26/11/2011 Portsmouth 1-1 Leicester City: Like Father Like Son

Two wonderful second-half saves by Leicester City's goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel kept Pompey at bay and ensured that the points were shared in this Championship encounter at Fratton Park.

It was just like watching his father Peter during his pomp at Manchester United.

The first was a reflex flick to his right hand side from a Dave Kitson header, when it looked certain the ball was going in to the net.

The second was a dive, low to his left to beat away a Hayden Mullins piledriver from outside of the penalty box, the shot coming after David Norris had blasted the ball against the post.

They were two memorable moments from a game that improved considerably in the second half after a tentative first period from both teams, finding their way under newly appointed managers: Michael Appleton recently appointed by Pompey, from the WBA backroom staff and Nigel Pearson, returning to Leicester from Hull City.

Pompey's starting line-up included both new loan signings from WBA: Joe Mattock at left back and George Thorne in midfield.

Tal Ben Haim dropped to the bench where he was joined in an experienced group of players of Ashdown, Kanu, Mokoena and Benjani.

Luke Varney dropped out of the match day squad with an injury.

Liam Lawrence was still missing and David Norris retained the skipper's armband.

Pompey opened the scoring in the second half with a deflected shot from David Norris.

Leicester equalised through old-boy David Nugent, with a fine right footed shot from distance that escaped Henderson's dive low to his right hand side. Nugent's celebrations were low-key and respectful to the Fratton Faithful, despite his colleagues attempts to lift him high in the air

Those watching the Foxes' players warm-up before the match would not have been surprised that Nugent's long range strike hit the target. The players completed a prolonged period of long-distance shooting practice before the whistle. Practice makes perfect? Possibly, although Nugent certainly wasn't the greatest exponent before play started!

On reflection a draw was probably a fair result, although Pompey had much the better of the second half action.

The two Pompey loanees added some much needed energy and enthusiasm to the team. Mattock made one or two minor errors at left back but there was one moment in the second half where he managed to get beyond his man and send in a very telling cross. He did try to overlap down the left on a number of occasions and it was no surprise that he tired towards the end of the game.

Thorne looked a natural in midfield and showed some good moments of composure, beyond his tender years.

It was a promising start for both of the youngsters and with the hard work that Ward and Pearce always put in to their game the team got a substantial energy lift.

So, a first point won for Michael Appleton, during his first home game. Still work to do, of course, but this performance was so much better than that shown at Watford, especially during the second half.

FT: Portsmouth 1-1 Leicester City

Pictures

It was Michael Appleton's first home game in charge of Pompey.

Foxes' fans on the Milton End

Greg Halford firing in a free kick during the first-half.

Leicester clear the ball.

Joel Ward receives treatment during the second half for an injury, he returned to carry on.

Portsmouth versus Leicester City: Stephen Henderson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Jason Pearce, Joe Mattock, George Thorne, Hayden Mullins, Joel Ward, David Norris, Erik Huseklepp, Dave Kitson.

Pompey MOTM: the official award went to Ricardo Rocha.

Attendance: 14,391

Next up for Pompey: Coventry City at Fratton Park on Saturday December 3rd, 3PM

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A Few Of The Lads Making Themselves At Home

It got distinctly chilly today at Fratton Park today, don't you think?

So cold in fact that a few of the lads decided to come indoors to get themselves warm ;-/

@PompeyChicken at Twitter.com

Pathe News: Pompey In FA Cup Action At Fratton Park Against Sheffield Wednesday January 1949

I came across the video below on the British Pathe News website which includes some great footage of Pompey playing at Fratton Park in the FA Cup in 1949 against Sheffield Wednesday.

It was a match they won 2-1 with goals from Peter Harris and Len Phillips.

Look at Pompey's strip! Look at the packed terraces! Look at the pitch! Look at The South Stand - pretty much as it is today!

The pictures of FA Cup giant killers Yeovil against Sunderland are great too!

Click on the image below to view the video:


Video duration: 2 minutes 54, the Pompey action starts around 1 minute 16.

The book Pompey - A History Of Portsmouth FC (1984) by Neasom, Cooper and Robinson tells me the match was played on January 29th 1949 in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The Pompey team was: Butler, Yeuell, Ferrier, Scouler, Flewin, Dickinson, Harris, Barlow, Clarke, Phillips and Froggatt.

The attendance was: 47,188.

