Pompey fans, what of Harry now?

[dolpiaza]

So he's done the "impossible". Is he a big hero now or still hated as a Judas? After all he did bring Southampton down one season and kept you up the next? So what do Pompey fans think of him now? As much as he may be hated, it cannot be denied he has had a tremendous impact on the team since Perrin left.

[akibo]

wtf, he almost took Pompey down with him, I don't believe that fans like geeza66 can honestly forgive him that..
at least these be my thoughts on the subject.

[daveywestham]

wtf, he almost took Pompey down with him, I don't believe that fans like geeza66 can honestly forgive him that..
at least these be my thoughts on the subject.

Errrrr no he didn't! He took over when they were pretty much written off to relegation and kept them up :rolleyes:

Think you need to go recheck the results before and after he came back. Let's remember the reason he left - he was being brushed aside for a foreign manager and felt his control was being undermined - the same foreign manager that would've got them relegated had he not come back and kept them up.

Don't get me wrong I think Harry is a prick who thinks a lot of himself but don't underestimate what he has acheived here. I think even geezer would say he's done the impossible.

[safcmark]

its a strange one to be honest IMO. if i remember rightly he made some shocking statements re: Portsmouth when he joined Southampton; ie. its good I have joined a "proper" football club etc. and at the time it would have been heart breaking for the fans.

I am probably right in guessing that a fair few number of fans are refusing to return till harry leaves; although this will only be a very very small portion of the crowd, although I would say the other portion; although happy with what Harry Redknapp has done since his return, it will feel as though somethings not right - its like say if you've got a girlfriend and she cheats on you, so you finish, then you get back together and everything might seem ok at first but you soon realise what has happened in the past is still affecting you.

In my opinion I reckon Redknapp will be gone by the end of next season.

[daveywestham]

its a strange one to be honest IMO. if i remember rightly he made some shocking statements re: Portsmouth when he joined Southampton; ie. its good I have joined a "proper" football club etc. and at the time it would have been heart breaking for the fans.



Don't like to defend Redknapp's words because like I said I think he is a prick and says a lot of crap. But I think the statement you have quoted rather than the club itself (I'm sure many/most pompey fans took it this way though) it was more a critism of the way Mandric ran the club and how he felt he was treated by the club (Mandric). There was a lot said by those 2 at the time and the fans would be better to right that off as digs at the chairman as opposed to the club itself. Redknapp would have been better not to have said anything but he is a prick with a massive ego. There is however one thing he's good at and that is pulling a club out of the bottom which he again acheived.

[safcmark]

Don't like to defend Redknapp's words because like I said I think he is a prick and says a lot of crap. But I think the statement you have quoted rather than the club itself (I'm sure many/most pompey fans took it this way though) it was more a critism of the way Mandric ran the club and how he felt he was treated by the club (Mandric). There was a lot said by those 2 at the time and the fans would be better to right that off as digs at the chairman as opposed to the club itself. Redknapp would have been better not to have said anything but he is a prick with a massive ego. There is however one thing he's good at and that is pulling a club out of the bottom which he again acheived.

Didn't realise that was the way it was directed but that probably sounds about right....but no suprises that the Pompey fans took it the wrong way, as it was a bad thing to say anyways.

Re: him pulling a club out of the bottom to safety....yes well done Harry....but if I hear the media call the fecker Harry Houdini one more time i think I might shoot myself! :mad:

[akibo]

There is however one thing he's good at and that is pulling a club out of the bottom which he again acheived.
why did s'oton go down then?

[Bruun]

So he's done the "impossible". Is he a big hero now or still hated as a Judas? After all he did bring Southampton down one season and kept you up the next? So what do Pompey fans think of him now? As much as he may be hated, it cannot be denied he has had a tremendous impact on the team since Perrin left.

Think you should re-name your thread and call it "Gezza66, what of Harry now?" :)

But good question! Must be bloody hard to chose a standpoint. Perhaps you can compare it with Sol Campbell's move to Arsenal. Love the man for all he'd given Tottenham or hate him, becuase he's a greedy fuck, that went to the club that Spurs hate the most? I mean... if he'd move to Spain or Italy, all spurs fan would probably still love him.

[slipperydave]

well, it appears Redknapp gets a new 3 year deal: Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/4983066.stm)

[geeza66]

Its quite Interesting sitting on the fence to see what other people think of Judas, I was going to reply back to this thread yesterday but thought id sit back to see how it turned out.

What do I think aboot Pompey staying in the Prem, "Well its bloody brilliant" This was truely one of the greatest escapes I have ever had to encounter, however honestly I thought we where doomed especially with the 5-0 drumming we got from birmingham not long after Judas returned.

Has redscumm done a good Job? Sure he has "I would be mad to say he hasnt" he sure got us out of trouble, who else could of done this.

Have I forgiven scumknapp? Of course not, It was heartbreak when I saw him holding the scumhampton scarf for the first time and smiling away at the local press, I still have that portrait in my head, the amount of stick and wind ups I got from friends was terrible, it was just general ribbing but when you are already pissed off that your manager has gone to your nerarest and dearest its like a stab in the back.

