Portsmouth F.C.
| Portsmouth Football Club Crest | |||
| Full name | Portsmouth Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Pompey, The Blues, Blue army | ||
| Founded | 1898 | ||
| Ground | Fratton Park Portsmouth | ||
| Capacity | 20,220 | ||
| Chairman |  Alexandre Gaydamak | ||
| Manager |  Harry Redknapp | ||
| League | FA Premier League | ||
| 2005-06 | Premier League, 17th | ||
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Founded in 1898, Portsmouth Football Club are an English football club based in the south coast city port of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey (also the nickname for the city) and currently plays in the FA Premier League. The club is owned by French-Russian businessman Alexandre Gaydamak.
The club's most recent trophy was won on April 27 2003 when Pompey beat Rotherham 3-2 to win the First Division championship, giving the club promotion to the Premier League for the first time since its inception.
History
Early years (1898 - 1911)
The club was founded in 1898, with John Brickwood, owner of the local brewery, as chairman, Frank Brettell was appointed as the club's first manager. A common myth is that the club's first goalkeeper was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While Conan Doyle did play for an amateur side, Portsmouth AFC, that flourished from 1882 to 1894, the first goalkeeper of the professional era was Matt Reilly who previously played for the successful Royal Artillery team.
The club's first league match was played at Chatham Town on 2nd September 1899 (a 1-0 victory), followed three days later by the first match at Fratton Park against local rivals Southampton. That first season was hugely successful, with the club winning 20 out of 28 league matches, earning them runners-up spot in the Southern League. The league was won for the first time in the 1901-02 season, by which time Brettell had been replaced by club captain Bob Blyth as manager.
The 1906-07 season was highlighted by the visit of giants Manchester United to Fratton Park in the F.A Cup, which generated a record attendance of 24,329. A 2-2 draw meant a replay in Manchester, and Portsmouth recorded a famous 2-1 win. However, this record attendance was surpassed two seasons later when Sheffield Wednesday visited Fratton for the second round of the new FA Cup.
1910-11 saw Portsmouth relegated, but with the recruitment of Bob Brown as manager the team were promoted the next season.
Climbing up the league (1919 - 1927)
Football was suspended during World War I, but following the resumption of matches Portsmouth won the Southern League for the second time. Continuing success saw them in the Third Division for the 1920-21 season. They finished 12th that year, but won the league in the 1923-24 season. The club continued to perform well in the Second Division, winning promotion by finishing 2nd in the 1926-27 season, gaining a record 9-1 win over Notts County along the way.
Life at the top (1927 - 1939)
Portsmouth's debut season in the First Division was a struggle. The next season they continued to falter, losing 10-0 to Leicester City, still a club record defeat. However, despite their failings in the league that season also saw Portsmouth reach the FA Cup final for the first time, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers.
Portsmouth managed to survive relegation, and their fortunes began to change. In the 1930-31 season the club finished 4th. The 1933-34 season saw Portsmouth again reach the FA Cup final, beating Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester and Birmingham City on the way. Unfortunately the club was again defeated in the final, this time to Manchester City.
Having established themselves in the top flight, the 1938-39 season saw Portsmouth reach their third FA Cup final. This time the club managed to defeat the favourites, Wolves, convincingly 4-1. Bert Barlow scored twice whilst Cliff Parker and Jock Anderson completed the famous victory.
Football was again suspended due to World War II, (however they did reach the 1942 London War Cup final losing to Brentford at Wembley) meaning Pompey hold the unusual distinction of holding the FA Cup for the longest period as the trophy wasn't contested again until the 1945-46 season.
Glory years (1946 - 1959)
League football resumed for the 1946-47 campaign. In Pompey's Golden Jubilee season of 1948-49, the club were tipped to be the first team of the 20th Century to win the League and Cup double. However, Pompey crashed out of the FA Cup in the semi-final against Leicester, but made up for it by claiming the league title in spectacular fashion. That season also saw a record attendance of 51,385, a record which still stands to this day.
