Supporterintervjuet: Før Harrogate Town (H), 2. runde FA-cup

– En kamp vi må vinne, er Michael Pantling (t.h.) sin klare tale før dagens cupkamp mot Harrogate Town.

SUPPORTERINTERVJUET: Vi fortsetter med supporterintervjuer med medlemmer som har medlemstall mellom 40 og 50. For andre uka på rad skal vi til Danmark. Denne gangen for å snakke med Michael Pantling – så vidt vi vet er han den eneste av våre medlemmer som har vært i England og sett Pompey i aksjon i høst. Det har han gjort fem ganger. Her er Michaels tanker før lørdagens cupkamp mot Harrogate Town.

Det ble 8. plass forrige sesong. Hva er dine tanker om det Pompey presterte i 2020/21?

– Not making the play-off was very disappointing. The arrival of the Cowley’s was probably too late to rescue the situation.

Hva var dine tanker og forventninger til kommende sesong? Tro på opprykk? Hvilke lag tror du blir sterkest i League One?

– I have been quite pessimistic about our prospects this season for quite some time although our current run of good form/luck is beginning to ease my doubts but I think the best we can hope for is a play-off place. These are a lot of good sides in League 1 this season. Rotherham looked very strong and our win over Sunderland was under exceptional circumstances. Things can easily change but Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan will also be among the contenders for automatic promotion.

Hva synes du om Pompeys sesong så langt?

– It has been a bit of a roller coaster ride so far this season but we are finally getting the results we need. Winter always gets a bit tricky with injuries and suspensions. Some of our players still manage to get yellow cards senselessly with Curtis and Brown featuring often and even Harness has been foolish.

Har du planer om å få til en tur over for å se Pompey denne sesongen?

– Since the relaxation of travel restrictions I have been to Fratton to see Sunderland, Ipswich and Wimbledon (The good the bad and the ugly) and Charlton and Rotherham away ( ok and awful)

– I am still planning to see Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe next week and hopefully Wimbledon away later in December subject to travel restrictions. I have kept a flexible season ticket which means I only have to pay for those matches I order tickets for which suits me very will in these uncertain times.

Hvordan holder du deg oppdatert på Pompey (kamper og nyheter)?

– Mostly via the BBC and the club homepage.

Har du noen favorittspillere i dagens Pompey-spillerstall?

– At the moment Marcus Harness is my favourite, he puts a lot of effort in and has started to be rewarded with goals.

Hva er dine tanker om brødrene Cowley?

– Mixed feelings about the Cowleys, it is great that we are on a very good run of results which has been helped by a few players coming back from injury (and John Marquis being injured) and less used players are getting more chances to play. On the other hand I do not think we are seeing the fast attractive football we were promised and instead it is more of a long ball game with big kicks from the goal keeper and players keeping the ball in the air too much for my liking.

Nå er det hjemmekamp i FA-cupen mot Harrogate. Hva er dine tanker om denne kampen, hva er din startellever og hvordan tror du kampen ender?

– Clearly a ”must win” match for the fans as we all want to get one of the top clubs in January. The Cowleys have fielded fairly strong sides in cups up to now so I cannot see that changing although Harrison could start to give him a longer run out.

Har du ellers noe du vil si til resten av de skandinaviske Pompey-supporterne?

– I think it remains very positive that the owners are continuing to invest heavily in the infrastructure – it is a bit strange sitting in the North Stand with large numbers of empty seats that cannot be used reducing the capacity to 16,500 or so. A return to 20,000+ is important for the long term future of Pompey as are decent facilities in this day and age.

– I hope you all stay healthy and hope that it won’t be too long until things get back to more or less normal so that we can all enjoy trips to Fratton again.

Tidligere supporterintervjuer denne sesongen:

Før 20. serierunde: Gillingham (B): Mark Raine

Før 19. serierunde: Lincoln City (B): Christian Knapp

Før 18. serierunde: AFC Wimbledon (H): Eirik Bøen Gravdal

Før 17. serierunde: Wycombe (B): David Gunnarsson Lorentzen

Før 1. runde i FA-cupen: Harrow (H): Bo Gareth Johansen

Før 16. serierunde: Cheltenham (H): Håvard Myhre

Før 15. serierunde: Bolton (H): Øyvind Velde

Før 14. serierunde: Accrington Stanley (B): Bjarte Hope

Før 13. serierunde: Ipswich Town (H): Martin Grimstvedt

Før 12. serierunde: Rotherham (B): Mange Nilsson

Før 11. serierunde: Sunderland (H): Steen Houman