Harry was asked to join wolves the very season he left us but a week later and he's at St Fairies after promising that he wouldnt go up the road, when judas left all the fans where pissed off with Milan and turning against him but that soon changed after judas signed for the scum

If you have any idea what it is like to come from Portsmouth then you would realise what there is such a hatred between the two clubs, Portsmouth is a tribal city, a small island 5 miles by 5 miles, Scum is 15 miles up the M27 heading west.

As a child and anyones children within portsmouth are educated to hate the scum, or scummer, anyone from scumhampton are refered to this! I remeber as far back to when I was about 4 years old knowing what a scummer was!

Do I want him to stay? I havent a choice now and apparently scumknapp junior will be joining him soon!

Am I singing his name - NEVER! in a million years

BTW - yeah I remeber what you said Davey! and you are right he has kept us up however he is still a judastwitchyscumredtwat of a scummer

[safcmark]

Its quite Interesting sitting on the fence to see what other people think of Judas, I was going to reply back to this thread yesterday but thought id sit back to see how it turned out.

What do I think aboot Pompey staying in the Prem, "Well its bloody brilliant" This was truely one of the greatest escapes I have ever had to encounter, however honestly I thought we where doomed especially with the 5-0 drumming we got from birmingham not long after Judas returned.

Has redscumm done a good Job? Sure he has "I would be mad to say he hasnt" he sure got us out of trouble, who else could of done this.

Have I forgiven scumknapp? Of course not, It was heartbreak when I saw him holding the scumhampton scarf for the first time and smiling away at the local press, I still have that portrait in my head, the amount of stick and wind ups I got from friends was terrible, it was just general ribbing but when you are already pissed off that your manager has gone to your nerarest and dearest its like a stab in the back.

Harry was asked to join wolves the very season he left us but a week later and he's at St Fairies after promising that he wouldnt go up the road, when judas left all the fans where pissed off with Milan and turning against him but that soon changed after judas signed for the scum

If you have any idea what it is like to come from Portsmouth then you would realise what there is such a hatred between the two clubs, Portsmouth is a tribal city, a small island 5 miles by 5 miles, Scum is 15 miles up the M27 heading west.

As a child and anyones children within portsmouth are educated to hate the scum, or scummer, anyone from scumhampton are refered to this! I remeber as far back to when I was about 4 years old knowing what a scummer was!

Do I want him to stay? I havent a choice now and apparently scumknapp junior will be joining him soon!

Am I singing his name - NEVER! in a million years

BTW - yeah I remeber what you said Davey! and you are right he has kept us up however he is still a judastwitchyscumredtwat of a scummer

not knocking Rednapp at all because he has done a fantastic job in keeping Pompey up; however do you not feel as though he is getting all the plaudits, but considering how much cash he had to spend (not just transfer fees but wages) it didn't actually suprise me that much that Portsmouth stayed up.

I would also like to point out to Geeza, that everything you stated re: the portsmouth and southampton rivallry is the same between newcastle and sunderland; two of the biggest local derbys in England in my opinion.

[daveywestham]

why did s'oton go down then?

He very nearly kept them up and they were in a far worse state than Pompey when he took them over. I could be wrong but I'm not sure he had the opportunity to do much for them in the transfer window which is where he really excels (the transfer market). He has no tactical ability but he sure knows how to convince some signings to join his clubs. How else would Pompey get the likes of D'Alessandro? A fucking magnificent coup! I mean what do you say to a player like that to make him want to join a club 2nd from bottom of the league who look odds on for relegation??? Genius!

Geezer - So Harry had the oppotunity to go to Wolves, but he lives on the South Coast and has done for years, why would he want to go there? He'd have to buy a new home and all sorts. However I can tell you from experience that relegation is one of the most painful experiences of a football fan. Harry is a fuckwit but you should be eternally greatful for him saving you this pain - I can assure you it hurts much more than your manager defecting to your rivals. If you had gone down you may have even found some of your players defecting to your rivals like we did - defoe, cole, carrick, Johnson & Kanoute all taken by our despised London rivals Spurs and Chelsea. So people laughed at you cos your manager was at Southampton, surely you had the last laugh when they went down? Imagine what I had to go through with Spurs & Chelsea cunts calling us their feeder club???

[Gnupole]

As a child and anyones children within portsmouth are educated to hate the scum, or scummer, anyone from scumhampton are refered to this! I remeber as far back to when I was about 4 years old knowing what a scummer was!

Do I want him to stay? I havent a choice now and apparently scumknapp junior will be joining him soon!

Am I singing his name - NEVER! in a million years

Yeah but your opinion on forgiveness doesn't appear to be the average opinion. There's a sizeable number who refuse to ever sing his name, but he's won the vast majority round now.

For some it took just until we were winning regularly, and they probably didn't harbour that much hatred - I know the south coast rivalry isn't treated seriously by some and that doesn't make them any less fans. Then for a huge portion it was until we were safe, at which point I think people saw that as redemption. Then there's some who'll never forgive him because what he did is for them unforgivable.

