Pompey travel to Nottingham tomorrow for the last match in what has been an absolute train wreck of a season.
Team News
Michael Appleton is likely to give Scott Allan and Chris Maguire one last game in a Pompey shirt before they return to their parent clubs whilst Jason Pearce, Joel Ward and a whole host of others will play their final games for Portsmouth before moving on.
Forest top scorer will return to the side after serving a three match ban but Dexter Blackstock and Joel Lynch may miss out with knocks.
The Match
I will be glad to see the back of this season.
Stuart Gray was the latest staff member to be made redundant in a torrid year for Portsmouth Football Club which has seen many members of staff leave, many bad results on the pitch and a second relegation in three years.
The future also looks bleak with a summer firesale due to take place and the prospect of Balram Chainrai owning the club yet again, or the club going bust altogether.
Therefore, tomorrow's early afternoon match against Forest should be made the most of. The players are under no pressure and there should be a defiant, carnival atmosphere in the away section of the City Ground.
I'll be hoping that a few of our youngsters are given the chance to shine because if we are going to survive next season, we are surely going to be playing them on a regular basis.
Ashley Harris should start again but I'm hoping Sam Magri finally gets his chance to show Pompey fans why he represented his country at U-17 level. Maybe Adam Webster will be given a game too?
I doubt we'll see too much action in this match if I'm being honest. Steve Cotterill has had a difficult season at Forest and no doubt their fans will have to suffer turgid "Cotterball" and some amusing post-match interviews next season whilst Pompey will be missing key players.
But it's not really about that tomorrow. This may well be the last ever match in the 114 year history of Portsmouth Football Club so we might as well go out with a bang and make our own entertainment in the ground before watching many of our players disappear down the tunnel for the last time.
Personally, I'll be happy to finally see the end to what has been the worst season in my lifetime. My only hope now is that a Chainrai-less Portsmouth FC exists next season.
Play Up Pompey.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Forest
GK: Lee CAMP
RB: Chris GUNTER
CB: Luke CHAMBERS
CB: Joel LYNCH
LB: Greg CUNNINGHAM
RM: Paul ANDERSON
CM: Guy MOUSSI
CM: Adlene GUEDIOURA
CM: Radoslaw MADJEWSKI
LM: Andy REID
CF: Dexter BLACKSTOCK
Pompey
GK: Jamie ASHDOWN
RB: Joel WARD
CB: Jason PEARCE
CB: Ricardo ROCHA
LB: Karim REKIK
DM: Greg HALFORD
CM: Scott ALLAN
CM: Kelvin ETUHU
AM: David NORRIS
CF: Chris MAGUIRE
CF: Ashley HARRIS
Last Time: Nottingham Forest 2 Portsmouth 1 (Championship 15/01/2011)
Pompey took a deserved lead in the first half after Kanu danced his way past two Forest defenders before slotting the ball home.
It looked like that would be enough to win it but a late own goal from Ibrahima Sonko and a stoppage time strike from Marcus Tudgay turned the game around and left Pompey fans heartbroken.
Click here for the Fratton Faithful Nottingham Forest Championship Profile page.
My Prediction
There may be a party in the stands but I can see this being a typical end-of-season-with-nothing-to-play-for bore draw. Still, if a certain Sky Blue team gets a result tomorrow there may well be many Pompey fans leaving the City Ground laughing despite our own wretched season.
Source: FOOTYMAD
