How Wayne Rooney angered Portsmouth faithful after Plymouth's 3-0 defeat at Leeds United
Oh dear! Wayne Rooney has managed to antagonize the Fratton faithful ahead of Pompey’s trip to Plymouth on Tuesday night.
And, unfortunately, he’s done it without even realising it.
How, I hear you ask? Well, he’s only gone and called the Blues’ meeting with the Pilgrims a ‘derby’.
That’s a big no-no in these parts, especially with 170 miles and more than three-and-a-half hours of travelling separating both south coast cities.
However, it’s clearly a narrative he’s been fed by those around him at Plymouth, who have been desperate to make this particular fixture bigger than it actually is in the Pompey calendar for several years. The fact both cities have historic naval bases doesn’t constitute the need to constantly label the fixture the ‘dockyard derby’.
Rooney made the uneducated error when speaking to the media after his side’s 3-0 defeat at Leeds United on Saturday - a result that leaves the Pilgrims third from bottom in the table and three points above 24th-placed Pompey. He told talkSPORT: ‘Every game is a big game. So, yeah, Portsmouth at home, big game. I believe it's a derby game, so I'm sure the fans will be right up for it.’
Since then, members of the Fratton faithful have been quick to hand the man who scored nine times against Pompey for Manchester United during his playing days a lesson in what his choice of words means to them.
Responding on X, @ThorndykeGary wrote: ‘Pompey only have one game that's a derby...and it's definitely NOT Plymouth’. @HoundReasonable commented: ‘It’s not a bloody “derby game” given the time travel distance anymore than Birmingham is. If there was ever a time to prove we belong in the CH, (cos we’re a big club), this is it!’
Meanwhile, @morgantp98 stressed: ‘It's so cringe when anyone calls Plymouth/Portsmouth a derby. We have a derby, Plymouth have a derby. We don't care about each other.’
Carrying on the theme, @FinlayJohn93 said: ‘It's not a derby game’, while @GregAdampfc added: ‘Love a local Derby against 170 mile away Plymouth.’
It’s fair to say a bit of needle has emerged between both clubs in recent years, especially after their League Two play-off semi-final head-to-head in 2015-16. Pompey also took great delight when stealing the 2016-17 League Two title from Plymouth on goal difference on the final day of the season thanks to their 6-1 thumping of Cheltenham.
With both clubs currently battling for Championship survival this term, that’s the spice that will make Tuesday’s game extra special - not the 170 miles that separates the clubs geographically or their respective dockyards.