Portsmouth – end-of-season report
Monday, 02 Jun 2008 18:57
Portsmouth - fan's 2007/08 end-of-season report
Good, bad or just the same old, same old? What the fans made of the 2007/08 season.
We said in January that Pompey bewitched and bedeviled their supporters in the first half of the season and they continued in this vein, taking a few twists and turns before finishing the season with a trophy and a place in Europe next season.
Winning the FA Cup was, of course, the high point in a season that also saw manager Harry Redknapp arrested and the club finish a very respectable eighth in the Premier League.
An opening-day draw with doomed Derby wasn't what Harry Redknapp would have been hoping for but a respectable draw with eventual champions Manchester United the following weekend at Fratton Park got their season back on track.
After an early season goalfest against Reading in September in which they emerged 7-4 winners, Pompey fans could have been forgiven for expecting big things to come but they were made to wait as Redknapp's charges misfired their way towards Christmas, only just managing to stay in the top half of the table.
Goals from Muntari and Kranjcar in midfield rescued some valuable points in 2007 and set Portsmouth up in a decent position going into the January transfer window, during which Jemaine Defoe was signed on a temporary deal from Tottenham Hotspur.
The inconsistency in the first half of the campaign may have had as much to do with the manager's arrest in connection with a corruption in football investigation as it was the strikers' inability to find the net on a regular basis.
Redknapp soon sorted things out though and a consistent second half of the season saw Derby, Chelsea, Sunderland, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Wigan, and Newcastle drop points at Fratton Park, which helped matters in the Premier League despite recording only two away league wins in 2008.
Pompey were knocked out of the Carling Cup by Blackburn in October but went on to lift the FA Cup at Wembley, qualifying for the Uefa Cup in the process.
Grade: A-
Excellent season but more consistency needed.
High Point
Winning the FA Cup eclipses all else in English domestic football, with the exception of the Premier League crown of course.
The trophy is now resting at Fratton Park after Portsmouth went through the entire competition conceding only one goal before Kanu scored the Wembley winner against Cardiff City.
Ipswich Town, Plymouth Argyle, Preston North End, Manchester United, Championship winners West Bromwich Albion and finally the Bluebirds were all defeated before Sol Campbell lifted his first trophy as Pompey captain.
Low Point
Redknapp's considerable achievements this season come in spite of the fact he has had to deal with considerable personal upheaval.
In November, the manager returned from abroad to find police had raided his home in connection with a corruption in football probe. He was then arrested before being bailed.
Since then, Redknapp and his wife have been fighting their corner in court and were eventually awarded £1,000 damages when judges at the City of London Magistrates' Court deemed the raid on his home unlawful due to the warrant used.
The corruption in football investigation is still ongoing.
The manager
'Arry's decision to stay at Fratton Park may have surprised some when Newcastle came calling after parting ways with Sam Allardyce but his loyalty was vindicated as the club forced their way into European competition.
When you consider the legal issues Redknapp has had to deal with throughout the season, his success is magnified even more.
Shrewd signings and good results have made for the best season Portsmouth have enjoyed in years and the success is in no small part down to Harry Redknapp.
Fan's Player of the Year
- Sylvain Distin –
Distin formed a steely defensive partnership with Sol Campbell that was integral to the FA Cup run.
The 30-year-old Frenchman is a Premier League veteran after seven years spent at Newcastle and Manchester City and his experience helped steady the ship at Pompey.
It is a testament to the centre back that he was voted players' player of the year by his team-mates in what has been an outstanding first season for him on the south coast.
Needs for Next Season
Portsmouth will hope to keep their squad together while adding a few names in the summer.
What stopped them achieving a higher league position was poor away form in the second half of the season.
The Pompey backline shipped 26 away goals during the season compared to only 14 at Fratton Park, and they will be looking to improve their away form in preparation for next season.
They need a striker who will score 15 to 20 goals per season. Benjani finished the season as the club's top scorer with only 12 goals in all competitions, despite leaving in January.
Redknapp will no doubt strengthen in the hope of an extended run in the Uefa Cup and fans will hope they can build on the success of 2007/08.
Chris Malone