Pompey season in review - May

We had started to look more and more as if the cup final was the sole focus - tackles that we would have gone in for were suddenly pulled out of and slackness that was far less apparent than before was creeping in, our tally of 57pts from 108 available was still a decent return, but much less than it could have been. We would not improve in this in May, at least not in the league...

With the new season just about upon on I thought it had better get my arse into gear and finish the final month of the season review for the last one, which got off to a dismal start at Boro... Actually it carried on from the previous few games but the trip to Boro was one of the worst I had been to as an away fan in a long, long time! I had a cracking day out but I was left thinking to myself to some extent 'why did I bother travelling for the best part of 6 hours each way for this pile of s**t.' But then I soon realised it is because I love Portsmouth Football Club, and always will! We offered very little, and got exactly what we deserved - nothing, losing 2-0 which also saw Boro complete the double over us. In hindsight I can now look back on this as we achieved the ultimate goal in the weeks that followed, but it still was not really good enough to be honest...

We finished the season at Fratton as Fulham came to town. Unlike the previous season we had nothing riding on the game, as our uefa cup chances via the league had long since gone. However Fulham had to win to avoid relegation, and on a belter of a day they did just that, winning 1-0 in the sun on the South Coast. Again we offered very, very little but did we expect any different with the FA cup final a week later... Thinking back to this game, although the events of it on the pitch do not really stick in my mind, the Fulham fans - that were fantastic, also the Pompey fans that slunk away before the end, with some even booing the players and not waiting for the traditional lap of honour do, and this still gets to me.

So, the 2007/08 season came to a climax with the FA cup final.

Had anyone told you a year earlier that the domestic season would come to a close with Pompey contesting the cup final few would have believed you, even fewer would have believed you if you had said Cardiff would be our opponents! But this was the case. The greatest day in most of our Pompey supporting days was upon us and we achieved the dream as Kanu capitalised on an error from their keeper to score the only goal in a 1-0 win, to such as crowned as the 2008 FA cup winner. 'When Sol went up to lift the FA cup I was there, I was there'...

We ended the season poorly, eventually claiming 57pts from possible 116 to end in 8th place - our best for more than half a century, which for some time looked as though it could and would be a hell of a lot more. Breaking the 60pt barrier was looking highly likely, but it was not to be - that will come this season!

Winning the FA cup was the greatest thing ever for me, and capped what had been - despite the odd blip - yet another fantastic season for Pompey, our best for more than 50 years and maybe the greatest ever that any of us have ever seen and might be likely to see again? If that proves the case so be it, but hopefully we can carry on building on our success and the coming seasons, starting with this one can bring us yet more joy and success...

PLAY UP POMPEY!

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