User:Liam falconer: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
{{Football club infobox |
{{Football club infobox |
||
| clubname = Ripon F.C. |
| clubname = Ripon F.C. |
||
| image = [[Image:Us lecce.png|180px|logo]] |
| image = [[:Image:Us lecce.png|180px|logo]]<!--Non free file removed by DASHBot--> |
||
| fullname = Ripon Football Club |
| fullname = Ripon Football Club |
||
| nickname = Pompey |
| nickname = Pompey |
||
Revision as of 05:06, 5 December 2010
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
| 180px|logo | ||||
| Full name | Ripon Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Pompey | |||
| Founded | 1898 | |||
| Ground | Wembley Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 20,688 | |||
| Owner | User:Antonio cachia Levi Kushnir Deepak Chainrai | |||
| Chairman | User:Antonio cachia | |||
| Manager | User:Antonio cachia | |||
| League | The Championship | |||
| 2009–10 | Premier League, 20th (relegated) | |||
|
| ||||
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The city and hence the club are nicknamed Pompey,[1] sometimes called The Blues, with fans that are well known for their pride and passion towards the football club. Home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from the Premier League after the 2009–10 season. Until then, Portsmouth had been a member of the Premier League for seven consecutive seasons.
During the 2009-10 season it became apparent to the club's new owner Balram Chainrai that Portsmouth were approximately £135m in debt[2] so to protect the club from liquidation, Chainrai placed the club into administration on 26 February 2010, and the club appointed Andrew Andronikou, Peter Kubik and Michael Kiely of accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young as administrators. This automatically incurred a nine-point penalty from the FA Premier League which came into effect on 17 March and resigned the team to almost certain relegation, which was mathematically confirmed on 10 April.[3] Despite the upheaval with players being sold and unpaid, the team still managed to reach the FA Cup final, which they lost 1-0 to Chelsea. On 17 June, the club's creditors voted for a Company Voluntary Agreement.[4] On 22 October, following a rejection by the Football League of proposed plans to exit administration, BBC Sport reported that the club was likely to go out of existence.[5] However, Portsmouth exited administration the following day, with Balram Chainrai regaining control of the company.[6]
Portsmouth have been champions of England twice, in 1949 and 1950, and have won the FA Cup twice, most recently in 2008 when they beat Welsh side Cardiff City 1–0 in the final. Historically, in terms of trophies won, Portsmouth are the most successful southern English club outside of London.[7]
History
Beginnings of Portsmouth F.C.: 1898–1939
The club was founded in the back garden of 12 High Street, Old Portsmouth on 5 April 1898 with John Brickwood, owner of the local Brickwoods Brewery as chairman, and Frank Brettell as the club's first manager. The club joined the Southern League in 1899 and their first league match was played at Chatham Town on 2 September 1899 (a 1–0 victory),[8] followed three days later by the first match at Fratton Park, a friendly against local rivals Southampton, which was won 2–0, with goals from Dan Cunliffe (formerly with Liverpool) and Harold Clarke (formerly with Everton).[9] That first season was hugely successful, with the club winning 20 out of 28 league matches, earning them the runner-up spot in the league. 1910–11 saw Portsmouth relegated, but with the recruitment of Robert Brown as manager the team were promoted the next season.
Football was anti 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 division 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. 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. The 1933–34 season saw Portsmouth again reach the FA Cup Final, beating Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City and Birmingham City on the way. 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 and Jock Anderson scored whilst Cliff Parker scored twice (3rd and 4th) completed the famous victory. League football was again suspended due to World War II, meaning Pompey hold the unusual distinction of holding the FA Cup for the longest uninterrupted period as the trophy wasn't contested again until the 1945–46 season.
Post-war Pompey: 1946–1971
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 Football League and FA Cup double. However, Pompey crashed out of the FA Cup in the semi-final against Leicester City, but made up for it by claiming the league title in spectacular fashion. That season also saw them record a massive attendance of 52,385, a club record which still stands to this day. The club powered their way to 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.
