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On to Forest

Jan 17th, 2026 by

I visited the City Ground in Nottingham last June when England played Senegal. It’s a cracking old school arena right on the banks of the River Trent just over the road from the Cricket ground. It was a wonderful summer’s day and as we arrived about three hours before kickoff we had time for a leisurely stroll down the river and past Meadow Lane, home of Notts County who are apparently Britain’s oldest football club.

Nottingham is a fabulously historic footballing city of course. Forest have produced some wonderful talent down the years and their two league titles and European Cup success in quick succession under the great Brian Clough remains one of English football’s greatest tales.

Forest took a tumble in the later part of the 20th century suffering relegation right before the new millennium. But after 23 barren years in the wilderness, they returned to the land of milk and honey in 2022 via the playoffs under the irritatingly gormless Steve Cooper. I’m sure he’s a nice chap but he was a bit of an eyesore. Sorry Steve if your reading this (highly unlikely to be fair.)

In their first year back, they narrowly avoided relegation. You may remember they secured their survival on the penultimate week of that season, beating Arsenal 1-0 in a game which also ensured the title returned to City.  Ouch.

There was more turmoil in 23/24 when Forest received a hefty eight point deduction for PSR breaches. It was probably deserved but it did beg the question, why they were being swiftly punished when Manchester City, who’s crimes were exponentially greater, seemed to be able to operate with the complete disregard for the rules despite the 115 “investigation”. Move along, nothing to see here!

Last term, Forest had far more joy as they finished 7th. Normally they would’ve qualified for the lowly UEFA Conference League but due to Crystal Palace being unable to compete in the Europa League because of ridiculous ownership rules (Lyon had also qualified and apparently their owner had shares in Lyon or something arbitrary like that) Forest were bumped up to the Europa League through no merit of their own. So much for meritocracy.

Things were looking up for Forest. After decades in the doldrums this sleeping giant seemed primed to return to where they “belonged.” But then, Edu Gaspar happened. Just three games into this season manager Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked probably because he didn’t want his sporting director to infest the dressing room with backhanders for his mates because that worked so well for Arsenal. It was either that or he called Evangelos Marinakis a Greek Susan Boyle.

So out went Nuno. And speaking of morbidly obese Greek weirdos, in came Ange Postecoglou. His short tenure was a disaster as funnily enough, playing an offside “trap” in your oppisition’s half doesn’t tend to yield the best results. Ange was given the chop after just eight games. He failed to win a single one. You can take the man out of Spurs but you can’t take Spurs out of the man.

Ange was replaced by the gravel muncher Sean Dyche. Forest currently sit in 17th albeit with a seven point cushion to West Ham who they beat in their last league game. They crashed out of the FA Cup last week on penalties to Wrexham so they can solely focus on survival. We can expect the deepest of deep blocks tomorrow so we will need to be at it.

Forest lost six players to AFCON although they now have Wily Boly and Sangare available again. Arteta as usual gave away no information regarding the fitness of Calafiori and Hincapie so who knows. Other than that, we have no fresh injury concerns. It will be interesting to see if Timber starts at left back again or if Arteta has enough confidence in Myles Lewis-Skelly to give him a rare start. Other than that, I am expecting a very similar side to the one that beat Chelsea. Hopefully Gyokeres can build on his goal and assist at the Bus stop and fire us to another win.

It’s the Manc Derby at lunchtime so let’s hope they can pull a rabbit out of the hat and do us a favour ahead of kickoff. Safe travels to those making the trip up to Notts and let’s bring home those three points.

2-0 to The Arse. COYG!

Posted in Match Preview | 31 Drinks »

Wellingtons, Napoleon, and Giving Chelsea The Boot

Jan 15th, 2026 by

And so, after a cold, wet but hugely enjoyable trip to Portsmouth, on to the Bus Stop in Fulham. Pretty much everything about this trip was different to the one on Sunday. The weather wasn’t terribly cold, nor was it driving rain, thankfully. The home fans were as objectionable, small-minded and classless as ever. The ground was as charmless as Fratton was charismatic. And Arteta brought back the big guns as expected, in order to match up to the footballing Ponzi scheme that is Chelsea.

