Portsmouth F.C.

Portsmouth

File:Portsmouth FC crest 2008.png
Full name	Portsmouth Football Club
Nickname(s)	Pompey
Founded	1898
Ground	Fratton Park
Capacity	20,224
Owner	Vladimir Antonov Roman Dubov Chris Akers
Chairman	Vladimir Antonov
Manager	Steve Cotterill
League	The Championship
2010–11	The Championship, 16th
Website	http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey . Portsmouth's 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. sudo! 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 with Nwankwo Kanu scoring the only goal. They also won the FA Cup in 1939, beating Wolves in the final at Old Wembley, with Pompey goals from Bert Barlow, John Anderson, and two from Cliff Parker.

History

Main article: History of Portsmouth F.C.

For information on a breakdown of Portsmouth's league and cup history, see List of Portsmouth F.C. seasons.

1898–1939: Beginnings of Portsmouth F.C.

The club was founded in 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), 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). 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 following season.

League 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 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.

1939: First FA Cup triumph

Having established themselves in the top flight, the 1938–39 season saw Portsmouth reach the FA Cup final, the third time they had done so. This time, Pompey managed to convincingly defeat favourites Wolves 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.

1948–49 and 1949–50: Champions of England

League football resumed for the 1946–47 campaign after five years and Portsmouth continued in the First Division. In their "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, but crashed out of the FA Cup in the semi-final against Leicester City. They still made up for it by claiming the league title in spectacular fashion. That season also saw them record a (then) 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.

1954–1970: The Years to Follow

Portsmouth finished third in 1954–55 and on 22 February 1956, they played the first league game under floodlights against Newcastle United. 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.

1972–1988: Deacon to Gregory

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.

1991–2001: Smith, Venables and Mandarić

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.

2002–2008: Harry Redknapp

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.

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, then record signing Benjani Mwaruwari 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.

2008: Second FA Cup triumph

The 2007–08 season started with Portsmouth winning the 2007 Barclays Asia Trophy, beating Liverpool 4–2 on penalties after a goalless final. It was not the club's only success that season; they reached the FA Cup final for the first time since 1939. They eliminated Manchester United at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals, and beat Championship side West Brom 1–0 at Wembley Stadium in the semi-finals, coincidentally the same day that the club celebrated its 110th birthday. Portsmouth went on to win the cup with a 1–0 win over Cardiff, with Nwankwo Kanu 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 European match was a historic 2–0 victory over Vitoria Guimaraes in the first round on 18 September. Portsmouth went on to win the tie 4–2 on aggregate, progressing to the group stage.

2008–2009: Tony Adams

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 goals from Ronaldinho and Filippo Inzaghi. 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.

2009–2010: Financial trouble

2009: Paul Hart

Rumours of Adams' dismissal began circulating on 8 February 2009 and this was confirmed by the club the following day. 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 loss to 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.

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 19 August, Portsmouth announced on their website 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 BVI-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. 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. 2 days after the Al-Faraj takeover was completed Portsmouth's former Technical Director Avram Grant returned as Director of football. 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.

2009–2010: Avram Grant

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. Coaches Paul Groves and Ian Woan took temporary charge of the team. On 26 November 2009, Portsmouth FC announced on their official website that Avram Grant had been appointed as manager.

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. He gained 2 wins against Burnley and Liverpool and a draw away to Sunderland from his first 5 games. The only losses inflicted on Pompey in this period were by eventual double winners Chelsea and the previous season's champions, Manchester United. 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 settled, with the club co-operating with HMRC over all points raised in the winding-up order. The High Court 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'".

2010: Relegation and administration

It was announced on 5 January 2010 that the Premier League were to use Portsmouth's share of the latest instalment of television broadcast money 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. The website was back live several hours later after Juicy announced a new financial arrangement with Portsmouth FC. 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. 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. The club did not secure a new buyer by the 25 February deadline, and on 26 February UHY Hacker Young were appointed as administrators. 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; Lloyd had met 19 invited fans at the Hilton Portsmouth the previous day to outline his group's plans and to answer questions.

On 17 March, Portsmouth were docked nine points for entering administration. 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. 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. 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 the FA Cup finalist, the club were denied a license to play European football the following season in the UEFA Europa League, and therefore the European place went to Liverpool. In May, Grant resigned as Portsmouth manager and later joined West Ham, whose win over Sunderland relegated Pompey from the Premier League. 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. On 15 July 2010 HMRC appealed against the proposed CVA on the last day before it would be formally agreed, 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. On 17 August, Balram Chainrai completed his takeover of the club and passed the owners and Directors F&PPT.

