Football Season Guide

Pompey's fall from grace over the last three years has been nothing short of remarkable, and their fans must've been thinking that the club cannot sink any lower when they were relegated from the Championship last season after entering administration for the second time in three years. These assumptions proved to have been far away from the truth, as it turned out that their financial struggles were far from being a think of the past, as it was announced that Pompey would need to release all of their senior players before August the 10th in order to avoid being liquidated! There were problems with making agreements with some players, most notably Kanu and Tal Ben Haim, but the club eventually managed to clear their ranks, and don't have a single senior player at the squad anymore. Only now will Pompey be allowed to make transfers, and their squad for next season will be composed of youth team products, and the loanees and free transfer signings they manage to complete over the coming weeks. Although this does seem to be a recipe for disaster, playing-wise, Portsmouth shouldn't be written off completely just yet, as they did claim an impressive 3-0 win over Bolton in the only home friendly game they played over the summer. Obviously, this game is far from being enough to make any real judgements about their side, but it does suggest that their youngsters could be competitive at this level. Making any estimations of their chances is very difficult: no one knows which players they will sign on a free, while the trainees they will be using are complete unknowns in League One and professional football alike.