Click on the link here if you're having problems viewing the video (you may need to click on it twice) ==> Pompey versus Sheffield Wednesday 1949 FA Cup

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20/11/2011 Stephen Henderson Interview In The Football League Paper

The article by Stuart Hammonds in The Football League Paper

Key points
Irishman Stephen Henderson is the latest family member to play as a goalkeeper.

Other Henderson Family goalkeepers listed: Uncle Wayne Henderson who retired from PNE last season and now Stephen's agent; Paddy (Stephen's Grandad); Stephen Snr (his Dad); and Dave (another Uncle).

Henderson is hoping to catch the eye of Ireland Manager Giovanni Trapattoni to secure a place in the Ireland Squad that travels to Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

Henderson has played for Ireland at every age group from U15 to U21.

Henderson realises that having a new manager at Pompey in Michael Appleton is like starting over again to impress, having been given his chance by Steve Cotterill before he left the Club.

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19/11/2011 Watford 2-0 Portsmouth: Away Day Blues

Two first half goals were enough to give Watford all three points in this poor Championship encounter between two teams struggling in the lower reaches of the division.

The first goal came in the second minute of play when Michael Kightly, on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, had a shot from the left hand side of the penalty area that took a deflection off a Pompey defender and beat the hapless Henderson. There was nothing the Pompey 'keeper could have done.

The second goal came just before half time as England U21 international Marvin Sordell found himself unmarked in the box at a corner kick to skilfully volley the ball home.

It was effectively game over.

To say that this was a disappointing defeat would be an understatement. Watford, below Pompey in the table, were seemingly there for the taking.

On paper Pompey's team had a better quality look to it than Watford's team but as has happened before this season (e.g. at Hull) that quality did not translate itself to the field of play and Pompey put on a performance that at times bordered on mediocrity.

Having said that nothing should be taken away from their hosts who never looked in any real danger of relinquishing their lead.

Former loanee players Jonathan Hogg and Carl Dickinson typified the Hornets' hard working approach and in Marvin Sordell Watford have a player with a very bright future ahead of him in the game.

It wasn't just losing it was the manner of Pompey's defeat that really irked. There was only one notable effort on goal during the whole game and that came in the final few minutes when Erik Huseklepp's powerful freekick, from the edge of the box, was beaten away to safety by Watford 'keeper Scott Loach.

That effort aside Pompey's chances were few and far between: in the first half Luke Varney had a weak shot after good work by David Norris and in the second a glancing header from a corner at the near post that lacked power and was safely saved by Loach on the goal line; in the second half Greg Halford had a free-kick that he drilled over the cross-bar; and late on an off-balance Dave Kitson had a soft header that hit the upright and fell away for a goal kick.

Pompey's general play lacked any cohesion or creativity and as a result they were unable to put their opponents under any real pressure.

Danger man Erik Huseklepp didn't see enough of the ball and niether Varney or Kitson were on top of their game. Kitson became so frustrated that he talked himself in to the referee's notebook complaining when a decision went against him.

Overall, it didn't make for pretty viewing and there were occasions when the Pompey fans vented their frustrations at the players.

There was a really nice buzz amongst the 1,700 travelling fans before the match which I haven't seen very much of at away games this season. This was demonstrated by the positive welcome the team received as they stepped off the bus and as they came out to warm up.

Pre-match expectations were high, especially coming off the back of the victory against Nottingham Forest prior to the international break, but sadly that expectation level quickly fell away.

On this showing Michael Appleton and the coaching staff have an awful lot of work to do and it needs to be done quickly on and off the training pitch.

The emergency loan window closes on Thursday this week and in his after game interview Pompey's new manager commented that he'd like to bring in some new faces to bolster the squad and generate some competition for places.

Let's hope he's successful.

Match Action Pictures

Portsmouth versus Watford: Stephen Henderson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Jason Pearce, Tal Ben Haim, Joel Ward, Hayden Mullins, David Norris, Erik Huseklepp, Dave Kitson and Luke Varney. Substitutes: Jamie Ashdown, Benjani, Aaron Mokoena, King Kanu and Abdul Razak.

Benjani replaced Tal Ben Haim at the start of the second half. The Israeli international had been given a torrid time down the left by Mark Yeates.

Attendance: 12,864 and 1,727 noisy Pompey fans made the trip to Vicarage Road.

Pompey MOTM: the brightest Pompey player on the pitch was Abdul Razak when he came on as a second half substitute. Although young he looks like a player who can pass the ball well and can create space and chances with a few tricks to boot. However, I can't award any Pompey player a MOTM award, based on the team's overall performance it would be totally undeserved.

