Portsmouth!?

When I started this footy blog I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever write about Portsmouth FC, and yet here I am, three games into the Premiership season, with Pompey staring at me with seven points and no goals allowed. The obvious question on everybody's mind is where the hell did this come from? I'm here to say, like the rest of you, that I have absolutely no idea.

Whatever manager Harry Redknapp has his boys beleiving in, it's working. Because not only can Portsmouth claim to be the only Prem team to not concede a goal, they also boast its top scorer, ex-Arsenal striker Nwakwo Kanu. And assuming their keeper, David "Calamity" James, doesn't have a relapse and go into meltdown mode like seasons past, then I'm here to say that Pompey might have what it takes to finish in the top six and qualify for Europe before it's all said and done.

Just look at their roster: Kanu is a gem, and will score 25 goals this season without breaking much of a sweat; Sol Campbell, despite the slandering he's received from the British press the past year, is a more than serviceable defender and an absolute beast on set peices; Glen Johnson is a stud defender, regardless of his age and immaturity; and midfielder Pedro Mendes, if and when he ever wakes up from that nasty challenge from Ben Thatcher, is an all-around solid midfield maestro.

It's not the Portsmouth of recent years, this much is certain, because when you see the players Harry has assembled you realize these guys aren't a bunch of slouches. They can play--and perhaps more importantly--play well with each other. Amazing how quickly a team can gel when they're winning games, so now the question is how long can they keep it up? With Calamity James between the posts, it's only a matter of time before the winning is going to stop, or atleast slow down, so it oughta be interesting to see how Redknapp and Co. respond when the going gets tough. I'm here to give them my full endorsement for a top six finish, I just hope there's still room on the Pompey bandwagon.