Cleeve’s grandad was Blues fanatic so PO4 return to be poignant
CHARLES CLEEVE was a fanatical Pompey seasonticket holder from Southsea.
Now grandson Stephen is to visit Fratton Park tomorrow – bringing with him the King’s Lynn club he owns.
The non-league Linnets will be gunning to inflict an FA Cup upset on Kenny Jackett’s side in the secondround clash.
Placed 13th in the National League, behindclosed-doors regulations ensure the fixture will lack the usual atmosphere such Fratton Park occasions bring.
For owner Stephen Cleeve, however, it offers a poignant return to the ground he once visited with his grandfather as a 14-year-old.
The pair attended the Blues’ 2-2 draw with Brentford in September 1981, when Billy Rafferty and Jeff Hemmerman were the scorers.
Cleeve’s Uncle Terry, cousin John and his children continue to be avid Pompey followers.
Now, 39 years later, he returns – this time as owner of the club striving to claim a shock victory.
Cleeve told The News:
‘It’s nice to have that recollection of a young child going to a game with your grandfather – and then returning some years later.
‘I wanted this match because I thought it would be fitting for myself. Grandad would have enjoyed it, although would have been supporting Pompey not King’s Lynn on the day!
‘He was a season-ticket holder at Pompey for many, many years and I remember the game he took me to, although not the stand we were in. I found the programme the other day.
‘He would write to me at school and say “I have to tell you about Pompey’s defence. I’m a bit worried about this player and that player”. He would attend every home game without fail before his death in 1985.
‘My father, before he went to Singapore, was brought up on a farm in Hampshire. He’s living in Kent now, but not really a football fan. Although obviously has a soft spot for Pompey because his father supported them for all those years.
‘I’m a Chelsea fan, I was there at Wembley against Pompey in 2010.
‘But tomorrow I’ll be thinking of my grandad when I go back to Fratton Park. He would have loved to be there with me.’
King’s Lynn will reap £37,500 from Saturday’s fixture after chosen for broadcast by BBC.
They will also receive a sum for competing in the match, the precise figure obviously dependent on the outcome.
Yet the payday is inevitably significantly less than a full Fratton Park would attract.
Cleeve added: ‘It’s a killer for us, the worst possible outcome. Our fans can’t enjoy it and it would be nice to see a rocking Fratton Park.
‘That’s not going to happen and financially it’s a disaster.
‘Having said that, it is what is it, you can’t do anything about it, better to be there than not.
‘It’s a bit of bad luck – a week later and there would be some fans allowed in.
‘It’s one-dimensional football without fans, it’s just not joined up.’