Chelsea were without James, a fine player but an odious, whining individual; professional Wide-Mouthed Frog impersonator Palmer; and the perennially banned, walking time-bomb Caicedo. Even without these three, Chelsea comfortably maintained their O.Q. (Odiousness Quotient) by starting with Mark Cucaracha and Enzo Fernandez, an individual with a little-man complex to make Napoleon envious. As expected, Trossard and Saliba made magical recoveries and Ødegaard, Zubimendi, Saka, Gyökeres all returned to the team.  Our bench had no room for the unfortunate Nwaneri, but his time will come. Considering Hincapié, Calafiori and Mosquera were all absent, it was still one of the strongest benches I can remember, albeit skewed to the forward line.  Before kick-off, there was much laughter among the away fans when the stadium announcer made a big deal of introducing Chelsea for their warm-up as “The World Champions.” Dear reader, he did this with no sense of irony or sarcasm.  A lack of self-awareness only matched by the club’s utter classlessness. 

The game started with a minute’s appreciation, as is now the way, for Chelsea stalwart Eddie McCreadie, which was universally well respected off the pitch, I am glad to report. Arsenal players sported black armbands. I am not aware of an Arsenal loss, so I assume this was in sympathy for Chelsea’s. If so, a classy act. 

Both teams started aggressively, physically and footballistically, to use a Wengerism.  Guiu quickly discovered that Gabriel was no pushover, which set the tone for his lack of success all evening. On 6 minutes, we won a corner on the left-hand side, with Rice to deliver. This delivery was perfect considering Chelsea had in goal, Sanchez, the kind of flapper not seen since the heyday of the Prohibition era Cotton Club. The ball duly sailed over said flapper, leaving an unmarked Benny Blanco the simple task of nodding it in. VAR tried and failed to find a reason to cancel it out which seemed wholly around whether Gyökeres was in an offside position. He was, but clearly this was due to the fact that his marker was grappling with him in the manner of a modern-day Mick McManus, preventing him from regaining his onside position. This ludicrous amount of apparently unnoticed, and certainly unpenalised holding and pushing was to become a feature of the Chelsea performance from set pieces.

Arsenal took this as their cue to really press Chelsea from the front on goal kicks, which they didn’t like at all.  Napoleon found an opportunity to test Kepa but only managed a gentle back-pass type shot straight at him. A few minutes later, the cockroach in human form that is Cucurella, was pulled out of position to chase Saka back into our final third. Saka laid the ball off and a simple ball down the right released Timber who hit an early cross for Gyökeres to control, under duress, turn his man and get a shot off, deflected for a corner. 

The Chelsea plan was clearly to overload on the wings and Neto was active on the left, while a mixture of Estevao and Acheampong on the right were beginning to do this as the game reached the mid-point of the first half. Arsenal were resolute though, with Timber and White maintaining fairly central positions until the ball went wide and then inviting Chelsea to either cross or run into the congested box. It largely worked pretty well in the first half, with, from memory, only one occasion when there was any real danger caused, as Estevao cut inside Timber on the left and unleashed an absolute hammer of a shot, well saved at the near post by Kepa. They had overloads on the left a couple of other times but seemed unable to stay onside so the resulting shots were null and void, as well as easily saved. 

The considerable away support – we had pretty much the whole, appropriately named, Shed End – was on great form, with the stand-out song of the first half being: 

“Arsenal Boys

We’re on a bender*

Thomas Frank is a Silver member.”

Let’s forgive the almost McGonagle-esque near-rhyme. It was very funny.

The Chelsea fans were invited by the away support to perhaps consider singing a song and a very generous offer was made by said Gooners to perhaps sing one for them, if they were as bereft of ideas as their club is of class.  This entirely altruistic offer was not taken up by the serenely somnolent home support.  

On 36 minutes, Estevao had the ball down our left. The tricky winger was marshalled by both Timber, and the ever defensively alert Trossard. Eventually Estevao tried one trick too many and knocked the ball into touch for an Arsenal goal kick. Like some entitled grandee from a Wodehouse novel, he then tried to appeal to the linesman for some kind of summary justice. But to no avail. Apart from a wholehearted retort from the visiting fans that “He’s gonna cry in a minute” as the volume of his appeal was matched by the kind of visual exuberance not seen since actors starring in silent movies.

