Thank you for attending this evening’s Sky Bet League One fixture against Cambridge United.
A warm welcome to everyone connected to our visitors and also to Michael and Jane Eisner, and directors Eric Eisner and Andy Redman, who have made the journey from the USA to take in tonight’s game and Saturday’s home meeting with Reading.
I am really looking forward to showing Michael the Milton End, which has now been completed following the installation of the new lift at the north side of the Milton entrance. This will be of huge benefit to both home and away wheelchair users, offering them an elevated view of the action for the first time at Fratton Park, as well as delivering a much-improved accessible matchday for all supporters.
This game comes after back-to-back wins against Northampton and Carlisle. The former match saw home debuts for Myles Peart-Harris, Callum Lang, Tom McIntyre and Owen Moxon. We are all devasted for Tom, who suffered a hairline fracture to his ankle just 52 minutes into his Pompey career and will be unavailable for selection for several weeks. Receiving confirmation that his red card had been overturned was sorely tempered by the results from the scan we received only an hour earlier. Tom joins Joe Morrell and Terry Devlin, who are both also long-term absentees.
These setbacks made Saturday’s victory at Carlisle even more special – underlining not just the talented depth we enjoy throughout the squad, but also the mental resilience and determination they possess. John Mousinho succinctly commented last week that we cannot get too upset about it all, which is a legacy of the excuse-free mentality being created right throughout the football club.
Ahead of kick-off in Cumbria, I was delighted to join up with John and Rich Hughes to meet members of the Northern Blues supporters’ club in the team hotel. We massively respect the efforts of everyone who regularly travels the length and breadth of the country to support the team and especially those for whom a home match regularly means a round-trip of at least 400 miles.
We also met with all the different supporter groups at the Tony Goodall Fans’ Conference prior to the Northampton fixture to answer a range of questions, including activity in the January transfer window, ticketing and commercial matters, and our future vision for the stadium and training ground. I hope everyone who has read the minutes on our website found the answers informative and helpful. From our perspective, we find all forms of regular engagement invaluable and a crucial component of our club’s DNA.
Coming up at the end of the month, we will meet with the matchday experience working group for a helpful creative session to review how we can work together to continuously improve and involve supporters in the operational aspects that affect them most on the day of a game. One of the development areas emanating from the group has been the Fratton End FanZone introduced last season.
This evening it will host our long-term partners Lalys Pharmacy, who are promoting awareness and encouraging everyone in Portsmouth to consider a blood pressure check. Lalys staff members will be available to assist fans with checks and provide recommendations based on the results. They will also be back on Saturday and I hope some of you will join me, either tonight or at the weekend, for your own blood pressure check – pre-match of course!
We are also delighted to highlight our relationship with the British Red Cross, the official EFL charity partner for this season, and with whom we are teaming up to combat loneliness. This initiative brings vulnerable and isolated members of our community together with other supporters to enjoy a match at Fratton Park, to reduce feelings of isolation that some may be experiencing and to encourage new friendships and connections. We welcome 21 of them tonight and trust that they enjoy their experience among us all.
Pompey Women continue to set the pace in the National League Southern Premier Division and on Sunday, maintained their place at summit with a crucial victory at fellow promotion contenders Oxford. This followed on from two successive away wins against Ipswich – the first in the League Cup, which has set up a semi-final tie with Northern Premier Division leaders Newcastle on Sunday, February 25.
The team were thrilled to learn that the match has been switched to St James’ Park, with the home side hoping to break their record attendance of 25,000 for a women’s match. It will be a wonderful experience for the players and we have set up coach travel options for any of you wishing to be part of a special occasion. Places can be booked via the eticketing site shortly, but if you cannot make the long journey, then why not support them in the league at Westleigh Park this Sunday, when Chatham are the visitors to Westleigh Park for a 2pm kick-off.
We are back on home soil on Saturday, when this time Reading are the visitors and they have sold out their ticket allocation of 2,000. It promises to be another very special Fratton Park atmosphere and I hope many of you will be able to join us again.
Thank you for your support today and enjoy the game. PUP!
Andrew Cullen
CEO