Debatable refereeing decisions and Fortnite dancing were two natural headline grabbers on Boxing Day, yet for me there was an undercurrent of pride following what I would describe as an unjust defeat at Watford.
The same cannot be said about the Pompey display just three days later at Ashton Gate.
It was a day to file under the scarily growing list of woefully bad Pompey showings away from home this season – Stoke, Cardiff, Derby and then Sunday’s abject performance.
The most damning indictment of John Mousinho’s team is that Bristol City were stronger, quicker and wanted it more in absolutely every department.
A concerning lack of effort and application all over the pitch clear for all to see – prompting a frustration fuelled response from the many in the away end.
It’s seemingly a zeitgeist of Pompey’s Championship campaign so far this year – a heavy and labouring schedule easily unsticks us by the time the third game of the week arrives.
We saw it away at Pride Park, and we saw it on Sunday.
The cycle looks a little bit like this – Pompey put in a response of a performance, usually at home, which looks emphatic, well deserved and accomplished.
It instills some faith in supporters and provides a basis of confidence for the group.
Then game two is slightly off the boil, but typically encouraging and attached to a decent result, Watford is a bit of an outlier, I felt we were value for a point at the very least.
Game three then exposes our weaknesses in the most unadulterated way, alongside a result that is really rather flattering.
The Ashton Gate 3-0 reverse could easily have been six if it was not for the assistant’s occasional flag and a handful of remarkable Schmid preventions.
What I’ve described is a vicious cycle that Pompey seemingly have little in the way of an alternative offering right now.
Luckily our home form is good and I fully expect a response on Wednesday against Swansea – the window also opens at a really good time for us, as there is currently very little beyond Mousinho’s starting XI which looks capable of accomplishing Championship survival.
Yet – the optimist in me is hopeful, Pompey are not cut adrift at the bottom of the division, and the players have proved countless times that they are a group capable of operating at this level.
2024 has been an excellent year for this football club – and if you had told any Pompey fan that we would be in this position 364 days ago, believe me, we would have all taken it.