Two very different managers of London clubs battling it out in this one.
Roy Hodgson is very much a man of the world. Played professional football for Palace (but couldn't break into the first team) & then moving to non-league. Here he started his managerial career when he became assistant coach with Maidstone United. He has managed at club and international level in Sweden, Switzerland, Italy (Inter Milan), Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Norway and Finland as well as spells at Bristol City & Blackburn. He speaks a hat full of European languages. Despite a pretty poor reputation in the UK after his Blackburn spell he has done a sterling job at Fulham with very meager resources.
Harry Redknapp is an London lad & proud of it. His playing career was split between West Ham & Bournemouth & it was at Bournemouth that he made his name as a manager. He then moved to West Ham which was really a job made in heaven for him & the supporters. He produced some fine young players, who now top the Premiership, while he was there. In 2002 he left under rather mysterious circumstances. He later joined Portsmouth, Southampton & Portsmouth again before joining Spurs. Anyone that knows the rivalry that exists between the two South Coast Towns will attest to the fact that he must be a pretty charismatic character to have pulled that feat off with the fans. He has been successful at all the clubs he has managed & all have gone onto far worse things since he left!!
As for the game...well 0-0, nothing to write home about..
They must do it all again on 24th. when I fancy Spurs will ease through - given home advantage. They will have to win it though. Fulham give very, very little away and, as they have shown in Europe, are not an easy side to beat.Portsmouth 2 - 0 Birmingham
I watched this one with a bit of trepidation.
Portsmouth are bottom of the Premiership because they are a bad side.
Birmingham and attractive football will only be in the same sentence if there is a negative in there somewhere.
So I was quite pleasantly surprised. Portsmouth came out with the attitude that there were only two teams on the pitch & they had a good a chance as anyone. Sadly as the first half progressed & they had not scored they seemed to lose belief and Birmingham ended the half looking the only side in contention to win it.
I don't know what Grant said at half time but Portsmouth returned to the pitch playing the best football of the game. Piquionne (the Portsmouth striker) had been missing in action in the first half suddenly sprang to life and started to look a real handful. He bundled over Portsmouth first without showing much class, but a goal is a goal & seemed to give him even extra belief. His second goal was a real individual effort & one that any striker would have been proud of.
With 10 minutes to go controversy reigned!! Birmingham scored a perfectly good goal which television replays showed clearly crossed the line. As it came from a corner - so the assistant referee (linesman
) should have been in perfect view - it is difficult to say why it was not given.Ironically, this was on the day that FIFA (slumming it in Zurich
) decided that technology had no place in football... I will leave it at "Idiots".A goal might have caused Portsmouth belief to drop. as it was, despite a lot of pressing from Brum, they closed the match out..
