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Home matches have been played at [[Fratton Park]] since the club's formation in 1898. In January 2009 the [[Daily Mail|Daily Mail newspaper]] named it the 10th most atmospheric stadium in football.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1101536/THE-LIST-10-1-atmospheric-stadiums-football.html THE LIST: 10-1 of the most atmospheric stadiums in football] Mail Online, 29 December 2008</ref>
Home matches have been played at [[Fratton Park]] since the club's formation in 1898. In January 2009 the [[Daily Mail|Daily Mail newspaper]] named it the 10th most atmospheric stadium in football.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1101536/THE-LIST-10-1-atmospheric-stadiums-football.html THE LIST: 10-1 of the most atmospheric stadiums in football] Mail Online, 29 December 2008</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of Portsmouth F.C.}}
{{For|information on a breakdown of Portsmouth's league and cup history|List of Portsmouth F.C. seasons}}
<!--This section is meant to be just a summary. Please do not add too much detail - the "History of Portsmouth" article is intended for detailed additions-->
==== Beginnings of Portsmouth FC: 1898–1939 ====

The club was founded in the back garden of 12 High Street, Old Portsmouth on 5 April 1898 with John Brickwood, owner of the local [[Brickwoods Brewery]] as chairman, and [[Frank Brettell]] as the club's first manager. The club joined the [[Southern Football League|Southern League]] in [[1899 in football (soccer)|1899]] and their first league match was played at [[Chatham Town F.C.|Chatham Town]] on 2 September 1899 (a 1–0 victory),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.talkfootball.co.uk/guides/footballclubs/history_of_portsmouth.html|title=Portsmouth FC History|accessdate=4 July 2008|publisher=Talk Football}}</ref> followed three days later by the first match at [[Fratton Park]], a friendly against local rivals [[Southampton F.C.|Southampton]], which was won 2–0, with goals from [[Dan Cunliffe]] (formerly with [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]) and [[Harold Clarke (footballer)|Harold Clarke]] (formerly with [[Everton F.C.|Everton]]).<ref>{{cite book | author=Dave Juson & others | title=Saints v Pompey – A history of unrelenting rivalry| publisher=[[Hagiology Publishing|Hagiology]]| year=2004| isbn=0-9534474-5-6 |page=9}}</ref> 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 in English football|1910–11]] saw Portsmouth relegated, but with the recruitment of [[Robert Brown (football manager)|Robert Brown]] as manager the team were promoted the next season.

Football was anti suspended during [[World War I]], but following the resumption of matches Portsmouth won the Southern League for the second time. Continuing success saw them in the [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] for the [[1920-21 in English football|1920–21]] season. They finished 12th that year, but won the division in the [[1923-24 in English football|1923–24]] season. The club continued to perform well in the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]], winning promotion by finishing 2nd in the [[1926-27 in English football|1926–27]] season, gaining a record 9–1 win over [[Notts County F.C.|Notts County]] along the way.
Portsmouth's debut season in the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] was a struggle. The next season they continued to falter, losing 10–0 to [[Leicester City F.C.|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 F.C.|Bolton Wanderers]].
Portsmouth managed to survive relegation, and their fortunes began to change. The [[1933-34 in English football|1933–34]] season saw Portsmouth again reach the FA Cup Final, beating Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City and [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] on the way. The club was again defeated in the final, this time to [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]].
Having established themselves in the top flight, the [[1938-39 in English football|1938–39]] season saw Portsmouth reach their third FA Cup Final. This time the club managed to defeat the favourites, [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|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 in English football|1945–46]] season.

==== Post War Pompey: 1946–1971 ====
League football resumed for the 1946–47 campaign. In Pompey's ''Golden Jubilee'' season of 1948–49, the club were tipped to be the first team of the 20th century to win the Football League and FA Cup double. However, Pompey crashed out of the FA Cup in the semi-final against Leicester City, but made up for it by claiming the league title in spectacular fashion. That season also saw them record a massive attendance of 52,385, a club record which still stands to this day.

