LONDON — Under normal circumstances Portsmouth would enjoy the neutral backing in Saturday's F.A. Cup final against Chelsea.
It is the mother of all underdogs, a relegated team playing the champion whose enormous wealth — or as Arsene Wenger put it "the financial doping" of Roman Abramovich — inevitably brings jealousy.
In Avram Grant, Portsmouth has a likable, respected manager who was savagely booted out by Chelsea despite coming within a whisker of leading them to the Premier League title and Champions League glory two years ago.