On 22 February 1956, Portsmouth played the first league game under floodlight against Template:F.c.. Although the team finished third in 1954–55, subsequent seasons saw Portsmouth struggle and they were relegated to the Second Division in 1959. Portsmouth went down to the Third Division in 1961 (the first former English League champions to do so) but were promoted back to the Second Division at the first time of asking under the guidance of George Smith. Despite limited financial means, Smith maintained Portsmouth's Second Division status throughout the sixties until moving upstairs to become General Manager in April 1970.
John Deacon and Pompey: 1972–1988
A cash injection, that accompanied the arrival of John Deacon as chairman in 1972, failed to improve Portsmouth's league position. With Deacon unable to continue bankrolling the club on the same scale, Portsmouth were relegated to the Third Division in 1976.
In November 1976, the club found itself needing to raise £25,000 to pay off debts and so avoid bankruptcy. With players having to be sold to ease the club's financial situation, and no money available for replacements, Portsmouth were forced to rely on an untried manager, Ian St John and inexperienced young players. Consequently, they were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1978.
Portsmouth 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, Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth were relegated straight back to the Second Division. The summer of 1988 saw Deacon sell the club to London based businessman and former Queens Park Rangers Chairman, Jim Gregory.
Smith, Venables and Mandarić: 1991–2001
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 Portsmouth reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing on penalties to eventual winners Liverpool after a replay. Portsmouth missed out on promotion to the FA Premier League only by virtue of having scored one less goal than West Ham United.
In the summer of 1996 Terry Venables arrived at Portsmouth 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.
Portsmouth's centenary season, 1998–99, saw a serious financial crisis hit the club, and in December 1998 Portsmouth went into financial administration. Milan Mandarić saved the club with a takeover deal in May 1999, and the new chairman immediately started investing. However the club only survived on the last day of the 2000–01 season when they won their final game and Huddersfield Town lost theirs, keeping Portsmouth up at their expense.
Harry Redknapp era: 2002–2008
Harry Redknapp took over as manager in early 2002, with Jim Smith returning to the club as assistant manager. Redknapp was able to make the most of Mandarić's willingness to invest in players at a time when competitors were struggling after the collapse of ITV Digital's television deal with the Football League. Just over a year later, Portsmouth were celebrating winning the Division One Championship and promotion to the Premier League, winning the title with a game to spare.[10]
The club finished 13th, 16th and 17th in their first three Premier League seasons. Redknapp had resigned midway through the club's second Premier League season, after a disagreement with Mandaric, and went on to manage bitter rivals Southampton, only to return just over a year later. This was because the side who had hastily sacked the French manager Alain Perrin were languishing in the relegation places. In January 2006, Portsmouth were bought by businessman Alexandre Gaydamak whose funding allowed for the club to buy practically a whole new squad mid-season. The signings included a quartet from Tottenham Hotspur and the highly rated Argentina international Andrés D'Alessandro on loan from VFL Wolfsburg. With large amounts of money available for the manager to make record signings, the club finished the 2006–07 season in the top half of the table for the first time, only one point short of European qualification.[citation needed]
The 2007–08 season started with Portsmouth beating Liverpool 4–2 on penalties to win the Barclays Asia Trophy after a goalless draw, with Pompey goalkeeper David James saving penalties from Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres. It was not the club's only success that season; in Portsmouth reached the 2008 FA Cup Final for the first time since 1939. They eliminated Manchester United at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals, with Sulley Muntari scoring the only goal from the spot past stand-in goalkeeper Rio Ferdinand after the dismissal of Tomasz Kuszczak, who had earlier replaced the injured Edwin van der Sar, and the following day became the only Premier League team left in the cup, following Championship team Cardiff City's surprise win over Middlesbrough. Portsmouth immediately became favourites to win the cup; in a season noted for the scalping of favourites. On 5 April, Nwankwo Kanu netted the winner as they beat Championship side West Brom 1–0 at Wembley Stadium in the semi-finals, co-incidentally the same day that the club celebrated its 110th birthday. Portsmouth went on to win the cup with a 1–0 win against Cardiff, with Kanu again scoring the only goal. The win earned them a place in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, the club's first time playing European football. Their first UEFA Cup match resulted in a historic 2–0 victory over Vitoria Guimaraes. Portsmouth went on to draw the return match 2-2 and progressing4-2 aggregate, putting Pompey in the group stages for the first time in their history.
