This has been coming.
We've spawned two lucky wins this year but we've been abject in almost every game this season. Flat track bullying a poor Pompey side has almost enabled this sorry, pathetic charade. The culmination of so many problems, so many poor investments, constant squad imbalance and managerial changes, on and off the field lethargy has come to this.
No one person can shoulder all the blame but it's only right its distributed fairly and squarely - but where the hell do we begin?
Firstly, Kat and Gao - a disinterested heiress of millions who sold us down the river to a potless, self-interested chinaman who has not once demonstrated to the fans what his intentions are. Not once.
The team; a gutless, spineless bunch of wimps full of empty, vacuous platitudes in alignment with the clubs marketing, almost mirroring the off the field rubbish with their performances on it. We have about 3-4 absolute 'ghost' players; they never, not once, solidly impact in a game or a run of games yet continuously get entrusted with wearing our beloved shirt.
Our captain, PEH. One of our many 'ghost' players; a fist-pumping, ardent clapping non-entity of a footballer (I use that term in it's loosest sense) who alongside an alleged local homegrown hero, JWP, has failed to dominate any midfield this season. I feel for Romeu, battling the tide with these two aboslute losers chuffing around beside him. Them two alone are the epitome of what we've become - an empty, pointless, soulless vessel drifting into oblivion.
Ralph - it's like he's had some form of head trauma and is now making bizarre decisions on a consistent basis, despite the obvious fragilities. He's got an excellent pedigree and last season proved what he could do, extracting some incredibly exciting performances from a very lightweight and poor squad. Since Rohl's went, it's like he's been either trying to prove a point or has gone completely mad with some of his decision-making. Why?
Recruitment - Reed and Wilson previously but what about the constants at the club - the dozens of nerds in tracksuits on their Apple Mac's advising that signing the likes of Hoedt, Vestergaard, Gunn, et al is actually a good idea? Millions of pounds invested by a bunch of faceless dweebs with no accountability when it comes to spunking your season ticket money on 4 minute Youtube videos of glossy dross.
The fans. Aside from the delusional pocket of optimists who think we've got a good squad and that we could be 'the best of the rest' every season, we've allowed this to happen. We've meekly surrendered over the past few seasons, accepting the steady, painful disintergration of our squad from top six to top ten, to mediocrity and then finally, to this - our lowest ebb.
Those behind the scenes - do you seriously expect us to believe that you are acting in the best interests of this club? Are you ethical and honest? Nope, I don't think so. Look at our main club sponsor. They barely even exist.
I hate to use the word 'cancerous' but this is what it's become. What's the solution with so many problems? Being relegated to the Championship won't help us 'clear the deadwood'. It goes so much deeper than that.
We can't sustain the turgid rubbish we've got on our books or sell them on, even with the finances and spotlight of the Premier League - imagine how hard it'll be a division below. We would lose anyone half decent and be left with the runts of the litter, the outcasts we can't shift on. If you think this is a mess, I'm going to hazard a guess that'll be worse.
Apart from maybe Ralph and a select band of honest pro's who will be hurting today like the fans, the rest of the above should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves; ruinous with utter contempt they've shown this clubs fans.
You don't get pumped 9-0 at home as a one-off. This has been a continuous, painful slide into the abyss over time.