The club retained the title the following year, beating Aston Villa 5-1 on the last day of the season, and are thus one of only five English teams to have won back to back titles since World War II.
Pompey enjoyed a fourth-place finish in 1951-52, but in the summer of 1952 championship-winning manager Bob Jackson left for Hull City. The players who had featured in the club's recent successes were now aging and the young players coming into the side were not of comparable quality. Although the team finished third in 1954-55, subsequent seasons saw Pompey struggle and they were relegated to the Second Division in 1959.
Life in the lower leagues (1961 - 1976)
Portsmouth went down to the Third Division in 1961 but were promoted back to the Second Division at the first time of asking.
A decade of mediocre performances in the Second Division followed, and despite the cash injection that accompanied the arrival of John Deacon as chairman in 1972, Pompey's fortunes failed to improve. With Deacon unable to continue bankrolling the club on the same scale, Pompey were relegated to the Third Division in 1976.
Near oblivion (1976 - 1980)
In November 1976 the club found itself needing to raise £25,000 to pay off debts and so avoid bankruptcy. The money was raised from supporter contributions after a campaign led by the local newspaper The News.
With players having to be sold to ease the club's financial situation, and no money available for replacements, Pompey were forced to rely on an untried manager, Ian St John, and inexperienced young players and were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1978.
During this period, and throughout the 1980s, Portsmouth was one of a number of football clubs with a reputation for Football hooliganism. The most notorious gang was called the 6:57 Crew. A self-proclaimed 'casual firm' of football hooligans, whose name came from the fact that many supporters would catch the 6:57 train from nearby Fratton railway station to London for away games. The advent of all-seater stadia following the Taylor report into the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 contributed to a decrease in organised football-related violence, and the 6:57 Crew was gradually reduced to nothing by the 1990s. Two books have been written about the 6.57 Crew, Rolling With the 6.57 Crew by Cass Pennant & Rob Silvester and Playing Up With Pompey By Bob Beech.
Back on track (1980 - 1988)
Pompey were promoted back to Division Three in 1980, and in the 1982-83 season they won the Third Division championship, gaining promotion back to the Second Division.
Under Alan Ball's management, Pompey narrowly missed winning promotion to the First Division twice before finally succeeding in 1986-87. Unfortunately, by the middle of the 1987-88 season the club was again in grave financial trouble, and Pompey were relegated straight back to the Second Division. The summer of 1988 saw Deacon sell the club to London based businessman and former QPR Chairman, Jim Gregory.
Waiting for success (1988 - 2002)
Jim Smith's arrival as manager at the start of the 1991-92 season, combined with the emergence of some good young players, sparked a revival in the team's fortunes and that year Pompey reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing on penalties to Liverpool after a replay. The following season, Pompey missed out on promotion to the FA Premier League only by virtue of having scored one less goal than West Ham United.
Chairman Gregory now called in the money he had lent the club over preceding seasons, and so players were sold with little funds available to buy replacements. The team's form declined, and Smith was controversially sacked in 1995 and replaced by Terry Fenwick. Relegation to the Second Division was avoided on the last day of the 1995-96 season when Pompey won away to Huddersfield Town while other results went the club's way.
In the summer of 1996 Terry Venables arrived at Pompey as a consultant, later taking over as chairman after buying the club for £1. The team enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1996-97, beating FA Premier League side Leeds United en route, but finished just short of the qualifying places for the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League. The 1997-98 season saw Venables lose his popularity with the club's supporters, as he signed several Australian players, most of whom failed to perform with much distinction, while his role as coach of the Australian national team meant he was frequently absent from Portsmouth; meanwhile, the team's results were poor. Two-thirds of the way through the season he and unpopular manager Fenwick left the club, Venables selling his shareholding back to Martin Gregory, son of former chairman Jim, while Alan Ball returned as manager. Relegation was again avoided on the last day of the season.
