Michael Appleton's year-long roller-coaster ride at Fratton Park has appropriately come to an end with him joining Blackpool as their Championship side's manager.
A little under a year ago, Appleton arrived at Fratton Park as then Chief Executive David Lampitt's prize catch. The West Brom coach, highly-rated in the football world as a rising star, was appointed Pompey boss as the (relatively) youthful drive behind then owners CSI's bid to take Pompey back to the Premier League.
Within a week of his arrival, CSI's principal shareholder Vladimir Antonov was arrested (he faces extradition to Lithuania on embezzlement charges he denies) and the club's parent company slipped into administration shortly afterwards.
From that moment on Appleton was pedalling furiously simply to brake what was to be a swift decline in Pompey's fortunes on and off the field. The grim behind-the-scenes politicking as erstwhile owners Portpin first seemed to say they would keep the club afloat then decided they wouldn't, papered over the fault line in January.
Transfer deadline day came and went with the bulk of former boss Steve Cotterill's expensively assembled squad intact as behind the scenes the battle for the club's soul was joined. The price was inevitable administration and in February it duly arrived. The ten-point blow could have been absorbed, but the immediate scattering to the four winds of the more expensive and experienced elements in the squad - Mullins, Lawrence and Huseklepp - and their replacement with young and untested loans - Maguire and Allan for instance - could not.
Under Appleton Pompey found a man with the personal resources to be unfazed by the unfolding chaos. Performances were erratic though. Promotion-chasing Hull and Birmingham were well beaten, offset by humbling losses at Barnsley and notably a 5-1 home drubbing by Burnley. A famous last-minute draw at Southampton will be one of Appy's best-remembered results, but in the end his team was eight points from safety.
If he thought things couldn't get worse, he had another think coming. The administration of the club was proving protracted. Tyre-kickers came and and went, but the only real potential owners were either the Supporters' Trust or former owners Portpin, still searching for a final pay-day for their alleged £18 million loan.
While willing, the Trust didn't seem to have the means in the summer to do the deal. While able, Portpin hardly seemed willing owners again. In the stand-off, as the club's existence hung in the balance, Appleton couldn't sign players. Discussions with Portpin indicated a wage budget and Appy lined up his recruits, but the deals simply never got over the line. He was left with a hotchpotch of out-of-contract pros and youngsters, willing to take a gamble on Pompey's fortunes reviving sometime, some when, somehow. Appleton's persuasive powers did much to keep them on board.
On the eve of the season a squad was finally signed on loans and rolling monthly contracts, but Appleton was restricted to just 20 players. By now Appleton was fast-achieving cult status among the fans. His quiet dignity and his willingness to speak his mind - notably over Portpin's reneging on salary budget agreements - endeared him to many. The latter outburst - highly calculated - did much to turn the Trust's bid to buy the club in their favour. Appleton is an honorable man at heart and he will speak the truth as he sees it.
On the field, the jury remained out to Appleton's final game.
When Pompey played well, such as the 3-0 demolition of Crawley or turning over Yeovil, they looked a good side. Appleton is a purist and he likes his teams to get hold of the ball and pass it. His problem is that he didn't have the players with the ability to pull off the trick on a consistent basis. Much of League One is about winning the physical battles and, against Oldham for instance, his side was hopelessly mugged by a team no more than 'big'.
In the end it will be the Fratton form-book which will probably mean Appy's passing will not be universally mourned by Pompey fans. Whatever the circumstances, Appleton's sides have struggled to play well on home soil. Only Crewe can truly be said to have been convincingly beaten. Defeats to Oldham and Walsall were slipshod, Swindon outclassed us and the Cup reverses against Wycombe and Notts County simply abject. The paying punter has seen poor value for money.
Tuesday night's swan song against Brentford increasingly looked more the norm than the exception. The Bees looked stronger, fitter and sharper throughout. From the sidelines, Appleton could do nothing to halt the inevitable loss. In fact some may argue, he contributed to it. Bringing on left-footed midfielder Liam Walker on the right, shifting right-footed Ashley Harris to the left to accommodate the change, seemed to cement the perception among a sizeable contingent of fans, that for all his stoic calmness under fire, in the heat of the 90-minute battle he was found wanting.
As a man though, he was thoroughly dignified, witty and thoughtful. Like Avram Grant before him, he knew how to lead a team in a club in crisis, albeit in a different way.
Appy's going to Blackpool is an honourable solution all round. It gives the manager the chance to return to his native north west, where his family still lives, and it will give him the chance to show his talent in a stable environment denied him at Fratton Park. He goes with fans' thanks and blessing. The real Michael Appleton, football club manager, can finally stand up.
Topic: OFFICIAL CHAMPIONSHIP THREAD (Read 1348829 times)
