Beating Bristol City is a MUST!

Yep, I know that championship survival is the least of our worries at the moment - survival as a club beyond this season, whatever division we are in, is the priority!

For the purposes of this article any 'negative' feeling or thoughts 'lacking in optimism' about our probably future that I might have (which I have been called up on!) are on hold, I want to try and keep this mainly about football and the current relegation battle, not the other battles...

Quite clearly lightening does strike twice, we have seen it off-the-pitch striking more than twice but can it on it this weekend?

To have any chance of staving off relegation to league one I would think that victory over Bristol City is essential for Pompey!

A lot of talk recently has been about having that 'Mendes moment', and boy do we need it - and if ever there was a time when we needed it most of all it is this weekend against Bristol City.

And what better time to prove that lightening can strike twice (on the pitch) eh!

None other than one of our greatest ever keepers, David James, will be in goal for the visitors (as plymouth graham quite rightly pointed out recently) a fact that might have been overlooked is the fact that he was the Man City keeper that afternoon when Pedro Mendes revived us with this...



Like that game against City, Bristol City comes with us having a similar amount of games left in the season - we had 10 including City in 2005/06, whereas we have 11 including Bristol City this time round.

Whilst the situation off-the-field is different, totally different, you have to draw on whatever similarities you can for optimism and look for potential telling omens.

Avoiding relegation is going to be tough, to say the least. A squad of players that is very limited in numbers, short of confidence, short of attacking quality and being decimated by the week makes it even tougher but winning, much like losing, can become a habit so if we can find this at the weekend, maybe, just maybe a small light at the end of our increasingly difficult tunnel can be seen!

If nothing else we have something to celebrate for the first time in a while...

To get this win we, for me, must go all out for victory. Appy, who continues to do a fine job for me and in a more than dignified manor, must try and send out whatever side he can in the most attacking positive manor possible.

The likes of Bristol City, Coventry, Doncaster and Forest are, with a shadow of a doubt, MUST WIN games for us. So if we win these, and can nick wins, at least a few of them, against other beatable sides such as Birmingham, Burnley, Millwall, Palace and Derby - all being faced at home - as well as Scum away of course the greatest of greatest escapes of all time will be very much on.

Its not that easy, or simple, I know! You cannot flip a switch, especially with all the negatives going on around you, and start to win but 'if' we can start doing this you can never say never.

Great Escape Mk II, and greatest ever, could well begin this weekend...

PLAY UP POMPEY!

Click here to make your prediction: Pompey v Bristol City.
Click here to make your prediction: Pompey v Birmingham.



Vital Pompey on: Vital Pompey on:



Frippy's Virtual Bookies - here.

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.