When Harry Redknapp walked out on Portsmouth for the second time at the end of October, the general consensus was that the immediate future looked bleak at Fratton Park. Redknapp, with the help of Milan Mandaric and whichever Gaydamak is actually pulling the strings, dragged Portsmouth kicking and screaming into Premier League regular status. Click to continue reading...

MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Robinho produced another captivating display to inspire Manchester City to a thumping 6-0 win over Portsmouth here Sunday.

This crushing win left his new club fifth in the Premier League table while Portsmouth dropped down into 12th place.

Robinho, making his second league appearance since joining from Real Madrid for a British record 32. Click to continue reading...

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 03

We're going with a 4-3-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: David James (Portsmouth)

Defenders: Callum Davenport (West Ham), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Kolo Toure (Arsenal), Vedran Corluka (Man City)

Midfielders: Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City), Antonio Valencia (Wigan), Stephen Ireland (Man City)

Forwards: Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Amr Zaki (Wigan)

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Predictably, much has been made of the Reds lack of a cutting edge up front without an obvious out and out striker available to Fergie. But on the evidence of the Champions performance against Portsmouth on Monday night there's little worry about, with Rooney and in particular Carlos Tevez looking razor sharp. Click to continue reading...

• It's clear that England is really lacking in two positions – left wing and center forward. Steven Gerrard is a very good player and performed well on the left today, but that's not his natural position and he doesn't give England much width. He needs to play in the position Frank Lampard occupied today. Click to continue reading...

It's back! Thank fuck! The Championship and SPL are in full flow already, while the Premiership kicks off in earnest today after 97 painful football-less days. It hasn't been the most explosive offseason in recent memory, dominated by the tedious Ronaldo saga and a mildly enjoyable European Championships devoid of any UK interests, but full of beer. Click to continue reading...

For some reason, I don't know why, readers were interested in our section on the best right-backs of the 2007/08 EPL season. Because of this interest, here is an updated list of the top right-backs of last season. Tottenham's Alan Hutton only played 12 games so he is not included, though he will certainly be in the 2008/09 list - he creates more opportunities for teammates than anybody on the below list - as will new Chelsea full-back Jose Bosingwa. Click to continue reading...

Manchester United retained the FA Community Shield after being taken to a penalty shoot-out for the second year running as Portsmouth tarnished their gallant performance in the 90 minutes by failing dismally from the spot. Lassana Diarra and Glen Johnson both ballooned their efforts over the bar with substitute Arnold Mvuemba seeing his effort blocked by [. Click to continue reading...

Holy players out of position, Batman! Diop on the wing?!?! ManU in a 4-2-4 (4-6 in defence) with Scholes in a holding role?!?! It all made for a very uninspiring match. ManU outnumbered Pompey in the midfield and had good possession, but very little to show for it. A few good runs from deep from Tevez, Giggs, and (surprise! Click to continue reading...

Watch Pompey choke at Wembley... Dire penalties by Lassana Diarra and Glen Johnson. Seriously, would you trust Glen Johnson in a penalty shoot-out? Bonus vid Watch Tottenham's 5-0 demolition of AS Roma below...... Click to continue reading...

So, Manchester United has picked up another piece of silverware after beating Portsmouth 3-1 on penalties in the annual curtain raiser to the new season. The game, which ended 0-0 in regular time, was a bit of a sleeper at times with Man United controlling large portions of the match but unable to score. Click to continue reading...

Pre-season games can often look like an exercise in going through the motions in preparation for the real thing, and with United failing to sign any big names this summer many supporters will no doubt be slightly frustrated at the club's inability to find a new striker.

It does seem a bit ridiculous that Fergie hasn't been able to get his man thus far given the success of last season and money in the bank. Click to continue reading...

The English Premier League is a unique league where each season brings one surprise package. Last season Portsmouth had a chance at that glory but the African Cup of Nations hampered the second half of their season. This year, however, Harry Redknapp's team is looking primed and ready to take the Premiership by storm. Click to continue reading...

You have to hand it to Harry Redknapp. Since becoming manager of Portsmouth for the second time, he's managed to convince David James, Glen Johnson, Sol Campbell, Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch to join the club. Now he's set to land another class act in the guise of Wayne Bridge ... Click to continue reading...

I've been trying to write about Southampton more often lately. I really do follow them a lot; I just haven't written much about them. Unfortunately it looks like there will be plenty to write about between their relegation fight and, most recently, the fact that Bradley Wright-Philips (yes, Shaun Wright-Philips' little brother) and Nathan Dyer were busted stealing up in Portsmouth. Click to continue reading...