01/01/2013 Swindon Town 5-0 Portsmouth: Pictures Of The County Ground

Pictures Taken Outside The Ground
Here are some pictures I took on New Year's Day of The County Ground where I sadly witnessed Pompey's heavy defeat against Swindon Town in League One.

Pompey performed well in the first half and the first period ended goaless.

Unfortunately, it all fell apart very quickly in the second half with substitute striker James Collins grabbing four goals. Unbelieveable really.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. One or two 'gems' in here including:

• The artwork showing former players
• A very old-looking turnstyle entrance for use by very thin fans
• The back of one of the stands which is in worse condition than The Milton End at Fratton Park
• A couple of black and white shots of some of the 1,500+ travelling, suffering Pompey fans who received plenty of plaudits from the locals after the game on Twitter.

The County Ground, home of Swindon Town Football Club.

 
It's Swindon versus Pompey on New Year's Day!

 
Artwork on the corner of The Don Rogers Stand and The Stratton Bank.

 
Looking along the back of The Don Rogers Stand.

 
An old turnstyle entrance to the ground on the corner of The Don Rogers Stand and The Stratton Bank.

 
Floodlight pylon on the corner of the Don Rogers Stand and The Stratton Bank.

 
The back of The Stratton Bank.

 
Floodlight pylon on the corner of the Stratton Bank and The Arkell's Stand.

 
Here's the same floodlight pylon this time taken from alongside The Arkell's Stand.

 
The back of The Arkell's Stand.

 
Entrance to Bar 71 for away supporters in The Arkell's Stand.

 
Entrance to The County Ground in The Arkell's Stand.

 
The floodlight pylon at the corner of The Arkell's Stand and The Fastplant Town End.

 
Images of former Swindon Town players I/III.

 
Images of former Swindon Town players II/III.

 
Images of former Swindon Town players III/III.

 
Advertising hording with former Pompey player Matt Ritchie (10).

 
The back of the Fastplant Town End (for home supporters).

 
Swindon Town club shop.

Pictures Taken Inside The Ground

A Jamie Cullum advertising hording!


The Stratton Bank.


The Don Rogers Stand.


Pompey Fans I/II.


Pompey Fans II/II.

The Magic Roundabout!
 
The County Ground is effectively on this roundabout.

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25/12/2012 Hatvent Calendar - Portsmouth 'Til I Die

WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.

It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.

You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!

Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.

Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.

This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.   

You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.

I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.

POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY


TODAY'S BOOK


What better way to finish the 2012 Hatvent Calendar than with this book: 'Portsmouth 'Til I Die: The Voices Of Pompey Supporters' published in 2009.

If ever there was a time to hear the voices of the Pompey fans now is it. With the Pompey Trust edging ever closer to taking over the running of Portsmouth Football Club, what could be better than to hear once more from the fans themselves?

This is what it says on the back cover of the book: "...[this book] tells many stories - supplied by the full spectrum of Pompey supporters. Some will make you laugh, others will make you cry, but all will give readers an insight into what it really means to be a fan of Portsmouth Football Club. Looking at the images and reading the words will hopefully spark your own memories of a very special football club. Real football stories told by real football fines...".

This book certainly does 'what it says on the tin'.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to every Pompey fan out there!  

LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 25th December 2011

WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit

BlueThruAndThru

24/12/2012 Hatvent Calendar - Pompey's Gentleman Jim

WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.

It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.

You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!

Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.

Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.

This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.   

You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.

I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.

POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY


TODAY'S BOOK


This book is 'Pompey's Gentleman Jim' by Peter Jeffs published in 1988, the biography of Pompey's most famous player Jimmy Dickinson.

The book covers his career for Pompey (828 post-war appearances, including 764 in the Football League) and England (48 caps).

As the Introduction states: "...Jimmy Dickinson was unique. Unique for his loyalty to the game of soccer and to Portsmouth Football Club..." (page 9).

You can read more about this book on Amazon here ==> Pompey's Gentleman Jim

LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 24th December 2011

WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit

BlueThruAndThru

23/12/2012 Hatvent Calendar - Portsmouth Champions Of England

WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.

It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.

You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!

Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.

Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.

This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.   

You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.

I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.

POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY


TODAY'S BOOK


This book is 'Portsmouth Champions Of England 1948-49 & 1949-50' by Colin Farmery first published in 2000.

