Put your feet up Niko

Niko Kranjcar does not strike me as a naturally fit athlete.
Whenever the talented Croatian is a yard off the pace, it shows.
When he first joined Pompey he was sluggish and at the start of this season he’s been sluggish.
However, for the season in between he’s been fantastic and without doubt he’s one of the club’s leading lights.
Last campaign proved he had adapted to the Premier League, but by the end he looked like he was feeling it.
Then instead of resting, he had the demands of a European Championship with Croatia to deal with.
The result, despite additional time off, was he came back to England and looked knackered.
His ruptured ankle ligaments, therefore, is a blessing in disguise.
No injury is good news, but providing he comes back focused and puts in some hard yards, he’ll have had the rest he needed in the summer.
Pompey will get a classy ball-player back on top form ready for the Christmas period.
They’ll resist the temptation to flog him to Arsenal or Monaco and and he’ll orchestrate a Pompey surge into the top six.
That’s the plan anyway!

Vidic is nails

Depending on who you listen to, Pompey were either hopeless against Manchester United or back on track after the hammering at Stamford Bridge.

The truth is somewhere in between.

Harry Redknapp’s team battled hard during the 1-0 defeat and clearly showed the heart which was so embarrassingly absent at Chelsea.

Kaboul looked better, Campbell less shaky and Thomas a good free signing.

Pompey struggled up front and in midfield, but then it’s no coincidence that was where United excelled.

The usually wonderful Diarra was outshone by Scholes, who oozed class. How England need the ginger one!

Crouch and Defoe made zero impact - but then centre-backs Vidic and Ferdinand looked impregnable.

Rio is a Rolls Royce of a defender and although Vidic will not ‘murder yer’ as the United fans sang with tongue firmly in cheek, the Serbian is a menacing presence.

In layman’s terms - he’s hard as nails.

Note when the United man clashed heads with the hulking figure of big Sol it was Vidic who was up first and sprinting towards the changing rooms to get stitched up to return to the fray.

As he left the field, Campbell was on one knee, rubbing his head!

So Pompey were outclassed against the European champions - there’s no shame in that.

The way United moved and kept the ball was breathtaking.

At least we showed some mettle and that is a step in the right direction as Pompey emerge from the hardest start possible.

The coming games against Everton and Middlesbrough will prove a better yard stick.

A different kind of Traore

Anyone who’s had the fortune to be at a number of Harry Redknapp’s press conferences in the past year knows one thing - he loves Arsene Wenger’s Gunners.

It’s not because Harry was an Arsenal fan in his youth.

It’s simply because he marvels at the pace, power and potential of the Arsenal side.

Even the king of the transfer market wonders where Wenger finds his rough diamonds.

One player, in particular, stands out for Redknapp - Armand Traore.

There was a rumour he was related to his new team-mate Djimi.

But one look at them on the pitch (and a check on the internet) destroys that myth.

Armand is classy - David Nugent couldn't believe how quick he was in training - and so obviously a product of the Arsenal youth system.

Djimi doesn’t even resemble a footballer, let alone his cousin.

And while you get the impression Harry would have driven Djimi up to Hull himself to ensure he signed for the Tigers (he turned them down), he is Armand’s biggest fan.

The new signing will be a massive boost after the disappointment of being forced to sell Pedro Mendes.

And in time you suspect Traore will prove to be a better bit of business than paying millions for Nicky Shorey.

It suits both parties. Traore continues his development and Pompey have a genuine talent at their disposal for a season.

Mr Wenger, we thank you.

Fratton a haven for Jamo

So David James was a little shaky for England at Wembley.

As Tom Jones famously sang: 'It's not unusual.'

Thankfully, these jitters don’t extend to Fratton Park.

For this, I suggest we thank the coaching staff and the club for ensuring his confidence stays high and his value to the team is well voiced.

History reveals when this drops and the national press get him in their sights - note England displays and Liverpool career - he becomes prone to rushes of blood.

The reason for this fallability only he knows. From what he says in interviews to The News, he is an obsessive, perfectionist who finds it difficult to put mistakes to one side.

James admits himself he had ridiculously high expectations of himself at Liverpool.

Now he’s older, wiser, a more relaxed figure and in a more loving environment.

For Pompey’s sake, let’s hope it stays that way.

The trouble for Fabio Capello but the great new for Pompey fans is James is still the best in the business.


Meanwhile, the debate over John Utaka rumbles on.

This time Harry had his say on our back page. The News asked him directly what he thought of the infuriating Nigerian.