Tony Adams and Paul Hart eras: 2008–2009
On 25 October 2008, Redknapp left Portsmouth for a second time, this time to join Tottenham Hotspur as their new manager, replacing Juande Ramos. Following Redknapp's departure, his assistant Tony Adams was promoted to the managerial role. Adams' official tenure began with a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on 29 October. On 27 November, Portsmouth managed a historic 2-2 draw with Italian giants AC Milan, going 2–0 up through goals from Younes Kaboul and Nwankwo Kanu, but Milan got back in the game through a terrific free kick from Ronaldinho and Filippo Inzaghi then netted a stoppage-time equaliser. However, such results and performances of this ilk did not continue, and the FA Cup holders bowed out of the 2009 competition at the fourth round stage with a 2–0 home defeat at the hands of Championship side Swansea City. Striker Jermain Defoe and midfielder Lassana Diarra departed in the January transfer window, making things more difficult for Adams. Rumours of his dismissal began circulating on 8 February 2009[11] and this was confirmed by the clubthe following day.[12] Youth team coach Paul Hart took over as manager until the end of the season, with Brian Kidd assisting him, and oversaw an upturn in form that resulted in Portsmouth being guaranteed Premier League safety on 16 May 2009; the club were not in action themselves that day, but Newcastle's defeat by Fulham made Portsmouth mathematically safe with two games remaining. Portsmouth finished the 2008–09 season in 14th place.
On 26 May, Portsmouth accepted a bid from United Arab Emirates businessman Sulaiman Al Fahim to buy the club following negotiations led by Portsmouth executive chairman Peter Storrie on behalf of club owner Alexandre Gaydamak.[13] A statement released by the club read "Portsmouth Football Club can confirm that it has accepted an offer from Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim to buy the club, and has been completed" "Executive chairman Peter Storrie concluded the deal with Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim in Rome on Tuesday night the 26 May".
Because of the financial problems suffered by the club, Portsmouth were forced to sell several of their top players and earners including Peter Crouch, Sylvain Distin, Glen Johnson and Niko Kranjčar. On 21 July, Al Fahim was appointed Non executive Chairman of Portsmouth. On Wednesday 19 August the official Portsmouth website announced that a rival consortium headed by current CEO Peter Storrie had also made a bid for the club; unknown at the time, this was backed by Ali Al-Faraj. Despite this, Al Fahim completed the takeover on 26 August; Al Faraj moved to review a takeover of West Ham United.
As the early stages of the 2009–10 season progressed the finances dried up and the club admitted on 1 October that some of their players and staff had not been paid. On 3 October, media outlets started to report that a deal was nearing completion for Ali al-Faraj to take control of the club. On 5 October, a deal was agreed for Al Faraj and his associates via British Virgin Islands registered company Falcondrone to hold a 90% majority holding, with Al-Fahim retaining 10% stake and the title of non-executive Chairman for two years.[14][15][16] Falcondrone also agreed a deal with Gaydamak the right to buy, for £1, Miland Development (2004) Ltd, which owns various strategic pockets of land around the ground, once refinancing is complete.[17] 2 days after the Al-Faraj takeover was completed Portsmouth's former Technical Director Avram Grant returned as Director of football.[18]
On the pitch, Portsmouth's late transfer of funds called for a flurry of transfers at the end of the window, including the loan signing of Ivory Coast international Aruna Dindane who would go on to score a hat trick against Wigan Athletic. An opening run of seven defeats saw fears Hart would be sacked. However at the eighth attempt, at Molineux Stadium, Hassan Yebda another loanee, headed the first win. Portsmouth were beaten 4–2 at home by Aston Villa in the quarter finals of the Carling Cup having beaten off Premier League high-flyers Stoke City. Yet another loanee Frédéric Piquionne was on target twice. However, because of the financial problems, the Premier League placed the club under a transfer embargo, meaning the club were not allowed to sign any players.
