14-09-2024, 00:22
![[Image: Portsmouth.png]](https://i.ibb.co/t23JnpS/Portsmouth.png)
Want to feel old? The last time Albion and Portsmouth played each other, Michael Jackson was still alive, Poker Face had just hit #1, and the likes of David James, Sol Campbell, Peter Crouch, Paul Robinson, Graeme Dorrans, Robert Koren, Gianni Zuiverloon and Jonathan Greening were all on the pitch. And what's more, the last time Albion actually won at Fratton Park, Neil Clement and Scott Dobie were the scorers, Super Bob was up front, and the news was still dominated by the World Trade Centre attack a fortnight earlier. Somewhere between those two opposite ends of the decade, we had cause to love Pompey for their part in the Great Escape and then hate them for dubiously eliminating us from an FA Cup semi-final, so one way or another, the overspending team from the south coast who were destined for a symbolic implosion had plenty of impact on Albion's first decade in the 21st century.
Well, grab your Nokia phone and your cavalier attitude towards banking regulations, because the 2000s are back in style this weekend with Albion's first trip to Fratton Park in fifteen years on Sunday afternoon. Freshly-promoted Portsmouth - who emerged from their black hole of debt in 2014 under fan ownership, and then aimed to put their Mickey Mouse reputation behind them once and for all in 2017 with a takeover by the former head of Walt Disney - have fought out three draws in their four matches so far, remaining winless but not entirely toothless, despite the fewest touches in the opposition box of any team in the league and the highest percentage of long-range shots to boot. Their 3-3 thriller at Elland Road and dropping of two points at Middlesbrough due to a late penalty suggests they have it in them to reach safety this season, and are unlikely to roll over on Sunday.
So, a banana skin it may be, but provided Albion can sustain August's momentum as we enter autumn, we're capable of a first Fratton win in twenty-three years this weekend and there's no reason we shouldn't be aiming for it.
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley
