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Portsmouth

150px
Full name	Portsmouth Football Club
Nickname(s)	Pompey
Founded	1898
Ground	Fratton Park (Capacity: 20,224)
Chairman	Under Administration
Manager	Michael Appleton
League	League One
2011–12	The Championship, 22nd (relegated)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed, and often simply referred to as, Pompey.^[1] Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The club will play in Football League One in the 2012–13 season after being relegated from the Football League Championship in 2011–12.

Portsmouth have been champions of England twice, in 1949 and 1950, and have won the FA Cup twice, most recently in 2008, beating 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[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

1898–1939: Beginnings of Portsmouth F.C.[link]

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. A blue plaque on the wall of 12 High St Portsmouth commemorates the founding on 5 April. 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),^[2] 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).^[3] 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[link]

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[link]

League football resumed for the 1946–47 campaign after five years and Portsmouth continued in the First Division. Portsmouth had a large advantage during the war where a lot of footballers had to move to Portsmouth to serve at the docks. Because of this they decided to play for the closest professional team and Pompey had the pick of the best. 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 51,385, 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[link]

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[link]

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[link]

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 in 1992–93 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[link]

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.^[4]

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, with Velimir Zajec and then Alain Perrin having had brief spells as manager in-between. 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.^{[citation needed]}

2008: Second FA Cup triumph[link]

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.

On 25 October 2008, Redknapp left Portsmouth for a second time, leaving his assistant Tony Adams to be promoted to the managerial role. On 27 November, Portsmouth managed a historic 2–2 draw with Italian giants A.C. Milan, going 2–0 up through goals from Younes Kaboul and Nwankwo Kanu, but conceding two goals later in the game. However, performances were not consistently good, 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. Adams was dismissed in February 2009.^[5] 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. Portsmouth finished the 2008–09 Premier League season in 14th place. On 26 May, Portsmouth accepted a bid from United Arab Emirates businessman Sulaiman Al Fahim to buy the club.^[6]

2009–2010: Administration and relegation[link]

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.^[7][8][9] 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.^[10] 2 days after the Al-Faraj takeover was completed Portsmouth's former Technical Director Avram Grant returned as Director of football.^[11] 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.

Avram Grant took over at Portsmouth on 26 November 2009^[12][13] replacing former manager Paul Hart, who had been sacked by the board two days previously, due to the club's position at the bottom of the league.^[14]

In December 2009, it was announced that the club had failed to pay the players for the second consecutive month,^[15] 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 two wins (against Burnley and Liverpool) and a draw away at Sunderland from his first five 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.^[16] In March 2010, this winding-up petition was dropped,^[17] leaving Portsmouth with a nine-point penalty for entering administration.^[18]

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 licence to play European football the following season in the UEFA Europa League, and therefore the European place went to Liverpool.^[19] 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.^[20] On 15 July 2010 HMRC appealed against the proposed CVA on the last day before it would be formally agreed,^[21] 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.^[22] 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^[23] 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.^[24] 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.^[25] On 22 October, Portsmouth issued a statement saying: "it appears likely that the club will now be closed down and liquidated by the administrators.",^[26] but key creditor Alexandre Gaydamak announced the next day that he had reached an agreement which could save their future.^[27] It was revealed just hours later that Portsmouth had finally come out of administration,^[28] with Balram Chainrai regaining control of the company.^[29]

2010–2012: The Championship[link]

Former Notts County manager Steve Cotterill was appointed manager of the club in June 2010 on a three-year contract.^[30] During the 2010 Summer transfer window, Marc Wilson, who had only recently been named captain, 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.^[31] 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.^[32] 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. Later in the season, Portsmouth's form started to falter and they 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. 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 2011, Convers Sports Initiatives owned by Russian Vladimir Antonov completed its takeover of the club.^[33] 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),^[34] Luke Varney, Stephen Henderson and Greg Halford.^[35]

On 13 August, prior to kick-off against Reading at Fratton Park, it was announced, much to the delight of the home fans, that Portsmouth had re-signed forward Benjani Mwaruwari, who previously left the club in 2008. On 14 October, Steve Cotterill agreed a compensation package to be allowed to take the vacant Nottingham Forest manager's position.^[36] Later that day, it was announced that first team coaches Stuart Gray and Guy Whittingham would take over management duties, Cotterill's departure allowed several omitted players a return to the first team, such as Dave Kitson and Ricardo Rocha in a 2–0 home win against Barnsley.

Following Cotterill's departure, Michael Appleton was announced as the new manager on 10 November 2011.^[37] His first match in charge was a 2–0 defeat at Watford, only Appleton's second match as a first team manager.^{[clarification needed]}

Back in administration[link]

On 23 November 2011, a Europe-wide arrest warrant was issued for Portsmouth owner, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Antonov, by Lithuanian prosecutors as part of an investigation into alleged asset stripping at Lithuanian bank Bankas Snoras, which is 68% owned by Antonov and went into temporary administration the previous week. Operations in another of Antonov's banks, Latvijas Krajbanka were suspended by Latvian authorities on 22 November 2011 for similar reasons.^[38] Antonov was subsequently arrested at his offices in London on 24 November and has been bailed.^[39]

