Get them boots polished and make that your last pint and kebab,footy is back!!

The hard work starts all over again for the players of Portland FC when pre-season training starts on SUNDAY 12TH JULY at Bedford Park under the capable hands of Daz Taylor.

The sessions will get underway at 11.30am with all players asked to meet by the changing rooms at 11.15am PROMPT!

Changing facilities will be available,so come rain or shine,there's NO EXCUSE

The clubs first pre season friendly has been arranged for SUN AUG 2ND,so its Bedford Park for three weeks,and then on the road for the trip to TARLETON FC for the first warm-up game against the Preston Sunday League Div 3 Champions of last season.


All past and present players,along with any prospective newcomers will be made most welcome in joining the club for what is hoped will be a successful season.

The last two seasons have seen Portland finish in 5th spot in the Southport and District Sunday Premiership and reach two Semi-Finals in the cup competitions,so hopefully with a few new faces added to the squad the club can go one step further and add some silverware.

If your of a decent standard and looking for a club you can contact either...
TERRY SWIFT(Sec) 01704 536436
DAVE MIDDLETON (Manager) 07763763034
MALC RIMMER(Asst Manager) 07928991491

...come down,meet the lads,have a run out,and take it from there

Finally,thanks to GARRY WHITEHEAD of SOUTHPORT TILES who will be the clubs new kit sponsor for season 2009/10,club Secretary Terry Swift has also been successful in the sponsorship of a set of Track Suit tops from Birkdale based KC WORKWEAR and PROMOTIONAL so when the team take to the pitch this season they will be looking the part !



Pictured........Portlands new kit sponsored by former player Garry Whitehead of SOUTHPORT TILES..

Black and Royal Blue stripes with a gold trim,black shorts with gold trim,and black socks with three gold hoops....OH,AND GOLD NUMBERS!! ....nice!

Bump.

Portland start the season with a home fixture on Sun Sep 6th against last seasons Premiership Champions WOODWARDS FC.

A trip to Rufford Road on 13th Sep will test Portland in their first away fixture against MARSHSIDE HESKETH FC who are now under the management of John Bailey and Chris Birchall.

The following Sunday See's Ray Staffords HERALD FC visit Bedford Park,last seasons Div 1 Champions may well turn out to be a surprise package this season and will be well organized in the capable hands of their charismatic manager

Other early season fixtures..
4TH OCT FRESHFIELD ..Ainsdale Club
11th OCT BOOTLE KNOWSLEY...Bedford Park
18th OCT STERLING ATHLETIC...Bedford Park

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES TO DATE.......

Sun 2nd Aug TARLETON FC K.O. 12.00PM
Sun 9th Aug SOUTHPORT AMATEURS K.O...I.OOPM

Don't forget training starts on Sunday(12th) at Bedford Park,meet 11.15am by the changing rooms.

All welcome.

Two weeks into pre season training and already some of the newcomers have caught the eye of the Portland management team.
One player who has defiantly made an impression is a young Austrian exchange student who will be available for a few games until he returns to Salzburg in late December.

ZARKO MILIC is a powerful 18 year old left sided centre back who has already had experience of league football in his native Austria.

The youngster has made eight appearances at Reserve team level for his home town club SV AUSTRIA SALZBURG who play in the Austrian Landersliga,the forth tier of Austrian football.

Zarko hopes to take in a few Premiership games in England and hopes to watch his heroes Wolverhampton Wanderers when they are in action in and around the North West.
The young centre back loves to attack the ball and states that he likes to model his game on one of his hero's,Wolves manager Mick McCarthy...

Pictured below.......ZARKO MILIC after an afternoon in the Portland hospitality suite....

Zarko certainly looks an uncompromising sort of chap , however I would suggest that he is more of a Steven Pressley type centre back after viewing various clips on you tube .

Originally Posted by trueblue305

Zarko certainly looks an uncompromising sort of chap , however I would suggest that he is more of a Steven Pressley type centre back after viewing various clips on you tube .

I think the club have signed a gem,we have already turned down offers from Gillingham,Notts County,and Shamrock Rovers!!

SUNDAY 2ND AUG 09.

All players are asked to meet at the Portland pub car park at 10.30am for lifts to Tarleton.

£10 signing on fees are payable with your registration forms,and all pre-season matches will be £2 per man subs.

Any player making their own way to Tarleton are asked to meet at Carr Lane playing fields Tarleton at 11.10am prompt.

Kick off is at 12.00

Cry offs 07928991491

Not the best result to start the pre-season campaign,but encouraging signs from one or two of the new signings against a decent TARLETON side who had the benefit of several weeks training under their belts having started their pre-season as early as the first week in June.

The first twenty minutes killed the game for Portland when they found themselves with a mountain to climb having conceded three goals early on, and although Ross Paskin crashed a great effort against the bar for Portland the 3-0 half time scoreline were just rewards for last seasons Preston Div 3 Champions.

