For anyone who may have missed it, i've copied an article by Neil Allen of the News. Interesting article:- POMPEY HAVE LAST LAUGH AFTER GAUNTLET OF HATE By Neil Allen Published on Monday 9 April 2012 16:31 It was the open-top bus parade without the applause. A carnival procession missing the cheers. Eerily reminiscent of King Kong being dragged through the streets with folk scuttling out to watch, poke and prod. Or the famous Disney Itâs A Small World ride when the vehicle slowly drifts past people from different countries who pop up to wave their arms in excitement. Except this was the X-rated version. The arms were waving all right but hardly in a friendly manner to this passing group of strangers. This was the loathed âbubbleâ bus project, crawling through the streets of Southampton towards home. I was travelling with them thanks to Lucketts, having been refused entry to the St Maryâs press box by the host club. And it allowed me to witness a journey at first hand which had effectively become a victory march on its return leg. That trip back certainly felt like a triumph to Pompey fans over their nearest and not so dearest. David Norrisâ last-gasp volley may have secured a dramatic point. But for joyous Blues supporters across the globe it was worth plenty more than that. When Billy Sharp netted his second of the match as the final whistle neared, it appeared the result had been decided. Then came Norrisâ intervention. In the ensuing chaotic celebrations, the lady who sat in seat H143 lost her watch. Fitting considering the decisive moment had occurred deep into stoppage-time. At least the refereeâs clock hadnât stopped as the Blues struck at the very, very death. As it was, a fellow fan retrieved the ladyâs timepiece not long after the final whistle, albeit minus a strap. Not that it dampened the post-match revelry for her. Nothing could possibly sour such festivities. Nearby was John Westwood, as distinctive as ever, bouncing on two buckling seats. It would be some 20 minutes after the end of the match before he actually discovered the identity of Pompeyâs scorer. Such precise details were irrelevant â the important statistic was the visitors had their equaliser. And how those 3,000 fans who seconds before had begun to accept defeat erupted. All heads turned to the neighbouring Itchen Stand as the taunting began towards the incensed home fans. A pair of particularly outraged Southampton fans were dragged away â their path unfortunately taking them in front of the gloating visiting section, completing the humiliation. Another hurled a pint of beer into the away end before being pounced on by stewards and police alike. Back to the field of play, there were more cheers when Sam Magri, Adam Webster and Ashley Harris came out to warm down. Local youngsters who knew entirely what the day really meant to the fans of the club. Then it was time to head home â and through the gauntlet of hate. Gone were the âWelcome to civilisationâ and âCan you smell fishâ signs which had greeted the visitors on their initial journey. Instead, Southampton fans lined the route, shrugging off showers to rain insults on the convoy trekking through their city. There was the 80-year-old granny spitting bile and expletives from her toothless mouth. Then there was the bald-headed man walking his dog who skidded to a halt to flick his fingers in the direction of the coaches. Elsewhere, women with toddlers in arms stood in their doorways eager to catch a glimpse. Their older children, with hands free, stood at the gate gesticulating to every passing vehicle. Blocks of flats displayed crowded balconies â perfect vantage points for all the family. Others stopped to take pictures, some even elected to film. Through it all, the gloating from those on the top deck of bus F25 certainly cut down a few detractors. No doubt all of the 43 coaches had such participants willing to bite back. For some five miles or so, spectators in Southampton shirts brandished notes. They indicated âgoing downâ, they swore and they gesticulated. In truth, though, their spears bounced off the Pompey body armour. Honours may have been shared but this was the day of the blue half of Hampshire. A day when a last-gasp draw at the home of the Championship leaders and fierce rivals tasted as good as a victory. And those on the bubble buses savoured every moment of the trip home.
Do really understand why you have simply copied on an item from the snooze. is this a breach of copyrite? You,re team played well & deserved a point. However I,m sure you are still going down,especially following the wins by BC & Forest today.
Loosen up for goodness sake - it's only an article showing the 'amusing' side of the game. Well 'amusing' for Pompey fans I agree, but no one asked you to come on our site and read it, did they ?
