By Callum Dent
The 2010/11 season was always going to be tough for Portsmouth football club.
After the uncertainty of the club’s future, as well as being amongst the football betting for relegation, the club will look back at this season as a success despite only finishing 16th in the Championship. That was an achievement in itself after manager Steve Cotterill had a mountain to climb in the summer to try and attract players to the club despite their uncertain future.
It was never going to be easy. Promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt wasn’t a realistic target but what Cotterill did on a small budget was a credit to himself and the squad at his disposal.
His self-belief and man-management skills allowed him to bring in quality additions and give his squad a real backbone to try and succeed. He brought in players with Premier League experience such as Dave Kitson and Liam Lawrence to add to the likes of Hermann Hreidarsson and David Nugent to form a decent side that, admittedly, would need time to gel.
Pompey had an outside chance of reaching the play-offs after a resurgent run of form which included an impressive sequence of wins as they attempted to put smiles back on the Fratton Park faithful. It wasn’t to be this campaign, as they faded towards the end of a tiresome campaign but next season the play-offs should be a realistic target.
Cotterill has always reiterated the fact if he had more support from the board and more money at his disposal, he could have been celebrating promotion back to the top flight instead of watching Norwich do it on Easter Monday following a 1-0 win on the South Coast.
This season has had its ups and downs but Cotterill has found some real assets that bode well for Portsmouth’s future. The emergence of Joel Ward is a big bonus for the side as his versatility leaves Cotterill with various options and gives his squad another dimension. The form of Nugent, who they have to keep hold of if they are to progress, and Kitson was heartening as was Jamie Ashdown’s return in the sticks.
The consistency of Greg Halford certainly helped and with a few more quality additions to go with the experience within Cotteril’s squad, Portsmouth may well have a few football bets placed in their favour, at least for the play-offs, and should be a real force in next season’s second tier of English football.
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