They came, they saw, they waved bank notes in the general direction of the Portsmouth supporters, but Southampton’s followers went home from Saturday’s FA Cup tie disappointed.
They were the favourites, according to many. Striker Rickie Lambert had scored the same amount of league goals as the entire Portsmouth team. He scored on Saturday too, but Pompey’s four goals in reply underlined the fight, spirit and no little skill within Avram Grant’s side. They might go down, they might go under, but they won’t go quietly.
Neither will their supporters. As vocal and vociferous as ever on Saturday, their backing and devoted following of their team has to be admired. The off-field mismanagement is not their fault, and they must turn up at matches not knowing who will be donning the blue shirts this time. Take Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, an impossibly named Amsterdam-born Ghanaian international who has played in England, Spain and Wales and is now on loan at Portsmouth from Spartak Moscow. Owusu-Abeyie scored the opener at the weekend, and how those Pompey fans celebrated it. They don’t care who scores.
Off the field, chaos still reigns. Phil Brown, the Hull City manager, gave an insight into the overspending and general irresponsibility at the south coast club at the weekend. Brown claims that he was close to signing four players in the summer – Jamie O’Hara, Frederic Piquionne, Tal Ben-Haim and Aruna Dindane – who all chose to move to Portsmouth due to the “astronomical” wages on offer at Fratton Park. Brown made a good case for Pompey to be punished by the league due to their negligence, and made it clear that any bailout from Richard Scudamore and friends would represent an uneven playing field. He had a point.
The field was quite even at St Mary’s. Southampton were the better side in the first half, only being denied by a string of fine saves from an inspired David James. O’Hara was terrific, his cultured left foot setting up wave after wave of quick Pompey counter attacks as the match wore on. The midfielder’s desire to go back on loan to the south coast club when their transfer embargo was lifted typifies the spirit with which the players are going about their task, overseen by a skilled manager in Grant.
The Israeli’s face never fitted at the glamorous, moneyed Chelsea, and as a result he was written off as a poor manager. He, more than anyone, has pulled together the club in times of crisis. It is he who has installed the fighting spirit and togetherness which was on show at St Mary’s, yet he remains so humble. “If I wrote a book about Portsmouth it would be a best-seller,” was his simple response to the events of a turbulent week.
Indeed it would, and Pompey could do with the money.
“There’s only one team in Hampshire” sang the Southampton fans at the weekend. Thankfully that’s not the case. Hopefully those words won’t ring true any time soon.
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