There is a high amount of optimism surrounding the club at the moment because there's finally concrete proof that we're moving forwards both on and off the pitch.
Harry has wasted no time in significantly strengthening the squad and I've been extremely impressed with him and how he's convinced his top transfer targets to come to Fratton Park ahead of other, more established Premiership clubs. The likes of Distin, Muntari, Nugent and Utaka have all said that the persuasive skills of Harry have made their minds up for them.
I also have to give a lot of credit to Peter Storrie. The Pompey Chief Executive has taken a lot of (undeserved) stick in the past from Pompey fans but he's had his part to play in the deals so far this summer and so his efforts must also be praised.
Sacha Gaydamak has also silenced the cynics and the critics by proving he is willing to back the manager with the finances he needs to strengthen the squad and that he actually has the money to fund this team. Currently, only Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham have spent more than Pompey this summer, and we could even spend more!
The club is also gaining a more professional reputation off the pitch. No longer are Pompey fans forced to queue in a club shop the size of a postage stamp for tickets now that the new ticket office is open in Rodney Road along with the megastore which is due to open on the 19th.
It seems like the club have become much more efficient judging by early news that all registered Pompey fans received their order forms for the new home kit before it was even unveiled. If the club can keep this level of efficiency up then the days where you couldn't even buy the new home shirt on the opening day of the season and online ticket sales systems screwing up allocations will be long gone.
And to top it all off we finally have a website fitting for a Premiership Football Club. The new site is packed with regular player interviews, a pfctv feature, a matchday coverage feature and has a much slicker look than the old and dated premiumtv site.
Pompey fans are wearing beaming smiles on their faces for these reasons and it seems almost too good to be true. Let's hope that the stadium plans are submitted sooner rather than later, although it was revealed in a community meeting I attended yesterday that the old plans for the rotation of Fratton Park are still alive as a contingency plan. Let's also hope that none of our key players are sold to "balance the books" so to speak. The last thing I want to see is Matt Taylor holding up an Aston Villa shirt in a press conference!
The cynics will always have something to say, but it's getting harder and harder for them to criticize every day.