I'll begin with the new look Fratton Park.
The Milton End looks virtually unrecognisable now it has a roof. The entrances have also switched which means the home fans will now sit near the South Stand with the big screen moving to the North East corner of the ground. The away fans can certainly be heard far more clearly now which should lead to some better banter at home matches.
The big issue, however, is the additional corporate seating that has been added to the South Stand which now means the poor souls at the back of the South Lower have now got restricted views without any sort of pre-warning prior to the season.
This has angered many fans and I know how they feel having to put up with the "wonderful" views from Goodison Park and Anfield. I'm thankful that I didn't renew my season ticket now after reading a lot of the complaints coming from the fans that sit there.
It's not fair that loyal, lifelong fans are having to suffer because some suits who probably couldn't care less about the club fancy an expensive night out where they can watch United's star-studded side. Will they turn up at the Bolton game? I wouldn't put my money on it...
Sort it out Pompey! The real fans do not deserve to be treated like this!
"And breathe....."
Onto the match and it's safe to say that we weren't very good in the first half. Sol Campbell and Lauren were missing meaning that Martin Cranie played his first competitive match wearing the right coloured shirt and Noe Pamarot slotted in the centre with Distin captaining the side. Matt Taylor was left on the bench again.
The 4-3-3 formation we were playing didn't suit the players and United ended up dominating possession and then inevitably scored after Pompey forgot one of the most important rules when facing United - Don't leave Paul Scholes unmarked on the edge of the box.
Credit to Harry for changing things round at half time. Off came the impressive Cranie and the out-of-sorts Mendes for Djimi Traore and Matt Taylor meaning Hreidarsson, who was taking some much undeserved stick from a few fans, could go to the centre whilst the formation changed to 4-4-2.
The tactical changes gave Pompey a more purposeful look and Taylor showed the present Steve McClaren what he could do by whipping in a great ball and up sprang Benjani from out of nowhere to bullet a header past Van Der Sar and level the scores!
Pompey continued to make a game of it and poor David Nugent had two chances to put United to bed. The first was a shot in the centre of the box that Evra did well to deflect over the bar but the second chance he really should have done better with after being put through on goal.
Nuge's first touch wasn't good and then he slipped up at the crucial moment. This drew a bad reaction from a minor section of the home crowd but was immediately drowned out by chants of "There's only one David Nugent" as the former Preston striker had gave 110% all game.
The game's biggest talking points were yet to come though.
Sulley Muntari, already booked for a reckless challenge, stupidly dived in on Carrick and got nowhere near the ball. Steve Bennett had no choice but to dismiss him for a second bookable offence and it looked like we would have to see the game out a man down.
But, United won a corner and a scrap took place in the box. Whilst some people were wondering what had happened, others had seen Ronaldo's headbutt on Richard Hughes and we chanting "Off! Off! Off!" Bennett obliged and Ronaldo walked to chants that rhymed with "Tanker". Pompey held on and got a deserved draw.
In summary, a draw is a much better result for us than it is for them. Especially considering how many changes we had to make to the defence with the tactical switches and Pamarot going off injured in the second half.
Hopefully Harry will start Taylor on Saturday with Muntari banned as he changed the game. Benjani and Utaka also continue to impress so let's hope we can pick up our first win on Saturday against Bolton as that's gonna be our easiest game for a while.