There is this view that when we were in the Premier League half of the slating we got from some of the national journalists was partly because they didn’t get the sort of hot food and looking after they got from other clubs, is that true? AB: It’s absolutely true. When Chelsea put on a five star buffet in their press room it’s not because they have to or even particularly want to. It’s because they know that when a journalist has a smile on his face he might be more inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt. That’s not a criticism of my fellow journalists it’s just human nature. If you get looked after and spoilt by people you are probably one per cent less likely to criticise them. So people would come to Fratton and say “there are no TV’s for replays, or no nice meals”, and I would think ‘really, do you need that to do your job?’. When you’ve been brought up from non-league like I have you appreciate what you do get rather than what you don’t.
I know all clubs have this paranoia but when we were in the Premier League we definitely felt that elements of the press hated us? Why do they always use that awful photograph of the barbed wire, why is it always us? AB: If you look back now I would say it was because they could see the falsehood of what was going on, they were making a point that this club wasn’t matching its spending so those pictures accentuated the disparity between what was coming in and what was going out. There was a general perception that this couldn’t last.
We’ve got a feeling at Portsmouth that with the Community Club model, of not spending more than you earn, of reinvesting profit is the future, do you think that is the way forward? AB: Well I think at this level certainly, you’ve got to stop clubs trying to live the dream. If the Trust, with the backing of the city, can show that they can generate off the field revenue that enables the club to progress, then that is a huge benefit and will show football that if you get it right, get the right coach, right academy, right players paid fairly for what they do, then you can still compete at a higher level. The buy-in from the city is crucial. If you get crowds of 10,000 in League 1 then you should be at the top end of the division. If you are going to get players to compete at League 1 they are going to be looking towards the Championship and looking for the money at the top end of League 1. So where do you get that money? If it can be got outside of matchday income and from people
coming back in to back the club it allows you to progress. With the Pompey situation we are going to see if the horse can come before the cart rather than the other way around.
What do you think of the atmosphere at Fratton Park? AB: On a Saturday afternoon it’s terrific. On a Tuesday night I love it even more. I speak to people even at the biggest clubs and they say when the lights are on at Fratton Park and it’s rocking it’s just how football should be. That’s how I grew up watching football and it reminds me of that. I remember the FA Cup quarter-final with Birmingham in 2010 which was actually on a Saturday lunchtime and I’ve never heard anything like it. It was the most electric atmosphere, because at the time there was already adversity and there was just this enormous wave of emotion. It was just something to experience and I’ve rarely experienced anything like it in football. It made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. That was the game for me.
What’s Mark Kelly really like? AB: He’s an absolutely top bloke! A deep thinker about the game. I loved having John Durnin on as a guest, but Mark has bought in to what we do and joins in with the banter with the guys. What the summarisers do is fill in the gaps for us laymen. We say what’s happening, they say why. That’s how the relationship works. Whether it’s me or Kris Temple or Andy Moon, we know if we say ‘this is happening’ Mark will come in and say ‘it’s because he did that and he didn’t do that’ and his football knowledge is very good.
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