As the game drew towards half-time, Saliba, of all people, cut in from the left-hand side of the box and hit a fine effort just over the Cotton Club Clown but also over the bar. Chelsea were a little rattled now and Arsenal took advantage by pressing at every opportunity onto their defence and midfield, putting pressure on Sanchez to think, not his forte, which resulted in some turnovers and balls kicked straight into touch. On 43 minutes, and finally after 3 or 4 other attempts, Cucaracha was booked for a foul on Saka.

Half-Time: Chelsea 0 Arsenal 1

Both sides came out for the second half with no changes, either to players or in terms of attitude. It was fast and furious. And it didn’t take long for Arsenal to make the breakthrough. Arsenal, in a low block, won the ball back from Neto wide on the right through Saka. He pressed forward attacking the yellow-carded Cockroach, who managed to kick the ball into touch, while emitting the kind of high-pitched yell of pain last seen in Saving Private Ryan, in order to cheat his way to a decision. Neither referee nor linesman bought this chicanery, and the formerly near-death Chelsea man subsequently rose, Lazarus-like, in an attempt to get back, realising Arsenal were going to take a quick throw in.  But too late, as Saka received the ball and cut inside him, waited for the advancing Ben White, galloping forward like Copenhagen at the Battle of Waterloo. White received the ball on the overlap from Saka and banged in a cross. Sanchez was caught in two minds, presumably as to whether to do The Charleston or cut out the cross and managed to do a better impression of the former than the latter, allowing the ball to squirm through for Gyökeres to tap in from a yard. It visibly lifted Gyökeres. The away fans, who in fairness had been nothing but supportive throughout, happily unleashed the Gyoökeres song. Followed swiftly by that beautiful elegy to a manager under the cosh “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” 

On 52 minutes, the invisible Guiu was replaced by Garnacho and Acheampong went off for Badiashile. On 56 minutes, Chelsea pulled one back when Zubimendi slipped in midfield, allowing what would ordinarily have been a simple interception to turn onto Chelsea possession. They forced the ball out to their right where Neto crossed well to the back post for new arrival Garnacho to control and hammer into the net. This prompted a 15-minute period of pressure from Chelsea, so fair play to the temporary managerial human shield for the owners that is Rosenior. Chelsea now piled on the pressure, at least in terms of possession and territory if not genuine opportunities and it began to look as though Arteta might need to match the introduction of new energy with fresh players himself. 

And lo, on 66 minutes Trossard and Ødegaard came off for Merino and Martinelli. Completely understandable and in no way an indictment on the performance of the two players leaving the field.  And on 70 minutes, the renewed energy paid dividends when Saka on the right passed inside to Merino. He in turn eschewed the return to Saka and passed on to Gyökeres who controlled and flicked the ball back to Zubimendi, taking out one Chelsea defender and allowing the Basque to fake and put Fofana on the deck before hammering home past The Flapper.

This quietened the locals and indeed started something of a run on the exits. As an aside, in Roman times the exits to large theatres and stadia, such as the Colosseum, were called Vomitoria. Very apt for Stamford Bridge.

On 75 minutes, Merino had a great chance as the ball ballooned to him in space 8 yards out. He struck a fierce volley which Sanchez managed to save with his foot, deflecting wide for a corner. I will be kind and state this was a save rather than a spontaneous, reflex dance move.

At this point, the away support invited the locals to go home as they had seen The Arsenal. #BeKind. Rudely though, some stayed and were rewarded with a second goal from Garnacho, very similar to the first. Irritating but fair enough. They never gave up.

Full-Time: Chelsea 2 Arsenal 3

There was still an opportunity for Napoleon to try to start trouble at the end but Zubimendi dealt with it laughingly and it rather appeared that Wellington’s maxim from Waterloo regarding his troops that “I don’t know what effect these men will have on the enemy but by God they frighten me” was uppermost in the Argentinian’s tiny mind in his somewhat half-hearted attempt to start a contretemps. 

On now to Forest on Saturday, followed by Inter away. A job well done, but only a slender lead for the second leg. Personally, I really don’t care about the second leg as it will be the least important game we face between now and the end of the season.  But it’s always nice to put one over on the Chavs. 

