Pompey's loan army

Last updated : 16 October 2004 By Keith Allman
This weekend, there were nine players listed on the books at Fratton pulling on the shirt of a different English club. Ivica Mornar, the tenth loanee, is at French club Rennes, and so is exempt from this list. Here's how the rest of them got on:

Mark Burchill: Lasted 74 minutes for Rotherham in their 2-0 defeat by Cardiff. This defeat leaves the Millers adrift at the bottom of The Championship, and it's their second consecutive game without scoring. As if that's not enough, they've still yet to win in fourteen games this campaign.

Gary O'Neil: Played the whole match for Cardiff, as he came face to face with Mark Burchill's aforementioned hapless Rotherham.

Kevin Harper: Despite his recent calf problem, he started for Leicester against Coventry. The game marked the beginning of the Bassett/Wilkinson managerial partnership, with 1-1 the final result - although both goals were scored after Harps was subbed.

Richard Duffy: Only played the last fifteen minutes for Burnley, as they seemed to be on target for an unlikely 1-0 victory at Ipswich. Unfortunately Matt Richards had other ideas, and equalised late on.

John Curtis: Playing his last game before returning to Fratton, Curtis was up against a side he had featured against last season - Leeds, at Elland Road. Unfortunately his Preston team couldn't emulate our win there at the tail end of last season, as they went down 1-0 to a Danny Pugh strike.

Rowan Vine: The League One player of the month endured a disappointing afternoon as Luton lost their unbeaten record. Huddersfield not only beat Mike Newell's impressive Hatters, but did so at Kenilworth Road; 2-1 the final score.

Eddie Howe: Despite the confusion surrounding his "will he, won't he" return to Fratton, Steady Eddie put it all behind him and played almost the whole match as Bournemouth tonked Port Vale 4-0.

Gary Silk: Started for Wycombe as they were beaten 2-0 by Boston United. Former Fratton winger Courtney Pitt played a part in the second goal.

Shaun Cooper: In the line-up for Kidderminster as they finally dragged themselves from 92nd in the league table. A last minute goal from Kelvin Langmead saw the Harriers snatch an unlikely 3-2 home win against high flying Scunthorpe.