Arrests warning for Southampton and Portsmouth fans
Two hundred and sixty officers were on hand to control the situation
English Premier League News – BBC Sport : Police have warned there may be further arrests over violence in Southampton after the FA Cup tie against rivals Portsmouth.
Bricks, bottles and chairs were thrown by fans outside St Mary’s stadium on Saturday afternoon, with 11 arrests.
Investigations are continuing into incidents across the city, including violent scenes in Britannia Road.
Despite the trouble, Ch Supt Matthew Greening said the police operation to limit violence had been a success.
Previous clashes
Hundreds of fans clashed with police outside St Mary’s, in what Mr Greening described as “ugly scenes”.
Some fans suffered injuries such as bloodied noses, and cars were vandalised.
Officers were also involved in breaking up skirmishes across the city.
The clubs had not played each other for more than five years, but previous games had also seen clashes and arrests.
Two hundred and sixty officers were on hand to control the situation
The police operation was planned for weeks in advance with 260 officers, including mounted police, on duty.
Thousands of Portsmouth fans were escorted to and from the stadium, through Southampton, by officers.
Special trains were laid on to transport them between the two cities.
Southampton’s city pubs also shut for two hours after the game and a special metal security barrier was brought in to help keep fans apart close to the ground.
Two people were arrested before the game when fireworks were thrown while police were escorting two Portsmouth fans from a police station to the stadium.
Mr Greening said he thought the operation had gone well, and that the majority of fans had behaved themselves.
David James wants to rejoin Harry Redknapp at Tottenham
English Premier League Gossip – David James Gossip By Oliver Brown
David James has indicated that he wants to leave Portsmouth for Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham to cement his place as England’s No 1 goalkeeper.
Despite the stirrings of a Portsmouth revival under Avram Grant, James is deeply dismayed by the break-up of Redknapp’s FA Cup-winning team at Fratton Park and harbours a strong resolve to rejoin his former mentor at White Hart Lane.
“You could say that I’m flattered by a team of Tottenham’s stature and that it would be good for my England chances to join an upwardly-mobile club,” James told Telegraph Sport.
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With Carlo Cudicini out at Tottenham with wrist and pelvic injuries after a motorcycle accident, the likelihood of James being installed as a deputy to Heurelho Gomes by Redknapp, who has long expressed his admiration for the 39 year-old, has increased. Grant, however, claims that Portsmouth cannot contemplate the loss of James, while Tottenham are yet to make a formal approach.
James explained: “You have to focus on where you are, and I want to help Portsmouth to climb the table. The departure of so many players from the club last summer was a great pity, especially when those players are your proven goalscorers.” He was referring to Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch, both of whom remain in the World Cup reckoning and have both moved to Tottenham.
“When half of the team disperse, you feel a bit cheated,” James said.
Portsmouth have been blighted in recent months by financial uncertainty, prompting reports that players have not been paid on at least two occasions. Avram Grant, the club’s director of football, has acknowledged that they need to buy in the January transfer window.
Topics : English Premier League Gossip – David James Gossip. Source: Telegraph.co.uk
Portsmouth 4-0 Stoke
English Premier League News : Portsmouth 4-0 Stoke
Frederic Piquionne was the star as Portsmouth put their poor league form to one side to easily qualify for the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.
The much-changed hosts were always in control after Piquionne headed past Steve Simonsen on 17 minutes.
The on-loan Lyon striker then turned provider for Danny Webber to cut in and drive home, before stabbing in his side’s third after a Simonsen mistake.
Kanu added a fourth from close range late on to cap a dominant display.
The Carling Cup has provided some welcome relief from a horrendous start to the Premier League season for Portsmouth, and Paul Hart’s side can now look forward to a place in the quarter-finals.
Tony Pulis had illustrated the Carling Cup’s order in his priority list this season by making 10 changes to the side that beat Spurs at the weekend, but Stoke were still surprising lacklustre throughout.
Piquionne was one of seven changes for Pompey, but he certainly made a strong case for a starting place against Wigan on Saturday.
The French striker opened the scoring by outjumping Danny Higginbotham after a fine cross from Nadir Belhadj.
