After landing the FA Cup under Harry Redknapp last season, the current campaign has been a bit of come-down for Pompey fans. OK, so another piece of silverware might have been too much to expect, although another solid Premier League placing and a decent run in the UEFA Cup would have been the quite reasonable expectation carried by many supporters. Neither have happened as Portsmouth slide down the league at a rate of knots, although there appears to be no managerial change in the offing at the moment.
It had been thought yesterday that the vultures had been circling Tony Adams, with Avram Grant among the names being linked to the manager’s position. However, The Guardian today reveal that Peter Storrie, the executive chairman at Fratton Park, remains fully behind the former Arsenal and England defender. But for how long?
“There has been no board meeting to discuss the manager’s position and there is not one planned,” said Storrie. “Of course, both Tony Adams and I have spoken to owner Alexandre Gaydamak. We do this on a regular basis and, at the moment, our priority has been focused on adding to the squad. We are all concerned at our current run of poor results, none more so than Tony and myself. However, it is important we all pull together and get behind Tony and the team. We are all in this together. From the board through to the coaching staff and players – we win together and we lose together.”
While many will applaud a Premier League chairman who is seemingly holding his nerve after a bad run of results, others will point to the example of Blackburn who replaced Paul Ince with the more experienced Sam Allardyce. Rovers haven’t lost a game since. Are Portsmouth fans surprised to see Adams retaining the backing of the board, or do you think he should have gone by now?