Andy Cullen sends thank-you message ahead of Norwich match after Portsmouth exits
Portsmouth take on Norwich City at Fratton Park on Saturday in their first home match of the new Championship season.
The first-team squad certainly looks stronger than this time last year after impressive recruitment drives in January and again this summer.
John Mousinho has made six signings so far in this transfer window, with each player having impressed during their early appearances.
Pompey won 1-0 at Oxford in their opening league game and will be looking to build on that result against the Canaries.
Cullen thanks departing Portsmouth players in pre-match programme notes
It will be a much-changed Portsmouth side that takes on Norwich, especially compared to the start of last season.
Indeed, a significant number of the squad that got Portsmouth promoted to the Championship are no longer at Fratton Park.
In his pre-match programme notes ahead of the Norwich game on 16 August, Pompey chief executive Andrew Cullen was keen to thank those who helped to play a role in the club’s progression.
The likes of Paddy Lane and Christian Saydee were mentioned, as were loan stars from last season like Freddie Potts and Rob Atkinson.
“We thank them for their respective contributions and wish them all well in the next stage of their footballing careers,” Cullen said.
“Meanwhile, we are excited for Toby Steward, who has joined Scottish Championship club St Johnstone on a season-long loan and made an outstanding start to his time in Perth.”
Cullen was also keen to mention the investments made in the infrastructure of the club over the summer
This includes:
- A refurbished training ground
- A new fire irrigation system at Fratton Park
- Various sustainability measures to earn Green Club ‘Silver’ status
Portsmouth will continue their plan to grow sustainably
Although most Portsmouth fans are grateful for the steady progress made at their club, there will always be a noisy minority on social media complaining about a lack of ‘big name’ transfers.
These moaners have piped up again following news that Abu Kamara is set to leave Hull for a fee of around £3.5million.
Pompey fans adore Kamara for the role he played in helping the club win League One while on loan from Norwich. The calls to sign him permanently have barely quietened since then.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 52 | 10 | 11 |
However, Portsmouth are adopting a sustainable approach to progress, and that means they will not be spending £3.5m on one player any time soon.
That might be annoying to the few who want to see Portsmouth spend like they’re playing Football Manager with the cheat codes enabled, but it’s necessary for the long-term growth of the club.
Sign up for the Pompey News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Portsmouth news sent straight to your phone.