Portsmouth

Their ground is a monument to a bygone age, yet for every game it is crammed full with some of the most wonderful fans in the game. But already Portsmouth Football Club is hovering in or around the relegation zone and it is not difficult to see why. For the past six years or so, they have averaged a manager a year – a situation which has provided a great deal of variety but absolutely no stability, and placed the club’s hard won premiership status in jeopardy.

Little more than a year ago, it all seemed different. The quintessentially English management team of Harry Redknapp and Jim Smith had given Portsmouth the prospect of a comfortable position in the league and earned the respect and affection of the fans. Perhaps too much. There were even rumours that the ritual chanting of ‘Arry and Jim’ increasingly irritated a chairman who had poured millions into the club and was reluctant to concede the spotlight to anyone else.

So Milan brought in Vladimir Zajec. Otherwise known as Vladimir Who? It was the start of his ‘continental period’ and inevitably it marked the beginning of the end of ‘Arry and Jim. It was a parting made more acrimonious by the fact that ‘Arry promptly went ‘down the road’ to arch rivals Southampton – a pain which would be eased by the fact that the Saints were subsequently relegated.

In keeping with the continental theme, Mandaric then recruited Alain Perrin – a Frenchman whose only bond with Zayec was that they spoke English equally badly. So Zayec quietly departed and as November drew to a close, Perrin was dismissed, leaving Mandaric to disclose that he had a new masterplan – he would appoint a British manager. It’s what the French call ‘déjà vu’.

By all accounts, the current favourite is Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock, which is interesting. Warnock’s team are at present prime candidates for promotion to the premiership. So apart from a substantial rise in salary, one wonders why Neil would exchange a club which he loves and which is on the way up to chance his arm with one that, unless he can work a miracle, is on the way down.

One other thing. As well as being very experienced, Neil Warnock is a passionate and single minded man – a manager of the old school who knows how to run a football club and will insist upon doing it his way. Ring any bells ‘Arry?

Another case of déjà vu.