U-turn on Pompey's Fratton Park plans

Fratton Park is the spiritual home of Pompey and I loved every minute of a recent behind the scenes tour, thrilled to savour the atmosphere and the history. I also reckon the footballing superstars on the visiting teams must also be more than a little put out by the conditions both on and off the pitch. The 12th man, the Pompey fans, can exert real influence in the current stadium. I had accepted that the changes proposed under the chairmanship of Mr Mandaric were a fait accompli and my support would not have wavered. My heart tells me that Fratton is where Pompey is but my head tells me that if we are to become a footballing super team amongst the elite, which is where Pompey belong, we need facilities to match. I looked at the vote in the Portsmouth News before writing and as expected 50% were for staying at Pompey, the other 50% were split between the other two sites. It still means we are divided equally between those who want to stay at Fratton and those who feel a move elsewhere would be a good one. My address in Havant will make others presume I would choose Farlington, which is almost a stroll down the road. I would have no objections despite Brent Geese and Green Space Campaign, the means by which a previous application bid was dismissed. A government inspector decided that the proposed stadium was too near the breeding ground of brent geese in a nearby nature reserve. This threat to local wildlife does not seem to have detered roadwaorks and access to a new industrial estate actually adjacent to the nature reserve. Howver, going back to options for a newly located Pompey football club, my personal choice would be Tipner. The club would still be on Portsea, the stadium would rescue a site within the city in dire need of uplift and communications could be tied in with the existing road network. The rail network might be a problem but might be resolved by specialised bus links on match days especially if we are talking about a 35000 or 36000 seater stadium. The new Pompey stadium would be as striking a feature as Portchester Castle on the other side of the harbour and the Spinnaker Tower at the entrance.

I have been so moved that I have written my first email to the Portsmouth News expressing the above sentiments. Fire, riot, pestilence and diabolically stupid educational rulings from above have never moved me to print before but the future of Pompey football club has.