And while he wouldn’t comment on a possible sale to Lille, Redknapp left everyone in no doubt - Utaka must improve.

He has to build on his debut season and he has to show he has more than just raw pace.

Over to you John - the question is will he be around long enough to prove his doubters wrong?

Diop's all right by me

Papa Bouba Diop is an honest guy.

He admits he's got no pace and the attacking side of the game does not come naturally.

He also knows he's not a right-winger.

But that's where he's started the season, mainly due to Harry Redknapp's lack of trust in John Utaka.

Diop looks unrefined and out of position, but amid the sea of sub-standard performances so far his endeavour has stood out.

Off the field he's a gentle giant.On it 'The Wardrobe' can be brutal.

On our back page today (Wednesday) Diop says he'll do whatever is necessary for the team.

If that means struggling on the right because Harry needs him there then so be it.

But it means he rarely gets the plaudits.

He's whole-hearted despite this - and that takes courage.

Courage is something which, so far at least, has been lacking from John Utaka.

I'm not talking about the courage to go into tackles.

I'm talking about having the bottle to get on the ball and make things happen.

If anything, Diop shows more because he is not as naturally gifted as fellow African.

The Nigerian has all the attributes, but he rarely opts to use them.So often he turns back or checks his run instead of backing his pace and ability.

For fans, it's the ultimate sin.To see someone with the natural talent to reach a level they could only dream of not having the balls to at least give it a go.

That explains the fans' - and possibly Harry's - apathy towards Utaka.

It also explains why the endearing Diop is so valued at Pompey.

Harry comes out fighting

Harry Redknapp’s response to the mauling at Stamford Bridge?
To come out fighting.

Our back page today has him in typical Harry mode.

Provoked and agitated by the inept display at the billionaire’s playground that is Stamford Bridge, Redknapp went on the offensive to remind everyone of his ability.

Mega-wealthy Roman Abramovich probably thinks the credit crunch is a biscuit - it’s far to say money is not too tight to mention for Luiz Felipe Scolari.

For Harry, though, the purse-strings have
been tightened. His reaction was to pore scorn on the likes of Scolari who can hand-pick his signings.

Redknapp said: ‘Any mug can go and buy loads of players for £20m or £30m.
'My missus could go and buy Kaka.
'We could all buy the best players in the world if we had an open chequebook, but it's called managing – I have to manage this football club.
'I love looking around for loans – I enjoy that side of the job and I love that part of the game. That's managing.’

Wounded by criticism of his tactics, Harry reared up on one journalist - not from The News - who had the temerity to question the choice of 4-4-2 over 4-5-1.

Harry knows he is one the best in the lower ends of the transfer market and, while he desperately wanted the money to go for Shaun Wright-Phillips and Nicky Shorey, scrapping around for loans and frees suits him.

But as our columnist, Sky Sports Ian Darke says in tomorrow’s (Wednesday) News, Pompey’s cash ran out with the shopping half done.
Peter Crouch and Younes Kaboul have arrived, but the need to balance the books has altered recruitment, hence the loan signing of Jerome Thomas from the Championship.

The revolution will have to be evolution.
Sacha Gaydamak’s pockets are not as deep as we, or Harry, had hoped.

Opening-day misery

The opening day of the season is usually a joyous occasion.

The sun shines on pristine, unspoilt grass and your head is filled with optimism for the coming season.

So it was as I headed to the pub to watch Pompey’s trip to Chelsea.

Forty-five minutes later I was heading home, thoroughly dejected.

Not at the defeat I knew was coming - we all half-expected that - but at the manner of it.

Pompey were abject. Granted they were up against a world-class side, but Harry Redknapp’s side never tested them.

The defence, so impressive last season, had no answer to the home team’s movement.

Never mind a yard, Sol Campbell looked liked he’d lost two. This will surely be his last season at Fratton Park.

His long-term replacement Younes Kaboul had a debut to forget.

Thrown into the heart of the battle out of position in the middle of the park, he was willing but out of synch with his new team-mates.

He wasn’t helped by the decision to go with four across the midfield.
Redknapp admitted he made a rod for his own back in that he has to play both Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch up front.

The midfield was overrun, however, and Pompey
needed another body in there to combat Lampard and Deco, who was exceptional.

Finally, the default phrase for Crouch is that he has a ‘good touch for a big man’.

Well, there was no proof of that Sunday - everything was pumped towards his head.
Things may have improved in the second half, although I doubt it.

I was back in my armchair watching the Olympics.
Pompey were way out of the medals on Sunday.
They'll have to step up their game against Man United next Monday.