The club powered their way to the title the following year, beating [[Aston Villa F.C.|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.

In 1956 Portsmouth played the first league game under floodlight against Newcastle United on the 22nd of February.

Although the team finished third in 1954–55, subsequent seasons saw Portsmouth struggle and they were relegated to the Second Division in 1959.

Portsmouth went down to the Third Division in 1961 (the first former [[English football champions|English League champion team]] to do so) but were promoted back to the Second Division at the first time of asking under the guidance of [[George Smith (footballer born 1915)|George Smith]]. Despite limited financial means, Smith maintained Portsmouth's Second Division status throughout the sixties until moving upstairs to become General Manager in April 1970.

====John Deacon and Pompey: 1972–1988 ====
A cash injection, that accompanied the arrival of John Deacon as chairman in 1972, failed to improve Portsmouth's league position. With Deacon unable to continue bankrolling the club on the same scale, Portsmouth were relegated to the Third Division in 1976.

In November 1976 the club found itself needing to raise [[Pound sterling|£]]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 [[Football League Fourth Division|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 (footballer)|Alan Ball]]'s management, Portsmouth narrowly missed winning promotion to the First Division twice before finally succeeding in [[1986-87 in English football|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 F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]] Chairman, [[Jim Gregory]].

====Smith, Venables and Mandarić: 1991–2001====
[[Jim Smith (footballer)|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 F.C.|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 F.C.|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 F.C.|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 [[Administration (football)|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 F.C.|Huddersfield Town]] lost theirs, keeping Portsmouth up at their expense.

====Harry Redknapp era: 2002–2008====
[[Harry Redknapp]] took over as manager in early 2002, with [[Jim Smith (footballer)|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|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Portsmouth clinch promotion and championship |url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/2003/0427/portsmouth.html |publisher=RTÉ Sport |date= 27 April 2003 |accessdate=27 August 2007}}</ref>

The club finished 13th, 16th and 17th in its 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 was bought by businessman [[Alexandre Gaydamak]] whose funding allowed for the club to buy practically a whole new squad mid-season. The signings included a quartet from [[Tottenham Hotspur]] and the highly rated [[Argentina]] international [[Andrés D'Alessandro]] on loan from [[VFL Wolfsburg]].{{fact|date=August 2010}} 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.{{fact|date=August 2010}}

The 2007–08 season started with Portsmouth beating Liverpool 4–2 on penalties to win the [[Barclays Asia Trophy]] after a goalless draw, with Pompey goalkeeper [[David James (footballer)|David James]] saving penalties from [[Yossi Benayoun]] and [[Fernando Torres]].{{fact|date=August 2010}} It was not the club's only success that season as, in 2008, Portsmouth reached the FA Cup Final for the first time since 1939.{{fact|date=August 2010}} They eliminated Manchester United at Old Trafford in the quarter finals with [[Sulley Muntari]] scoring the only goal from the spot past [[Rio Ferdinand]] after [[Tomasz Kuszczak]] was sent off,{{fact|date=August 2010}} and the following day became the only Premier League team left in the cup, following Cardiff's surprise win over Middlesbrough.{{fact|date=August 2010}} Portsmouth immediately became favourites to win the cup; in a season noted for the scalping of favourites. They beat Championship side [[West Bromwich Albion]] 1–0 on 5 April at [[Wembley Stadium]] in the semi-finals, the same day that the club celebrated its 110th birthday.{{fact|date=August 2010}} Portsmouth went on to win the cup with a 1–0 win against Championship team [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]].{{fact|date=August 2010}} The win earned them a place in the [[UEFA Cup 2008-09|2008–09 UEFA Cup]], the club's first time playing European football.{{fact|date=August 2010}} Their first UEFA Cup match resulted in a historic 2–0 victory over [[Vitoria Guimaraes]] and went on to win the aggregate (4–2). This put Portsmouth in the group stages for the first time in its history.{{fact|date=August 2010}}

====Administration and relegation: 2008–Present Day====
{{Section cleanup|date=May 2010}}
{{Trivia|date=May 2010}}

On 25 October 2008, Redknapp left Portsmouth for a second time, this time to join [[Tottenham Hotspur FC|Tottenham Hotspur]] as their new manager, replacing [[Juande Ramos]]. Following his departure, Redknapp's assistant [[Tony Adams (footballer)|Tony Adams]] was promoted to the managerial role.

