Portsmouth told to expect unexpected as surprise Sheffield Wednesday prediction made
Pompey News presents the exclusive opinion of iconic football commentator and Portsmouth fan Ian Darke.
Portsmouth won’t have it easy in this season’s Championship, even amid Hull and Sheffield Wednesday’s financial struggles.
These two Championship teams have been punished over the summer for financial mismanagement.
The Owls have had players terminate their contracts and leave after not being paid on time, while Hull have been placed under a transfer embargo.
However, Ian Darke says there’s no guarantee that these teams will struggle as a result of these punishments.
Championship won’t be so easy to predict, says Darke
Portsmouth were promoted to the Championship last season and finished 16th despite being in the bottom three for large parts of the season.
Some have suggested that the relegation battle might be easier to survive this season thanks to Hull and Sheffield Wednesday’s woes.
However, in an exclusive interview with Pompey News, Darke suggested the league wouldn’t be so cut and dried.
He said: “I don’t think you can make predictions about how the season’s going to go until you get six to ten games in, and then you’ve got a barometer about what the division might be and what the general level of it is.
“The fact that Hull and Sheffield Wednesday have got those problems, there’s an assumption that they’ll struggle because of that. Maybe they will for a while, but yeah, we’ll see.”
Pompey will aim to consolidate in Championship
Portsmouth have made intelligent signings during the summer, with Adrian Segecic and John Swift expected to become regular starters.
They will also go into the new season brimming with confidence following their brilliant late run of form to escape the relegation zone.
They went unbeaten in their last five games and showed they were capable of giving any team a game, particularly at Fratton Park.
This, along with a reasonable set of fixtures to start the Championship season, has many Pompey fans brimming with optimism.
| Season | Position |
| 2022-23 | 8th in League One |
| 2023-24 | 1st in League One |
| 2024-25 | 16th in Championship |
Still, when pushed to make a prediction for Portsmouth, Darke suggested that John Mousinho’s men should be happy to consolidate their place in the division.
He said: “The aim will be to just consolidate their place as a Championship club in the hope that, in maybe the next two or three years, they could push on a little bit and start to think about the playoffs and possibly promotion to the Premier League somewhere down the line. But I don’t think the club have got to that point in the game yet.”
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