Portlands second half performance was better,but one or two players still look like they need to pound the streets and get those miles of road work under their belts that will in turn help them to reach those all important fitness levels(you know who you are ).

Ross Paskin managed to get on the score-sheet for the visitors,but this was not before two more second half goals had given the hosts a comfortable 5-0 scoreline.

All in all a good work out and a star performance from the hosts
man of the match DAN BIRKBY who helped himself to a hat trick
and later renewed his connection with his former manager when he put pen to paper and signed for the Portland along with a couple more of his team mates after refreshments in the near by Mere Brow Bowling Club(cheers Smig,nice butties )
Portlands squad was...

Wilkinson,Farrington,Caffrey,Yewdall,Rice,Blundell,C.Taylor,Wignall,Swash,Jones,Paskin,Thompson,Swift,Cavey,Beatham P,Beatham L,Lennie,

Next up for Portland this Sunday is a visit to Ferryside Lane against Mike Langfords Southport Ams FC...all players meet at the Portland at 11.30pm...

Southport Ams 5 Portland 3


Still plenty of work to be done before before the big kick off in a few weeks time,so its back to training at Bedford Park this Sunday with a two hour session!!

Pre season or not,this was a game that Portland should never have lost,they dominated most of the first half and should have been rewarded with a hat full of goals instead of the one goal scored by a Neil Wright header.

The heat may have took its toll on a scorching day but it was little excuse for some sloppy play in conceding four poor second half goals.

Both of Portlands second half scorers Mike Rice and Matty Swash could have added to their tally with easy chances but failed to hit the target.

SUNDAY 16TH AUG TRAINING AT BEDFORD PARK.....MEET AT 11.00PM PROMPT........SESSION WILL FINISH AROUND 1.00PM.

Next friendly.........Sunday Aug 23rd at Bedford Park against THE PARK FC.

Some great excuses are flying around,major rave last night,had to move a bathroom suite,the lawnmower blew up and i had to go to Rochdale for a new part!!!!!!!

Only four lads turned out for training this morning ,funny how you can get 17 players for friendly games yet only FOUR for a training session!

Still not a wasted morning,the "committed four" along with the management watched next weeks friendly opponents PARK FC take on CROSSENS FC in a friendly at Beddy Park before "Miggy"took his flock to McDonald's for a "thanks for turning out" brunch,Jack Faz had three Big Macks and a chocolate muffin,Taz Taylor had a Egg,Bacon,Black Pudding,Sausage,Tomato,and Weetabix Baguette,Tommy Swift just had everything of the menu........TWICE,and Lee Jones settled for a slimline Cheese and Lettuce Bagel.......and eight apple pies!!


Right,on a serious note its PARK FC next Sunday,k.o at 11.00am
so all meet at changing rooms at 10.30am prompt,i take it we will be back to the full complement of players seeing that it wont be a training session

Sunday 30th Aug is the Charity Cup V DUNES FM FC. at Meols Park k.o. 11.00am,so if you want to be considered for selection make sure that you get your arses down for the Park game........
oh me cars broke down,me mums grass needs cutting,...........................................Bollocks!

14 Club jackets available on a first come first served basis...

11 large......2 extra large......1 medium

Price £10 EACH

Available from the management this Sunday...

Pre-season friendly result..
THE PARK FC 3 PORTLAND 3

Sunday 30th Aug..Dunes V Portland at Meols Park.

All players are asked to meet at Meols Park at 10.20am,rumor has it that the long awaited debut of ZARKO MILIC could take place in this Ist round tie of the Sun Snr Charity Cup,an Austrian TV crew were seen arriving at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport yesterday to film the youngsters debut


ZARKO MILIC.....myth, or magnificent midfield maestro???

Sunday Snr Charity Cup RND 1 30/08/09 Meols Park.

DUNES 2 PORTLAND 1

They may have made the Semi-Finals in the last two seasons but the chance to go one step further in this seasons competition is over for PORTLAND after a shock first round defeat against Sun 1st Division outfit DUNES FM FC.

There can be no excuses,for this was a game in which the visitors created enough chances to win TWO football matches but still failed miserably to score more than one goal against a depleted Dunes side who played with the bare eleven players.

Portland themselves were missing the services of five players,but even so the team sheet had a decent look about it and should have been able to deal with anything that was thrown at them from the home side.

As early as the tenth minute Portland had taken control when a thunderous drive from THOMPSON crashed back of the crossbar,this was followed by three great saves from the Dunes keeper to deny JONES,TAYLOR,and THOMPSON.

Portland camped out in the home team half and ran the show from midfield,JONES in particular was giving his marker a torrid time on the left with some dazzling runs down the left flank,TAYLOR and WRIGHT pulled the strings from the centre of the park as chance after chance went begging,but for all of Portlands domination it was the home side who struck the first blow.
Keeper WILKINSON had been a virtual spectator but a simple ball over the top of the defence caught out FARRINGTON and YEWDALL for Dunes LEE KELLY to curl a shot into the corner of the net.

