We face Portsmouth at Fratton Park for the first time in three years, here are five of their players to keep an eye on during the match.
WILL NORRIS- GK
31-year-old shot stopper Will Norris began his career in non-league football and won promotion with Cambridge United to League Two in 2014 as well as the FA Trophy and after this moved to Championship Wolverhampton in 2017. He played as a backup as they won promotion to the Premier League and in their first season back in the top flight. Norris had a loan spell at Ipswich Town in 2019-20 and then moved permanently to Burnley the following season, however he never managed to really break into the side. Due to this, he spent the 2022-23 campaign out on loan at Peterborough United, proving his status in the third tier enough for Portsmouth to sign him and make him their first choice. He played all 46 of their league fixtures and was rewarded with a league winners’ medal as well as a spot in the EFL League One Team of the Season and the PFA Team of the Year for League One. So far this season, he has kept one clean sheet in three matches but he has had to face penalties in the two games where he couldn’t stop his team conceding.
CONNOR OGILVIE- CB
Ogilvie came through Tottenham Hotspur’s academy and had his first taste of senior football with two loan spells at Stevenage and then another two loan spells at Gillingham one division higher in League One. The latter of these clubs opted to sign him permanently and in his first season as a Gills player he won their Player of the Season award. In 2021 he transferred to Pompey and won League One with them last season, he now has over 120 appearances for his club.
MARLON PACK- CM
Marlon Pack is Portsmouth’s captain and actually is a product of their youth setup and made his debut in 2010, during his first spell in Hampshire he had loan spells at Wycombe Wanderers, Dagenham and Redbridge and Cheltenham Town. In 2011, he moved to Cheltenham in a permanent manner and was named in the PFA Team of the Year for League Two in both of his season’s whilst there. This consistent good form saw him move up the Football League to League One Bristol City in 2013 and this would be his home for the following six years. During his spell with the Cider Army he won two trophies, the League One title and and the Football League Trophy (both in 2015). Pack may have left a sour taste in the mouths of Bristol City’s supporters when he left in 2019 however, as he joined Severnside rivals Cardiff City. In 2022, he moved back to Portsmouth and he had a really successful time of things last season. Not only did he win the league title and also was named in the EFL League One Team of the Season and PFA Team of the Year for League One, but in addition he was Portsmouth’s Player of the Season. Marlon assisted Portsmouth’s first goal back in the Championship in their opening day 3-3 draw with Leeds United.
CHRISTIAN SAYDEE- ST
Saydee is naturally an attacking midfielder but has been deployed as a striker in Portsmouth’s games this season, scoring twice so far. Both of these goals came in their last match away to Middlesbrough and he’s played in all of their matches this campaign. The attacker spent time in the academy’s of Reading and Bournemouth and in 2021 he made his debut for the second of those teams, although the bulk of his game time was on loan spells with non-league clubs Poole Town and Weymouth whilst at the Cherries. Following this he had loan spells in the EFL with Burton Albion and Shrewsbury Town and, at Shrewsbury, he netted seven in 35 games. Portsmouth picked him up after this and he scored four goals in his 42 matches as they won the League One title. The 22-year-old will be looking to prove himself in the Championship.
MATT RITCHIE- RW
Another player who came through Portsmouth’s academy, Ritchie is already well known to our fans due to his eight year long association with Newcastle United. In his initial time with Pompey, he made 10 appearances in two seasons and was more often found out on loan. Those loans came with Dagenham and Redbridge (where he was rather prolific, scoring 12 in 41), Notts County (he won the League Two title here) and Swindon Town. Swindon signed him on a two-and-a-half-year deal in 2011 and he won his second League Two title of his career in the first year of this contract. 2013 brought a new club to Ritchie, as he linked up with Bournemouth, he would win the Championship title and fall just short of 150 appearances here before departing for Newcastle in 2016. The first season with the Magpies added a Championship league win to his CV and he featured sporadically after the first two seasons back in the top flight, making a total of 215 appearances for Newcastle. Now at 34, he’s moved from being a squad player in the Premier League to a squad player in the Championship as he looks to wind his career down where it all began. Ritchie can also boast 16 caps and three goals for Scotland.
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