Yesterday all three were sitting in the stands. Rix, a guest of Vialli, probably would of taken some satisfaction from the way that Pompey performed, and who could blame him. Redknapp on the other hand certainly wasn't smiling and told 'The Quay' that the match was a 'pile of old crap' and 'lots of these players won't be in his team'.
One who will hopefully be definitely in his team is Scott Wilson who was one of the very few players to once again emerge from this match with any credit. Buxton, O'Neil and Vine were promising but none could break Pompey out of their lacklustre deadlock. A rare start for Club skipper Shaun Derry could spark the Blues. This was because the captain had an absolutely dire game, gave away the ball, got subsituted early before storming off down the tunnel. The midfielder confirmed what this site told you last week: he is gone.
Even the half time 'entertainment' couldn't drag Pompey fans out of the doldrums. It was another indication that a professional team doesn't exist anywhere at this club. 'Nelson and Mary Rose' got 'married' in the centre of the pitch - tacky wedding dress et al. Whilst at the other end, our friend Roger took his place in goal for the dizzy stick in full tracksuit and Pompey shirt despite 'not knowing anything about it' Patronising? You bet.
The second half was even worse than the first because Pompey conceeded a goal. A bad mistake by Shaun Derry left Danny Webber clear and the Manchester United loanee fired a strong shot past Dave Beasant. Pompey failed to pick up the phone, let alone answer, and fans were left to wallow in their own frustration as the Blues failed put any sort of pass or move together.
Seconds from time, Dave Beasant got the biggest cheer when he sprinted up the pitch to run about like a headless chicken in the penalty box. Quite how he got a cheer is beyond me. It was a moment that personified un-professionalism and was once again, a la his dreadful distribution, a moment of a bygone era. Beasant has been one of the enigma's of the season - embarrassing, dreadful, cocky, yet a fans' favourite. He personifies all that is currently wrong with Pompey: unrefined and stuck in a rut. Let us hope that Redknapp can bring us into the future by signing more players of the qualitity and professionalism of Neil Barrett, Scott Wilson or Kawaguchi - there are others in the squad, but these are players who know what it means to be a footballer in the modern era. The chest beating antics of Dave Beasant are long gone.
The afternoon was topped off by two moments: firstly Kevin Harper got sent off, moments from time, for a stupid retaliation. Secondly we had to wait twenty minutes for a bedraggled group of players to emerge from the tunnel for a 'lap of honour' Once again completely unproffesional.
It absolutely pains me to say it but maybe we need to look down the road, dedicated players, a proper training ground, excellent marketing department and a brand spanking new stadium. Pompey take note.