FL2: Portsmouth vs Torquay Utd - 1 February 2014

Indeed register, there were several rousing renditions of Torquay to the tune of Hey Jude!! The closing part of the song, not the verses I hasten to add! It seemed to work and got everyone singing....

It was a real goosebumps affair with that song. Haven't felt that way in a Torquay crowd for quite some time. I see elsewhere that Andrew Candy has said Sweet Caroline is going from the playlist and that Hey Jude will be on it for the visit of Bury.

A pleasure for me too to re-establish contact with Chelston and his trusty sidekick.

I did indeed travel down to Surrey on Friday with chauffeured transport on Saturday morning along the A3 and through the new Hindhead tunnel. 60% of our contingent was headed to the shops at Gunwharf leaving the splinter group to walk to Fratton via the caff at Southsea Castle. Then, after the game, making sensible allowances for the shopping to go into the inevitable extra time, we were following the ubiquitous "Out of City" signs by 6pm.

There was, for Jon's benefit, a brief sighting of Merse (with a steaming hot dog) in the car park and he - sat "up high" as ever - had experienced a certain unease over the Nicholson "handball" incident. Next we became waylaid in the Pompey Megastore trying to fulfil a request from a Sheffield football enthusiast who, for reasons unexplained, wanted a couple of postcards of the ground. What did he think the shop was? A metal unit selling badges, old programmes and rattles? Mind you, at the club's current rate of decline, it could soon be so.

A marvellous turn-out from our supporters and, taking cue from previous posts, quite possibly the finest rendition of the "Hey Jude" Torquay song for the best part of forty-five years. Once I learned just how many of our fans attended I momentarily harboured hopes that we were the largest group of away supporters to celebrate a victory at Fratton this season. Unfortunately not. Would you believe that four other clubs have celebrated victory there in larger number? Pompey, hardly surprisingly, is League Two's Big Day Out.

My fourth visit to Fratton over a thirty-four year period. Last time I was there it was the season Pompey won promotion to the Premier League. Rather a lot (hasn't it just?) has happened in the intervening eleven years. This includes the throwing-up of a roof over the away end whilst seemingly leaving the splendid antiquated toilets completely unaltered. Perhaps they are a rare example of traditional "football ground bogs" which should attract Listed Building status? Anyway, back in 2003, there were endless choruses of "We're going up with Harry and Jim". Now I'd like to think that Saturday's key message was "We're staying up with Chrissie and Lee".

Hmm, but I couldn't quite join in with "We-are-staying-up" chant on Saturday. That's probably more to do with having sung it far too many times in the past than anything to do with a simple lack of faith. Also there's a personal principle involved here: not to sing promotion-escaping celebratory songs before 15 April of any season.

Or am I in a state of denial and fervently still hoping that this will be a "no sweat" season when we look forward to an end-of-season league table that suggests no danger at any stage? My travelling companion chided me for my optimism on Saturday and gloomily reminded me - as is his wont (and I've known him since school) - that we are "in a mess". Indeed, Jon and I had agreed that Chris Hargreaves needed to virtually "hit the ground running" and immediately ensure we never fell too far off the pace. Three straight defeats to start would have left us chasing 29 points off 18 games to reach 52 points. That would have been the equivalent of play-off form. 23 from 18 is far more mid-table; a start has been made. Jon was talking of a steady win one, draw one, lose one sequence. I'd been thinking of ten points from Hargreaves' first seven games; ten from the next seven; ten from the final seven (to reach 53 points).

My visit to Wimbledon encouraged me; Oxford depressed me; Portsmouth elated me. We could have had a draw at Oxford - and another one at Portsmouth - but this way was more eventful, more uplifting and we're a point better off in the process. We've not become a great side overnight but there's a definite sense of purpose and direction allied to a feeling, as I detected from the game at Wimbledon, that Chris Hargreaves will be tactically innovative. I guess that appeals to a particular side of me; somehow I'd prefer - if given the choice - to see x points gathered by variety than x points gained by the same well-oiled process. But that's a personal quirk as well as me racing ahead too soon. Anyway x+1 is always better than x. And, lest we forget, x-1 could still leave us up the creek.

But, if variety takes your fancy, Saturday was fascinating with the subtle change of personnel and the tactical switches throughout the match. The deployment of Goodwin in such fashion was inspired; making Labadie captain both telling and something of a masterstroke; Tonge's recall surprised me but it was one of his best performances and the defence stood firm; the late use of Mansell and Cruise in similar roles hinted at the likelihood of well-considered substitutions in future. Mistakes will be made; games will be lost but I'm hopeful. I sense too it's going to be constantly fascinating as opposed to boringly turgid.

As for now, until the proverbial "next game", I'd agree with a poster elsewhere that Saturday was really rather invigorating. If I'd been a neutral on Saturday I'd probably have forgotten about the game by now. But I wasn't and it'll live long in the memory. I'm glad I was there.