During the 2009–10 season, it had become apparent to the club's new owner Balram Chainrai that Portsmouth were approximately £135m in debt 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. 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 Arrangement. On 22 October, Portsmouth issued a statement saying: "it appears likely that the club will now be closed down and liquidated by the administrators.", but key creditor Alexandre Gaydamak announced the next day that he had reached an agreement which could save their future. It was revealed just hours later that Portsmouth had finally come out of administration, with Balram Chainrai regaining control of the company.

2010–present: Steve Cotterill and Championship

Former Notts County manager Steve Cotterill was appointed manager of the club in June 2010 on a three-year contract. During the 2010 Summer transfer window, forward Tommy Smith left the club. Marc Wilson, who had only recently been named captain, then signed for Stoke City on transfer deadline day, with Stoke players Dave Kitson and Liam Lawrence moving to Fratton Park as part of the deal. 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. After achieving 19 points from seven matches in 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 a nomination for Player of the Month.

Unfortunately this run of form did not continue, After reaching just below the play-off areas, the run of form started to falter and Portsmouth were in 18th place by January 2011. During this time the size of the squad depleted further by contract complications with players Richard Hughes and Michael Brown as a clause written into their contract would trigger a new contract with higher wages. The January transfer window saw the departure of Matt Ritchie to Swindon Town for £200,000, Liam Lawrence completed his permanent transfer to the club. Manchester United defender Ritchie De Laet and Aston Villa midfielder Jonathan Hogg also signed on until the end of the season. Another seven-match unbeaten run was recorded, picking up 17 points from a possible 21. In March, Portsmouth recorded a 1–0 win over a strong Leicester City with a first-half David Nugent strike splitting the teams apart. Portsmouth finished the season with an eight-game winless run and ended up 16th with 58 points.

On 1 June, the Convers Sports Initiative owned by Russian Vladimir Antonov completed its takeover of the club. On 15 June the club announced their first summer signing, who was David Norris from Ipswich on a free transfer, this was followed by the signings of Jason Pearce (strangely the first transfer with available money since January 2010), Luke Varney, Stephen Henderson and Greg Halford. In the off-season, David Nugent, Richard Hughes, Darryl Flahavan and Michael Brown all left the club, and Ryan Williams was promoted to the senior squad from the academy.

On 13 August 2011 it was announced that Portsmouth had signed ex-Pompey forward, Benjani. Later that month the club also signed Erik Huseklepp.

Players

First-team squad

As of 24 August 2011.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Jamie Ashdown
2	MF	ENG	Joel Ward
3	DF	POR	Ricardo Rocha
4	DF	RSA	Aaron Mokoena
5	DF	ENG	Jason Pearce
6	DF	ISL	Hermann Hreiðarsson
7	MF	IRL	Liam Lawrence (captain)
8	MF	ENG	Hayden Mullins
10	FW	NOR	Erik Huseklepp
11	FW	ENG	Luke Varney

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
13	GK	EIR	Stephen Henderson
15	DF	ENG	Greg Halford
17	MF	AUS	Ryan Williams
18	FW	ENG	Dave Kitson
19	MF	ENG	David Norris (vice-captain)
20	DF	SCO	Christian Dailly
25	FW	ZIM	Benjani Mwaruwari
26	DF	ISR	Tal Ben Haim
27	FW	NGA	Nwankwo Kanu

For reserves and academy, see Portsmouth F.C. Reserves and Academy.

Notable players

For a list of notable players and players who played for Portsmouth for more than 100 games in a sortable-list format see List of Portsmouth F.C. players.

Retired and reserved numbers

• Number 1 was temporarily retired for the 2001–02 season in respect to goalkeeper Aaron Flahavan, who died in a car crash in August 2001, days after being handed the squad number 1 for the first time. Since the 2003–04 season, number 13 shirt has been reserved in respect for him, as this was the number he wore for the majority of his stay at the club, though number 13 is now worn by Stephen Henderson.

• Number 12 is reserved for the fans (often referred to as the 12th man).

