09/09/06: Premiership Matchday #4: Pompey 1 Wigan Athletic 0
This dire game was settled by a single Benjani goal in the second half after he ran onto Sol Campbell's clearance and fired past Kirkland. Henri Camara missed an early sitter whilst James jumped on Paul Scharner late on to deny Wigan an equaliser. Pompey were showing a new side to their game by grinding out this victory in a match we would have lost last season.
Wigan War
Andy Griffin joined Stoke on loan whilst Pompey were linked to Brazillian World Cup Winner Denilson, though a move never materialised ahead of the trip to Iain Dowie's Charlton.
16/09/06: Premiership Matchday #5: Charlton Athletic 0 Pompey 1
The Valley has never been a good ground for Pompey to go to but this time we were a side brimming with confidence which showed in the quality of our football in the first half. All that was missing was a goal as Kanu, Mendes, Davis and Campbell all spurned good chances. Despite Charlton's improvement in the second half it would be Pompey who took victory courtesy of Lomana LuaLua's weak shot being tipped into the net by Scott Carson, burying a 13 year hoodoo in South East London.
Valley Curse Lifted
Manchester United were beaten by Arsenal the following day meaning that we were top of the league on merit, without conceding a single goal. It was hard to keep feet on the ground as some fans, and even players were mentioning the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League!
It was Carling Cup duty next for Pompey, as we hoped to avoid embarrassment at Field Mill against Mansfield Town.
19/09/06: Carling Cup Round #2: Mansfield Town 1 Pompey 2
A weakened Pompey avoided a repeat of the Gillingham debacle of the season before by beating League 2 Mansfield. An early belter by Manuel Fernandes and an equally good strike from Matty Taylor gave Pompey a 2-0 lead at half time. Danny Reet became the first player to score past Portsmouth this season by grabbing one back late on but we held on for the win.
Pompey Stagger To Win
The Cup tie turned out to be the subplot of the day as BBC 1 showed a special episode of Panorama, promising to expose the illegal bung culture in transfer deals with Harry Redknapp and Sam Allardyce being the focus of the programme. The report turned out to be extremely sensationalist with no concrete evidence of bung taking shown and as a result both Redknapp and Allardyce would opt not to do interviews for the BBC anymore.
Ironically the two would go head-to-head as Bolton travelled to Fratton Park despite rumours that the game would be postponed because Sam was all bunged up and Harry wasn't feeling too grand. (Har-Har...)
Days before the game, Milan Mandaric announced that he would leave Pompey for good after the Bolton game, ending an unforgettable 8 year tenure at Fratton Park. On the day of the game it was announced that ex-Pompey striker Dario Silva had been involved in a car crash and could never play football again as a result.
25/09/06: Premiership Matchday #6: Pompey 0 Bolton Wanderers 1
If you're ever in need of a reality check or if you want a party atmosphere ruined then you can always count on Bolton to do the job. David James conceded for the first time after Kevin Nolan hit a volley into the back of the net whilst Jaaskelainen would keep the ball out at the other end despite constant pressure. A defeat was to be expected with Uriah Rennie in charge and the loss was confirmed as he blew the final whistle, ending our unbeaten run and Milan Mandaric's involvement with the club.
Party Poopers
So at the end of an eventful month, Pompey had finally been beaten but still looked good in the table as the Milan Mandaric era of Portsmouth Football Club had been brought to an end, leaving the club in a much stronger position than it was when he first took over.
Premiership Table After Matchday 6
1st: Chelsea - 15pts
2nd: Manchester United - 13pts
3rd: Portsmouth - 13pts
4th: Everton - 12pts
5th: Aston Villa - 12pts
6th: Bolton - 11pts