Pompey's centenary season, 1998-99, saw a serious financial crisis hit the club, and in December 1998 Portsmouth went into financial administration. Milan Mandaric saved the club with a takeover deal in May 1999, and the new chairman immediately started investing. Things did not get off to the best start under Mandaric, as Ball was sacked in November 1999 with the club near the bottom of the table. Tony Pulis took over and steered the club to safety, but only lasted ten months at the helm after which he was put on gardening leave (and sacked not long afterwards) due to a poor relationship with Mandaric. Veteran player Steve Claridge stepped up to manager, and some initial success saw talk of promotion to the Premiership, only for a horrific run of defeats to set in after the new year, resulting in Claridge being reduced back to player and being replaced by Chelsea coach Graham Rix. Rix did not prove an entirely popular appointment, as he had been jailed for a sexual offence two years previously, and the club only survived on the last day of the season when they won their final game and Huddersfield Town lost theirs, keeping Portsmouth up at their expense.
Over the summer, recently sacked West Ham manager Harry Redknapp was appointed Director of Football, and most observers concluded that the minute results did not swing Rix's way, he would be sacked and replaced by Redknapp. Sure enough, after an early promotion charge degenerated into mid-table mediocrity and Pompey were knocked out of the FA Cup by Third Division side Leyton Orient, Rix lost his job in early 2002, with Redknapp taking over as predicted. Former manager Jim Smith was asked to team up with Redknapp, and while he initially turned the offer down to remain as assistant at Coventry City, he soon arrived at Portsmouth after Coventry sacked most of their coaching staff near the end of the season.
Portsmouth in the Premiership (2003 - present)
In Redknapp's first full season in charge, (2002-03), he brought in a huge number of experienced Premiership players such as Steve Stone and Paul Merson. Pompey stormed the league, and the following season the club tipped for relegation surprised many by staying up. Since, Portsmouth have been ever-present in the Premiership and although continuing to struggle (they have, however, spent much of the early 2006-07 season in the top four), have produced some surprise results, notably two home wins in two consecutive seasons against Manchester United.
In their Premiership debut season, Portsmouth had one of the best home records in the Premiership, but dismal away form restricted them to a 13th place finish. Had they been able to match their impressive home form on their travels, then a top half finish or even a European place could have been achieved. After the third game of the season, a 4-0 home victory against Bolton Wanderers, Pompey topped the Premiership and were comfortably in mid-table throughout the autumn, inflicting a resounding 6-1 victory at Fratton Park on Leeds United in November 2003. A 1-1 draw against Arsenal at Highbury, when Teddy Sheringham put Pompey in control before half-time, before a foul on the title-bound Gunners' Robert Pires earned the Londoners a penalty in the closing stages of the match, which when converted effectively ended the South Coast club's chance of registering a famous away win over Arsenal, signalled the start of a run of of eleven games in a row without victory for Pompey. Later, there were suggestions, backed by evidence from video replays on BBC Match of the Day, that Pires may have dived in the box during the match at Highbury, precipitating the award of the penalty, although Pires has always vehemently maintained his innocence. Nevertheless, this draw marked the first of a horrendous run of results that left the team odds on to be relegated in mid-March. However, a 1-0 win at home to rivals Southampton followed by a first Premiership away win at Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park proved to be the catalyst for a run of form that included a famous 1-0 win over Manchester United in April, with Steve Stone (rejected by Sir Alex Ferguson on a bid to join Manchester United less than two years earlier) the scorer in Pompey's first win over Manchester United for nearly 60 years. This surprise win handed Pompey a relegation lifeline as it lifted them out of the drop-zone for the first time since February. A 1-1 draw at home to Fulham confirmed that Portsmouth would not be relegated in their first Premiership season. The club signed off their impressive Premiership debut season with a 5-1 crushing of that season's league cup winners Middlesbrough at Fratton Park on the final day of the season in mid-May 2004.
