Portsmouth F.C.

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Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club Crest
Full name Portsmouth Football Club
Nickname(s) Pompey, The Blues, The Blue Army
Founded 1898
Ground Fratton Park
Portsmouth
Hampshire, England
(Capacity 20,688)
Manager Flag of England Harry Redknapp
League Premier League
2007-08 Premier League, 8th
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Away colours

Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the south coast city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey [1] (also the nickname for the city), The Blues and the The Blue Army also are some nicknames and play in the Premier League. The club is currently owned by the Franco-Russian-Israeli Alexandre Gaydamak. They are the current holders of the FA Cup.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings of Portsmouth FC : 1898 - 1939

The club was founded on 5th April 1898 with John Brickwood, owner of the local 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 against local rivals Southampton. 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 Bob Brown as manager the team were promoted the next season.

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. 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 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.

[edit] 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 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. 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 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.

[edit] 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 QPR Chairman, Jim Gregory.

[edit] Jim 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. The following season, 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 2000-2001 season when they won their final game and Huddersfield Town lost theirs, keeping Portsmouth up at their expense.

[edit] The Harry Redknapp Era : 2002 - present

Harry Redknapp took over as manager in early 2002, with Jim Smith as assistant. 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.[2]

Since arriving in the Premier League, the club finished 13th, 16th, and 17th in its first three seasons before being bought by businessman Alexandre Gaydamak in January 2006. With large amounts of money available for the manager to make record signings, the club finished their 2006-2007 season in the Premier League in the top half of the table for the first time, only one point short of European qualification.

In 2008, Portsmouth reached the FA Cup final for the first time since 1939 after beating Championship side West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on 5th April at Wembley Stadium in the semi-finals, the same day that the club celebrated its 110th birthday. Portsmouth went on to win the cup with a 0-1 win against Championship team Cardiff City. The win earned them a place in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup, the club's first time playing European football.

[edit] 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 conicided with the club's most successful period and has remained the favoured colours for majority of the time since. Yellow and more recently gold have also been used as secondary colours on the club's home shirts.[3] For the 2008-09 season Portsmouth's first choice home colours will be blue shirts with blue shorts and socks. The club has confirmed it will revert to its traditional strip for the 2009-10 season.

The most frequent away colours used by Portsmouth have been white shirts with royal blue shorts and either royal 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, black, orange, navy blue and, perhaps most notably, gold change strips.

[edit] 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 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 Byzantine 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 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 the club 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 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. In time for the 2007 season "Since 1898" was added to the badge underneath the club's name.

On May 6th 2008 Portsmouth FC unveiled a new crest which differs significantly from the old crest. It removes the 'three points' and the 'star and moon' now have a three dimensional look. The 'moon' also has more diameter and looks quite like the citys Coat of Arms.

[edit] Stadium

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

Portsmouth play their home games at Fratton Park, in Portsmouth. It is the only football stadium in the English professional leagues to be located off the British mainland.

  • Capacity - 20,600 (all seated)
  • Opened - 1898
  • Pitch size - 115 x 73 yards

The ground has been home to the club throughout its entire history but, 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 in the north of the city.

These plans were dropped however, when the Portsmouth Dockland Stadium project was announced on April 25, 2007. This was a proposal to build a new, and truly unique 36,000 capacity stadium, to be designed by Herzog & De Meuron, the world-renowned architects responsible for the Beijing Olympic Stadium, on reclaimed land in the city's dockyard area [4] .

In October 2007 the ambitious Dockyard project also had to be dropped as it was announced the dockyard would be host to 2 new large aircraft carriers and several Type 45 destroyers. As a result, the stadium plans have been relocated to a site offered by the Royal Navy at Horsea Island, between Stamshaw and Port Solent. The new project is also expected to be designed by Herzog & De Meuron and will now include an indoor arena. Portsmouth aim to be playing at their new ground from the 2011-12 season.

The FA have suggested using the proposed stadium as a venue for future World Cup bids, assisting with expanding the capacity beyond 40,000.

[edit] Supporters

[edit] Rivalries

Main article: South Coast derby

Prior to the mid/late 1960s, rivalry between Portsmouth and Southampton was largely nonexistent, as a consequence of their disparity in league status (Southampton being in a lower league). This derby match has hence taken place relatively 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). Including Southern League games, there have been 67 games between the clubs, with Portsmouth winning 20 and Southampton significantly more (34).

Another rivalry over the years was with Plymouth Argyle. This rivalry was known as the Dockyard Derby, Naval Derby or Battle of the Ports.

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

[edit] 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.

