13/08/05: Matchday #1: Pompey 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2
The opening day threw up an intriguing prospect as our opening game took place at home to Spurs. Spurs had been beaten at Fratton Park the last two seasons however they looked a much stronger outfit and it showed. The game was pretty even and should have been 0-0 at half time however Andy Griffin put through his own net right before the whistle though you wouldn't have guessed that the way Mido celebrated it like a madman as if it was the greatest goal he had ever scored. The rain continued pouring and the gloom deepened when Jermaine Defoe rounded Westerveld and slotted home a second. It was clearly obvious that the new boys, including substitute Collins Mbesuma would need time to settle however we all know in this league you have to hit the ground running. The final whistle blew and there was already discontent coming from the supporters. "If we can't beat shit teams like Tottenham at home then we're going down!" Right... though if you thought that quote was bad wait until the next game. This result would leave us bottom of the Premiership for the very first time in our history.
20/08/05: Matchday #2: West Bromwich Albion 2 Pompey 1
Ironically our first away game of the season would take place at the venue our final away game of last season did, bringing back surreal memories of that day. Those memories were soon forgotten however as Albion went a goal up in the first two minutes in what was a disasterous start for Pompey. Once again we were pretty lacklustre although we could have had a penalty in the first half after Lua Lua was shoved. The second half wasn't much better as a blunder by Westerveld; who let the ball under his arms gifted Geoff Horsfield his second of the game. We did get back into it with Laurent Robert scoring a trademark free kick and we could have had a point that our performance probably deserved if Skippy didn't miss from all of about three yards. However we had lost once again as Albion fans cheered off their "Great Escape Heroes" as another disgruntled fan remarked "I'd be suprised if we score another goal all season with this load of crap!" It seemed all the pre-season optimism had gone which makes it all the sweeter when it would be our own "Great Escape" that would give Pompey fans the last laugh over West Brom.
23/08/05: Matchday #3: Pompey 1 Aston Villa 1
The arrival of Aston Villa at Fratton Park would give a clear indication of whether we'd be fighting relegation, or safe as houses. This Tuesday night would be the perfect oppurtunity to bag our first win of the season against a mediocre Villa side. So how disappointing it was to only come out of this game with a draw despite dominating the match against a side who only had ten men for the majority of the game? Our second own goal in two home games had put Villa ahead this time courtesy of Richard Hughes but Lua Lua, as frustrating as he can be produced a moment of brilliance to curl the ball up and over Thomas Sorensen from outside the box. The only other bright point in the match was the debut of Brian Priske, whose great performance would surely mean he'd be a mainstay all season.... right? At least we were off the mark but things weren't looking too good at the start of the season.
27/08/05: Matchday #4: Manchester City 2 Pompey 1
This result still riles me because of the manner of this defeat though to be fair, we got what we deserved because City dominated this game. How they weren't at least two goals up at half time baffled me so you can imagine my delight when John Viafara headed in Laurent Robert's free kick, playing five at the back you don't expect to concede two goals in less than 40 minutes of football do you? But that is what happened as City would score two goals in three minutes. Westerveld made another blunder once again, palming a cross straight into the path of Claudio Reyna who equalised. Then Andy Cole predictably scored the winner having scored against us for Blackburn and Fulham already in the Premiership. Another defeat it was then and the journey back to the South Coast would be miserable once again, and we would get used to this feeling quite often before long too.
Four more promising signings were made before transfer deadline day. Zvonomir Vukic, Salif Diao, Frank Songo'o and Dario Silva. It was a shame that none of them actually delievered what they promised...
Premiership Table After Matchday #4
15th: West Brom: 4pts
16th: Wigan: 3pts
17th: Everton: 3pts
18th: Portsmouth: 1pt
19th: Newcastle: 1pt
20th: Sunderland: 0pts