Despite their successful partnership, Mandaric and Redknapp clashed several times during their time together. At the end of the 2003-04 season Mandaric was considering replacing some of the club's coaching staff, including Redknapp's assistant Jim Smith. No changes took place, and the club scored a famous 2-0 win over Manchester United at Fratton Park in October 2004. However, despite the team's fine achievements on the pitch, behind the scenes all was not well. The two clashed again more seriously when Mandaric proposed appointing another director in November, with responsibility for the youth set-up at the club. Redknapp disapproved of the proposal but Mandaric pressed ahead and appointed Velimir Zajec. Redknapp, along with his assistant Jim Smith, subsequently resigned with immediate effect on 23 November.
Zajec took over as manager, initially as caretaker, then on 20 December 2004 the club announced that he would manage the team for the remainder of the season. Their first game under Zajec was a 1-0 away win over Bolton Wanderers, in a hard-fought match where Portsmouth captain Arjan de Zeeuw and Bolton striker El-Hadji Diouf had an on-pitch skirmish in the second half that later prompted Diouf to spit in de Zeeuw's face. However, on 7 April 2005 after a poor run of results Alain Perrin was appointed team manager, with Zajec reverting to his director's role. Portsmouth's 4-1 victory at home to Southampton on 24 April 2005 brought the club close to securing Premiership survival which became virtually certain six days later when, although Portsmouth lost at Manchester City, two clubs lower in the table failed to win their matches. A week later Portsmouth made sure of their safety by securing a 1-1 home draw against Bolton Wanderers in their penultimate game of the season. On 15 May 2005, the final day of the season, Portsmouth's 2-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion gave Albion survival for one more season and relegated Southampton, resulting in a carnival atmosphere at the end of the match which saw both sets of fans invade the pitch. The 2005-06 season thus saw Pompey play in a higher league than rivals Southampton for the first time since 1960.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Pompey's main goal threat for the past two and a half seasons was sold to Middlesbrough for £7.5m and several other players came in and out as Perrin began to stamp his authority on the club. After many years of waiting, work began on the redevelopment of Fratton Park itself - the aim being to turn a dilapidated, old style league ground into a 21st century, 30,000 seat stadium. Off the field changes also occurred with departure of Director of Football Zajec for personal reasons following a heart problem.
After a series of poor results in the 2005-06 season that set a record low number of points for a Portsmouth manager, Alain Perrin was sacked in December 2005. Former manager Harry Redknapp took charge again a couple of weeks later, leaving south coast rivals Southampton. The appointment made headlines on the sports pages of the UK press, with fans divided into strong pro and anti Redknapp camps. Unusual betting patterns shortly before Redknapp left Southampton resulted in the club and Redknapp himself being under investigation by the FA.
In January 2006, Milan Mandarić confirmed he was to sell a stake in the club to French-Russian businessman Alexandre Gaydamak[1], and a cash injection of a reported £15 million enabled Portsmouth to purchase Sean Davis, Pedro Mendes and Noé Pamarot from Tottenham Hotspur (loaning Wayne Routledge from the same club) as well as Argentine playmaker Andrés D'Alessandro loaned from VfL Wolfsburg in Germany. A 1-1 home draw against Bolton Wanderers followed by a last minute winning goal by Pedro Mendes at home to Manchester City sparked a dramatic change in form and fortunes in March and April. After gaining 17 points from 8 games, Portsmouth avoided relegation on April 29 2006 with a win in the penultimate game of the season at Wigan combined with Birmingham City's failure to beat Newcastle United to put Portsmouth beyond the pursuit of the Premiership's bottom three sides.
On 19 July 2006 co-owner and club chairman Milan Mandarić transferred full ownership of the club over to Alexandre Gaydamak. After a 7 year tenure that has seen Portsmouth rise from the brink of liquidation into the top tier of domestic football, Mandarić leaves a considerable legacy appreciated by the majority of the club's supporters. In finding a new owner who appears to have both ambition and a willingness to invest he looks to have secured a bright future for the football club. As a show of thanks to Mandarić's work and probably also due to his popularity with supporters, Mandarić remained at the club in a role as Non-Executive Chairman until the 25 September 2006.