Portsmouth Player of the Season (since 1968)

Year Winner 1968 Ray Pointer 1969 John Milkins 1970 Nicky Jennings 1971 David Munks 1972 Richie Reynolds 1973 James Whitaker 1974 Paul Went 1975 Mick Mellows 1976 Paul Cahill 1977 James Whitaker 1978 James Whitaker 1979 Peter Mellor

Year Winner 1980 Joe Laidlaw 1981 Keith Viney 1982 Alan Knight 1983 Alan Biley 1984 Mark Hateley 1985 Neil Webb 1986 Noel Blake 1987 Noel Blake 1988 Barry Horne 1989 Micky Quinn 1990 Guy Whittingham 1991 Martin Kuhl

Year Winner 1992 Darren Anderton 1993 Paul Walsh 1994 Kit Symons 1995 Alan Knight 1996 Alan Knight 1997 Lee Bradbury 1998 Andy Awford 1999 Steve Claridge 2000 Steve Claridge 2001 Scott Hiley 2002 Peter Crouch 2003 Linvoy Primus

Year Winner 2004 Arjan de Zeeuw 2005 Dejan Stefanović 2006 Gary O'Neil 2007 David James 2008 David James 2009 Glen Johnson 2010 Jamie O'Hara 2011 Hayden Mullins

Pompey players at the FIFA World Cup

1950

England

• Jimmy Dickinson

1954

England

• Jimmy Dickinson

Scotland

• Jackie Henderson
• Alex Young

1958

Northern Ireland

• Norman Uprichard
• Derek Dougan

– No Portsmouth player competed any World Cup from 1962 to 1990.

1994

Republic of Ireland

• Alan McLoughlin

1998

Jamaica

• Fitzroy Simpson
• Paul Hall
• Deon Burton

2002

Croatia

• Robert Prosinečki

Japan

• Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi

Slovenia

• Mladen Rudonja

2006

Serbia and Montenegro

• Ognjen Koroman

2010

England

• David James

Algeria

• Nadir Belhadj

Ghana

• Kevin-Prince Boateng

Nigeria

• Nwankwo Kanu
• John Utaka

South Africa

• Aaron Mokoena

Football team officials

Position	Staff
Manager	Steve Cotterill
First Team Coach	Guy Whittingham
First Team Coach	Stuart Gray
Goalkeeping Coach	John Keeley
Strength & Conditioning Coach	Chris Neville
Cheif Scout	Lee Maybury
Head of Sports Performance	Steve Allen
Academy Manager	Andy Awford
Senior Academy Coach	Alan McLoughlin
Academy Coach	Paul Hardyman
Academy Coach	Ian Buckman
Academy Goalkeeping Coach	Mark Mason
Head of Academy Recruitment	Dave Hurst
Academy Strength & Conditioning Coach	Kelly Parkhouse
Kit Manager	Kev McCormack

Executive staff

Position	Staff
Owners	Vladimir Antonov (85% stake) Roman Dubov (10% stake) Chris Akers (5% stake)
Chairman	Vladimir Antonov
President	Roman Dubov
Director	Chris Akers
Chief Executive	David Lampitt
Company Secretary/Chief Financial Officer	John Redgate
Commercial Director	Lucius Peart
Head of Club Liaison	Linvoy Primus
Club Secretary	Paul Weld

Managers

Figures correct as of 5 March 2011

Includes all competitive matches. Caretaker managers are denoted with an asterisk (*)

