Michael Pantling med sine tanker før den nye sesongen.
MENINGER: Vår medlem nummer 42, Michael Pantling, er bosatt i Danmark, men pleier å reise over til England for å se Pompey flere ganger i sesongen enn noen andre av våre medlemmer.
Det siste halvannet året har epidemien gjort dette vanskelig, men Michael har håp om å snart reise over igjen. Som vanlig deler han sine tanker med oss før seriestart.
SE OGSÅ: Glad for at Cowley-brødrene fikk langtidskontrakt
After the past 18 months of enforced absence it is a relief to be able to look forward to going back to Fratton to see Pompey in front of a proper crowd. There are still some challenges with travel to and from UK and the rules keep changing but I am reasonably hopeful of getting back at the end of September in order to see Sunderland.
There has been quite a shake up with the team with a number of old favourites leaving and plenty of new faces coming in to replace them – the Cowley brothers have clearly been able to make their mark and hopefully once again challenge for promotion back to where Pompey belong.
The biggest surprise for me is that Curtis is still there but of course the transfer window is still open. I was really expecting Pompey to try to cash in on him to get some income and cut the wage bill. He and Marquis really need to shine this season if Pompey are to achieve anything.
The competition this season will be even fiercer with the likes of Sheffield Wednesday joining Sunderland and big spending Ipswich in the chase. Not so glamourous Rotherham have not been easy to beat whenever they have dropped down to League 1 and the likes of Lincoln will also challenge. Newly promoted Bolton might also be outsiders. It should all lead to an entertaining but nail biting season.
I have to admit that I am not particularly familiar with most of our new signings so I really don’t know what to expect from them, it cannot be easy for any of the players with when half of the squad has changed so the first few games will be very telling. We have had a couple of slow starts over the past years and I would like to see Pompey in the leading group from the start and staying there.
The fans should make a lot of difference both home and away and their support and encouragement must have been sorely missed. Even professional players can use that extra motivation from the crowd.
Whilst it is a bit of a bonus to have a cup run it must remain the league that is the priority. Hopefully the efforts of the owners to improve Fratton Park and restore some of the lost capacity is a positive sign for the future and the very necessary investment in infrastructure cannot be at the expense of improving the team not only to compete in League 1 but for the future in the Championship. Brentford have achieved remarkable things recently so there is no good reason why Pompey cannot do the same.
Lets hope for our first 3 points with an away win on Saturday with a couple of goals from Marquis to send him on the way for a 20+ goal tally for the season!
PuP