*Bender is a UK-wide colloquial term for a serious night out on the booze, for those from outside the UK.

Posted in Match Report | 34 Drinks »

Banishing Carabao’s Past

Jan 13th, 2026 by

Kepa’s save to take us through in the quarter-finals courtesy of Arsenal.com

The Arsenal will make the short journey south to a bus stop in Fulham this Wednesday to take on Chelsea in the 1st leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Fortunately, as The Arsenal have the necessary wherewithal, we will not stop at the bus stop but continue right on into the ground in our very own spiffy coach, unless of course we rent or lease, but I digress. In recent weeks we have avenged previous defeats of varying kinds by rolling over Aston Villa, Brighton, Bournemouth (let’s not discuss Liverpool) but this time it is the very Carabao itself that I wish to serve the coldest dish. 

We arrived at the same stage of this competition last year and suffered the unpleasant experience of being dumped unceremoniously out by a once proud club sadly now in dire straits ethically. That won’t happen this year of course as, though Chelsea are without doubt ethically shaky (on account of they ain’t got none), there is no pride worth a mention. However, fixture pile-up be damned, I would be very annoyed to lose again at this stage and especially to this shower.  We have, of course, already played them once this season – a 1-1 draw at their place in the league. Odd things happened after that game – Chelsea were widely mentioned as title contenders, a top team, etc etc. It all seemed a touch precipitate to me at the time and, without wishing to gloat, events since then have only proved the wisdom of the old saying “one swally does not a premier league title make”. Myriad dropped points later and minus the deluded Enzo “we were much the better team” Maresca, it appears that reality has reared its tired old head and they have returned to the “it’s the early stages of our project” line. Stay humble lads, eh?

The Arsenal on the other hand are deep in the happy phase of our project currently – top of the league, CL table toppers too, progressed to the 4th round in the FA Cup (home to Wigan in case you hadn’t noticed) and now this particular opportunity – three short games away from winning a Carabao. Contenders, then, in four different competitions and with a decent shot in all of them. You’d have to be a leading contender for curmudgeon of the year not to be enjoying the ride currently. This particular shiny bauble of those four has not been a happy hunting ground in recent decades and it would be great for morale, as well as satisfyingly ghost-busting, to get an early trophy in the cabinet this season.

The Arsenal XI

Choosing the XI for this game was a touch tricky as I am not sure who will stay in the team from the Portsmouth win and who will be rested for other important challenges ahead, Personally, I would just take the team that started the Portsmouth game, season lightly with a couple of bushy-tailed lads and, Bob’s your uncle, you have your first XI. However, to give myself a clue as to what Arteta might do, I went back to a game that I preferred to forget – last year’s 1st leg against Newcastle – and had a look at the side MA chose that night. It was just about the strongest XI we could field at the time and given that evidence I suspect the boss will do the same again. 

Kepa

Timber Saliba Gabriel Hincapié

Zubimendi Ødegaard Rice

Saka Gyökeres Trossard

As last year didn’t exactly go to plan, I suppose it is possible that MA will take a different approach but I think we will certainly see some of those rested entirely for the Portsmouth back for this one. I admit  that the left-side is guesswork as it must be tempting to start our newest hat-trick hero again and there are some doubts about Hincapié’s fitness as of writing, but this is the XI I expect to see. 

The New Interim Manager at the Bus Stop

I must admit I knew little about Liam Rosenoir before his appointment and was quite surprised to learn, during my in-depth investigation, that he had, in fact, once appeared against The Arsenal (including Mikel Arteta) in an FA Cup Final. Many points for you if you knew he was in the Hull side that was joyfully ‘rambo-ed’ nearly 11 years ago, and doesn’t time fly, by the way? 

Anyway, I’m digressing again. After a modest playing career, Rosenoir has made his way steadily up the management ladder and enjoyed some recent success with a young Strasbourg side. I suppose the young part of the equation attracted the attention of what we will laughingly call the recruitment team at Chelsea. That and the fact that Clearlake own Strasbourg too. There have been mutterings about propriety of the situation but personally I have no objection to a company transferring employees from one subsidiary to another – if you allow the multi-club approach (I certainly wouldn’t as it simply isn’t, well, sporting seems to be the word, but then no one is asking me) then this type of thing is inevitable   I can’t see it ending well in all honesty but then it rarely does at the bus stop. 