Adams' official tenure began with a 0–1 defeat to [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] on 29 October 2008. On 27 November, Portsmouth managed a historic result against Italian giants [[A.C. Milan|AC Milan]], going 2–0 up during the game and finishing at 2–2. Ronaldinho scored a terrific free kick after a debatable decision from the referee to penalise Papa Bouba Diop for a tackle 25 yards out. However, results and performances of this ilk did not continue, and the FA Cup holders bowed out of the 2009 competition at the 4th Round stage with a 2–0 home defeat at the hands of [[Football League Championship|Championship]] side [[Swansea City]]. Striker [[Jermain Defoe]] and midfielder [[Lassana Diarra]] departed in the January transfer window making things more difficult for Adams. Rumours of Adams' dismissal began circulating on 8 February 2009<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/portsmouth/4562956/Portsmouth-to-sack-Tony-Adams.html Portsmouth to sack Tony Adams] Daily Telegraph</ref> and this was confirmed by the club on 9 February 2009 <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7878084.stm Portsmouth confirm Adams sacking] BBC Sport</ref> 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; the club were not in action themselves that day, but Newcastle's defeat by Fulham made Portsmouth mathematically safe with two games remaining. Portsmouth finished the [[Premier League 2008–09|2008–09 season]] in 14th place.

On 26 May 2009, 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]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8070535.stm|title=Portsmouth agree to takeover bid |date=27 May 2009|work=BBC Sport|accessdate=27 May 2009}}</ref> A statement released by the club read "Portsmouth Football Club can confirm that it has accepted an offer from Dr [[Sulaiman Al-Fahim]] to buy the club, and has been completed" "Executive chairman Peter Storrie concluded the deal with Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim in Rome on Tuesday night the 26 May".

Because of the financial problems suffered by the club, Portsmouth were forced to sell several of their top players and earners including [[Peter Crouch]], [[Sylvain Distin]], [[Niko Kranjčar]] and [[Glen Johnson (English footballer)|Glen Johnson]]. On 21 July, Al Fahim was appointed Non executive Chairman of Portsmouth. On Wednesday 19 August the official Portsmouth website announced that a rival consortium headed by current CEO Peter Storrie had also made a bid for the club; unknown at the time, this was backed by [[Ali Al-Faraj]]. Despite this, Al Fahim completed the takeover on 26 August; Al Faraj moved to review a takeover of [[West Ham United F.C.|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 Monday 5 October, a deal was agreed for Al Faraj and his associates via [[British Virgin Islands]] registered company [[Falcondrone]] to hold a 90% majority holding, with Al-Fahim retaining 10% stake and the title of non-executive Chairman for two years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8222718.stm|title=Al Fahim completes Pompey buy-out|date=26 August 2009|work=BBC Sport|accessdate=26 August 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/index.php?cms_id=78&qs_articleid=2775&qs_media=html|title=Portsmouth Football Club Statement|date=26 August 2009|work=BBC Sport|accessdate=26 August 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1217306/Show-money-No-pay-struggling-Portsmouth-players.html#ixzz0SfuRHyRx EXCLUSIVE: Show me the money! No pay for struggling Portsmouth players] Mail Online, 1 October 2009</ref> Falcondrone also agreed a deal with [[Alexandre Gaydamak|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.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=683043&cc=5739|title=Portsmouth's second takeover is confirmed|publisher=ESPN SoccerNet|date=3 October 2009|accessdate=3 October 2009}}</ref> 2 days after the Al-Faraj takeover was completed Portsmouth's former Technical Director [[Avram Grant]] returned as [[Director of football]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8295129.stm|title=Grant seals return to Portsmouth |date=7 October 2009|work=BBC Sport|accessdate=9 October 2009}}</ref>

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 national football team|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 Fratton Park by Aston Villa in the quarter finals of the [[Carling Cup]] having beaten off Premier League high-flyers [[Stoke City]]. Yet another loanee [[Frédéric Piquionne]] was on target twice. However, because of the financial problems, the Premier League placed the club under a transfer embargo, meaning the club were not allowed to sign any players.

