Avram Grant's appointment as Portsmouth's next manager is, arguably, the best thing to have happened to the club since winning the FA Cup on that memorable afternoon 18 traumatic months ago.Since beating Cardiff 1-0 at Wembley, the south coast club have suffered nothing but heartbreak yet, finally, they would appear to have a genuine reason to look forward after a succession of false starts.
Since their FA Cup victory, disillusioned supporters have seen star players such as Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe sold to Tottenham, following former Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp over to north London.
Such a loss would take its toll on any club, which is why there was genuine enthusiasm when Sulaiman Al-Fahim agreed to buy the club from Alexandre Gaydamak. The Middle Eastern businessman waded into Fratton Park wearing a club shirt which clung to his portly frame. He had pictures taken and signed autographs, yet revelations of his lack of funds soon brought the curtains down on that parade.
A second takeover followed in October when Ali al-Faraj agreed to buy up a 90 per cent majority holding with Al-Fahim retaining a 10 per cent stake. As if that was not concern enough, a shortage of funds meant players were not being paid and, on the pitch, they were failing to perform as well, as Portsmouth got off to the worst start in the history of the Premier League.
The future looked bleak with many supporters believing they would be relegated by spring time.
Yet among all the chaos, they had a manager in Paul Hart who remained optimistic. If the situation was weighing on his shoulders - and logic dictates that it was, horrendously - he did a magnificent job of concealing the fact.
Yet, sadly for him, that was not enough to grant a stay of execution. Although results slightly improved, he was relieved from his post. On Tuesday, a statement on the club's website from chief executive Peter Storrie said: "Paul has worked under very difficult circumstances with the financial restrictions the club has faced since he took over. However, the board feels that the team should have accrued more points to date and that we need a new man in charge to ensure Premier League survival."
That new man turns out to be Grant, who has been lurking in the background at Fratton Park since being appointed Director of Football in October.
It was no surprise the 54-year-old was appointed and it means the club can start building for the future once more, not to mention giving out a signal of intent that the club are determined to fight for their top-flight status. Grant had an excellent record when he took over at Chelsea following Jose Mourinho's departure. Mourinho was held in high regard by the Chelsea faithful and when Grant replaced him he was not treated to such courtesy.
However, he slowly set about changing their perceptions and when he left the club - having never lost a Premier League match at home - those once-cynical supporters were somewhat sad to see him go. In filling the shoes left by Mourinho and proving his doubters wrong, Grant has shown he has the resilience to manage at Portsmouth - a club where you never seem to know what is around the corner.
His time as Direct of Football will have made him aware of the strange conditions with which he will have to work under, yet that too appears to be no problem. He has first-hand knowledge of the stricken club and knows what a mess it is in.
Then there is his knowledge of the Premier League. Portsmouth have tried to bring in foreign managers in the past in the form of Velimir Zajec and Alain Perrin. Yet on both occasions they failed miserably. Grant, on the other hand, knows what the league is all about.
What he does not know, of course, is what the league is all about for Portsmouth. His focus at Chelsea was about winning the title; at Pompey it will just be about survival.