Next up for Pompey: Leicester City at home in the Championship on Saturday 26th November at 3PM

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19/11/2011 Watford 2-0 Portsmouth: Don't Be A Litter Rat Be A Cool Cat! And Other Pictures Of Vicarage Road

Here are some pictures I took of Vicarage Road before the game between Watford and Portsmouth.

This was the third time I'd been here but the first time I had walked around the ground.

The stadium has three main stands in use and a third (the East Stand) that is currently unoccupied. It's a little bit like Preston North End's ground (Deepdale) used to be like until the older stand was recently redeveloped.

The key thing here though is that a lot of residential building has taken place around the ground, in particular the Rookery and Rous Stands, meaning that you can see very little of the stadium from the outside. It doesn't look much like a football stadium from the outside to be frank.

However, I took the pictures anyway to give you a view. Enjoy! Oh, and remember don't be a litter rat! Be a cool cat! Page down and you'll see where I got that from!

Yes we really were in Vicarage Road!

A view of the Vicarage Road Stand.

Looking down the back of the Rous Stand from Vicarage Road.

Picture taken half-way along the Rous Stand looking back up towards Vicarage Road. You can see some people queuing up to go into Hospitality Reception.

Another view of the Rous Stand looking up towards Vicarage Road.

Residential block at the corner of the Rous Stand and the Rookery Stand.

A view of the residential block at the Rookery Stand end of the ground. This looks out on a set of allotments, which I remember walking through during my very first visit to Vicarage Road back in the early 1990s. The away fans were located at this end of the ground on that occasion. Is it me or does this residential block look a bit like it belongs more in Spain than Watford?

Another view of the residential block at the Rookery Stand end of the ground. The Stand is tucked away behind this, with entrances plus office suites along the walkway underneath.

The walkway underneath the residential block at The Rookery Stand.

The Watford FC office in the Rookery Stand.

The view up Occupation Road of the back of the East Stand (which is not used by fans on match days). This road is lined by an eclectic set of garages.

The view down Occupation Road. The Pompey fans are following the team bus which had to reverse down the hill to the players' entrance.

The Hornets Shop.

Programmes! This programme hut was located opposite the Hornets Shop. I like this, right up my street!

The Pompey team bus reverses past the visiting fans entrance.

The Education Centre in Vicarage Road.

View of the Rous Stand from the Vicarage Road Stand before the game.

View of the Rookery Stand from the Vicarage Road Stand before the game.

View of the East Stand from the Vicarage Road Stand before the game.

A plaque of sorts on the end of the Rous Stand with a quote from the man himself. It's almost been boxed in and covered up by the development on this corner of the ground.

It says: "I don't want to look back instead of looking forward, but I do hope football never becomes anything other than a game." Sir Stanley Rous, CBE

Football remaining just a game? Ummm...

Finally, this bin in Vicarage Road made me laugh!

And here's the other side!

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13/11/2011 Michael Appleton Interview With The Football League Paper

In case you missed it, Michael Appleton is the subject of the front cover and main interview in today's Football League Paper.

It's a good read (as the paper always is by the way!).

Here is a summary of the key points:
- he was a midfielder
- he was forced to retire as a professional footballer aged 27
- the injury occured on the training ground but it was a mistake by a surgeon that lead to eventual retirement
- he came through the ranks of the Manchester United Academy
- he has worked under three top British managers as a player / coach David Moyes (PNE), Sir Alex Ferguson (MUFC), Roy Hodgson (WBA)
- he has been coaching for seven years since his retirement as a player at The Hawthorns and the last five of those have been working with senior players

There are some good quotes in the article and of course the paper is still available to buy tomorrow if you want to read the whole thing.

In addition to the main article there is also a letter of praise for Portsmouth FC on making the appointment from a PNE fan. Plus Chris Dunlavy has written an article about the current 'trend' or 'vogue' (I'm not sure what it is) to appoint younger managers. Former Pompey player Eddie Howe (Burnley) and Karl Robinson (at MK Dons) are quoted as two other examples.

The front cover of The Football League Paper

The centre spread of the paper

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Fratton Park, South Stand Improvement

As part of the Club's general improvement to the existing facilities at Fratton Park it was good to see another small change to the South Stand concourse for the game against Nottingham Forest, as per the two pictures below.

Previously there had been a wooden office construct at this point that had been used in the past by the press and media crowd.

That's all been removed to leave a decent space for the fans to gather pre-match with the addition of a TV screen.

Taken from the stairs looking down.

Taken from the concourse.

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05/11/2011 Portsmouth 3-0 Nottingham Forest: Taxi For Cotterill!

