2021/22 Prediction League; Game 14 v Portsmouth FC (home)

Div3North · 21-10-2021, 09:40

Accrington Stanley

v

Portsmouth FC

2021/22 Prediction League Game 14; v The Fire Brigade (home)

This week's opening Starter for Ten: Portsmouth FC won promotion in the 1926/27 season from the Second Division to the First by finishing Runners-Up, 8 points behind Middlesbrough, and above Man City on Goal Average -1.776 against 1.770; goal average simply divided goals scored over the season by goals conceded, and Pompey scored 87 and shipped 49, whereas Man City scored 108 but shipped 61........... But in winning that promotion, Pompey achieved a notable "first" .......... what was it?

And an away win for us at last, despite our occasional cavalier approach, which was almost "We're gonna score one fewer than you" (not a catchy lyric, by the way) ..... Coley was interesting on the subject of "comedy goals we've conceded" post match, and seemed to think that something between 12 and 15 of our "GA" column came into that category ........ brief Sky highlights seemed to suggest we played well (comedy moments apart) ......

So; three points on Tuesday at The Valley ............ but who remembers when it was two points for a win and one for a draw?

The system of "Three points for a Win" was adopted in England in 1981 ... three points for a win was argued as encouraging more attacking play than "two points for a win", as teams, it was claimed, won't settle for a draw if the chance of getting two extra points (by playing for a late winning goal) outweighs the prospect of losing one point by conceding a late goal to lose the match; my view would be that the amount of time spent hugging the corner flag with the ball in the last minutes of a game may suggest that it isn't as black and white as that. A second rationale, by the way, was that it may prevent collusion between teams needing only a draw to advance in a tournament or avoid relegation; absolutely perish the thought!

It wasn't actually that popular an idea world-wide, nor taken up universally at the time ..... over the next 13 years some countries adopted it - Israel being first, then New Zealand, Iceland, Turkey and Hong Kong; some countries trialled it in their lower divisions (Belgium in their Second Division, and Italy in Serie C), but then it was adopted for the 1994 World Cup, and the floodgates opened ...... it isn't clear what actual impact there's been, but equally there aren't any known negative impacts either

Second Starter for Ten; the "Three points for a Win" system was originally proposed for use in the Football League by Mr X - a well-known former English player, then manager and later pundit; but who was Mr X?

Over the last few seasons I've imparted pretty much every bit of wisdom I have about Portsmouth and its history ...... It may be that my good friend Chimer might wish to scribble an homage to his home city, but since he's off on a short break with Mrs Chimer, probably not ... so any further additions to the sum of human knowledge beyond the under-mentioned might have to wait ..........

Portsmouth's history, it seems, can be traced back to Roman Britain. King Richard I ("Willie, Willie, Harry, Ste, Harry, Dick, John, Harry 3") first granted Portsmouth market town status on 2 May 1194 with a Royal Charter and a Coat of Arms, "a crescent of gold on a shade of azure, with a blazing star of eight points". A significant naval port for centuries, Portsmouth has the world's oldest surviving dry dock still in active use (No.1 Dock which was built by Henry VII in 1495). Portsmouth was England's first line of defence during the 1545 French invasion. A significant early terrorist attack occurred in the city in 1913, with two men being killed in an attack at the dockyards during the suffragette bombing and arson campaign.

On 21 April 1926, Portsmouth was elevated from town to city status. Its motto, "Heaven's Light Our Guide" (referring to the city's eight-pointed star and crescent-moon emblem), was registered in 1929. The city was extensively bombed in World War II's Portsmouth Blitz (which resulted in the deaths of 930 people): Portsmouth was also the pivotal embarkation point for the 6 June 1944 D-Day landings: and in 1982, a large proportion of the task force dispatched to liberate the Falkland Islands deployed from the city's naval base.

You may have wondered where the nickname "Pompey" actually came from; trying to research it, it's clear that there are more proffered explanations than I've had hot women ...... err, sorry, dinners .... (mind was wandering then!) .... most of them are drivel, such as:

1. Catherine of Braganza, betrothed to Charles II, arrived in England in 1662 at Portsmouth, and the wedding ceremony took place at the Domus Dei at Portsmouth. Portuguese seaman in the party saw a resemblance between the Portsmouth and Bombay, and may have called Portsmouth 'Bom Bhia' which was then anglicised, becoming Pompey.

2. Royal Navy ships entering Portsmouth harbour used to make an entry in their ship's log "Pom. P"., as a reference to Portsmouth Point (this being too long to insert in full). Navigational charts also used this abbreviation.

3. It is said that a group of Portsmouth based sailors, who climbed Pompey's Pillar near Alexandria in Egypt around 1781, became known as the 'Pompey Boys' in recognition of their feat and that this term carried over into common usage to describe anyone from the City of Portsmouth.

