Congratulations To Pompey
Monday, 7th Apr 2008 09:27

The Ugly Inside is big enough to say fair play to Pompey !

Congratulations are in order to Portsmouth Football Club on reaching the FA Cup Final, yes there are many who will say the competition has been devalued this year with the early exits of the big four, but truth is you can only beat what is in front of you and I dont think any Pompey or Cardiff fans will care on May 17th.

Of course I wasnt exactly dancing with joy on Saturday when Pompey beat West Brom, wanting your local rivals to lose games is what the passion of football is all about, but that doesnt mean that I cant congratulate them even if it is through gritted teeth.

At this moment of time we as saints supporters know exactly what Pompey went through over the past four decades or so as we lorded it over them in the top flight as they struggled, almost going out of business on more than one occasion and perhaps knowing what they went through then will make us, if not welcome their success, at least not begrudge their supporters a moment of glory.

It is to those long suffering supporters that I congratulate, Yes i enjoy the banter and rivalry between the two clubs and of course i wish they were relegated rather than in the Cup Final, however when all is said and done, the hard core supporters of Pompey are no different from those of Saints or any other team for that matter, they love their Club and to be truthful they have had to put up with a one sided rivalry for a lot longer than any other in the country, Liverpool might have dominated the Mersey over the same period that Saints have dominated the Solent, but the Toffee's have had their days, but up until the last three years pompey have had little to cheer about.

So good luck Pompey, of course Im as Welsh as the next man for the following five weeks and no one will be happier than me if you lose, but I do appreciate that for Pompey fans this is their time and truthfully they deserve to enjoy it.