Paul Hart was sacked by the board on 24 November 2009, based on the poor results that left Portsmouth at the bottom of the league. Hart was offered the role of technical director responsible for players aged 18–21, but he declined it.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8377374.stm | work=BBC Sport | title=Portsmouth part company with Hart | date=24 November 2009 | accessdate=22 May 2010}}</ref> Coaches Paul Groves and Ian Woan took temporary charge of the team.<ref>[http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/News/Hart-Leaves-Pompey.aspx Portsmouth FC]{{deadlink|date=August 2010}}</ref> On 26 November 2009, Portsmouth FC announced on their official website that [[Avram Grant]] had been appointed as manager.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/News/news/Grant-To-Be-Boss.aspx|title=Grant to be boss|publisher=Portsmouth FC|accessdate=26 November 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8378603.stm | work=BBC Sport | title=Portsmouth name Grant as new boss | date=26 November 2009 | accessdate=22 May 2010}}</ref>

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 14 days notice. Despite the financial difficulties, Grant's time as manager was initially successful, having won two of his first four games in charge (against Sunderland and Liverpool) and only narrowly missing out on a point against league leaders Chelsea.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) filed a winding-up petition against Portsmouth at the High Court in London on 23 December 2009. Initially, the club denied the winding-up order and a statement was released via the clubs website. In the statement the club said that they expected the winding-up order to be retracted as the matter had been sorted, with the club co-operating with HMRC over all points raised in the winding-up order. The High Courts dismissed the claim, and a statement from Portsmouth said the Judge "considered any appeal to the Court of Appeal would have a 'real chance of success'".

It was announced on 5 January 2010 that the Premier League were to use Portsmouth's share of the latest installment of television broadcast monies to pay off the club's debts to other top-flight sides. [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], [[Tottenham]] and [[Watford]] were all owed money by Portsmouth (as were [[Udinese]] and [[RC Lens|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/33250/Portsmouths_official_website_shutdown.aspx|title=Portsmouth's official website shutdown|accessdate=28 January 2010|publisher=Sport.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/portsmouth/7092778/Portsmouth-embarrassed-by-website-farce.html|title=Portsmouth embarrassed by website farce|accessdate=8 February 2010|publisher=Daily Telegraph | first=John | last=Ley | date=28 January 2010}}</ref> The website was back live several hours later after Juicy announced a new financial arrangement with Portsmouth FC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toojuicy.com/press/Media Statement - www.toojuicy.com PFC website - juicy.pdf|title=Official Statement from Juicy digital agency |accessdate=4 March 2010|publisher=Juicy}}{{deadlink|date=August 2010}}</ref> As of 2 February 2010, Portsmouth FC 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.{{Fact|date=August 2010}}

On 4 February, Portsmouth was taken over by its fourth owner in one season: [[Balram Chainrai]]. A [[Nepal]]ese 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.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8497491.stm | work=BBC Sport| title=Pompey takeover to be challenged | date=4 February 2010 | accessdate=22 May 2010}}</ref>

A full court hearing was held on 10 February 2010 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 (football)|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.<ref> [http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/20/portsmouth-high-court Portsmouth on brink of insolvency], ''Guardian'', 20 February 2010 </ref>