It certainly didn’t start well for Rosenoir as he watched while they lost the Fulham derby but things picked up in the FA Cup as Charlton were beaten 5-1 at the weekend. Much like ourselves it was a scratch team and offers little clue as to who the manager will select and how they will play in this game. I honestly have no idea, but no major changes at this stage seems likely, so to summarise….a meh defence, solid enough midfield and Palmer and Neto representing the main dangers in attack, probably with Pedro at CF. Not a bad side, but not to worry, we are better. And we have proved that over the last 10 matches, a solitary victory 4 years back being their only win. So, on that encouraging note……….

The Outcome

Firstly, it should be said that over the past few years we have a good record against Chelsea – one defeat in the last ten matches home and away. I would expect us to take a fairly circumspect approach from the off, as is our wont these days, whilst we look to understand how the new man has set up his side. Their players will probably be keen to impress their new boss but then most teams are up for it these days when they play The Arsenal, and so I also expect we will slowly get on top as the game wears on. It will probably be fairly tight as these first legs often are and I suppose some would be happy with a draw. However, I have never predicted anything other than an Arsenal win and so will plump for One-Nil to The Arsenal. 

As always, I wish all our Holics an enjoyable watch wherever they may be and a damn sight more cheer than at this stage last year! 

Posted in Match Preview | 32 Drinks »

The Arsenal Swayze Into Town And Everyone Puts Gabi On The Corners

Jan 11th, 2026 by

First, further fanks – sorry, thanks – to Ned for stepping into the breach yesterday at literally no notice. Brilliant job, Ned!

I did consider it myself but had to at least make a start on that least appealing of tasks – the annual accounts 😱. At least this mission gave me 24 hours leeway. I did have a very quick look for some Portsmouth info this morning, fearing that the match might not be much to write home about, and was quite impressed with the place, particularly the number and quality of famous people who have emanated from it’s environs.

Have you ever emanated from an environ, Mrs? No, not him!

So, we all know Portsmouth, at least in football terms,as “Pompey”. But why? Well, the term is deeply tied to its Royal Navy history, with popular theories pointing to sailors scaling Pompey’s Pillar (Matron!) in Egypt (earning them the “Pompey Boys” handle), or perhaps a reference to the Roman general Pompey, but no single origin is definitive, with connections to “ancient ruins” and football club chants also cited. Hands up, anyone who is not now thinking of Harry Redknapp ?

Here are some of the main theories: Pompey’s Pillar: In 1781, sailors from Portsmouth climbed the large column in Alexandria, Egypt, becoming known as the”Pompey Boys,” a name that eventually attached to the city. Aggie Weston’s Talk: A popular story involves naval temperance worker, Agnes Weston, giving a talk on the Roman general Pompey the Great, a sailor supposedly shouted, “Poor old Pompey!” at his downfall, a phrase that was later adopted by fans of Portsmouth Football Club. Shakespeare: Another idea links it to Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, with the line “Pompey is strong at sea,” connecting to the powerful naval presence in Portsmouth. French Warship: Some believe it came from the captured French warship Le Pompee, which became a guardship in Portsmouth Harbour.

So there you have it – whether you wanted it or not ! While the nickname is firmly established for the city and its football club, Portsmouth FC, it’s exact origin remains a “charming mystery, with strong naval roots” – according to whichever robot wrote that for Mr Google.

I would also inform you, as I had no idea, that the impressive list of literary, entertainment, and political figures who have hailed from Portsmouth includes Charles Dickens, probably the most globally recognized figure, actor Peter Sellers, musician Roger Daltrey (The Who, and famous Gooner crooner). Other famous names include author H.G. Wells, engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and former Prime Minister James Callaghan. And let’s not omit sporting Olympians, sprinter Roger Black and sailor Ben Ainslie. And now, with all this talk of Pompey, Pompeii and Pompey’s Pillar – no, don’t titter, Mrs! – I feel a Frankie Howerd moment coming on ……
The Prologue! 

