• NEXT GAME: Itswich Town (as my mate also says) F.C
    Friday 29th March 2024
    Kick off 17.30
    Ewood Park
    Championship

Pumpey v Rovers: 13th Feb 2018

Barmitzvah Boy

Global winner of the 2021 Christmas Quiz 👊🤩🤩
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Firstly the most famous thing about Portsmouth is their most photographed fan: John Portsmouth Football Club Westwood. Some ‘facts’ about the lunatic / moron Mr Westwood are (my favourite are numbers 10 and 11):

1. His full name is John Portsmouth Football Club Westwood – he added the Portsmouth FC back in 1994 by deed poll.

2. John is a 47-year-old divorced father-of-two, and was chosen to be one of the featured people in the BBC’s “One Nation” series.

3. John has a ridiculous sixty Portsmouth tattoos on his body, the club crest shaved on to his head and ‘PFC’ engraved on his teeth.

4. John has travelled to every Portsmouth home and away game in the last twenty-four years.

5. Poor old John wasn’t allowed to bring his bell into the FA Cup Final this year due to strict Wembley guidelines.

6. He has his own appreciation group on facebook. However with only ninety-eight members, perhaps he isn’t as popular as one would imagine.

7. John now runs his father’s bookshop in Petersfield, Hampshire, which specialises in selling antiquarian and second-hand books.

8. John’s father, Frank, employed a female assistant at his book shop – famous rugby streaker, Erica Roe.

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9. His brother is the Queen’s paper conservator at Windsor Castle.

10. Some fans affectionately call him ‘that cunt with the bell’.

11. The closest Rovers have to Mr Westwood is an orange lunatic going by the name of Abbey.

The most common song at Pumpey FC is something called “Play Up Pompey” - sounding more like “We hate Swampey”. The song is based on the environmentalist Swampey who was well known for digging tunnels under their Fatwah Park ground in order to stop the destruction of a rare Hampshire mole.

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I cannot make this game as I need a follow eye operation. Rovers have an allocation of 980 tickets and sales as of today, one week before the game, are 700. Hopefully we will sell out boosted by sales with Rovers fans in London given the time and cost of travelling to the South Coast on a Tuesday.

I have been looking for celebrity Portsmouth fans and the wonderweb keeps coming up with Mr Wetwood. The best I can come up with is the well loved Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott. She has been sent complimentary tickets for a couple of games this season. She missed the first game as she got the month wrong. For the second game she refused to turn up at PLO (as she likes to affectionately call Portsmouth) as the imperialist scum owners refused her demands that the squad should be 50% female, have a disabled captain and all beers, pies, couscous and pasta dishes have been certified by Jezza Corbyn as ‘Fairtrade’ and have been passed by a Mullah.

As for the score it depends on whether our team turns up or not. I will go for a rare 0-0 draw (when did we last have one of those)?
 
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Barmitzvah Boy

Global winner of the 2021 Christmas Quiz 👊🤩🤩
Thanks Steve. Bit under the weather today as I had two pricks in my left eye and it is aching.
 

Drog

Administrator
Staff member
Eh? bloody Eh? How do you think we go on as ST holders? You need to get there or else how can you give valid comment?

Tell you what amo, I nominate you to do the post match report for us and remember to score the players and the Ref.:)
 

Barmitzvah Boy

Global winner of the 2021 Christmas Quiz 👊🤩🤩
And then MB members can vote on who does the best review: Drog v Amo- marks out of 10.
 
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khmerblue

Senior Member
Had some great trips to Pompey over the yrs,can't remember us winning when I went,maybe wrong can remenber2-2 when Bellamy scored twice.
 

Alan

Administrator
Staff member
My team for tonight.-
Raya
Williams Lenihan Mulgrew Bell
Payne Smallwood Bennett
Dack
Graham Armstrong
Travis to come on for Smallwood or Bennett later on or maybe for Williams or Bell with Williams moving across depending on how it is going. I know I'm being a tinkerman but I think it might work. Nyambe needs a rest.
 

Drog

Administrator
Staff member
Williams can't play left back very well so I'd be hesitant to play him at right back with just Jack Payne in front of him Al. Jack Payne of course not being a natural right winger. It would leave us incredibly weak defensively down that side.

Lenihan's possible return makes for interesting options should Mowbray intend to bring him straight back into the starting X1. In no particular order, easiest options to begin with, going 4-4-2 and leaving the left back debate out of it for the moment...

Option 1 Play Lenihan alongside Mulgrew and drop Downing.

Option 2 Play Lenihan at right back.

Option 3 Play Downing with Lenihan and move Mulgrew to deep midfield. Sounds good but I believe that we have enough creativity in the midfield with any two of Dack, Payne or Armstrong to select from so moving Mulgrew forward could make for a too many cooks situation.

Option 4 Leave central defence as it is and play Lenihan with Smallwood. That would enable Bennett to play on the right wing again. Probably the most defensive 'away' option to begin the match with. Leaving either Payne or Armstrong as impact subs.

Should Mowbray see the future as a 3-5-2 as Souness did in the latter stages of 2000-2001, (entirely possible given our wealth of midfield creativity). A defence of any 3 from Lenihan, Downing, Mulgrew/Bell (Mulgrew imo not being confidant in the LB position) behind a deep midfield of Bennett, Smallwood and Mulgrew/Bell with Payne and Armstrong playing 'off' Dack and Graham. Mouth watering but is it too light brigade 'ish' and would it make us too susceptible to hoof balls to a strong centre forward as proved on Saturday?
 

Alan

Administrator
Staff member
I puzzled too but Nyambe needs dropping. He's giving away too many goals and teams now know if you hit him he's weak. I wouldn't be too averse to Lenihan at right back.
 

Barmitzvah Boy

Global winner of the 2021 Christmas Quiz 👊🤩🤩
Wigan lose, Shrews lose and Rovers screw it up with a defeat.
 
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