The club did not secure a new buyer by the 25 February deadline,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8527495.stm | work=BBC Sport| title=Pompey labelled 'dysfunctional' | date=26 February 2010 | accessdate=22 May 2010}}</ref> and on 26 February [[UHY Hacker Young]] were appointed as administrators.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/26/portsmouth-administrator-andrew-andronikou Portsmouth administrator promises to save club from liquidation], ''Guardian'', 26 February 2010</ref> 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 CEO, although he remained at the club in the short term as a Consultant to the Administrator. On 15 March a consortium fronted by Rob Lloyd entered a period of exclusivity to buy Portsmouth FC; Lloyd met 19 invited fans at the Hilton Portsmouth on Sunday 14th to outline his group's plans and to answer questions.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8538457.stm | work=BBC Sport | title=Portsmouth enter administration | date=26 February 2010 | accessdate=22 May 2010}}</ref>

On 17 March 2010, Portsmouth were docked nine points for entering administration.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8571990.stm | work=BBC Sport| title=Portsmouth deducted nine points | date=17 March 2010 | accessdate=22 May 2010}}</ref>

On 24 March 2010, Administrator Andrew Andronikou revealed that the club would be looking to start the next season with a whole new squad. Players with expiring contracts would be allowed to leave and Portsmouth FC was looking to sell between 8–10 players. Overall, up to 20 players might leave the team after the [[2009–10 Premier League|2009–10 Premier League season]]. The club will be looking to build their team from free transfers in the [[List of English football transfers summer 2010|summer transfer window]] in order to save money.<ref>[http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=760789&sec=england&cc=5901 Portsmouth to replace squad with free transfers] ESPN Soccernet, 24 March 2010</ref>

On 8 April 2010 Portsmouth announced a new 5 year kit supply deal with Kappa.{{fact|date=August 2010}} They started to wear a Kappa strip in the FA Cup Semi Final on 11 April 2010.{{fact|date=August 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.

On 10 April Portsmouth were relegated to the [[Football League Championship|Championship]] after [[West Ham United]] beat [[Sunderland AFC|Sunderland]]. The following day, Portsmouth won their FA Cup Semi-Final match against Tottenham. They won 2–0 after extra time with goals from Piquonne and Boateng, and faced Chelsea in the final at [[Wembley Stadium|Wembley]] on 15 May, losing 0-1. Despite being entitled to a place in next season's [[UEFA Europa League]], the club will not be able to participate in the competition. Due to the club's well documented financial struggles they were not able to apply for a UEFA club license – a prerequisite to compete in the tournament. They appealed to UEFA for a club licence to be eligible to play in the Europa League next season, but the appeal request was rejected by the English FA on 22 April 2010 Despite this on 18 May the Administrator announced he was to press ahead with the clubs application for a Europa League Licence. The FA again re-iterated at the end of May they would not support the clubs bid. In May 2010 Avram Grant left Portsmouth and later joined West Ham United.

====Championship and Cotterill 2010-====

On 17 June 2010 the [[Trading_while_insolvent_(UK)#Company_Voluntary_Arrangement_.28CVA.29|Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA)]] was formally agreed with creditors with a 81.3% majority (with HMRC, Paul Hart and Tommy Smith's agent the only to reject it), however, [[Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs]] (HMRC) appealed against the CVA due to the reduction of their considerable debt.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8746162.stm Portsmouth creditors vote in favour of deal over debts] BBC Sport, 17 June 2010</ref> The following day former [[Notts_County_F.C.|Notts County]] manager [[Steve Cotterill]] was appointed manager of the club, despite last minute interest from [[Hull_City_FC|Hull City]]. He signed a three year contract.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8747461.stm Portsmouth appoint Steve Cotterill as manager] BBC Sport, 18 June 2010</ref> On 15 July 2010 HMRC appealed against the proposed CVA on the last day before it would be formally agreed,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8826344.stm Portsmuth suffer fresh setback after HMRC appeal] BBC Sport, 19 July 2010</ref> 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 of Justice|High Court in London]].