Name	Nat	Managerial Tenure	P	W	D	L	Win %
Frank Brettell	England	August 1898 – May 1901	88	56	9	23	63.64
Bob Blyth	England	August 1901 – May 1904	142	84	29	29	59.15
Richard Bonney	England	August 1904 – May 1908	206	99	39	68	48.06
Robert Brown	England	August 1911 – May 1920	220	100	48	72	45.45
John McCartney	Scotland	May 1920 – May 1927	308	129	93	86	41.88
Jack Tinn	England	May 1927 – May 1947	586	229	131	226	39.08
Bob Jackson	England	May 1947 – June 1952	234	114	51	69	48.72
Eddie Lever	England	August 1952 – April 1958	261	88	67	106	33.72
Freddie Cox	England	August 1958 – February 1961	120	28	29	63	23.33
George Smith	England	April 1961 – April 1970	410	149	110	151	36.34
Ron Tindall	England	April 1970 – May 1973	130	34	40	56	26.15
John Mortimore	England	May 1973 – September 1974	47	16	13	18	34.04
Ian St. John	Scotland	September 1974 – May 1977	124	31	33	60	25
Jimmy Dickinson	England	May 1977 – May 1979	91	27	29	35	29.67
Frank Burrows	Scotland	May 1979 – May 1982	138	61	39	38	44.2
Bobby Campbell	England	May 1982 – May 1984	88	40	17	31	45.45
Alan Ball	England	May 1984 – January 1989	222	94	58	70	42.34
John Gregory	England	January 1989 – January 1990	50	10	15	25	20
Frank Burrows	Scotland	January 1990 – March 1991	60	20	17	23	33.33
Tony Barton*	England	March 1991 – May 1991	12	5	2	5	41.67
Jim Smith	England	June 1991 – February 1995	199	81	54	64	40.7
Terry Fenwick	England	August 1995 – January 1998	131	43	29	59	32.82
Keith Waldon*	England	January 1998 – January 1998	3	0	0	3	0
Alan Ball	England	January 1998 – December 1999	97	28	26	43	28.87
Bob McNab*	England	December 1999 – January 2000	5	0	2	3	0
Tony Pulis	Wales	January 2000 – October 2000	35	11	10	14	31.43
Steve Claridge	England	October 2000 – February 2001	23	5	10	8	21.74
Graham Rix	England	February 2001 – March 2002	56	16	17	23	28.57
Harry Redknapp	England	March 2002 – November 2004	116	54	26	36	46.55
Velimir Zajec	Croatia	November 2004 – April 2005	21	5	4	12	23.81
Alain Perrin	France	April 2005 – November 2005	21	4	6	11	19.05
Joe Jordan*	Scotland	November 2005 – December 2005	2	0	0	2	0
Harry Redknapp	England	December 2005 – October 2008	128	54	29	45	42.19
Tony Adams	England	October 2008 – February 2009	22	4	7	11	18.18
Paul Hart	England	February 2009 – November 2009	30	9	6	15	30
Avram Grant	Israel	November 2009 – May 2010	33	10	7	16	30.3
Steve Cotterill	England	June 2010 –	40	16	15	9	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.

The most frequent away colours used by Portsmouth have been white shirts with royal or navy blue shorts and either blue or white socks. The club has had white as either the second or third choice shirt for every season since 1998–99 to date. Other colours that have appeared several times on Portsmouth change kits have been yellow (usually with blue shorts) and red (often combined with black). Portsmouth have also briefly experimented with salmon pink, orange, navy blue and, perhaps most notably, gold change strips. From the 2006–07 season to the 2008–09 season the club have used black with a gold trim as their third choice colours. In the 2009–10 season the third kit was black with blue trim and thin blue hoops. 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. The home kit has been the classic red white and blue kit, with plain blue shirt, plain white shorts and plain red socks. For the 2010 FA Cup Final, Portsmouth wore a change kit of white, maroon and pink.

Club crest

The official emblem contains a gold star and crescent on a blue shield, Portsmouth's adoption of the star and crescent 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

The entrance to Fratton Park's South Stand, with its mock Tudor facade

Main article: Fratton Park

Portsmouth play their home games at Fratton Park, in Portsmouth. The ground has been home to the club throughout its entire history.

Fratton Park is known for its intense atmosphere, due both to the highly vocal fan support, and the fact that the pitch is literally a few feet from the stands. Thierry Henry was quoted as saying Portsmouth have "tremendous" fans after Pompey were defeated 5–1 by Arsenal in the FA cup, whilst during a UEFA Cup game in 2008 AC Milan star Ronaldinho said that: "It is the best atmosphere in the world of football".

Plans for relocation were first mooted as long ago as the early 1990s, but due to various objections, and financial obstacles, the club has continued to play at Fratton Park. Most recently, plans for relocation have included new stadia on a site offered by the Royal Navy at Horsea Island, between Stamshaw and Port Solent, and on reclaimed land in Portsmouth harbour beside the existing naval base. The former was mooted as a possible FIFA World Cup 2018 venue as part of England's bid process. However, the cost to the city's taxpayers to join the bid was deemed too great a risk to take. A third, oft returned to option, is to build a new stadium on the site of the existing Fratton Park.

Following Portsmouth F.C.'s financial troubles, subsequent relegation from the FA Premier League, and the failure of the England 2018 bid, as of April 2011 there are no active plans for a new club stadium.

Portsmouth FC also had an award winning Stadium Announcer between 2002 to 2009. Steve Pearson was voted the Upshot Communications Stadium Announcer of the Year on 3 occasions 2003, 2004, and 2008.