Paul Hart was sacked by the board on 24 November 2009, based on the poor results that left Portsmouth at the bottom of the league. Hart was offered the role of technical director responsible for players aged 18–21, but he declined it.[19] Coaches Paul Groves and Ian Woan took temporary charge of the team.[20] On 26 November 2009, Portsmouth FC announced on their official website that Avram Grant had been appointed as manager.[21][22]
On 3 December 2009, it was announced that the club had failed to pay the players for the second consecutive month, on the 31st it was announced player's wages would again be paid late on 5 January 2010. According to common football contracts, the players then had the right to terminate their contracts and leave the club without any compensation for the club, upon giving two weeks notice. Despite the financial difficulties, Grant's time as manager was initially successful, having won two of his first four games in charge (against Sunderland and Liverpool) and only narrowly missing out on a point against league leaders Chelsea.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) filed a winding-up petition against Portsmouth at the High Court in London on 23 December 2009. Initially, the club denied the winding-up order and a statement was released via the club's website. In the statement the club said that they expected the winding-up order to be retracted as the matter had been sorted, with the club co-operating with HMRC over all points raised in the winding-up order. The High Courts dismissed the claim, and a statement from Portsmouth said the Judge "considered any appeal to the Court of Appeal would have a 'real chance of success'".
Relegation and Administration: 2010
It was announced on 5 January 2010 that the Premier League were to use Portsmouth's share of the latest installment of television broadcast monies to pay off the club's debts to other top-flight sides. Chelsea, Tottenham and Watford were all owed money by Portsmouth (as were Udinese and Lens). The Premier League split £7m between them. The action is allowed within league rules to protect clubs that are owed money from transfers. On 26 January, the Premier League partially lifted the transfer embargo, and allowed the club to sign and register loanees, and players not registered to other clubs. Portsmouth managed to sell a few players, garnering the hope that bills and staff might get paid on time. On 28 January, the deep financial trouble of Pompey was further highlighted by the temporary closure of the Portsmouth website, after the club failed to pay their bills for its upkeep to their Bournemouth-based digital agency Juicy.[23][24] The website was back live several hours later after Juicy announced a new financial arrangement with Portsmouth FC.[25] As of 2 February, Portsmouth staff and players appeared not to have been paid their wages on time for the fourth time in five months, causing Portsmouth's PFA representative to call for more openness from within the club.
On 4 February, Portsmouth was taken over by its fourth owner in one season: Balram Chainrai. A Nepalese businessman based in Hong Kong, Chainrai took over Portsmouth as part of a clause in a loan deal he made with the previous owners. He is thought to have given the club between £15m and £20m but the debts were not repaid.[26] A full court hearing was held on 10 February and the club was given a 'stay-of-execution' for a further seven days with a view to securing a new buyer. If the club did not enter administration or the HMRC did not recover its money, the club could have been wound up by the Court and a liquidator appointed. Insolvency specialist Vantis was appointed to prepare a statement of the club's assets and liabilities.[27] The club did not secure a new buyer by the 25 February deadline,[28] and on 26 February UHY Hacker Young were appointed as administrators.[29] A formal announcement was made that the club would be docked 9 points once the Premier League board met to agree when the points should formally be taken. The Premier League decided to delay their decision until the Court case on 15 March decided the club's fate. HMRC contested the Administration that was implemented on 26 February, but withdrew a winding-up order on 11 March having received documentation proving its validity. On 12 March, Peter Storrie stepped down as the club's chief executive, although he remained at the club in the short term as a Consultant to the Administrator. On 15 March a consortium fronted by Rob Lloyd entered a period of exclusivity to buy Portsmouth FC; Lloyd met 19 invited fans at the Hilton Portsmouth on Sunday 14th to outline his group's plans and to answer questions.[30]