My favourite, and maybe the most plausible, is .....

Volunteer firemen in the eighteenth century (known as pompiers) used to exercise on Southsea Common. The word "Pompier" - correctly "Sapeur Pompier" is French for fireman, and as the first modern style fire services were developed in France in the early 18th century, it is likely the new French term was used in England also for a period. The new fire brigade at Southsea are said to have used the open space available at Southsea Common to carry out training and exercise...... and hence "The Fire Brigade" as the sub-title at the top!

Portsmouth FC was first founded on 5 April 1898 at the office of solicitor John Edward Pink as "The Portsmouth Football and Athletic Company", playing Southern League and Western League until, in 1920, they were elected to the FL Third Division as founder members; they claimed the Third Division title only four years later in the 1923–24 season ....promoted into the Second Division, they then won promotion to the First Division (see above) in 1926/27, making them the first club to graduate from the Third Division to the First Division .... and the rest you know - League Champions 1948/49 (by 5 points from Man U) and 1949/50 (on Goal Average from Wolves, both on 53 points but Pompey scoring 1.947 gpg to Wolves' 1.551); FA Cup Winners 1938/39 (4-1 over Wolves) and 2007/08 (1-0 v Cardiff) ...... Record victory was 9–1 v Notts County 1927; record defeat was 0–10 v Leicester City in 1928 and their highest scoring game was a 7–4 win v Reading in the Premier League 2007

They shipped out 23 players in the summer - two to Bognor ("Bugg3r Bognor!"), two to Gosport Borough, two to Wigan, two to Colchester, two to Donnie (this is getting like Noah's Ark!) and one - by the name of A Stanley (but Alfie, not Accie) - to Dorchester .... ten ProperSigned, including MF Ryan Tunnicliffe from the Hatters, RB Kieron Freeman from Swansea (Isn't it), striker Jayden Reid from Brum, LB Connor Ogilvie from Gillingham and DMF Jay Mingi from Charlton ..... there were a clutch of loans, but apart from Sheff Utd GK Jake Eastwood, none that I'd ever heard of

After three games and three wins, they were top of League One; since then it has gone a bit TU - well, quite a lot TU, actually - with one win (4-0 v Sunderland), three draws - two Desmonds and a Goalless Desmond - and 6 defeats, two of which technically constitute thrashings ........... having done said Sunderland on 2nd October, they then followed up by losing 4-1 at Rotherham, and 0-4 at home to Ipswich ... not to mention the 2-0 home defeat by Sutton Utd in the Trophy, which has put Sutton and the Wombles through, and Pompey out .......... and they're out of the EFL Cup too (2-1 at Millwall), although they are still in the FA Cup (because the game hasn't been played yet - they've got Harrow Borough at home), and they're still in the Hampshire Senior Cup, having seen off Basingstoke (away) 5-4 on pens after another Goalless Desmond

Home record is W3 D1 L2 GF10 GA8; away record is W1 D2 L4 GF5 GA10, giving them P13 W4 D3 L6 GF15 GA18 for 15 points and 17th place; the Fans, you'd think, aren't happy, and neither, likely, are the Eisner Family ...... head to head between us (including one FA Cup tie) is W4 D6 L4, although we haven't lost any of the last five meetings in the League (W2 D3), the wins by 4-1 in December 2019 and 1-0 in May (which put them out of the Play Offs)

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 23rd October (soon be Halloween - Mmmwahahahahahahah!) ... Morecambe have taken over as the Leakiest Sieve in the Leaque (24 conceded) .... Wycombe are the form side (13 points from their last 5), and Donnie, Crewe and the Pointy-Nosed Furry Things all have three point from the last possible 15 ......... Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley admits he was "disappointed and ashamed" after seeing his side fall to a 4-0 home defeat by Ipswich Town on Tuesday. saying:

"I'm disappointed and ashamed and ultimately, I take responsibility for it. It's my job to ensure the players perform to their best and they didn't and I have to accept and be accountable for that. There's a lot of disappointment and everybody in there (the dressing room) feels they've let themselves down and the people of Portsmouth. We have to go away and look at what we stand for, what our values are and what we want to achieve."

Ideally, keeping your job, Danny - but you'll forgive us if we try to disappoint and shame you just once more before the Great Revival Begins ...... or before they sack you!

And as to the Starters for Ten; by earning promotion from the Second Division in the 1926–27 season, Portsmouth became the first football club south of London to reach the First Division, the top tier of professional English football ...... And Mr X, who proposed and promoted the "Three Points for a Win" system was Fulham's Jimmy Hill ......

Good luck to everyone! ........... Keep the Faith! ........... And thanks for playing!

COYR!