Portsmouth never looked in danger after that point, but had to wait until the 56th minute for Webber to make the game safe with a fine finish from the inside-left channel.
sgtpotter
Three minutes later and Hart’s team were out of sight as Simonsen fumbled a free-kick by Michael Brown into the path of Piquionne who completed the simple tap in.
Stoke finally hit the target late on through Tuncay – but the flag went up for offside.
And the rout was complete when Aaron Mokoena laid on a sweet pass to fellow substitute Kanu, who rounded the beleaguered Simonsen before slotting home with nine minutes left.
Portsmouth boss Paul Hart: “Obviously we need to take a little bit of that into our league performances. The players were determined to put a performance in.
“I was pleased to get a clean sheet – the more of those we rack up the better chance we have of winning matches.
“And on top of that, the number of chances we created was pleasing.”
Stoke manager Tony Pulis: “The four we conceded were very poor goals to give away and were typified by Glenn Whelan falling over the ball for their fourth.
“When we got in Pompey’s final third there were at least five times where our final ball was absolutely shocking.
“If we’d picked people out we’d have had great opportunities ourselves.”
Source: English Premier League News from BBC SPORT
Frederic Piquionne – Portsmouth Striker
Frédéric Piquionne (French pronunciation: [piki?on]; born 8 December 1978) is a French football player who plays in the forward position, currently for Portsmouth in the English Premier League.
This “International Espoir” previously played for Golden Star (division of honor in Martinique), Nîmes Olympique (second division, 2000-2001) and Rennes (first division, 2001-2004).
He has played 138 matches in the first division and scored 33 goals. This season, he played 17 matches as a holder and 1 as a substitute, scored 6 goals, played 1407 minutes, and had 1 booking.
Personal information
Full name : Frédéric Piquionne
Date of birth : 8 December 1978 (1978-12-08) (age 30)
Place of birth : Nouméa, New Caledonia
Height : 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position : Striker
Premier League FC : Portsmouth
Source: English Premier League Football Club, Portsmouth F.C., Frédéric Piquionne, Portsmouth Striker information at wikipedia.com
Sulaiman Al-Fahim – Portsmouth’s Owner
Sulaiman Abdul Kareem Mohammad Al-Fahim (born 17 April 1977 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates)[2] is the ex-CEO of the Abu Dhabi based Hydra Properties real estate development company. Al-Fahim is also owner and chairman of Premier League club Portsmouth.
Early life
Al-Fahim was born in Dubai in 1977. From the age of eleven he worked in his father’s Orient Pharmacy after school. At the age eighteen he founded the “Sulaiman Al Fahim Group” which financed education and sports in the UAE. In 1998, when he was 21, he was left orphaned after his parents and younger brother were killed in a road traffic accident near Dubai Airport. Following this loss he moved to the United States.[2] There Al-Fahim received his MBA in Finance and Real Estate from Kogod School of Business of the American University in Washington DC.
Portsmouth
On 27 May 2009, it was reported that Al-Fahim had signed a deal to take over the English Premier League club Portsmouth. Owner Alexandre Gaydamak agreed a price of around £60 million, with the deal proposed to be completed by 28 July 2009. On 13 July the club’s website said that the due diligence part of the deal had been completed, Al-Fahim Asia Associates were conducting their final commercial assessment, and that a formal application for the “Fit and Proper Persons” test to the Premier League had been submitted. On 21 July, it was confirmed that Al-Fahim had passed the test and that an agreement in principle had been reached to sell the club with Al-Fahim joining the board as chairman. On 29 July, BBC Sport reported that the sales and purchase agreement needed to be finalised to close the transaction. However, on 19 August, the club’s website revealed that a new consortium led by the current club CEO Peter Storrie was negotiating over the purchase of the team, and that Al-Fahim may be a partner in the new consortium. On 26 August 2009 The News, confirmed that Sulaiman Al-Fahim was the new owner of Portsmouth F.C. having full control of the club.
Source: English Premier League Football Club, Portsmouth F.C., Sulaiman Al0Fahim Portsmouth Owner, Premier League information at wikipedia.com