On 17 March, Portsmouth were docked nine points for entering administration.[31] On 24 March, Administrator Andrew Andronikou revealed that the club would be looking to start the next season with a whole new squad. Players with expiring contracts would be allowed to leave and Portsmouth FC was looking to sell between 8–10 players. Overall, up to 20 players might leave the team after the 2009–10 Premier League season. The club will be looking to build their team from free transfers in the summer transfer window in order to save money.[32] On 8 April, Portsmouth announced a new five-year kit supply deal with Kappa. They started to wear a Kappa strip in the FA Cup semi-final on 11 April 2010. On 9 April it was announced David Lampitt would be joining Portsmouth as their new CEO after he had worked a period of notice at the FA his current employer. Portsmouth were relegated to the Championship the following day after West Ham United beat Sunderland. Despite this, Portsmouth won their FA Cup semi-final match against Tottenham 2–0 after extra-time the next day, with goals from Frédéric Piquionne and Kevin-Prince Boateng winning the match. They faced Chelsea in the final at Wembley on 15 May and lost 1-0 to a goal from Didier Drogba. Despite being entitled to a place in the following season's UEFA Europa League, the club will not be able to participate in the competition. Due to the club's well documented financial struggles they were not able to apply for a UEFA club license – a prerequisite to compete in the tournament.[citation needed] They appealed to UEFA for a club licence to be eligible to play in the Europa League the next season, but the appeal request was rejected by the English FA on 22 April 2010. Despite this on 18 May the Administrator announced he was to press ahead with the club's application for a Europa League Licence. The FA again re-iterated at the end of May they would not support the club's bid.
In May, Avram Grant left Portsmouth and later joined West Ham, whose win over Sunderland relegated Pompey. On 17 June, the CVA was formally agreed with creditors with a 81.3% majority; Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Paul Hart and the agent of Pompey midfielder Tommy Smith were the only ones to reject it, but HMRC appealed against the CVA due to the reduction of their considerable debt.[33] On 15 July 2010 HMRC appealed against the proposed CVA on the last day before it would be formally agreed,[34] the case was originally going to take place in October 2010, but after an appeal from the administrators at the club it was set for 3 August at the High Court in London. The case was heard by Mr Justice Mann from 3 to 5 August where, having heard submissions from both sides, he turned down HMRC's appeal on all five counts put forward by the revenue service. HMRC decided not to appeal against the verdict, leaving Portsmouth's administrators to formally agree the CVA and bring the club out of administration.[35] On 17 August, Belran Chainrai completed his takeover of the club and passed the owners and Directors F&PPT.
Steve Cotterill, Championship and Administration exit: 2010-present
Former Notts County manager Steve Cotterill was appointed manager of the club in June 2010 on a three-year contract.[36] During the 2010 Summer transfer window, forward Tommy Smith left the club for Queens Park Rangers. Marc Wilson, who had only recently been named captain, then signed for Stoke City on deadline day, with Stoke players Dave Kitson and Liam Lawrence moving to Fratton Park as part of the deal.[37] Earlier in the summer, defenders Ibrahima Sonko and Carl Dickinson had also been drafted in from Stoke on loan. The squad was further strengthened by free-agents Ricardo Rocha, Hermann Hreiðarsson and Nwankwo Kanu signing new deals and defender Greg Halford joining on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. After a poor start had left Portsmouth rooted to the bottom of the league in September, they went on a seven-match unbeaten run, which helped lift them to mid-table by the end of October.[38] After achieving 19 points from seven matches October, Cotterill was nominated for the October Manager of the Month award. Lawrence, with six goals under his belt and a number of impressive performances, also received nomination for Player of the Month.
