Yep. Red and white stripes don't go down well in Pompey. I'll have to dig out an away kit.
Whereabouts in Portsmouth do you live, Number 23? My first job after leaving school was on Pompey's evening paper The News, quite soon after it relocated from the city centre to Hilsea, on the northern outskirts. Bit of a wrench leaving family and friends behind in Manchester, but well worthwhile. Great place to learn the ropes, and I'll always be grateful to the late Mike Neasom for taking me under his wing. The paper sold something like 100,000 copies a day back then and produced a sports paper (think it was called Sports Mail or The Green 'Un) every Saturday. I had digs in Southsea to begin with, then a flat in North End and finally a cottage-share in a lovely little village called Westbourne, near Emsworth. Pompey only attracted fairly modest gates but were pretty well established in the old Second Division (mid-70s). Shame how their fortunes have slumped, but fair play to the fans for the way they've stuck by them and turned out in numbers. Fond memories..
I live in Widley just over 'the back of the hill' but I work at the University in town. I know Westbourne and Emsworth is a favorite place for a pub-crawl.
I have a season ticket at Fratton Park - the fall from grace has been dramatic but the fans have stuck with the club which is back in the black and is being run sensibly (at last). Nice to be associated with two clubs being run by honest people with a practical, long-term view.
At the end of last season I was torn between wanting Pompey to stay up and the thought of seeing Alty at Fratton Park.
The News is still going strong and there is still a weekly Sports Mail - full colour now rather than the 'Football Pink' it used to be. I remember reading Mike Neasom's reports
A bit of an aside ... a friends son got a job reporting Havant and Waterlooville games for the Sports Mail, phoning in half-time and full-time reports (in the days before mobile internet access). Full time reports had to be called in as the whistle went to get the report into the paper as it was printed and distributed within an hour of the games ending. One week he called in his report of the riotous scenes as the H&W scored a 'last kick of the game winner'. The report was printed under an eye-catching headline and it was only after paper was in teh shops that he found out that the uproar was because the 'goal' had been disallowed.