Pompeytim
Vital 1st Team Regular
Coming straight after my 3rd play-off disappointment (Leicester, Plymouth & now Sunderland) it is easy to feel a bit gloomy. Asking 'where did it all go wrong?'
However, I'd like to add a little positivity to the discussion.
1. At the outset of the season a spot in the play-offs would have been considered a success. We made the play-offs & weren't that far from automatic promotion. Yeah, I get the 'what could have been' bit, but at the start of the season we would have taken this. That needs to be remembered.
2. We had one of the 'great Pompey days' with our trip to Wembley & winning the Checkatrade. I don't care what anyone says, it is days like that that you remember as a football fan. When I think back on my time as a Pompey fan, and the 1,000+ plus matches I have seen, I will never forget that day. It was wonderful.
3. We have seen some young players blossom this year, in particular Ben Close. I know he gets stick from a section of the support, but I think he has really started to develop. It is great when an academy product blooms.
4. There has been more progress off the pitch. For all the years we were in the Premier League, with millions swilling around, woefully little was done to the ground. This year alone the leaking South Stand roof has been addressed, we now have an amazing big screen and there are plans for more improvements. This doesn't even include us linking up with Nike and various other tidy ups that have happened.
5. We are still developing & going forward. Each year we are incrementally improving on our prior year league position. We were at the bottom of L2 not that long ago. It feels like this is a club on the march. It didn't happen this year but I feel there is a sense of inevitability about our eventual return to the Championship now.
6. So we are in L1 again next year. Ok, we'd have liked the Championship, but given that we are still in L1 we can hope for another crack at top 6, which means winning more games than we lose. Next season in the Championship would have been about survival. That may sound like a lack of ambition, but being a big fish in L1, winning games & sitting near the top of the division isn't all that bad.
So there you go Pompey fans. There are reasons to be cheerful. It has been a good season. Next season should be good too.
However, I'd like to add a little positivity to the discussion.
1. At the outset of the season a spot in the play-offs would have been considered a success. We made the play-offs & weren't that far from automatic promotion. Yeah, I get the 'what could have been' bit, but at the start of the season we would have taken this. That needs to be remembered.
2. We had one of the 'great Pompey days' with our trip to Wembley & winning the Checkatrade. I don't care what anyone says, it is days like that that you remember as a football fan. When I think back on my time as a Pompey fan, and the 1,000+ plus matches I have seen, I will never forget that day. It was wonderful.
3. We have seen some young players blossom this year, in particular Ben Close. I know he gets stick from a section of the support, but I think he has really started to develop. It is great when an academy product blooms.
4. There has been more progress off the pitch. For all the years we were in the Premier League, with millions swilling around, woefully little was done to the ground. This year alone the leaking South Stand roof has been addressed, we now have an amazing big screen and there are plans for more improvements. This doesn't even include us linking up with Nike and various other tidy ups that have happened.
5. We are still developing & going forward. Each year we are incrementally improving on our prior year league position. We were at the bottom of L2 not that long ago. It feels like this is a club on the march. It didn't happen this year but I feel there is a sense of inevitability about our eventual return to the Championship now.
6. So we are in L1 again next year. Ok, we'd have liked the Championship, but given that we are still in L1 we can hope for another crack at top 6, which means winning more games than we lose. Next season in the Championship would have been about survival. That may sound like a lack of ambition, but being a big fish in L1, winning games & sitting near the top of the division isn't all that bad.
So there you go Pompey fans. There are reasons to be cheerful. It has been a good season. Next season should be good too.