I'll cut straight to the chase. When I first saw the incident between Ben Thatcher and Pedro Mendes I didn't think much of it and I thought it to be an accident with a yellow card the right decision. It was hard to see the incident clearly from where we were standing and many of the Pompey fans towards the back of the stand probably didn't know how bad the "challenge" actually was. Thatcher certainly didn't come in for the amount of stick Paul Dickov did that's for sure.
But having come home at 4am and then watched the replay on TV I couldn't believe my eyes. I have to agree with Mark Lawrenson (for once) that it looks worse every time you see it. It looks more dangerous, it looks more deliberate and it looks more calculated in each replay I view. How the hell can Dermot Gallagher only give a yellow card for that!? It's a bloody running elbow to the throat with absolutely no intention of playing the ball at all! That sort of act is something that belongs in Mortal Kombat, not in a football match!
Thatcher has written an apology to Mendes and he also claims to have asked about him as soon as the game ended. That should have no bearing on what punishment he should recieve, that's if the apology is even genuine. After all, Thatcher has done this sort of thing in the past, elbowing Nicky Sumerbee whilst playing for Wimbledon. In normal circumstances the FA wouldn't be able to act on this because the referee has "dealt with the situation" by issuing a yellow card. However I'm sure everyone will agree that this is no normal situation!
After the match Mark Mudie came onto the coach I was on and said that Thatcher should be charged by the police for assault I thought he was joking having not known the seriousness of the incident. However the police are getting involved and rightly so as what Thatcher did to Mendes could easily be described as assault or GBH/ABH. Mudie also said that Mendes was in a stable condition in hospital and should be alright for Middlesbrough on Monday however with Mendes' nervous system under medical supervision for the coming week I cannot see him taking part in another Pompey match for a while.
If the FA act (and they should) then any punishment less than a 10 game ban would be a disgrace. If it was me personally I would ban him for the rest of the season. If someone did what he did to you at your workplace then they could be facing a jail sentence, especially considering that a blow to the head at that velocity might have more serious consequences on other people than what it would do to a football player or anyone with a "softer" skull for that matter. It's a deliberate, dangerous attack and Thatcher should have to face the consequences, regardless of how Stuart Pearce has dealt with the matter internally.
I'm glad to see many messages of sympathy for Mendes from fans of other clubs, including Saints fans and I'm also happy to see pretty much every Manchester City fan condemn the actions of Thatcher with some even going so far to say that they want him out of the club. It's these sorts of messages that portray the scale of this incident and if there is any justice in the world then Thatcher will get a harsh punishment by the FA and/or the police whether he feels guilty about it or not. Whatever happens I doubt that Thatcher will be welcome onto the pitch by fans of other clubs for quite some time.
The most important thing, of course is that Pedro Mendes comes through this unscathed and he can return to action as soon as possible. Fratton Faithful wishes Mendes a full and quick recovery.
Phew! ....After all that I can finally talk about the game!
It was dire to be honest, a game of few chances and it didn't really deserve a winner as I personally thought that the performances from both sides didn't warrant a victory. The first half belonged to City who had the best chances, although their only real shot on target was by Barton and straight down the returning James' throat though Dickov put a shot just wide. In fact I think we only had one shot in the first half, which Gary O'Neil volleyed well off target.
The second half was better from us as some good team play put Matty Taylor through on goal but he was denied by a great stop from Nicky Weaver. Dermot Gallagher also made his second mistake of the night by failing to spot a blatant hand ball from Micah Richards in the box therefore denying Pompey a stone wall penalty. David James dealt with any shots on target comfortably and we could have nicked it at the death as Glen Johnson got to the edge of the box and had a pop but City managed to scramble it away.
Individually I think Linvoy was definately the man of the match. He had Darius Vassell in his pocket virtually the whole game and won many headers in the box. If he continues to perform like he has these last two games then we will not need another centre back to come into the first team. Sol Campbell looked a bit rusty compared to the Blackburn game, he made a couple of errors but also some good tackles and generally looked assured as did Glen Johnson on the right although he occasionally gave the ball away as did Dejan who looked a bit too dodgy for my liking last night but even so, he wasn't too bad.
Going forward we suffered though as the midfield couldn't keep hold of the ball for long enough, although I will certainly praise them for doing their best to get it back as quickly as possible. Gary O'Neil looked a bit off colour and after Mendes went off we lacked any energy going forward so if there was any time for Manuel Fernandes to find his fitness and sign, it would be now as Richard Hughes cannot fill the void left by such a quality player like Mendes.
Up front we didn't look like carrying any threat really. Benjani looked off the pace whilst Kanu did well to battle with the City defence but Sylvain Distin had an excellent game and kept him pretty quiet, showing the Pompey fans why Harry wants him. Shame he's staying at City then... Toddy did well when coming on as a sub, he gave us an extra dimension and it often took more than one player to take the ball from him although we just couldn't find that cutting edge.
Overall, I continue to be impressed with how organised our defence looks with James and Campbell there but unfortunately we kept giving the ball away too cheaply last night and failed to take the little chances we had but hey, at least we didn't lose and I would say it's a good point for us. After all if I offered you second in the league with no goals conceded after two games I'm sure you would have taken it! It's nice to shout about being above Chelsea and Liverpool whilst also boasting about the best defence in the Premiership!
Well if you managed to read all of that I thank you and commend you! We have been linked to Appiah of Fenerbahce (again) as well as Roma defender Samuel Kuffour, though the way they are playing it doesn't need to be changed at the moment. Of course, there is ultimately only going to be one real talking point...
Get well soon Pedro!