At least the match was able to go ahead – a matter of some speculation after Storm Goretti had wreaked its havoc across the southern end of the country. Sympathies must go out to those people injured or worse by the storm, and those still without power or unable to clear up as a fresh band of weather makes conditions extremely difficult.

The much guessed at Arsenal line-up for this FA Cup 3rd Round tie turned out to be:
Kepa; White, Nørgaard, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Merino, Nwaneri, Eze; Madueke, Martinelli, Jesùs; Subs: Raya, Timber, Salmon, Ødegaard, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Havertz, Gyökeres.

First Half
Portsmouth started with high energy and aggression while Arsenal over elaborated much of their passing out from the back. Not a great ploy for a much changed, disconnected back four and Portsmouth took advantage on just 2 1/2 minutes, with Colby Bishop firing home Kepa’s parry. 

Portsmouth 1-0 Arsenal

Arsenal responded well and earned their first corner of the game on 6 minutes. It was taken by Eze, headed on by Martinelli, and scrambled home by Nørgaard through a mass of legs and bodies.

Portsmouth 1-1 Arsenal

Of our two youngsters, MLS was struggling to cope with the physicality of Portsmouth’s forwards and was still straying infield, on occasion occupying Nørgaard’s territory on the right side of the defence. He did seem to restrict himself as the half wore on – maybe after a word of caution from a tense looking boss on the touch line. Nwaneri, meanwhile, was showing some great touches in midfield and demonstrating good determination to keep the team moving forwards whenever possible. 

If Portsmouth were really lacking ten first team players, they didn’t look like it and were making life difficult for the Arsenal, doubtless fuelled by a noisy crowd and the adrenaline of a big occasion. On 24 minutes Nwaneri and Madueke earned our second corner with a nice flowing move. It was taken by Madueke and, this time, Martinelli rose to head straight home with a well directed header. That was no less than our 16th goal of the season from corners.

Portsmouth 1-2 Arsenal

Our scorer curled a long shot just wide of the far post before Nwaneri and Madueke combined in a move which saw the latter brought down in the box and awarded a penalty. He took the kick himself and unfortunately shot wide after a stuttering walk up which beat the keeper and the right hand post. Three minutes of added time did, in fact, produce little to write home about and the half ended with no further score. It could have been 1-4 at that stage had we converted the penalty and not hit the post shortly beforehand.

HT: Portsmouth 1-2 Arsenal

The second half saw early pressure from Pompey and two great blocks from Ben White. He has quite different qualities to Jurrien Timber and it would be great to see him back in the squad with those options to offer. On 50 minutes, Arsenal broke from a free kick and Gabi Jesùs arced a brilliant ball to the far post where the outrageous thug, Gabriel Martinelli netted with the outside of his right foot. 

Portsmouth 1-3 Arsenal

As Arsenal began to increase their control, Portsmouth decided to kick as many players as possible in the shortest possible time and picked up a couple of yellow cards for their trouble. Their fans got a bit antsy too and, in tune with their strong naval connections, appeared to be calling Gabriel an “anchor” over on the left touch line. 🤷‍♂️

On the hour mark, Madueke took corner number 3, which was inevitably headed by Martinelli, but this time into the crowd.Portsmouth brought on a couple of subs – substitutes, not submarines – and the immediate, resulting pressure saw Ben White given a yellow card before he was in turn brought off with Jesùs and Nwaneri, in exchange for – drum roll please – Kai Havertz!!, Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber. Almost immediately our £60 million of drain fodder played a beautiful ball for Madueke whose shot was deflected for corner number 4. Up jumped Gabi Martinelli who completed his first senior hat trick with a superbly directed header beyond the Pompey keeper. 

Portsmouth 1-4 Arsenal

Portsmouth made further substitutions which marked Zak Swanson’s swansong, and Arsenal responded by bringing on 16 year old Marli Salmon, our youngest ever representative in the FA Cup. He looked smooth and calm on the ball but, disappointingly, was not required to leap, at all. I don’t know exactly how big our squad is but the debutant wore Number 89!
Eberechi Eze forced corner number 6 as Martinelli was replaced by Zubimendi. Portsmouth breathed a sigh of relief that Martinelli was no longer there to head home and one Pompey defender breathed similarly, for different reasons, as he collapsed with a hamstring injury. Luckily for him, he had already rolled well clear of the pitch and Martinelli was already settled on the bench, way out of shoving or ball hurling distance! 
Corners number 7 and 8 passed without further ado and the final whistle blew after just three minutes of added time. 

