Portsmouth fans deserve better than this

What happens when the top team play against the bottom team? Almost always the bottom team play out of their skins and give the top team a fright. They battle and chase and hassle and work and give the top team no time on the ball. Usually the class and ability of the top team comes out on top but not until they have endured a bit of a struggle.

Crisis

That is what could have been expected at Old Trafford yesterday as crisis club Portsmouth took on a rejuvenated Manchester United. What actually happened couldn’t have been further from that description.

Yes, Manchester United were good and showed a ruthless streak in their 5-0 win, but where was the fight from Portsmouth? Most of the United players probably didn’t bother showering after the game as they hadn’t broken a sweat throughout the ninety minutes.

Unfortunate

When you are down and almost out like Pompey are, you really do not need to be scoring three own goals in any game! It is unfortunate but I’m not sure I have seen any club self-destruct quite as spectacularly both on and off the field as they are doing at the moment.

Four different owners who to be fair don’t seem to have any money whatever. A manager whose off field antics have caused a little embarrassment and a bunch of players who seem to have totally given up. It is a recipe for disaster and a disaster is exactly what is happening.

Administration

The players and staff have not been paid on time for a few months now and with winding-up orders and money being witheld from the club, the unthinkable of a Premier League club going into administration is becoming more and more of a possibility.

It must be difficult to carry on in the current circumstances but the players are professionals and if I was a Portsmouth fan I would be expecting them to produce blood, sweat and tears on the pitch and fight for every ball and every point. As a paying, loyal fan, that is the very least you deserve.

Demand

Clearly the anger at Portsmouth is largely directed at the boardroom and those who have messed up behind the scenes but the fans must demand more from the men in the blue shirts on the pitch than they are getting at the moment.

I have rarely seen a team look quite so dispirited as Pompey did towards the end of yesterday’s game. They need to pick theselves up and make a fight of it. If the club is going to the wall and the team are going down to the Championship, then at least the eleven guys charged with representing them on the pitch can go down fighting. The fans at Portsmouth, who are fanatical and fantastic, deserve absolutely nothing less than that.