Sad For Toddy To Say Goodbye

Svetoslav Todorov's emotional last gasp departure from Fratton Park on Thursday has been hard for the Bulgarian to swallow, as it has for the vast majority of the Pompey fans.

I have to admit that I'm even a little sad merely writing this as Toddy really is a fans favourite and although the day was always going to come I didn't see it happening when it did. I was sat at my computer catching up on some work with Teletext running on the television, as the window was very close to closing, when suddenly I was altered to the fact "Toddy's gone" by my brother, sure enough the bottom of page 5/5 on BBC there it was S.Todorov Portsmouth - Wigan Loan.

To say I was gutted would be an understatement, but I am quite a sentimental person, which maybe isn't always the best kind of person to be where football is concerned. Toddy had this to say himself.

"Portsmouth and Wigan have agreed a deal and that's it. I was part of the deal."

"Wigan wanted me and Paul Jewell made a lot of effort to show he really wanted me."

I don't want to go into any other stuff. There are things that are maybe best kept to myself. But I will say there are two sides to every story."

"I wish the best for my friends here and all my team-mates, I have no problem with the owners who I wish good luck."

"It hurts to be leaving the fans. I love them with all my heart. That will never change. How could it?"

"I will never forget the feeling of them singing my name and wanting to win for them."

Ever since his arrival in January 2002 (when Harry Redknapp brought him to Fratton Park from former club West Ham, sorry that`s wrong the puppet master used his puppet Graham Rix to bring him to Fratton Park as he was Director of Football at the time, but not for long!) I`ve been a huge fan of Toddy; his instinct in front of goal is second only to a few.

Injuries have ravaged his time on the South Coast but had it not been for his 26 goals in our Championship season maybe we wouldn't be where we are today? It's fair to say Paul Merson had a huge influence on that season but goals are needed to win games and Toddy`s goals often did.

Redknapp has said he wanted to keep Toddy, but his obvious desire for first team football, something 'arry could not assure him of getting at Pompey and Toddy's own desire to leave left him with no option.

Although we've never really seen him in an extended run in the Premiership (due to his injuries) a level at which many outsiders think he couldn't make it, his disappointing spell with West Ham on which people are clearly making their assumptions I felt sure this season would see him injury free and scoring goals, but is was always likely to be from the bench, so you can understand him wanting to go, if that is the case, to get first team football.

As I've said the day when he would go was always going to come, but to happen at the time it did shocked me as I'd love to have kept him. It wasn't to be and although possible, despite only being 28-years-old I would say his 31 goals in 78 games will be his lot as I would very much doubt he'll return to Fratton Park, well not as a Pompey player anyway, as others have, and will continue to be brought in.

Good luck Toddy...

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