CSI released a statement which said "In the light of the recent events at Snoras Bank, Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) would like to reassure its companies, staff, and the fans of its teams and events, that it remains very much business as usual." The statement added that "CSI has been solely financed through the private wealth of its owners. Snoras Bank has never provided funding for the purchase of a CSI organisation, nor has it lent any money to these businesses after they have been acquired."^[40] However, Lithuanian prosecutors added that they would be taking "all the necessary steps" to freeze assets belonging to Mr Antonov and his business partner.^[39] On 29 November, Antonov resigned as chairman of Portsmouth after parent company Convers Sports Initiatives entered administration.^[41] On 24 January 2012, Portsmouth were issued with a winding up petition by HMRC for over £1.6 million in unpaid taxes, which was heard on 20 February.^[42] On 17 February, Portsmouth went into administration for the second time in two years, bringing them an automatic 10-point deduction.^[43][44] Administrator Trevor Birch admitted that the financial situation was "worse than we first feared" and that Portsmouth were "struggling to make the end of the season".^[45] On 11 April 2012, reports from administrators PKF has as revealed that Portsmouth owe £58m debt with £38m is owed by UHY Hacker Young, £10.5m investment made by Vladimir Antonov's Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) remains outstanding, Players are due £3.5m in wages and bonuses for the last two seasons, while £2.3m is owed to Revenue and Customs and additionally, £3.7m is owed for general trade.^[46] On April 21 Portsmouth were relegated from the Championship after a 2-1 loss to Derby County, condemning Pompey to League One - the first time in 30 years that the club has played at that level.

2012–present: League One[link]

Appleton has commented that he may lose up to 18 players of his current squad in the 2012 summer transfer window as the club adapt to life back in League One. On 4 May, Portsmouth defender Jason Pearce joined Leeds United for a fee around £500,000, being the first player to leave the club.^[47]

On May 18, 2012 Balram Chainrai’s Portpin had proposed terms for a CVA that would enable Pompey to be out of administration.^[48]

Players[link]

First-team squad[link]

As of 28 May 2012^[49]

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

No. Position Player 4 DF Aaron Mokoena 7 MF Liam Lawrence 8 MF Hayden Mullins 9 FW Márkó Futács 10 FW Erik Huseklepp 11 FW Luke Varney 14 MF Kelvin Etuhu 15 DF Greg Halford 17 MF Ashley Harris 18 FW Dave Kitson 19 MF David Norris

No. Position Player 26 DF Tal Ben Haim 27 FW Nwankwo Kanu 30 DF Sam Magri 31 DF Adam Webster 32 MF Jed Wallace 33 DF Alex Grant - DF Dan Butler [50] - MF Elliot Wheeler [50] - MF George Colson [50] - FW Dan Thompson [50]

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

Out on loan[link]

Notable players[link]

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[link]

• 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 was reserved in respect for him, as this was the number he wore for the majority of his stay at the club.^[51] However, ten years after his death the number 13 is once again used, now worn by Stephen Henderson until his departure in May 2012.

• Number 12 is reserved for the fans (often referred to as the 12th man).^{[citation needed]}

Portsmouth Player of the Season (since 1968)[link]

Year Winner 1968 Ray Pointer 1969 John Milkins 1970 Nicky Jennings 1971 David Munks 1972 Richie Reynolds 1973 Not awarded 1974 Paul Went 1975 Mick Mellows 1976 Paul Cahill 1977 Not awarded

Year Winner 1978 Not awarded 1979 Peter Mellor 1980 Joe Laidlaw 1981 Keith Viney 1982 Alan Knight 1983 Alan Biley 1984 Mark Hateley 1985 Neil Webb 1986 Noel Blake 1987 Noel Blake

Year Winner 1988 Barry Horne 1989 Micky Quinn 1990 Guy Whittingham 1991 Martin Kuhl 1992 Darren Anderton 1993 Paul Walsh 1994 Kit Symons 1995 Alan Knight 1996 Alan Knight 1997 Lee Bradbury

Year Winner 1998 Andy Awford 1999 Steve Claridge 2000 Steve Claridge 2001 Scott Hiley 2002 Peter Crouch 2003 Linvoy Primus 2004 Arjan de Zeeuw 2005 Dejan Stefanović 2006 Gary O'Neil 2007 David James

Year Winner 2008 David James 2009 Glen Johnson 2010 Jamie O'Hara 2011 Hayden Mullins 2012 Ricardo Rocha

Portsmouth players at the FIFA World Cup[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

1950

1954

1956

1958

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

1994

1998

2002

2006

2010

Pompey players at the Olympic Games[link]

1912

Football team officials[link]

Position	Staff
Manager	Michael Appleton
First Team Coach	Guy Whittingham
Goalkeeping Coach	John Keeley
Strength & Conditioning Coach	Chris Neville
Chief Scout
Head of Sports Performance
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
Academy Strength & Conditioning Coach	Paul Stretch
Kit Manager	Kev McCormack

^[52]

Executive staff[link]

Position	Staff
De Facto Owners	Vacant Deepak Chainrai
Chief Executive	Vacant
Head of Club Liaison	Linvoy Primus
Club Secretary	Paul Weld

^[52]

Managers[link]

Figures correct as of 28 April 2012

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
Ron Tindall*	England	September 1974	2	0	0	2	0
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 – October 2011	61	18	17	26	29.51
Stuart Gray/Guy Whittingham*	England	October 2011 – November 2011	6	3	1	2	50
Michael Appleton	England	November 2011 –	31	8	7	16	25.81

Club colours[link]

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.^[53]

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[link]

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[link]

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

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,^[54]

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.^[55] A third, oft returned to option, is to build a new stadium on the site of the existing Fratton Park.