“Football is a simple game, complicated by fools.” B. Shankly

And he’s totally correct. At the end of the day, it comes down to twenty two men striving to gain the upper hand on proceedings and determining the outcome of the game. The simpler the plan, the easier it is to execute.

Portsmouth Football Club have established themselves in the top tier of English football for the first time in decades by employing this philosophy. They attract capacity crowds to traditional Fratton Park and it is one of the most partisan atmospheres in which to perform. The locals are fiercely loyal to the cause and defend their island territory with a zeal that is to be admired.

There is something to be respected about Portsmouth. The recent success of the club has been built single-handedly by one man in particular. His name is Harry Redknapp. Before he arrived the club was a mess. Dwindling crowds and chronic underachievement is not a happy combination and administration duly arrived in 1998.

Now under the ownership of Alexandre Gaydamak, Redknapp has been allowed to invest £22m bolstering his squad. This sort of investment was simply unthinkable just 10 years ago. His dealings in the transfer market have been as shrewd as ever and, typically, he has scoured Europe in his search for fresh talent.

David James continues to frustrate and delight in equal measures between the posts. The unpredictable stopper is winning many plaudits in his quest to regain his England jersey from Spurs’ Paul Robinson. Age is not, however, on his side and a recall looks unlikely under the McClaren regime.

Newcastle old-boy’s Andy O’Brien and Sylvain Distin could feature regularly as well as the powerhouses of the new club captain Sol Campbell and Dejan Stefanovic. There seems little chance of being out-muscled by physical strikers but could be susceptible to quick and mobile forwards who will play on the shoulder of the last man. Lauren, Primus, Traore, Hreidarsson and Pamarot will provide the support at full-back for Pompey.

It is a strong and resolute collection of defenders and Allardyce will have to blend power and pace against it if we are to achieve a modicum of success against them – particularly at Fratton Park where the hosts are traditionally strong.

A similarly strong looking midfield will provide a tough challenge to opponents next season. Club record signing Sulley Muntari plays shotgun to Essien in Ghana’s midfield and looks to be an excellent signing. Every silver lining has a cloud however, and doubts exist about his disciplinary record. Matt Taylor is bringing calls for his inclusion to the England squad to a crescendo with a series of impressive performances and spectacular goals. He seems to be improving every year and would be a fantastic signing for Newcastle United bringing his energy and flair to our squad.

A collection of good players make up the rest of the midfield. They include Pedro Mendes, Sean Davis, Nico Kranjcar and new boy Arnold Mvuema from Rennes. They appear to have strength in depth and will be a tough nut to crack. Newcastle must keep possession of the ball and work the midfield, pressurising the defenders and matching the Portsmouth players for energy, effort and desire.

Redknapp has added David Nugent and John Utaka, from Preston and Rennes respectively, to his pool of strikers. They join the inconsistent Benjani and Kanu in the wake of the recent sale of Lua Lua to Olympiakos. It will be interesting to see how Redknapp deals when the African Cup of Nations begins however… Any type of injury to Nugent could strike a serious blow to the hopes of European qualification this season.

Allardyce must drill his defenders ruthlessly and concentration will be the key to dealing with the Portsmouth forwards. He does know how to combat Portsmouth however. His Bolton team managed to do the double over Portsmouth last season and he will be hoping for another pair of similar results this season.

Redknapp is no fool, however. He’ll be acutely aware of potential problems and deal with them as he always has done. Love him or loathe him, he knows how to get average players playing well and has always used his innate common sense when signing players and deploying them in such a way as to get results from the most unlikely of situations. His team play the game in a simple fashion and are very streetwise. He fills square holes with square pegs and his upgraded Portsmouth team will unquestionably be a tough rival for us this season.