As long as the arguments stop who cares!

What I do know is that any other manager who would have come in at the time Harry did would probably not have managed to obtain half the talent that Redknapp did in the January window. Even with the resources, getting that kind of quality in when you're fighting a relegation battle is tough. Our little Argie has already stated he came for Harry, and he got the team united more than any other manager in the relegation fight I reckon. I just hope he doesnt start buying stinkers in the Summer.

[dolpiaza]

thanks for the replies. seems to me from the 2 pompey fans here, there is a bit of a split on whether Harry has gotten redemption.

I just wonder geeza, is there anything Harry can do to redeem himself or he is he tainted for life as far as you are concerned?

[geeza66]

thanks for the replies. seems to me from the 2 pompey fans here, there is a bit of a split on whether Harry has gotten redemption.

I just wonder geeza, is there anything Harry can do to redeem himself or he is he tainted for life as far as you are concerned?

We cant keep grudges forever however as I read an example of a reply from this, would you trust your Girlfriend once she has cheated on you? you would but the relationship would not be the same?

Harry to redeem himself? yeah sure I have an idea and it could even happen again, lets send him back up the road with Rupert and Sir clive to plays with there oval balls, that sure is my way of redemption

With this new cash injection, we can afford a proper manager with proper loyalties! not someone who says Portsmouth are the best fans in the world then trots up the road TO SCUM LAND saying he has now joined a proper club with proper fans WTF

Suppose the name Judas has a good meaning now!

[xd3vilx]

i would give harry for more season since he was pull in mid-season...give him one more year if he does not perform than he is out...furthermore changing ur manager few time a year don't give much good to the team overall...

[geeza66]

i would give harry for more season since he was pull in mid-season...give him one more year if he does not perform than he is out...furthermore changing ur manager few time a year don't give much good to the team overall...


I agree changing managers often cause disruption, but the judas was on a short term contract meaning he would had spread his wings and gone if he had taken Portsmouth down, he also would had made history taking two south coast clubs down.

[libertine]

For me its not really the fact he went to scummers, he could have gone anywhere, my main beef with him was the way he spent a year slagging off the club and the constant digs in our direction. phoning up our players before the FA cup game, and doing his best to unsettle any good players we had.

My personal opinion of him as a manager is that he is a crook in the Terry Venables mould, and I do not trust him with Gaydamacks money. What people seem to forget is that despite £12m on new players we went on a run of 1 point out of 30. and the only reason it looked like a miracle was because of the position he got us in. after all we only managed to finish in the same place we started when Perrin was sacked.

For me i dislike him mainly as a human being, more than as a football manager and scummer and for that reason I was really hoping that he would go this summer and we could get a new man in. Shame now thats not going to happen.

As for our supporters mostly having forgiven him, well thats just a sign in my opinion of our support base going "premiership". For instance last weekend Pompey fans fawning over liverpool and singing 'you'll never walk alone along with then' then groups of supporters in the fratton end wetting themselves over Gerrard taking a corner. Its happening with increasing regularity at home games now where opposition players will be treated like gods instead of the enemy. Shearer getting an applause instead of a scumming for instance. Would never have happened in the past and is indicative of the new breed of premier league armchair supporters who have come out of the woodwork since Milan Mandaric took over the club. Never have I felt so alienated in a football crowd as Ihave recently and I say this as a person who has attended every game home and away for many many years. I can only assume its because being in the premier league has ripped the heart and soul out of my club and replaced it with corporate whores. I will say to any team coming up into this division beware, because if it can happen to us it will happen to you. :o :(

[Splatypus]

What people seem to forget is that despite £12m on new players we went on a run of 1 point out of 30. and the only reason it looked like a miracle was because of the position he got us in. after all we only managed to finish in the same place we started when Perrin was sacked.

You can't expect 4 or 5 new players to fit in right away. That amount of turnover in January would be disasterous for anyone.

[onearmedbandit]

As the third Pompey fan, maybe it's strange but I don't have any feelings of animosity towards Redknapp. As far as I can see he's one of the best people we could have as a manager and so long as he's there I feel safe that we have a bright future.

I guess the above thought blinds my hatred towards the whole Southampton thing.

[dbod]

I've forgiven Redknapp for leaving us.

He did take the Scummers down PMSL and he had the humiliation of the 4-1 defeat at Fratton Park as his public day in the stocks.

I forgive him as he didn't slate the club/fanbase when he made the move, only grumbled about Mandaric. And since he and Mandaric have made up, I don't see why we (Pompey) can't.

Having said that, I am back where I started in (as above) thinking of Arry as as crook in the Venables mould who shouldn't be trusted with transfer fees. Great manager for Pompey, any attack minded manager in the Premiership should be applauded really.

I think it's all a bit OTT to accuse anyone who's moved on of being 'premiership'. like it or not, Redknapp is the best thing (along with Mandaric) that has happened to our club in 50 years.