The Preface to this book is by former Pompey player Phil Rookes and opens as follows: "...What is it about Portsmouth Football Club that calls for such pride and devotion from both fans and players? It is difficult to put a finger on it, except to say there is magic there somewhere and this book amply illustrates the fever which gripped fans and players during the Golden Championship Years..."

This book is so well written in the way it brings to life that wonderful period in the history of Portsmouth Football Club.

Just to give you a small flavour here are a few words from the two opening paragraphs, that will send shivers down your spine!

"...On Saturday, 6 May 1950, shortly after 4:20pm, Portsmouth and England left-half Jimmiy Dickinson threaded the ball through the middle of the field at Fratton Park. The pass split the Aston Villa defence in two, allowing makeshift centre-forward Bill Thompson to run on and crash an unstoppable shot pass the Villa goalkeeper, Rutherford. The goal put Pompey 4-0 up and...it all but ensured that the south-coast club would become the first team since Arsenal in 1935 to retain the League Championship trophy for a second consecutive season..."

"...the closing minutes saw the Fratton Park crowd of more than 42,000 indulge in celebrations of a kind never yet repeated. The club flag...was hoisted over the South Stand and then, well play continued, the trophy itself was positioned at the front of the stand...this was, surely, the greatest moment in Portsmouth Football Club's proud and eventful...history...they were simply Champions of England...".  

You can read more about this book on Amazon here ==> Portsmouth Champions Of England

LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 23rd December 2011

WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit

BlueThruAndThru

22/12/2012 Hatvent Calendar - Soccer Rebel

WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.

It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.

You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!

Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.

Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.

This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.   

You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.

I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.

POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY


TODAY'S BOOK


This book is 'Soccer Rebel The Evolution Of The Professional Footballer' by Jimmy Guthrie published in 1976. Guthrie was of course the captain of Portsmouth when they won the FA Cup in 1939.

There is plenty of coverage in this book of Jimmy Guthrie's work as a member and Chairman of the Players' Union but the first chapter of the book titled 'The Dreams Come True' will be of particular interest to Pompey fans as it covers that 1939 FA Cup Final victory. There are some good pictures too.

It has some great descriptions of the game, for example:

"...the sun was in its heaven, King George VI and the Queen were in the Royal Box and all was for the best in the best of all possible worlds as I led Portsmouth out to meet Wolverhampton Wanderers in the first and only Monkey Gland FA Cup Final..." (page 15).

"...the bookmakers offered us at all prices between eight and ten to one. I had backed Pompey with pounds, shillings and pence..." (page 15).

"...my prime task was to 'look after' young Mister Maguire, an outside-left, who was a bit quick, liked to cut in and had a dynamic left peg..." (page 17).

"...the ball went out to young Mr. Maguire. I timed the tackle well and he went down hard. I picked him up and muttered, 'Next time you finish in the Queen's lap'..." (page 18).

"...I started the move for our first goal...I found him [Jock Anderson] with a long pass. Jock side-footed...to Bert Barlow and all the Navy caps behind our goal were in the air..."(page 18).

"...we had played some good football. I climbed the steps at the head of the team to receive the Cup from His Majesty King George VI. I was over the moon..." (page 18).

"...after our triumph we went back to Portsmouth by train to a quickly arranged reception..." (page 19).

"...Portsmouth's players were paid £20 per man and shared a win bonus of £550..." (page 20).

You can read more about this book on Amazon here ==> Soccer Rebel

LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 22nd December 2011

WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit

BlueThruAndThru

21/12/2012 Hatvent Calendar - Transformed

WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.

It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.

You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!

Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.

Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.

This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.   

You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.

I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.

POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY


TODAY'S BOOK


This book is 'Transformed: Football Faith and Me' by Linvoy Primus with Peter Jeffs.

You can read more about this book on Amazon here ==> Transformed

LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 21st December 2011

WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit

BlueThruAndThru

20/12/2012 Hatvent Calendar - Curse Of The Jungle Boy

WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.

It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.

You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!

Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.

Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.

This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.   

You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.

I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.

POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY


TODAY'S BOOK


This book is 'Curse Of The Jungle Boy' by Ray Crawford with Michael Wood.

Ray Crawford was one of the most prolific strikers of the 1950s and 1960s. Indeed the dust jacket emphasises this point by stating that he is second only to Jimmy Greaves.

He made 526 senior appearances scoring 323 goals: Portsmouth 19 appearances (10 goals), Ipswich Town 353 (227), Wolverhampton Wanderers 61 (41), WBA 16 (7), Charlton Athletic 22 (7) and Colchester United 55 (31). 