Rivalries

Main article: South Coast derby

Portsmouth fans at Wembley Stadium for the 2007–08 FA Cup semi-final with West Bromwich Albion

Portsmouth's main rivals are near neighbours Southampton. Prior to the mid/late 1960s, rivalry between Portsmouth and Southampton was largely non-existent, 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. but they have also met in the FA Cup in recent years with Southampton (or Scummers as they are most commonly known in Portsmouth). Southampton were victorious in the 2005 FA Cup 4th Round, but the next time they met in this competition, Pompey destroyed their bitter rivals 1–4 at St Mary's. Another rivalry over the years has been with Plymouth Argyle. This rivalry is known as the Dockyard Derby, Naval Derby or Battle of the Ports.

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 still sung around Fratton Park today and is believed to be the oldest football chant in the world that is still in use today. 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 4 pm. Just before 4 pm 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

Main article: Portsmouth F.C. in Europe

Portsmouth have only played European football once, taking part in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, in which they were knocked out at the group stage.

Women's football

The club's female counterpart is Portsmouth L.F.C., which currently plays in the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division.

Affiliated clubs

England

• Havant & Waterlooville

Republic of Ireland

• Home Farm

Australia

• NSWIS
• Junior Sports Academy

Honours

• Football League First Division/Premier League (first tier)
  • Champions 1949, 1950

• Football League Second Division/Football League First Division (second tier)
  • Champions 2003
  • Runners-up 1927, 1987

• Football League Third Division (South)/Football League Third Division (third tier)
  • Champions 1924, 1962, 1983

• FA Cup
  • Winners 1939, 2008
  • Runners-up 1929, 1934, 2010

• FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield
  • Winners 1949
  • Runners up 2008

• Premier League Asia Trophy
  • Winners 2007

• Edmonton Cup
  • Winners 2010

• Kappa Trophy
  • Winners 2010

• Southern League First Division
  • Champions 1901–02, 1919–20

• Southern Charity Cup
  • Winners 1903

• Southern Professional Floodlit Cup
  • Winners 1958

• South Western League
  • Champions 1916

• South Hants War League
  • Champions 1918

• Hampshire Charity Cup
  • Winners 1906, 1907

• Hampshire FA Benevolent Fund Cup
  • Joint Holders 1909

• Hants Professional Cup
  • Winners 1935, 1982

• Hants Combination Cup
  • Winners 1933, 1941

• Hants Benevolent Cup
  • Winners 1911

• Pickford Cup
  • Winners 1914, 1915, 1921, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936

• Hospital Cup
  • Winners 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1934, 1935

• Western Football League
  • Champions 1901, 1902, 1903

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
• Highest scoring game: 7–4 v Reading, Premier League, 29 September 2007 (also a league record)
• Most appearances for club: 834 Jimmy Dickinson, 1946–65
• Most league goals for club: 194 Peter Harris, 1946–1960
• Most league goals in a season: 42 Guy Whittingham, 1992/93
• Most goals for club: 211 Peter Harris, 1946–60
• Most international caps whilst at club: 48 Jimmy Dickinson
• Transfer record (received): £20 m from Real Madrid for Lassana Diarra December 2008
• Transfer record (paid): £11 m to Liverpool for Peter Crouch, July 2008

Record signing

On 11 July 2008, Portsmouth completed the club-record signing – thought to be around £11 million – of England striker Peter Crouch in a four-year deal from Liverpool. This marked the second time Crouch had been Portsmouth's most expensive player as in 2001 his £1.5m fee was a club record. Portsmouth's first million pound signing was Rory Allen in July 1999. The highest fee received was £20,000,000 for midfielder Lassana Diarra to Real Madrid.

References

External links

• Official Website
• Portsmouth FC TeamNews.net
• Portsmouth FC Sky Sports
• Portsmouth FC Football365
• Portsmouth FC TEAMtalk.com
• Portsmouth FC Sporting Life
• Portsmouth Stats, Fixtures, Results BBC Sport
• Portsmouth FA Premier League
• Portsmouth Stats
• Royal Artillery Portsmouth Stats
• Polish Pompey Website
• Portsmouth FC forum FootyMad
• Portsmouth FC photo gallery Pompey Pics
• Portsmouth's club site reopens after payment problems BBC Sport, 28 January 2010
• Juicy Digital Agency

Publications

• 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.

• Colin Farmery (2004). Seventeen Miles From Paradise – Saints v Pompey: Passion, Pride and Prejudice. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-89-9.

• Cass Pennant & Rob Silvester (2004). Rolling With The 6.57 Crew – The True Story of Pompey's Legendary Football Fans. John Blake Publishing. ISBN 1-844540-72-3.