After another disappointing season for Cowes Sports, it is now 25 years since the club won the 1998/99 Wessex League Cup final. The Wessex Football League is obviously a far cry from the riches and glories of the Premier League. Fans of Cowes can only look on in envy at the riches of the English top flight, but at least they are entertained by the current three-horse race taking place to win English football’s top prize.
Entertaining Premier League title race
The current favourite to win the Premier League is Manchester City. They were briefly displaced by Liverpool, but after recent slips from Jurgen Klopp’s team, City are the team to beat in the eyes of bookmakers. In the latest Premier League odds from Paddy Power, City are 7/5 to win the title for a fourth successive season. After winning the title for the last three years, City would have been a lot of people’s Premier League tips to win again in 2023/24. Sadly, the title race to win the Wessex League hasn’t been as entertaining. Moneyfields have run away with the championship, and worse still for fans of Cowes, the Yachtsmen were never really in the race this season.
Unhappy anniversary
The victory over Lymington in the Wessex League Cup final in the 1998/99 season is the only one to-date in the club’s history. And with the 25th anniversary fast approaching, fans are wondering how long it will be before the glory days return to the club. The club is moving in the right direction. Max Draper has been in charge now since 2019. After a 16th-place finish in the 2022/23 season, Draper has consolidated this season and secured a mid-table finish. The question now is – can the club kick on and make a serious challenge next season? Outside of the league, the club is the current holder of the Isle of Wight Senior Cup, and after a 5-0 win over Whitecroft & Barton Sports in the quarter-finals, Draper’s team are on course to win the trophy for the 14th time.
Portsmouth’s decline has been the island’s gain
The decline of Portsmouth in recent years, sad as it is, is a boost for local football on the island. The club was relegated from the Premier League in 2010 and since then has endured a torrid time.
2 – Avram Grant became the first manager to be relegated from the Premier League in consecutive seasons, going down with West Ham this term having suffered the drop with Portsmouth in 2009-10 (in charge when relegation was confirmed). Battle. #OptaPLSeasons pic.twitter.com/h6kkCNKWtO
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 16, 2020
As a result, young football fans on the island are not tempted to hop on the hovercraft at Ryde and take the short trip to Southsea to watch the likes of Manchester City play Premier League football at Fratton Park. In Pompey’s heyday, they won the FA Cup in 2008 under the leadership of Harry Redknapp. There was another appearance in the 2010 final, but that ended in defeat to Chelsea and was the beginning of the end for Pompey as we knew it. Sad as it has been for fans of Portsmouth, it has been a lifeline for some clubs on the island, including Cowes. Had Pompey continued mixing it with the elite, fans would have inevitably made the short trip to the mainland to watch the best stars in the world play in the Premier League. Portsmouth’s loss has been Cowes’ gain. And with the 25-year-anniversary about to pass, maybe those fans will be rewarded shortly.