The case was heard by Mr Justice Mann from 3-5 August where having heard submissions from both sides, he turned down HMRC's appeal on all 5 counts put forward by the revenue service. HMRC decided not to appeal against the verdict; this leaves Portsmouth's administrators to formally agree the CVA and bring the club out of administration.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mattslater/2010/08/pompey_1_hmrc_0.html Pompey snatch last-gasp victory over taxman] BBC Sport, 6 August 2010</ref>
On Aug 17th Belran Chainrai completed his takeover of the club and passe the owners and Directors F&PPT the deal just needs now to be ratified by the Football League http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/17/balram-chainrai-portsmouth-takeover


==Club colours==
==Club colours==

Revision as of 17:59, 23 August 2010

Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club Crest
Full namePortsmouth Football Club
Nickname(s)"Pompey"
Founded1898
GroundFratton Park
Capacity20,688
OwnerBalram Chainrai
ChairmanDavid Lampitt
ManagerSteve Cotterill
LeagueThe Championship
2009–10Premier League, 20th
(relegated)
Current season

Portsmouth Football Club are an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The city and hence the club are nicknamed Pompey,[1] sometimes called 'The Blues', with fans known across Europe. The team play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from the Premier League after the 2009/10 season. Until then, Portsmouth had been a member of the Premier League for seven consecutive seasons.

During the recent 2009-10 season it became apparent to the club's new owner Balram Chainrai that the club was approximately £135m in debt[2] so to protect the club from liquidation Balram 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 the club a nine point penalty in the league which came into effect on 17 March 2010 which meant certain relegation. However despite the upheaval with players being sold and unpaid the team still managed to reach the Final of the FA Cup losing 1-0 to Chelsea. On 17 June 2010 the club's creditors voted for a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA)[3] and barring any appeals should exit administration in time for the new 2010-11 season.[citation needed]

Portsmouth have been champions of England twice, in 1949 and 1950, and have won the FA Cup twice, most recently in 2008 beating Welsh side Cardiff City 1–0 in the final. In terms of trophies won, the club is the most successful southern club outside of London, historically.[citation needed]

Home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. In January 2009 the Daily Mail newspaper named it the 10th most atmospheric stadium in football.[4]

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.[5]

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 has used black with a gold trim as its third choice colours.[citation needed] In the 2009–10 season the third kit was black with blue trim and thin blue hoops.[citation needed] The away kit was white with two navy blue vertical lines running the whole way down the side of the shirt, with the badge superimposed on top of them.[citation needed] The home kit has been the classic red white and blue kit, with plain blue shirt, plain white shorts and plain red socks.[citation needed] For the 2010 FA Cup Final Portsmouth wore a change kit of white, maroon and pink.[citation needed]

Club crest

The official emblem contains a gold star and crescent on a blue shield, Portsmouth's adoption of the star and crescent (usually synonymous with Islam) is said to have come from when King Richard I, granted the city "a crescent of gold on a shade of azure, with a blazing star of eight points" which he had taken from the Byzantine Emperor's standard of Governor Isaac Komnenos, after capturing Cyprus.

Throughout 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 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. In time for the 2007 season "Since 1898" was added to the badge underneath the club's name.

On 6 May 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 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.

Plans for relocation were first mooted as long ago as the early 1990s, but due to various objections, the club has continued to play at Fratton Park. As of September 2008, a new stadium is planned for a site offered by the Royal Navy at Horsea Island, between Stamshaw and Port Solent. The new project is also a Herzog & De Meuron design and the plans include an adjacent 10000 capacity indoor arena. Portsmouth are hoping to have the stadium ready in 2011 although a request has not yet been made.

The FA had suggested using the proposed stadium as a venue for the 2018 World Cup bid, assisting with expanding the capacity beyond 45,000. However, the cost to the cities taxpayers to join the bid was deemed too great a risk to take.[6]

Supporters

Rivalries

Main article: South Coast derby

Portsmouth's main rivals are near neighbours Southampton. Prior to the mid/late 1960s, rivalry between Portsmouth and Southampton was largely nonexistent, as a consequence of their disparity in league status. This derby match has been sporadic. Since 1977, the teams have only played league games against each other in three seasons (1987–88, 2003–04 and 2004–05). Including Southern League games, there have been 68 games between the clubs.

