Secondly, since I posted Neville Dalton's piece on the site yesterday (I simply cannot take credit for something I didn't write!) I have received some very positive feedback for the article and I have to agree.
You'd be hard pressed to find a Pompey fan who would disagree with what Neville wrote and the majority of fans would say he was right on the money.
However, I feel there is another side to the argument and I feel I have to step in and defend the "Happy Clappers" regardless of how I see the situation personally.
So I'm going to whip out the clapstix and I'm going to go wild as I try to shed some positive light on Pompey's current plight because there are some angry fans who may need to calm down.
If there is one man who deserves some sympathy around Fratton Park then it is the man who guided Pompey to safety after Tony Adams made a complete mess of the club by the time he was given the boot in February.
The season hasn't even begun and already the Pompey fans are expressing extreme displeasure at Hart's imminent appointment. The fact is that Hart reluctantly took the temporary job when nobody else seemed to want it and did what he had to do to ensure our survival.
It's the fans' job to get behind the team and so to put Hart under immediate pressure for the ultimate crime of keeping Pompey in the Premier League is baffling and can only be detrimental to the team spirit and the atmosphere at Fratton Park this coming season.
Yes, Hart's style of football wasn't pretty but you cannot assume that he will ask his troops to battle away in the same style again this season for two reasons.
The first is that Pompey are in no immediate trouble and so there should be less pressure to play the gritty "survival" football which will hopefully mean a more attractive style of footie will be seen at Fratton Park.
The second is that the expected departure of Peter Crouch will mean the team shouldn't feel the need to play so many useless hoofs upfield to the "big man" who can't hold the ball up. We have players who are better suited to playing the ball along the deck and sticking on the subject of Crouch, we may not be missing out as much as you think.
As much as I like Peter the facts state that he only scored three goals under Paul Hart and none in the last nine games of the season. If Hart is going to play a 4-5-1 this season then Crouch isn't the man to play the lone striker role and someone else like Kanu or a realistic transfer target such as Benjani would do a much better job.
People are complaining that our three most consistent performers of last season in Johnson, Davis and Crouch are out and that we're dead certs for relegation. However, isn't there still 6 weeks of the transfer window left to go?
Our only (unconfirmed) signing so far is the underwhelming Aaron Mokoena but who knows what Sulaiman Al-Fahim has up his sleeve when he completes his takeover?
The answer is the man himself, Peter Storrie and (probably) Paul Hart and whatever anybody else says is more than likely going to be rumours, just like the most recent one about Pompey going into administration should Al-Fahim pull out of the deal but I have not read any sort of credible story or gathered any real hint that the doctor is going to pull the plug.
As for the current squad I will agree that we are low on numbers and we may have lacked positive activity in the transfer market but we're not the only club in this situation. In fact only the promoted clubs and Man City have recruited heavily and time is still very much on our side at the moment.
It seems that some Pompey fans will rip into the club for any sort of bad news that is reported whether it be their fault or not. For example, fans were panicking after Canterbury announced it was going into administration which looked like it meant Pompey wouldn't even have a kit supplier this season.
That isn't the case as most of the shirts have already been manufactured and have been supplied to Pompey, who are just waiting to put the sponsor on the shirt before unveiling it. In fact, a leaked picture of the new away shirt and the goalkeeper shirts can be seen here (although I don't know what to make of the pink one!)
Finally, I shall ask all Pompey fans to stop being so negative. The situation we're in now is still much better than what it would have been if Al-Fahim hadn't arrived on the scene and some fans need to keep their expectations in check.
Last season should have been a stone cold reminder that we're not big enough or stable enough to sustain constant top half finishes in the Premier League yet. We first need to prove that we can hold our own in the top flight without Harry Redknapp's help.
I'll end by referring to what Neville said in his article when he stated "there must always be hope". Our hope lies in Sulaiman Al-Fahim and his vision for Portsmouth. Things may not look rosy right now but there is no need to panic and if we can survive this season coming then there may be a very bright future ahead for Portsmouth FC.
Don't write us off and please don't spread negativity before a ball has even been kicked.
Play Up Pompey!