Their home ground has been named by some as nicknamed "Fortress Fratton". Atmospheres which are most memorable include Portsmouth's 1-0 win over Stockport County in the 1997/98 season which helped Alan Ball's side to an incredible escape from relegation to division 2. A journalist described it best, saying "each attack from Stockport was seemingly halted by a wall of sound".

[edit] Hooliganism

Portsmouth have had many problems with hooliganism over the years. The 6.57 Crew (so called as this was the time of the Portsmouth - London Waterloo Train they used on a Saturday morning) were a hooligan firm associated with the club. Several books have been published that chronicle, and arguably celebrate, the exploits of Portsmouth's hooligans, mainly covering the 1970s and 1980s.

[edit] Premiership record

Portsmouth have been members of the FA Premier League since winning the then First Division in 2003. Their best finish occurred in the 2007/2008 season when they finished 8th.

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 9 38 14 12 12 45 42 54
2007-08 8 38 16 9 13 48 40 57
Pos = Position; P = Played; W = Won; D = Drawn; L = Lost; F = Goals For; A = Goals Against; Pts = Points; * = Season Not Yet Finished

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

As of 1st February 2008. Sources from official website.

No. Position Player
1 Flag of England GK David James
2 Flag of England DF Linvoy Primus
3 Flag of France DF Lucien Aubey (on loan from Lens)
4 Flag of Cameroon DF Lauren
5 Flag of England DF Glen Johnson
6 Flag of France MF Lassana Diarra
7 Flag of Iceland DF Hermann Hreiðarsson
8 Flag of Senegal MF Papa Bouba Diop
10 Flag of England FW David Nugent
11 Flag of Ghana MF Sulley Muntari
14 Flag of England FW Jermain Defoe
15 Flag of France DF Sylvain Distin (vice-captain)
16 Flag of France DF Noé Pamarot
No. Position Player
17 Flag of Nigeria FW John Utaka
18 Flag of France MF Arnold Mvuemba
19 Flag of Croatia MF Niko Kranjčar
20 Flag of England DF Martin Cranie
21 Flag of England GK Jamie Ashdown
22 Flag of Scotland MF Richard Hughes
23 Flag of England DF Sol Campbell (captain)
24 Flag of Wales DF Richard Duffy
27 Flag of Nigeria FW Nwankwo Kanu
28 Flag of England MF Sean Davis
30 Flag of Portugal MF Pedro Mendes
31 Flag of Canada GK Asmir Begovic
34 Flag of France MF Franck Songo'o
35 Flag of Ireland MF Marc Wilson

[edit] Out on loan

No. Position Player
Flag of Mali DF Djimi Traoré (on loan to Rennes)

[edit] Reserve and youth team

No. Position Player
Flag of England GK Liam O'Brien
Flag of England GK Tommy Smith
Flag of England DF Joel Ward (pro contract)
Flag of England DF Andre Blackman
Flag of England DF Jack Goodman
Flag of England DF James Hurst
Flag of Finland DF Tero Mäntylä
Flag of Wales DF Geraint Price
Flag of England DF Callum Reynolds
Flag of England DF Perry Ryan
Flag of Germany DF Len Sowah
Flag of England DF Ryan Woodford
Flag of France MF Jean-François Christophe (pro contract)
Flag of England MF Matty Ritchie (pro contract)
Flag of Ireland MF Joe Collins
No. Position Player
Flag of France MF Ali Hassani
Flag of Northern Ireland MF Jordan Hughes
Flag of England MF Tom Kilbey
Flag of England MF Ellis Martin
Flag of Belgium MF Andrea Mtuyi-Motumbo
Flag of England MF Marlon Pack
Flag of England MF Nick Watts
Flag of Switzerland FW Danijel Subotić (pro contract)
Flag of England FW Dan Bogard
Flag of England FW Louis Castles
Flag of England FW Paris Cowan-Hall
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo FW Guy Gbo
Flag of Australia FW Ryan Gazet Du Chattelier
Flag of France FW Gaël N'Lundulu
Flag of England FW Mark Smith

For recent transfers, see List of English football transfers 2007-08.

[edit] Retired numbers

  • 12 For Portsmouth fans
  • 1 (for only the 2001-2002 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 2002-03 the squad number 13 has not been distributed. It is unknown whether this is as a tribute to Flahavan who wore the 13 shirt before being assigned 1 just prior to his death.)