On 22 October, Portsmouth issued a statement saying: "it appears likely that the club will now be closed down and liquidated by the administrators",[5] but Pompey creditor Alexandre Gaydamak announced the next day that he had reached an agreement which could save their future.[39] It was revealed just hours later that Portsmouth had finally come out of administration.[40]
Club colours
Portsmouth's first ever kit had a shirt that was salmon pink in colour with white shorts and maroon socks. This kit lasted until 1909 when they changed to white shirts with royal blue shorts and socks. This kit lasted just two years before it was changed for blue shirts, white shorts and black socks. This was Portsmouth's home strip up until 1947 when the socks were changed to red; this coincided with the club's most successful period and has remained the favoured colours for the majority of the time since. Yellow and - more recently - gold have also been used as secondary colours on the club's home shirts.[41]
The most frequent away colours used by Portsmouth have been white shirts with royal or navy blue shorts and either blue or white socks.[citation needed] The club has had white as either the second or third choice shirt for every season since 1998–99 to date.[citation needed] Other colours that have appeared several times on Portsmouth change kits have been yellow (usually with blue shorts) and red (often combined with black).[citation needed] Portsmouth have also briefly experimented with salmon pink, orange, navy blue and, perhaps most notably, gold change strips.[citation needed] From the 2006–07 season to the 2008–09 season the club have used black with a gold trim as their third choice colours.[citation needed] In the 2009–10 season the third kit was black with blue trim and thin blue hoops.[citation needed] The away kit was white with two navy blue vertical lines running the whole way down the side of the shirt, with the badge superimposed on top of them.[citation needed] The home kit has been the classic red white and blue kit, with plain blue shirt, plain white shorts and plain red socks.[citation needed] For the 2010 FA Cup Final, Portsmouth wore a change kit of white, maroon and pink.[citation needed]
Club crest
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 come 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 Byzantine Emperor's standard of Governor Isaac Komnenos, after capturing Cyprus. Throughout their history the club have tried different variations of the crest before reverting back to the basic gold star and crescent. In the 1950s and 1960s, 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, Portsmouth 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 interchangeable 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 four years when it was replaced by the city's coat of arms in 1993. This design was based around the basic star and crescent but was unpopular with many fans who thought it was over elaborate. After only four seasons the original crest was again reinstated. "Since 1898" was added to the badge underneath the club's name in time for the 2007 season. On 6 May 2008, Portsmouth unveiled a new crest which differs significantly from the old crest. The "star and moon" now have a three dimensional look after the "three points" was removed. The "moon" also has more diameter and looks quite like the city's Coat of Arms.
Stadium
Portsmouth play their home games at Fratton Park, in Portsmouth. The ground has been home to the club throughout its entire history.
Plans for relocation were first mooted as long ago as the early 1990s, but due to various objections, the club has continued to play at Fratton Park. As of September 2008, a new stadium is planned for a site offered by the Royal Navy at Horsea Island, between Stamshaw and Port Solent. The new project is also a Herzog & De Meuron design and the plans include an adjacent 10000 capacity indoor arena. Portsmouth are hoping to have the stadium ready in 2011 although a request has not yet been made.
The FA had suggested using the proposed stadium as a venue for the 2018 World Cup bid, assisting with expanding the capacity beyond 45,000. However, the cost to the cities taxpayers to join the bid was deemed too great a risk to take.[42]
Supporters
Rivalries
Portsmouth's main rivals are near neighbours Southampton. Prior to the mid/late 1960s, rivalry between Portsmouth and Southampton was largely nonexistent, as a consequence of their disparity in league status. This derby match has been sporadic. Since 1977, the teams have only played league games against each other in three seasons (1987–88, 2003–04 and 2004–05). Including Southern League games, there have been 68 games between the clubs.[citation needed]
Another rivalry over the years was with Plymouth Argyle. This rivalry was known as the Dockyard Derby, Naval Derby or Battle of the Ports.[citation needed]
Since the departure of Harry Redknapp to Tottenham Hotspur there has been a rivalry building between the clubs. This may only be due to the Redknapp and the players who departed from Portsmouth to Tottenham.[citation needed]
The Pompey Chimes
The best known chant sung by Portsmouth 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.
Portsmouth in Europe
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | UEFA Cup | 1st | 
|
Vitória de Guimarães | 2–0, 2–2 (aet) |
| Group |
|
Braga (A) | 0–3 | ||
| Group | 
|
Milan (H) | 2–2 | ||
| Group | 
|
Wolfsburg (A) | 2–3 | ||
| Group | 
|
Heerenveen (H) | 3–0 |
Players
- As of 4 October 2010[43]
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
For reserves and academy, see Portsmouth F.C. Reserves and Academy
* - Permanent move on 1st January 2011
Players most injured
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
