01/10/06: Premiership Matchday #7: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Pompey 1
Sporting the new black kit, Pompey got off to the worst possible start as Glen Johnson was too casual on the ball right next to our goal which allowed Berbatov to poke it through his legs and give Danny Murphy an easy tap in from one yard to put Spurs ahead in the first minute.
Then came the biggest act of cheating from a North London side since Robert Pires' infamous dive at Highbury. Pedro Mendes had taken the ball cleanly from Didier Zokora in the box yet he went down and conned the ref into giving a penalty. Jermain Defoe converted and we had fallen foul to another piece of bad luck at White Hart Lane again.
Kanu pulled one back after heading in Gary O'Neil's cross and Paul Robinson had to make a great save from LuaLua late on but the performance ended up lacking ideas and we fell to our second successive defeat.
The Curse Continues
The international break gave Pompey time to recuperate and during the time between the Spurs game and the next game Lomana LuaLua was arrested and then released without charge, the club were deciding on a site for the new stadium after abolishing plans to redevelop Fratton Park and our reserves got hammered 5-0 by Chelsea reserves.
14/10/06: Premiership Matchday #8: Pompey 2 West Ham United 0
Pompey got back to winning ways with a comfortable win over struggling West Ham. A cross from ex-Hammer Glen Johnson was met by the shoulder of Kanu to give the Blues the lead and then late on substitute Andy Cole turned the Hammers defence and scored his first goal for the club. Alan Pardew would be back later in the season to exact his revenge on us....
Bounceback
Harry signed Berlin Ndebe-Nlome permanently then sent Richard Duffy on loan to Coventry (eventually), Jamie Ashdown on loan to Norwich (where he was sent off on his debut) and Franck Songo'o to Bournemouth where Kevin Bond was now manager. Pompey reserves were thrashed 5-0 again, this time by Reading reserves as the first team travelled to Stamford Bridge.
21/10/06: Premiership Matchday #9: Chelsea 2 Pompey 1
The Champions were given a tough time in West London as Pompey started off on the front foot. Chelsea's route into the game was via Robben making mincemeat of Noe Pamarot who was filling in for the ineligible Glen Johnson. David James produced a string of top draw saves to frustrate Jose Mourinho and keep the score at 0-0 by half time.
We were finally broken down in the second half as Andrei Shevchenko's shot took a deflection off Sol Campbell and went in and then Michael Ballack scored his first goal for the club with a header almost straight after the opener. Didier Drogba looked to have added a quick-fire third but it was ruled out for offside as the "funny five minutes" finally ended and the Pompey nerves were steadied.
Benjani scored Pompey's first ever Premiership goal against Chelsea after firing in from close range following a defensive mix up but we were unable to find the equaliser despite a very valiant effort.
Chin Up!
The team didn't have much time to rest as a trip to Newcastle in the Carling Cup was on the horizon.
25/10/06: Carling Cup Round #4: Newcastle United 3 Pompey 0
Dreams of lifting some silverware were drowned in the North-East monsoon at St. James' Park as the travelling fans endured farcical conditions to watch their team lose in a water polo debacle. Two second half goals from Nobby Solano and one from Giuseppe Rossi dampened the spirits of the Pompey fans who would have to wait another year to try and celebrate a League Cup win.
Sunk
After that debacle it was nice to get back on home turf to tackle newly promoted Reading.
28/10/06: Premiership Matchday #10: Pompey 3 Reading 1
Steve Coppell's men had already made an impact on the Premiership since their promotion but Harry Redknapp's charges made easy work of the Royals. Kanu forced Brynjar Gunnarsson to head into his own net from a corner and then scored himself in the second half with a guided header. Pedro Mendes then got involved by scoring a trademark rocket and then getting away with a handball on the line late on. Kevin Doyle grabbed a consolation from a corner that should never have been given but this result was never in doubt.
Royals Flushed
This month could probably sum up our entire season: Comfortable at home but traumatic on the road. The defeats in London were hard to take as was the laughable exit from the Carling Cup. There was still plenty to cheer about though with comfortable wins over West Ham and Reading and Kanu being the Premiership's top scorer. Things were looking good as Portsmouth FC were 4th heading into November.
Premiership Table After Matchday 10
1st: Manchester United - 25pts
2nd: Chelsea - 25pts
3rd: Bolton - 20pts
4th: Portsmouth - 19pts
5th: Arsenal - 18pts
6th: Everton - 17pts