Members of the armed forces - old and current - line up for the one minute's silence before the game.

Two sailors holding wreaths.

The representatives of the armed forces leave the field after the minute's silence.

On his return to Fratton Park with Nottingham Forest, just three weeks after his departure to the City Ground, Steve Cotterill saw his new side concede three goals and leave the South Coast empty handed.

Two goals from Norwegian international Erik Huseklepp and one from Dave Kitson saw Pompey home.

Liam Lawrence dropped out of the team due to the injury he picked up at Selhurst Park and passed the captain's armband to David Norris.

Joel Ward dropped to the bench.

Abdul Rasak, on loan from Manchester City, joined Huseklepp in the starting line-up.

There was no place on the bench for either Aaron Mokoena who had started the match against Crystal Palace or Marko Futacs.

Greg Halford was declared fit for this match having missed out against Crystal Palace with a shoulder injury.

Prior to the start of the match there was a minute's silence to honour Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday which fell the following weekend. Members of the armed services were present.

The first half was mainly fragmented and scrappy with a number of interruptions for injuries to players from both sides.

The referee Mr Bates was also a bit whistle happy, stopping the play on a couple of occasions when it would have been better to play the advantage.

The away team had the better of the chances in the first half with the lively Lewis McGugan in the thick of the action.

He curled a long distance free kick over the cross bar in the first five minutes of the match, a second free-kick was palmed over by Stephen Henderson just after the half-hour and he had a great chance to score after good work down the right but Henderson again rescued Pompey and smothered the ball before he could fire off a shot.

Luke Varney wins a header in the first half.

Kitson challenges in the first half against two Forest defenders.

First half action in the box from a corner.

However, the fans will remember the first half for a great strike that gave Pompey the lead just before the break.

Hayden Mullins had a terrific shot which he volleyed against the cross bar, the ball rebounded in to the path of Huseklepp on the left who cut inside and curled a fantatsic right footed shot in to the far corner.

HT: Portsmouth 1-0 Nottingham Forest

After the break Pompey had two good chances to increase their lead.

The first through David Norris who forced Lee Camp in the Forest goal in to a fine save.

The second chance fell to Dave Kitson who worked his way well in to the box but saw his attempted lob from close range fly over the cross bar.

With just a single goal in the game Nottingham Forest were still very much in it and Pompey had Hayden Mullins and Stephen Henderson to thank for keeping them in it.

Second half action in the box from a corner.

Mullins cleared Luke Chambers’ header off the line and Henderson made a fantastic save, palming the ball around the post from Robert Findley’s shot on the turn. It was a crucial moment in the game.

Erik Huseklepp was coming in to the game more and more. He has an interesting demeanour. Without the ball he looks lazy and dis interested. As soon as he gets the ball he sparks in to life and looks a different player.

The second goal came after Dave Kitson showed some persistence to win a corner kick which was taken by Huseklepp. Kitson's reward was to find himself unmarked in the box and able to head home to make it two-nil.

Shortly aftewards Huseklepp was on the end of a David Norris cross from the left to nip in front of the defender and put Pompey three goals ahead.

The Pompey players celebrate.

Greg Halford almost made it four-nil at the end but his header bounced in to the turf and clipped the bar before going out of play.

FT: Portsmouth 3-0 Nottingham Forest

The 'Welcome Back' Chants For Steve Cotterill
There was some good banter during the match from the Pompey fans aimed at Steve Cotterill.

It started off in the first half with a "Stevie give us a wave" which he duely responded to only to be rewarded by a few harsh chants of "w*nker, w*nker!".

In the second half as the scoreline got worse for the returning manager the Fratton End fans chimed up with a number of chants including: "Your taxi's outside!", "Taxi for Cotterill", "You're getting sacked in the morning!" and "Three-nil to the four-four-two!".

Portsmouth versus Nottingham Forest: Stephen Henderson, Greg Halford, Ricardo Rocha, Jason Pearce, Tal Ben Haim, Abdul Razak, Hayden Mullins, David Norris (c), Erik Huseklepp, Dave Kitson, Luke Varney. Substitutes: Jamie Ashdown, Bjorn Helge Riise, King Kanu, Joel Ward, Benjani.

Attendance: 14,207

MOTM: the official MOTM award went to Erik Huseklepp and was well deserved. He scored two goals including his cracker in the first half and he took the corner from which Dave Kitson scored.

Next up for Pompey: due to the international break Pompey's next game is against Watford away at Vicarage Road on Saturday 19th November at 3PM

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