FT Portsmouth 1-4 Arsenal

So it was great to see the return of Kai Havertz. Eze was unspectacular but was also calm on receiving and in using the ball. Mikel Merino, our Mr Adaptable, played flawlessly at No 6 – yet another role in this team.
We all know that we have a lot of high quality players in our squad. Some of them looked a little hesitant or uncertain in the first half today. That may have been because so many of them came into the team at once, maybe because of some aggressive but mostly fair pressure from the opposition, and maybe because of what the commentator referred to as “wild weather on the south coast”. 

The manager’s options are currently governed by injuries, but to get the best out of all of these players over the season, maybe it will be on the agenda to rotate them in one or two at the time, once everyone is available.

Yes, I know …..

And so, the middle of January finds us top of the Premier League, top of the Champions League, in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup and in the 4th Round of the FA Cup. Arteta ahhttt!!!

Posted in Match Report | 35 Drinks »

Up for the Cup Down on the South Coast

Jan 10th, 2026 by

Embed from Getty Images

And so to historic Fratton Park with its mock Tudor half-timbered entrance for the 3rd Round of the FA Cup. Portsmouth v Arsenal has the ring of titanic clashes of long ago, when shorts were baggy, wingers bow-legged and football still in black and white.

Yet we were last at Fratton Park as recently as 2020 for a 5th Round FA Cup tie. We won 2-0 with goals from Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Eddie Nketiah, en route to winning the Cup behind closed doors due to Covid. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are the only two who played against Portsmouth still in our first-team squad.

For the most recent league game, you have to go back to December 2009, and the death throes of Portsmouth’s turbulent debut in the Premier League. That started in the 2003-04 season after ‘Arry Rednapp and Jim Smith had taken the club back to the top flight after 15 seasons away. Eighteen months later, Redknapp walked out after a row with his chairman, and to rub it in, went to arch-rivals Southampton. 

To the surprise of all, he returned mid-way through the following season. With the owners flashing the cash, he secured two top-half finishes in the league and won the FA Cup with a team that included David James, Sol Campbell, Lassana Diarra, Niko Kranjčar and Kanu.

Yet only a few months after winning the FA cup, Redknapp left again, leaving his assistant, Tony Adams, as manager. Our former captain lasted barely three months. Subsequently, serious financial problems came to light. At the end of 2009, the taxman filed a winding-up petition against the club.

Things then got bad. Portsmouth went into administration twice and were relegated three times in four seasons. In 2013, the Pompey Supporters Trust, a fan group, took over. The trust got the club out of administration, cleared its debt and won promotion from the fourth tier of English football to the third, making Portsmouth one of only five English football clubs to have been champions of all four tiers of English professional football.

At that point, the trust sold the club to its current owner, the US investment company of former Disney chairman Michael Eisner.

John Mousinho

John Mousinho will take charge of Portsmouth for the 150th time on Sunday. The club is the 39-year-old’s first managerial job, which he took on in 2023 after retiring from what can only be described as a journeyman’s playing career. His clubs were Oxford United, Burton Albion, Preston North End, Stevenage, Gillingham, Wycombe Wanderers, Brentford, Yeading (yes, non-league Yeading; it is not a typo for Reading), Slough, Woking and Chesham. He also played for the University of Notre Dame in the United States. The record shows that every move he made between clubs was either a loan or a free transfer.

In his first season in charge, Portsmouth were League One champions. Last season, they finished 16th in the Championship. However, this season, they are sitting 21st, a point above the relegation zone, having won six of their 24 league games. Last time out, they got a 5-0 pasting at Bristol City on New Year’s Day. Mousinho departed from his customary 4-2-3-1 to play with a back three for that game. I doubt he will do that against us.

The opposition

Few names in the Portsmouth squad are likely to be familiar to many ‘holics.

Nico Schmid, a 28-year-old Austrian who has been called up but not capped by his country, is the first-choice keeper. 

Mousinho will have Regan Poole, a throw-your-body-at-the-ball defender with one Wales cap, at centre back, but limited fit options for a partner.  

