So, without a spectacular run of results in equal proportion, it seems Pompey's season will end in a mid-table Championship position - a fantastic ending considering the turmoil that this club has been through in recent years. A recent run of six wins in a row meant that the Blues should now be safe from relegation, while earlier sequences of eleven winless games and seven winless matches mean that they equally face only an outside shot at a play-off place. But there is a lot to be hopeful for on the south coast.
Steve Cotterill has done a brilliant job, but he unfortunately needs to do it all over again this summer. When he first took the post last year, he faced a daunting and lengthy task of restructuring a collapsing club. Relegation from the Premier League, a mass exodus of players, deep in administration with a debt figure that seemed to increase week by week and no owners, he could hardly have been expected to do the job he has done. He has crafted a very good team, one of the best in the Championship thanks to the signings of Liam Lawrence and Dave Kitson, the raft of loan signings gelling instantly and the resurrections of David Nugent and Jamie Ashdown from the Pompey abyss.
All in all, he has managed to keep up a side with the smallest squad in English league football, coping with a poor financial situation to get a side playing well (at times) and grinding out results at this level. But he faces yet another daunting task this summer. At present, he will have only nine players on the books as pre-season training starts for next season. They are a decent backbone to a new side; goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown, defenders Aaron Mokoena and Ricardo Rocha, midfielders Joel Ward, Liam Lawrence and Hayden Mullins, and forwards Danny Webber, Nwankwo Kanu and Dave Kitson. Add to that list outcast defender Tal Ben-Haim, but he is unlikely to appear again due to his massive wages.
Heading the list of possible departures are top scorer David Nugent and experienced left-back Hermann Hreidarsson, both out-of-contract at the end of the campaign. It's vital now that Nuge signs that contract, he still may be frustrating in front of goal but gets his share of strikes and his work-rate can never be questioned, while the 'Hermannator' would be a tremendous asset if he stays fit. Michael Brown and Richard Hughes are almost certain to leave as their contractual purgatory carries on, while promising youngster Nadir Cifti has said that he will not be signing a new contract. Young lads Marlon Pack and Tom Kilbey face uncertain futures, as do more recent academy prospects Billy Goddard, Ellis Martin, Peter Gregory and Perry Ryan. Then there is the loan brigade.
It is thanks to them in large parts that we are talking about the Championship next season and not League One. Ibrahima Sonko and Carl Dickinson have had their critics but they gave everything and came to the club at a time when it looked like we might not see out the campaign. But the influx around the Christmas period has really been a positive impact; Greg Halford, Ritchie De Laet, Jonathan Hogg and David Cotterill gave a tired squad a boost. And we may just have a chance to keep some of them on a permanent basis. The work ethic of Hogg should see Aston Villa keep hold of him, but with the others it is not so clear. Wolves may want to offload Halford if they are relegated and may not want to keep him if they stay up, Ritchie De Laet is far from first choice at Manchester United and David Cotterill may find first-team opportunities hard if Swansea are promoted. Deals are there to be done.
But we will need to acquire atleast twelve players over the summer period, which is a phenomenal amount for one transfer window. David Norris has been rumoured to be a target as will most of the out-of-contract talent available, while there is always a berth of quality players available from the outskirts of Premier League clubs ie Michael Johnson from Manchester City, Patrick Van Aanholt from Chelsea, Kyle Bartley from Arsenal, Kyle Naughton from Tottenham to name just a few. If the owners are prepared to go for it fully, the likes of Yakubu from Everton and Diomansy Kamara from Fulham? But that's what it comes down to.
Balraim Chainrai is going to have to support Steve Cotterill if Pompey are going to progress next season. We need to be able to attract the right calibre of player, and that means a transfer budget and wage budget bit enough to get them in. We realise that it is still pretty tight down at Fratton Park and we aren't expecting miracles, we just want to compete in the league. And with the team we've got, that is more than possible. We just need the squad to get us through a 46-game season.
And here, as a light comic relief at the end, is an EPIC miss. Enjoy.
NWR
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