During the summer transfer window, England internationals Glen Johnson (on a one-season loan from Chelsea), David James and Sol Campbell were signed as well as former under 21 midfielder David Thompson. Veteran strikers Nwankwo Kanu and Andrew Cole were brought in on short term contracts, with midfielders Manuel Fernandes and Roudolphe Douala joining on loan. Serbian midfielder Ognjen Koroman's loan from Terek Grozny was extended for a further season. Pompey's most expensive signing was that of Croatia international Niko Kranjčar, who cost £3.5 million from Hajduk Split.
Portsmouth made a strong start to the 2006-07 Premiership campaign without conceding any goals in their first five games and were briefly top of the Premiership. Two defeats in a row - to Bolton (1-0 at Fratton) in a match where Portsmouth dominated only to be sunk by a stunning first-half volley from Wanderers leading goalscorer Kevin Nolan and Tottenham (2-1 at White Hart Lane) in a match marred by a series of yellow cards for both sides) respectively - dented this record, but at Christmas they still occupy fourth place - good enough for automatic UEFA Cup qualification or even an outside chance for a crack at the Champions League.
Rivalries
There has historically been a fierce rivalry between Portsmouth and Southampton. This derby match has only taken place infrequently as, for much of their history, the two teams have been in different divisions. Since 1977, the teams have only played league games against each other in three seasons (1987-88, 2003-04 and 2004-05).
The Pompey Chimes
The best known chant from the Pompey supporters is the Pompey Chimes ("Play up Pompey, Pompey play up" sung to the tune of the Westminster Chimes) which is sung around Fratton Park. The origins of the 'Pompey Chimes' lies with the Royal Artillery, Portsmouth's most popular and successful football team for much of the 1890s, who played many of their home games at the United Services ground in Burnaby Road. The nearby Guildhall clock would strike the quarter hours and the referees would use the clock to let them know when the match should finish at 4pm. Just before 4pm the crowd would lilt in unison with the chimes of the hour to encourage the referee to blow the whistle signifying full time. The original words to 'The Chimes', as printed in the 1900-01 Official Handbook of Portsmouth FC, were:
Play up Pompey,
Just one more goal!
Make tracks! What ho!
Hallo! Hallo!!
With the demise of Royal Artillery after their expulsion from the 1898-99 FA Amateur Cup for alleged professionalism, many of Royal Artillery's supporters transferred their allegiance to the newly formed Portsmouth F.C. and brought the Chimes chant with them.
Club crest
Portsmouth F.C.'s club crest, like its nickname, is derived from that of the city. The official emblem contains a gold star and crescent on a blue shield. Portsmouth's adoption of the star and crescent (usually synonymous with Islam) is said to have came from when King Richard I, granted the city "a crescent of gold on a shade of azure, with a blazing star of eight points" which he had taken from the Emperor's standard of Governor Isaac Komnenos, after capturing Cyprus. It is one of the most recognisable football crests in English football and is nicknamed 'the smiley crest' because of its similarity to a smiling face.
Throughout its history Portsmouth have tried different variations of the crest before reverting back to the basic gold star and crescent. In the 1950s and '60s the traditional crest was emblazoned on the shirt in white rather than gold but this was due to white being a cheaper alternative.
Between 1980 and 1989 scrapped the original crest and replaced it with a new design. This crest showed a football on top of an anchor (representing the navy) and a sword (representing the army). An interchangble version included a circular version of the star and crescent crest in place of the football.
The return of the original crest in 1989 only lasted 4 years when it was replaced by the city's coat of arms in 1993. This design centred around the basic star and crescent but was unpopular with many fans who thought it was overelaborate. After only four seasons the original crest was again reinstated and remains to the present day.
