Another chance

Last week wasn't great. As good as the Wayne Bridge capture was, it was so long heralded as to lose most of its novelty on impact. The 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest was as embarrassing a cup exit as we've had in recent years, and a performance so inspid and spineless it would embarrass much of the 2006/07 output. Then came a week of frustration and failure in the transfer market - no Bellamy, no Parker, no Santa Cruz, no Touré. Never mind David Villa or Kaká.

Everything was set up for us to go to Fratton Park and lose. A midfield of Kompany, Gelson and Elano, a frontline of Sturridge, Caicedo and Vassell - as weak and disenchanted an opposition as Pompey could have hoped for now. It wouldn't have been a rout, but after Peter Crouch bundled in Niko Kranjčar's corner we would not have put up much of a fight.

Poor weather and poor facilities combined, however, to get the game called off. The inevitable 1-0 became P-P and City dodged a bullet. Next time we go Fratton Park we'll have Steven Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips, three or four new signings and a certain inside forward called Robson de Souza.

Not losing at Portsmouth last Saturday could turn out to be a turning point in 2009. But this new opportunity has to be exploited. We have five working days before the Wigan Athletic match, in which our deficiencies in defence, midfield and attack need to be addressed. I'm not expecting four or three signings, but two would be fantastic. Wigan are good (better than us, for sure) - but they're playing in midweek and I'd back us against most at home. Then it's Middlesbrough, Stoke and Newcastle and if all goes well we could be safe by the time of the Copenhagen games.