F365 Opinion

Odds on championship: 250-1. Odds on relegation: 33-1

Manager: Harry Redknapp (since December 2005). Odds on first out the job: 17-1

Last season: 8th, 57 points; FA Cup winners; Carling Cup fourth round

Ins: Peter Crouch (Liverpool, £11m), Younes Kaboul (Spurs, £5m), Ben Sahar (Chelsea, loan), Glen Little (Reading, free).

Outs: Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan, £12.7m).

The 2007-08 season was Portsmouth's best for 58 years, since they retained the League title in 1950. Their FA Cup win against Cardiff was narrow, they were arguably fortunate against Manchester United in the quarter-finals and West Brom in the semis - but look whose name was engraved on the trophy.

In the spring of 2006 Pompey looked doomed to relegation when Harry Redknapp was struggling to arrest the slide on his return from relegating Southampton. There has been a spectacular resurgence - for the club as a whole and for individuals such as David James. The arrival of Peter Crouch to join Jermain Defoe - who was cup-tied and missed out on Wembley - bolsters the cup-winning team.

In June, detailed plans were revealed for the new stadium on Hornsea Island - work could begin next year to a 36,000-capacity replacement for Fratton Park.

Yet not everything is as rosy as might be expected, with the sale of Sulley Muntari the most obvious outward sign but far from the only one. That raised £12.7m, but losses of £23.4m were announced in April for the financial year ending in 2007. Though success on the pitch will have increased income, there is no doubt that the more expensive signings will have added significantly to the wage bill.

Lassana Diarra was a sound investment at 23 and for all that they are much travelled, Crouch and Defoe are 27 and 26 respectively. But well as James, Kanu and Campbell have performed, the re-sale value of players whose birthday cakes constitute major fire hazards must be limited and while the new signings may make up for Kanu, the other two will need replacing sooner or later.

For Portsmouth just to stay where they are in the league while moving grounds will require substantial 'investment'; to advance will require more if the crop of teams in the pack with larger supports - Villa, Everton, Spurs, Man City - remain on a solid enough footing.

I put 'investment' in quotes because strictly speaking the term requires a financial return and it is more uncertain. Can Pompey consistently fill a 36,000-capacity ground? And what will Alexandre Gaydamak do if they don't? Of all the foreign owners in the Premier League, he is the one of whom least is known, even if he speaks more often than Roman Abramovich.

For now, beyond the need to do some work on penalties, Harry must be delighted with how things are shaping up, even if he admits that his transfer fund is "not a bottomless pit, after all". What would worry him would be if an offer was made for Niko Kranjcar that the club could not - or would not - turn down.

If all the key players remain - a category that doesn't include a third England striker, David Nugent - then if Crouch and Defoe do form a winning partnership Portsmouth would hope to improve on eighth spot and reach Europe again through the league. They should be resilient enough not to get thrown by whatever happens in what is plainly the toughest August any side face: Chelsea away, Manchester United home, Everton away.

With games against Manchester City and Spurs in September (as well as a home match with Middlesbrough), if Pompey do come through in decent shape then they will be in a good position to capitalise on the easier run that will follow. And if they have struggled, then the good will from Wembley should help the crowd carry the team forward.

Philip Cornwall