Honours
- Football League [2]
- FA Cup [1]
- League Division One [1]
- Champions 2003
- League Division Two [0]
- League Division Three [2]
- Football League Third Division South
- Champions 1924
- Southern League [2]
- FA Charity Shield
- Shared 1949
- Wartime Cup
- Runners-up 1942
Stadium
Portsmouth play their home games at Fratton Park, in Portsmouth.
- Capacity - 20,220 (all seated)
- Opened - 1898
- Pitch size - 115 x 73 yards
The ground has been home to the club throughout its entire history, and despite improvements is showing signs of age. Therefore at the end of the 2003/04 season, having consolidated their Premier League status, plans to develop a new stadium on the adjacent disused rail-freight depot site were drawn up and approved.
These plans were superseded by a new plan to redevelop, more or less on the existing site, but realigning the pitch 90 degrees to accommodate a larger capacity, ultimately 35,000, funded in part by a "Pompey Village" luxury residential project on the adjacent site. Work on the stadium was planned to start in the summer of 2006 but did not happen. By October 2006 several alternative sites for the new stadium were also being considered including the King George V playing fields site in Cosham at the North of the city.
Club records
- Record Attendance: 51,385 v Derby County, FA Cup, 26 February 1949
- Record Victory: 9 -1 v Notts County, Division 2, 9 April 1927
- Record Defeat: 0 - 10 v Leicester City, Division 1, 20 October 1928
- Most Appearances for club: 834 Jimmy Dickinson
- Most League Goals for club: 194 Peter Harris, 1946-60
- Most League Goals in a season: 42 Guy Whittingham, 1992/93
- Most Goals for club: 208 Peter Harris, 1946-60
- Most International Caps whilst at club: 48 Jimmy Dickinson
- Transfer Record (Received): £7.5M from Middlesbrough for Yakubu, July 2005
- Transfer Record (Paid): £4.1M to Auxerre for Benjani Mwaruwari, January 2006
Non-playing staff
- Owner: Alexandre Gaydamak
- Chairman:
- Vice Chairman:
- Directors: Alexandre Gaydamak,Mark Johnson,Peter Storrie,Roberto Avondo
- Chief Executive: Peter Storrie
- Manager: Harry Redknapp
- Assistant Manager: Tony Adams
- First Team Coach: Joe Jordan
- Technical Director: Avraham Grant
- Goalkeeping Coach: David Coles
- Reserve Team Coach: Paul Groves
- Head of Youth Development: Mark Kelly
- Youth Team Coach: Shaun Brookes
- Youth Development and Recruitment: Dave Hurst, Steve Martin
- Chief Scout: Ian Broomfield
Premiership record
Portsmouth have been members of the FA Premier League since winning the old First Division in 2003. Their best finish occurred in 2004 when they finished 13th.
| Season | Pos | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04 | 13 | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 47 | 54 | 45 |
| 2004-05 | 16 | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 43 | 59 | 39 |
| 2005-06 | 17 | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 37 | 62 | 38 |
| 2006-07* | 6 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 33 | 19 | 36 |
- Pos = Position; P = Played; W = Won; D = Drawn; L = Lost; F = Goals For; A = Goals Against; Pts = Points; * = Season Not Yet Finished;
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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- 12 For Portsmouth Fans
- 1 (2001-2002 season) - In respect to goalkeeper Aaron Flahavan who had passed away in August 2001.
For recent transfers, see List of English football transfers 2006-07.
Pompey Player of the Year (1968-2006)
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Notable former players
Managerial history
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External links
- Official Website
- Portsmouth F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
- Premierleague.com - Portsmouth
- Portsmouth FC at the Open Directory Project
References
- Colin Farmery (2005). Portsmouth: the Modern Era - a Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-905328-08-7.
- Colin Farmery (1999). Portsmouth: From Tindall to Ball - A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-25-2.
- Dave Juson & others (2004). Saints v Pompey - A history of unrelenting rivalry. Hagiology. ISBN 0-9534474-5-6.
- Colin Farmery (2004). Seventeen Miles From Paradise - Saints v Pompey: Passion, Pride and Prejudice. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-89-9.
