the big rabbit gets fucked...

..is the bet this weekend as the reds of liverpool storm fratton park at the top of the premiership table. in the first half of the season, i doubt pompey will face a match with such dramatic implications.

a fixture that has already served matches against manchester and recent away losses to chelsea and arsenal becomes even more difficult this weekend. the week off should serve portsmouth well as the arsenal was riven with sloppy defense and a short-footed line-up. the result thus far, while not surprising, are not entirely encouraging either. as it stands, pompey sit just below the middle of the table and have shown a little bit of everything. regardless, a more consistently solid performance over the course of the season will be required in order to qualify to the european championship next year, especially with strong starts from manchester city, everton, and blackburn.

a win against liverpool is a catalyst for a carling cup run and confidence against the next (somewhat softer) leg of the schedule. a draw allows the pack to separate itself from pompey and a loss is a potentially demoralizing way to open the first month (1-3-2). the talent of the squad should warrant a better standing, even given the degree of difficulty in their match-ups thus far.

the blackguards are at the gate and the team must view this battle as a struggle where survival is the prize of the day and scalps and teeth are the trophies. for me, the humble reward of laying a twenty-spot on 4:1 odds is sufficient to make for a promising saturday.

the proverbial man and the hour will meet in less than a day to the sound of chimes and a horrid cacophony of steel, wood, and women screaming that should not be mistaken for the result of regurgitated irish breakfast and bloody marys. it will be redknapp's henchmen making sherman's neckties out of the rails that have, thus far, carried the irresistible force that is the reds to an unbeaten record (i know, so vivid).


make tracks, pompey. or i'm out a periwinkle blue caravan.

pompey - 2, reds - nil.