Woopert When we played you in the cup a few seasons back, a work colleague who is a season ticket holder at Fratton Park sent me an extract of an article from The News that recounted the last time Portsmouth won at St. Mary's. Living in Winchester, I rarely get to read the News although there is often a copy laying around our office from time to time. Although I appreciate that The Echo is partisan to Saints, it's digs at portsmouth are far more subtle and I wuld have expected the same level of journalism from The News. Instead, the article was filled with bile and described at length that Southampton have the most ugly supporters in league football. The writer then began to describe at length the expression on a Southampton fan's face at some length before the journalist concluded that the Saints fan was the most repulsive looking indicivula he had seen and remained his over-biding memory of the game. Frnakly, I was staggered. Some points in the article above are well well-written and, as I have confessed on another thread, believe that the manner of the draw does gibe Portsmouth some kind of bragging rights. Even the most die-hard Saints fan would have to own up to the fact that portsmouth played exceptionally well and desrved the point they got. However, all this kind of journalism does is lower things down to the lowest common demoninator. He is like George Galloway - extremely eloquent and manages to address his article precisely tailored to suit the least demoanding members of his audience. However, this does not detract from the fact that what he has written is nonsense. Whilst I do not doubt that some small-minded Saints fans did hurl abuse at the coaches as they passed, this article really achieves nothing other than stoking hatred between the two clubs. This is an idiotic piece of journalism despite being quite well-written. However, I wonder if you would have been so keen to post had the comments been addressed at any members of the ethnic communities and not Saints fans. It was a day for the blue half of Portsmouth and given the kind of season you have had, you probably deserve some pleasure from following your club this season. Despite this, I find this journalist's work to be equally full of bile and suggest that he should turn his attention to the actual football which was what most Saints and Pompey fans I know have been discussing. I sometimes dispair of the quality of this country's press and would have to admit that I find some of the best journalism about the game enclosed within the covers of "When Saturday comes" which treats football fans with respect and assumes a degree of intelligence. Neil Allen's article strikes me as being specifically written for the kind of fan who probably needed it to be read out to him! (No personal offence intended btw, Woopert.)
Haha What a load of dribble I can see why he was refused entry to the press box Wd Let me guess, he is Singingbluerinses Dad
He was refused entry to the press box because he got into an argument with some employee at Southampton who decided he'd have a dig at Portsmouth FC winning some community award or other. Rather childish on the part of Southampton's management really. Neil Allen makes no bones about being a Pompey fan and he certainly, as most of us did, will have enjoyed that last minute equalizer which took the wind out of your sails for the day and put in it ours. His article reflects that feeling. His comments about the vulgar behavour of some Southampton fans I'm sure can be balances out by stories from Southampton fans or whatever.
I was travelling with them thanks to Lucketts, having been refused entry to the St Mary’s press box by the host club. Yes, it was hardly likely to be a balanced piece! Come on, it was written for a specific audience and were it not for Woopert deciding to share, then no Saints fan would have seen it. For the same reason he doesn't mention the abuse dished out to Saints at Fratton, but hey! It's a comfort piece. Pompey needed 3points, they just managed to rescue one. I fear that it's not enough.
Ah Channon, BUT I only "shared" it on the PFC site, NOT on the SFC site, for obvious reasons. It's not my fault that some of you find our site more interesting than your own, is it ?
Your right Wd, your site is very good but if it wasn't for us Saints fans your board would have probably shut by now. Shame some of the rent a crowd you had on Saturday don't use it.
To be honest, I read this earlier and dismissed it as a pile of tripe served up to feed the trolls on the snooze site. "Good news" stories don't sell newspapers - would you bother reading an article about how the buses travelled through Southampton and nobody was bothered because in the main they don't give a monkey's about football anyway? I don't doubt there were some vulgar pedestrians, possibly retaliating to some vulgar signals from one or two passengers, and vice-versa. Sorry wooperts - I know how journalists work. I think this is one of those made-up stories, (like those made-up problems in magazines) probably started from a small grain of truth which has been exaggerated and embelished, just to stoke a rivalry and create a story. If it had been true then there would have been a much bigger story, and much better written, on Saturday. It's in the News' interests to keep the rivalry going, more chances of a story, which probably explains much about their on-line forum. Neil Allen is usually a good writer, this is not one of his finest peices though.
Not more interesting Woopert. Some of us do like to visit and see how you are coping and offer tea and sympathy. Well, it's the least we can do....
Saw the article, didn't think it was sensible really due to the whole 'stoking the rivalry' nature of the article..... Well written though I guess.
I thought I'd see what the response on the News forum was to this article - so I've copied 2 comments from those who I know are Pompey fans - there are many others in a similar vein, but these 2 were so concise. appy go lucky Monday, April 9, 2012 at 09:04 PM Thats not journalism, its pure gutter make believe. Embarassing! We both have our ******s, i dont expect the news to have them writing for them! ConDem Halfwits Monday, April 9, 2012 at 08:47 PM Probably the most pathetic and risible piece of journalism ever to emanate from this paper - and I'm a Pompey fan Well........... says it all really.
"gauntlet of hate"!! In a world where every single minute a child dies for no other reason than a mindless act of violence, you can be bothered to write that load of bollocks. Impressive.
The man has used pretty words, he must be right I can picture the gladiators now, returning triumphant through post-apocolyptic Southampton as the mindless locals look on with wonder.
The mistake everyone makes when referring to local papers such as the News or Echo is to use the word journalist - the people who write in local rags are, at best, reporters. A journalist is one who can put together a reasoned and balanced article which, while possibly biased to his own side of an argument, at least attempts to outline an opposing view and is factually correct. Neil Allen wrote that piece to try and gain some credibility with people who question his support for Pompey on the News website. A journalist he aint.