Ray Crawford also won two caps for England scoring one goal.

As well as starting his playing career at Fratton Park, Ray Crawford also spent time on the coaching staff re-establishing the youth team and also supporting Jimmy Dickinson as first team coach.

You can read more about this book on Amazon here ==> Curse Of T
he Jungle Boy

LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 20th December 2011

WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit

BlueThruAndThru

19/12/2012 Hatvent Calendar - Pompey The History Of Portsmouth Football Club

WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.

It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.

You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!

Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.

Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.

This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.   

You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.

I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.

POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY


TODAY'S BOOK



This book is titled 'Pompey The History Of Portsmouth Football Club' by Mike Neasom, Mick Cooper and Doug Robinson. It was published in 1984.

Mike Neasom of course was The Chief Sports Writer for The News, Mick Cooper and Doug Robinson two fans who had a shared interest in the history of the Club.

Between them they wrote what I consider to be one of the best and certainly one of my favourite books about Pompey, especially as it has been autographed by all the authors and former Pompey players Alan Biley and Neil Webb!

It is packed with old photographs, cartoons and statistics (on blue paper!), including the list of every match from 1899-00 to 1983-84, the scoreline at HT and FT, the attendance where known, the Pompey line-up and goalscorers.

It's the attention to statistical detail and in particular the easy-to-read layout which impressed me the most when I first read this book, and it's a template that I've seen used elsewhere. I'm not sure if this layout set the standard or followed a standard but either way it was obviously compiled with a lot of care and attention. 

Of course a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since 1984 but whenever I need to look something up about Portsmouth FC this is invariably the place where I start.

Occasionally I see copies of this book in second hand book shops or charity shops - if you see one and a copy is not already sitting on your bookshelf then it's well worth getting hold of one.

You can read more about this book on Amazon here ==> Pompey The History Of Portsmouth Football Club

LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 19th December 2011

WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit

BlueThruAndThru

18/12/2012 Hatvent Calendar - Mr Unbelievable

WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.

It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.

You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!

Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.

Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.

This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.   

You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.

I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.

POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY


TODAY'S BOOK


This book is 'Mr Unbelievable' the autobiography of Chris Kamara published in 2010.

Sky Sports ground reporter and pundit Kamara started his playing career at Pompey, having joined from the Royal Navy, the first of two spells at the Club.

He provides some very good stories of his playing days time at Fratton Park, covering the topics of racism and death threats, as well as the other eight clubs he played for.

He talks about the game of football during his era as a player, some of the players he played with such as George Graham and Peter Marinello at Pompey, as well as managers he played under e.g. Ian St. John and Jimmy Dickinson.

In his first spell between 1975 and 1977 he made 63 apperances and scored 7 goals. He made 11 apperances in a brief spell during 1981 before joining Brentford in a swap deal with David Crown.  

You can read more about this book on Amazon here ==> Mr Unbelievable

LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 18th December 2011

WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit

BlueThruAndThru

17/12/2012 Hatvent Calendar - Tales From The Boot Camps

WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.

It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.

You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!

Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.

Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.

This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.   

You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.

I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.

POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY


TODAY'S BOOK


This book, paperback edition, is 'Tales From The Boot Camps' by Steve Claridge with Ian Ridley originally published in 1997.

Claridge played for Pompey of course and this edition of the the book includes two chapters about his two spells with the Club.

Chapter Two titled 'Pompey Times' provides some interesting insights in to life at Fratton Park as an apprentice.

For example: "...In my second season Alan Ball was brought in...to be youth coach. He was great Bally...he laid on inspired training sessions. He...saw things brilliantly, had such great passion and vision for the game..." (page 56).

Chapter Ten titled 'Back Home' discusses his return to Fratton Park, the sad state the Club was in and one particularly memorable night under the floodlights that has gone down in Pompey folklore, a match I attended!

"...I was delighted to be back playing first-team football again, but Pompey were in a sorry mess. Martin Gregory was in charge as chairman and, despite the best efforts of Terry Brady,...the shambles was reflected on the pitch. In fact, at that time, I think Pompey were probably the most badly organised team I have ever played for..." (page 240).

"...my first goal for my home-town club came against Stockport County...it was a match we had to win if we were to start our climb up from the bottom and, although there were only just over 8,000 in the ground, they never stopped singing...for 90 minutes...It was one of the highlights of my career..." (page 241).    

You can read more about this book on Amazon here ==> Tales From The Boot Camps

LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 17th December 2011

WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit

BlueThruAndThru