Irishman Conor Shaughnessy, 29, who was first choice before getting injured in September and has Scottish Premiership experience with Hearts, might start, but has only had two games since returning to the team and has not managed 90 mins in either. Mousinho, for whom league survival will be a higher priority than the FA Cup, may prefer to save him for next Wednesday’s six-pointer against Sheffield Wednesday. 

Yet 21-year-old Hayden Matthews, who has one cap for Australia and has recently been partnering Poole, turned his ankle against Bristol City and will be out for two months. Mousinho is already missing Josh Knight, one of his summer arrivals, from Hannover 96, who has a back stress fracture. Ibane Bowat, a London-born former Scotland U-21 international, who had a poor game against Bristol City as the third centre back, may retain a place by default.

Another youngster, 22-year-old Terry Devlin, has been playing right back. He is a seasoned international in comparison with four Northern Ireland caps. He is also Portsmouth’s joint leading goal scorer this season, with three. They are the second-lowest goal scorers in the Championship.

At left back, we should see Zak Swanson, formerly of this parish. We sold him to Pompey in 2022, after he had had 15 PL games on the bench for us, without getting a minute on the pitch. Now 25, he will be keen to show what we might have missed.

Veteran club captain Marlon Pack, who began his career in Portsmouth’s youth system when the club was still in the Premier League before moving to Cheltenham, Bristol City, and Cardiff, will anchor the midfield alongside the ever-present 26-year-old Andre Dozzell, who was in England’s age group sides in his youth while at Ipswich. 

Portsmouth’s big-money summer signing, at £1.2 million, Hungarian U-21 international central midfielder Márk Kosznovszky, has just torn his ACL and is done for the season, or more. That leaves Mousinho’s choice for playmaker between Conor Chaplin, who is on loan from Ipswich but, like his captain, started in Portsmouth’s youth teams, and experienced local lad John Swift, a summer arrival from West Brom, who played in the same England U-21 team as Rob Holding and Calum Chambers (Google them, younger ‘holics).

With Josh Murphy and Callum Lang’s hamstrings requiring another month of recovery, Frenchman Florian Bianchini gone in the fetlock and the neighbours having just recalled loanee South Korean starlet Min-hyeok Yang, Mousinho is short of wingers, who are crucial to his long-ball counterattacking.

Adrian Segecic, who, like compatriot and similarly aged Matthews, was signed from Sydney FC, will likely start on the right flank. He doesn’t yet have an international cap, although he has been called up to the national squad. Harvey Blair, bought from Liverpool’s U-21s in the summer, will likely start on the other side. 

Irishman Franco Umeh-Chibueze, who has 1 minute of senior football under his belt, is the only other fit winger available.

Up front, 30-goal-a-season Brazilian international Colby… just joking, BtM… ex-Accrington striker Colby Bishop, who has scored once this season, had led the line until he rolled his ankle in December. He might only be able to play with a pain-killing injection, and Mousinho may prefer to be sure of having him for the Owls game. Makenzie Kirk, an Edinburgh-born Northern Ireland U-21 international, who has scored as many goals as Bishop despite playing only a quarter as many minutes, would deputise.

The Arsenal

No Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera or Max Dowman, and probably no Piero Hincapié. I expect the light cavalry to start with the heavy artillery on the bench. That might include Kai Havertz. Jesus or Gyökeres as the nine will be the big call. Thus:

Arrizabalaga

White, Salmon, Gabriel, MLS

Merino, Norgaard, Eze

Madeuke, Gyökeres, Martinelli

Yet, if Nwaneri doesn’t start this game, then when?

This is an FA Cup tie. The form book goes out the window. Just ask Crystal Palace. Pompey’s fans and players will be up for it in compact and noisy Fratton Park. Yet even with our irregulars, we should have enough quality to beat a Championship side decimated by injury, choc full of inexperience and struggling to avoid relegation on a ground where we have not lost since 1958 (a 5-4 defeat in a game where we were 4-0 down before fighting back to 4-4). 

I hazard that we will be the first team to put more than two goals past Pompey at home this season and that a 3-0 win will see us through to the 4th round for the first time in three seasons.

Enjoy the game, ‘holics, near and far.

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