Just seventeen miles separates the Hampshire cities of Southampton and Portsmouth. But for more than a century, for one reason or another, their two respective football clubs have seemed worlds apart. Never more so than in 2008, perhaps. While Premier League Pompey basked in their F.A. Cup glory, Saints languished in the Championship's nether regions. It hasn't always been like that, however. 'Seventeen Miles from Paradise' celebrates the pride underpinning a peculiarly south-coast passion, while at the same time delving into the murky depths of prejudice, on both sides, which all to often poisons the atmosphere at derby matches. Drawing on archive material, this book analyses the success and failure enjoyed and endured by each club, setting the definitive context for a regional pecking order which has never been easy to establish. In this battle for south-coast supremacy, where fear and loathing have invariably triumphed over mutual respect, this book attempts to set the record straight. Seventeen Miles from Paradise is an essential read for all Saints and Pompey fans.