Portland stuck at it and where playing some great football,FARRINGTON and PASKIN both had decent headers miss the target and CAFFREY failed to connect with a pin point JONES cross as the visitors looked for an equalizer.

Dunes had a couple of half chances late on in the half with KELLY always a threat,but Portlands reward came after good work from JONES who forced the keeper to save his shot and from the rebound PASKIN was Johny on the spot to prod home from close range,it had been a half in which the visitors should have been at least 4-1 to the good but had to settle for a 1-1 scoreline at the interval.


The second period started as the first had finished with JONES again looking sharp and causing plenty of problems.
The luckless THOMPSON hit the woodwork for the second time when the keeper forced his shot on to the post after good work from TAYLOR,ALEX LENNIE joined in the attack from full back as the visitors went in search of the winner,but as the game began to stretch and legs became tired it was the home side who found that extra yard and began to dominate more of the play.

KELLY had been a threat all morning and curled in a great ball past WILKINSON who could only stand and watch as the ball nestled into the corner of the net.

At 1-2 down Portland seemed to have run out of steam and gave a debut to youngster LUKE BEATHAM for the last few minutes.

This had been a game that will have players scratching their heads this morning wondering just how they lost this cup tie after creating chance after chance,but if you don't put the ball in the back of the net you won't win football matches...simple as!!

Team.......WILKINSON,LENNIE,YEWDALL,FARRINGTON,DAMON,CAFFREY,WRIGHT,TAYLOR,JONES,PASKIN,THOMPSON,
Subs JOHNSON(Caffrey) L.BEATHAM(Paskin) P.BEATHAM.

THURSDAY 3RD SEP PORTLAND V WOODWARDS Sun Prem
KO 6.15.PM At Bedford Park
All players meet 5.45pm at changing rooms.

Portland team pictured with club kit sponsor GARRY WHITEHEAD of SOUTHPORT TILES.

Sun Prem PORTLAND 2 WOODWARDS 1

Premier League Champions WOODWARDS FC fell at the first hurdle in the opening league fixture of the 2009/10 season after going the whole of last season unbeaten in the league.

With gale force winds making it almost impossible to control the ball the game was always going to be a tale of two halves and a case of which side dealt with the conditions the best.

Portland lost the toss and were forced to defend like Trojans against the wind,new signing JACK FARRINGTON along with CHRIS YEWDALL dealt with all that Woodwards could throw at them and stood firm at the heart of the defence.

Portland could hardly gain control of the ball in the first half as the visitors set about their game with fast controlled football,WRIGHT,TAYLOR,BLUNDELL and THOMPSON worked hard in midfield to keep the Champions at bay,but time and time again balls were lofted into the home defence from all angles forcing defenders to clear their lines in challenging conditions.

FARRINGTON was a commanding figure at the heart of the defence and dealt with every header that came his way,the ex Dell Rangers stopper certainly had a game to remember and has settled in well with his new team mates.

Although Woodwards had plenty of first half possession they rarely tested WILKINSON in the home goal and seemed to rely to much on balls into the area which at times were over played and wind assisted.

As the half drew to a close Porlands attack had barely tested Paul Guy in the visitors goal and could only master a couple of half chances from PASKIN and TAYLOR.

Half time 0-0.

Portland had finished the first half with a five man midfield and kept the same formation for the start of the second half with PASKIN leading the line on his own in attack.

MATTY WIGNALL was the man with orders to roam from the centre of the park and push on as the home side took a stronger foothold with the wind now at their backs.

Woodwards had by no means set their stall out defensively for the second half and used the ball well in wide area's,but it was to be their downfall for the opening goal and as they played a series of passes across the park one such pass was intercepted by THOMPSON and from all of 30 yards he sent in a wind assisted shot that sailed high over the keeper's head and into the net for the opening goal.

Woodwards though aren't league champions for nothing and carried on regardless and hit back minutes later with an equalizer from close range.

Midway through the half Portland brought on LUKE BEATHAM for MIKE RICE,the formation remained the same but with BEATHAM now the lone striker PASKIN dropped to left midfield with WRIGHT reverting to right back.

The defence had all played their part with TOM CAFFREY in particular enjoying a fine game as an emergency left back.

The conditions had played a huge part in this game,but with the game evenly balanced at 1-1 and Portland on the attack a call for offside was waved away by Referee Ramsden allowing ROSS PASKIN a free run towards goal and as keeper Guy came out to challenge him he calmly placed the ball to the keeper's left and into an empty net for winner.

Portland had deserved victory and bounced back after sunday's shock cup defeat,the squad still needs one or two acquisitions,but a good team spirit is evident and will have done the side the world of good with this hard fought victory over last seasons Champions.

Team......WILKINSON,RICE,YEWDALL,FARRINGTON,CAFFREY.
THOMPSON,BLUNDELL,WRIGHT,TAYLOR,WIGNALL,PASKIN
Subs P.BEATHAM,L BEATHAM(Rice)


Man of the Match JACK FARRINGTON who put in a towering performance on his league debut.