[edit] Portsmouth Player of the Year (since 1968)

Year Winner
1968 Flag of England Ray Pointer
1969 Flag of England John Milkins
1970 Flag of England Nicky Jennings
1971 Flag of England David Munks
1972 Flag of England Richie Reynolds
1973 not awarded
1974 Flag of England Paul Went
1975 Flag of England Mick Mellows
1976 Flag of England Paul Cahill
1977 not awarded
1978 not awarded
1979 Flag of England Peter Mellor
Year Winner
1980 Flag of England Joe Laidlaw
1981 Flag of England Keith Viney
1982 Flag of England Alan Knight
1983 Flag of England Alan Biley
1984 Flag of England Mark Hateley
1985 Flag of England Neil Webb
1986 Flag of Jamaica Noel Blake
1987 Flag of Jamaica Noel Blake
1988 Flag of Wales Barry Horne
1989 Flag of England Micky Quinn
1990 Flag of England Guy Whittingham
1991 Flag of England Martin Kuhl
Year Winner
1992 Flag of England Darren Anderton
1993 Flag of England Paul Walsh
1994 Flag of Wales Kit Symons
1995 Flag of England Alan Knight
1996 Flag of England Alan Knight
1997 Flag of England Lee Bradbury
1998 Flag of England Andy Awford
1999 Flag of England Steve Claridge
2000 Flag of England Steve Claridge
2001 Flag of England Scott Hiley
2002 Flag of England Peter Crouch
2003 Flag of England Linvoy Primus
Year Winner
2004 Flag of the Netherlands Arjan de Zeeuw
2005 Flag of Serbia and Montenegro Dejan Stefanović
2006 Flag of England Gary O'Neil
2007 Flag of England David James
2008 Flag of England David James

[edit] Pompey Players at the World Cup

[edit] 1950

Flag of England England

[edit] 1954

Flag of England England
  • Jimmy Dickinson
Flag of Scotland Scotland

[edit] 1958

Flag of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland

[edit] 1994

Flag of Ireland Republic of Ireland

[edit] 1998

Flag of Jamaica Jamaica

[edit] 2002

Flag of Croatia Croatia
Flag of Japan Japan
Flag of Slovenia Slovenia

[edit] 2006

Flag of Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro

[edit] All-time best team

At the close of the 2007-08 Premier League season the readers of The News were able to vote for the all-time best Portsmouth XI.

1 Flag of England GK David James
2 Flag of England DF Glen Johnson
3 Flag of England DF John Beresford
4 Flag of England MF Paul Merson
5 Flag of England DF Sol Campbell
6 Flag of England DF Jimmy Dickinson
7 Flag of England MF Peter Harris
8 Flag of Croatia MF Robert Prosinečki
9 Flag of Scotland FW Duggie Reid
10 Flag of England FW Guy Whittingham
11 Flag of England MF Jack Froggatt

[edit] Notable players

Flag of England England
Flag of Scotland Scotland
Flag of Ireland Republic of Ireland
Flag of Wales Wales
Flag of Argentina Argentina
Flag of Australia Australia
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria
Flag of Brazil Brazil
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Congo DR
Flag of Croatia Croatia
Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic
Flag of Denmark Denmark
Flag of Estonia Estonia
Flag of France France
Flag of Finland Finland
Flag of Ghana Ghana
Flag of Greece Greece
Flag of Grenada Grenada
Flag of Iceland Iceland
Flag of Israel Israel
Flag of Italy Italy
Flag of Jamaica Jamaica
Flag of Japan Japan
Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands
Flag of Nigeria Nigeria
Flag of Portugal Portugal
Flag of Senegal Senegal
Flag of Serbia Serbia
Flag of Sweden Sweden
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago
Flag of the United States United States
Flag of Uruguay Uruguay
Flag of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe

[edit] Non-playing staff

[edit] Executive staff

[edit] Current management and coaching

Position Name
Manager Harry Redknapp
Assistant manager Tony Adams
Head coach Joe Jordan
Reserve team manager Paul Groves
Goalkeeping coach David Coles
John Keeley
Fitness coaches Paul White
Alan Miller
Andy Hunt
Head of youth development Mark Kelly
Paul Hart
Youth coaches Ian Woan
Guy Whittingham
Rod Ruddick
Paul Hardyman
Physiotherapists Gary Sadler
Ian Catchpole
Glynn Davies
Matthew Corrie
Chris Neville
Doctor Nigel Sellars
Scouts Ian Broomfield
Christian Karembeu
Josh Applebaum
Ian Bowyer
Rob Walker
Zulte Waregem Representative Hans Galjé

