential Victor Moses who had been sold to Roberto Di Matteo’s men. Saints fans were surely expecting their side to begin their home campaign with all three points following their performance the week before which had stunned the Etihad faithful into silence having come from 1-0 down to take the lead.

A somewhat lifeless first half saw the sides go in at half time 0-0. The best chance fell to Lallana whose 25 yard drive was tipped onto the bar by Ali Al Habsi. Southampton started the brighter in the second half and Lambert went close with a header before Wigan opened the scoring a minute later through a Di Santo shot which beat Kelvin Davis from a tight angle. Chasing the game in the final minutes Southampton came undone when Fonte hesitated just in front of the half way line and was disposed by Kone who ran on with the ball and slotted past keeper Davis to make the final score 2-0.

Saints: K Davis, Clyne, Hooiveld, Fonte, Fox, Schneiderlin, S Davis (Ward-Prowse), Rodriguez (Sharp), Lallana, Guly, Lambert. Subs Not Used: Gazzaniga, Richardson, Shaw, Seaborne, Puncheon

Stevenage Borough 1 Southampton 4

The first ever meeting between the two sides took place in the Carling Cup second round as Adkin’s men finished comfortable victors in a 4-1 win which saw him change his complete starting line up from the side that lost 2-0 to Wigan at the weekend. Despite holding their Premiership visitors 0-0 at half time the League One outfit went 3-0 down to goals from Lee, Sharpe and Puncheon before substitute Thalassitis's 20-yard effort pulled one back for the home side. Reeve completed the scoring for the visitors to earn his side a place in Round Three against Dave Jones’ Sheffield Wednesday at home.

Saints: Gazzaniga, Richardson, Shaw, Seaborne, Butterfield, Hammond (Chambers), Ward-Prowse, Chaplow (Reeves), Puncheon, Sharp (Moore), Lee. Subs Not used: K Davis, Stephens, Hoskins, Sinclair.

Portsmouth 0 Oldham Athletic 1

A crowd of 12,635 saw Michael Appleton’s Pompey side slip to their second successive defeat in the space of a week and finish the game with ten men again as the young Reading loanee Jonathan Obita saw red in the second half along with Oldham’s Cliff Bryne for violent conduct. Pompey had started the game without the suspended Kevin Long who was serving a one match ban following his dismissal away to Carlisle United the previous weekend. A Jonathan Grounds shot was deflected past Andersen in the Pompey goal by debutant Ertl just before the hour mark for the only goal of the game. The result see’s Pompey drop into the relegation places for the first time this season laying fourth bottom in the league.

Pompey: Andersen, Harley, Connolly, Obita, Russell, Dumbuya, Walker (Harris), Howard, McLeod, Compton, Ertl (Rodgers). Subs Not Used: Eastwood, Webster, Clifford

Southampton 2 Manchester United 3

Nigel Adkins men found that there is no room for rest bite in the Premier League following their 4-1 mid week cup victory away to Stevenage Borough as they took on last season’s Premier League Runners Up Manchester United in Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1,000^th game in charge of the Red Devils. The Saints opened the scoring from who else but Rickie Lambert when he headed in from close range in the 16^th minute. United levelled the scoring through £24 million signing Robin Van Persie who scored his second goal in two games with a sublime volley which Davis could do little about from the left edge of the penalty area. Davis however would get the better of RVP as he turned the Dutchman’s spot kick around the post to keep the score at 1-1 before the Saints regained the lead through a Morgan Schneiderlin header.

Looking to protect his side’s lead in the closing third of the game Adkin’s took off Lallana and Lambert whilst Fergie brought on Scholes, Nani and Hernandez as his side pressed on looking for a share of the points. Van Persie made amends for his earlier penalty miss as he levelled the scores in the 87^th minute before claiming his 100^th Premier League goal and the match ball with his hat trick in injury time to condemn Nigel Adkin’s side to their third straight Premier League defeat leaving them bottom of the league with 0 points.

Saints: K Davis, Clyne, Hooiveld, Fonte, Fox, Schneiderlin, S Davis, Ward-Prowse, Lallana (Rodriguez), Puncheon (Mayuka), Lambert (Guly). Subs Not Used: Gazzaniga, Richardson, Seaborne, Lee.

Michael Appleton’s men face AFC Bournemouth at home in the First Round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tonight before travelling away to Crawley Town in their next league fixture. Nigel Adkins men face another big test when they take on Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal side away at the Emirates who’ve so far haven’t conceded a league goal in their opening three games of the season and beat Brendan Rodger’s Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield in their last game.

Tales of the Two Cities – Off The Field

Pompey’s squad saw two new faces as Ex-Sheffield United midfielder Johnny Ertl and the ex-Norwich City player Darel Russell joined Appleton’s squad on one month deals alongside Josh Thompson who also signs having appeared for the club in pre-season. Kieran Djilali was let go by mutual consent and youngster Sam Magri signed for Premier League Queen’s Park Rangers having been told he wasn’t part of the club’s long term plans.

Mustapha Dumbuya has been named in the Sierra Leone squad for their Africa Cup of Nations game with Tunisia on Saturday September 8^th which means he will miss the away game with Crawley Town the following day.

Pompey administrator Trevor Birch has given both the Portsmouth Supporter’s Trust and Balram Chanrai’s Portpin a fortnight to finalise their bids for the club.

Southampton have brought in Zambia forward Emmanuel Mayua from Young Boys Berne on a five year deal; Japanese defender Maya Yoshida from Dutch side VVV-Venlo for a fee reportedly worth £2 million; American goal keeper Cody Cropper who had been training with the club having been released by Ipswich Town and the club record signing of Uruguayan international midfielder Gaston Ramirez from Bologna in a deal set to be worth in the region of £12 million. Dean Hammond has rejoined former club Brighton and Hove Albion and Billy Sharp has signed for Nottingham Forest both on season long loans.

‘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.