[edit] Managers

Figures correct as of 4 November 2007.
Name Nat Managerial Tenure P W D L Win %
Frank Brettell Flag of England August 1898–May 1901 88 56 9 23 64%
Bob Blyth Flag of England August 1901–May 1904 142 84 29 29 59%
Richard Bonney Flag of England August 1904–May 1908 206 99 39 68 48%
Bob Brown Flag of England August 1911–May 1920 220 100 48 72 45%
John McCartney Flag of Scotland May 1920–May 1927 308 129 93 86 42%
Jack Tinn Flag of England May 1927–May 1947 586 229 131 226 39%
Bob Jackson Flag of England May 1947–June 1952 234 114 51 69 49%
Eddie Lever Flag of England August 1952–April 1958 261 88 67 106 34%
Freddie Cox Flag of England August 1958–February 1961 120 28 29 63 23%
George Smith Flag of England April 1961–April 1970 410 149 110 151 36%
Ron Tindall Flag of England April 1970–May 1973 130 34 40 56 26%
John Mortimore Flag of England May 1973–September 1974 47 16 13 18 34%
Ian St. John Flag of Scotland September 1974–May 1977 124 31 33 60 25%
Jimmy Dickinson Flag of England May 1977–May 1979 91 27 29 35 30%
Frank Burrows Flag of Scotland May 1979–May 1982 138 61 39 38 44%
Bobby Campbell Flag of England May 1982–May 1984 88 40 17 31 45%
Alan Ball Flag of England May 1984–January 1989 222 94 58 70 42%
John Gregory Flag of England January 1989–January 1990 50 10 15 25 20%
Frank Burrows Flag of Scotland January 1990–March 1991 60 20 17 23 33%
Jim Smith Flag of England June 1991–February 1995 199 81 54 64 41%
Terry Fenwick Flag of England August 1995–January 1998 131 43 29 59 33%
Keith Waldon* Flag of England January 1998–January 1998 3 0 0 3 0%
Alan Ball Flag of England January 1998–December 1999 97 28 26 43 29%
Bob McNab* Flag of England December 1999–January 2000 5 0 2 3 0%
Tony Pulis Flag of Wales January 2000–October 2000 35 11 10 14 31%
Steve Claridge Flag of England October 2000–February 2001 23 5 10 8 22%
Graham Rix Flag of England February 2001–March 2002 56 16 17 23 29%
Harry Redknapp Flag of England March 2002–November 2004 116 54 26 36 47%
Velimir Zajec Flag of Croatia November 2004–April 2005 21 5 4 12 24%
Alain Perrin Flag of France April 2005–November 2005 21 4 6 11 19%
Joe Jordan* Flag of Scotland November 2005–December 2005 2 0 0 2 0%
Harry Redknapp Flag of England December 2005– 82 33 20 29 40%

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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Affiliated clubs

Flag of England England
Flag of Belgium Belgium
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club records

[edit] Record signing

On 30 May 2007, Portsmouth completed the club-record signing - thought to be around £7 million - of Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari in a five-year deal from Udinese. According to some sources this fee was exceeded when John Utaka was signed from Stade Rennes on 11 July 2007.[6] On 31 January, 2008, Portsmouth bought Jermain Defoe form Tottenham. The official fee is undisclosed, with reported prices ranging from £7 million to £12 million, which would make him the new club record signing.

Prior to the summer of 2007 the club's record signing was Benjani Mwaruwari from Auxerre in January 2006 for £4.1m.[7] Portsmouth's first million pound signing was Rory Allen in summer 1999.[8] [9]

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pompey, Chats and Guz. Royal Navy Museum.
  2. ^ "Portsmouth clinch promotion and championship", RTÉ Sport, 2003-04-27. Retrieved on 2007-08-27. 
  3. ^ "Pompey's Home Kits Through The Ages", pompeyweb.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-08-27. 
  4. ^ "Pompey announce new stadium plan", BBC Sport, 2007-04-25. Retrieved on 2007-08-27. 
  5. ^ a b c Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the Premier League. Similarly until 1992, the Second Division was the second tier of league football, when it became the First Division, and is now known as The Championship. The third tier was the Third Division until 1992, and is now known as League One.
  6. ^ "Portsmouth splash out again to seal Utaka deal", The Independent, 2007-07-12. Retrieved on 2007-08-27. 
  7. ^ "Portsmouth sign striker Mwaruwari", BBC Sport, 2006-01-06. Retrieved on 2007-08-27. 
  8. ^ "Pompey swoop for Spurs striker", Andover Advertiser, 1999-07-15. Retrieved on 2007-08-27. 
  9. ^ "ORIGINS OF THE NAVAL TOWN NICKNAMES FOR PORTSMOUTH, CHATHAM AND DEVONPORT", Royal Navy Museum. Retrieved on 2007-11-17. 
  • 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.