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

Since the departure of Harry Redknapp to Tottenham Hotspur there has been a rivalry building between the clubs. This may only be due to the Redknapp and the players who departed from Portsmouth to Tottenham.

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

The Pompey Chimes

The best known chant sung by Portsmouth supporters is the Pompey Chimes ("Play up Pompey, Pompey play up", sung to the tune of the Westminster Chimes) which is sung around Fratton Park. The origins of the 'Pompey Chimes' lies with the Royal Artillery, Portsmouth's most popular and successful football team for much of the 1890s, who played many of their home games at the United Services ground in Burnaby Road. The nearby Guildhall clock would strike the quarter hours and the referees would use the clock to let them know when the match should finish at 4pm. Just before 4pm the crowd would lilt in unison with the chimes of the hour to encourage the referee to blow the whistle signifying full time. The original words to 'The Chimes', as printed in the 1900–01 Official Handbook of Portsmouth FC, were:

Play up Pompey,
Just one more goal!
Make tracks! What ho!
Hallo! Hallo!!

With the demise of Royal Artillery after their expulsion from the 1898–99 FA Amateur Cup for alleged professionalism, many of Royal Artillery's supporters transferred their allegiance to the newly formed Portsmouth F.C. and brought the Chimes chant with them.

Portsmouth in Europe

Season Competition Round Club Score
2008–09 UEFA Cup 1st Portugal Vitória de Guimarães 2–0, 2–2 (aet)
Group Portugal Braga (A) 0–3
Group Italy Milan (H) 2–2
Group Germany Wolfsburg (A) 2–3
Group Netherlands Heerenveen (H) 3–0

Players

For a list of notable Portsmouth players see List of Portsmouth F.C. players

As of 7 August 2010[7]

Current squad

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 England ENG Jamie Ashdown
3 DF England ENG Carl Dickinson (on loan from Stoke City)
4 DF South Africa RSA Aaron Mokoena
5 MF England ENG Matt Ritchie
6 DF Ireland EIR Marc Wilson
8 MF England ENG Hayden Mullins
9 FW England ENG Danny Webber
10 FW England ENG David Nugent
11 MF England ENG Michael Brown
17 FW Nigeria NGA John Utaka
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF England ENG Joel Ward
21 FW England ENG Tommy Smith
22 MF Scotland SCO Richard Hughes
24 FW Netherlands NED Nadir Çiftçi
25 DF Senegal SEN Ibrahima Sonko (on loan from Stoke City)
31 GK England ENG Liam O'Brien
38 DF England ENG Ellis Martin
39 MF England ENG Peter Gregory
40 MF England ENG Marlon Pack

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Israel ISR Tal Ben Haim (at West Ham United until 3 January 2011)[8]
— DF England ENG James Hurst (at ÍBV)

See Portsmouth F.C. Reserves and Academy

Retired numbers

  • 1 (for only 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. However, the number 13 shirt is now reserved in respect for him, as this was the number he wore for the majority of his stay at the club[citation needed]
  • The number 12 is also retired for the fans of Portsmouth (the 12th man)

Portsmouth Player of the Season (since 1968)

Year Winner
1968 England Ray Pointer
1969 England John Milkins
1970 England Nicky Jennings
1971 England David Munks
1972 England Richie Reynolds
1973 not awarded
1974 England Paul Went
1975 England Mick Mellows
1976 England Paul Cahill
1977 not awarded
1978 not awarded
1979 England Peter Mellor
Year Winner
1980 England Joe Laidlaw
1981 England Keith Viney
1982 England Alan Knight
1983 England Alan Biley
1984 England Mark Hateley
1985 England Neil Webb
1986 Jamaica Noel Blake
1987 Jamaica Noel Blake
1988 Wales Barry Horne
1989 England Micky Quinn
1990 England Guy Whittingham
1991 England Martin Kuhl
Year Winner
1992 England Darren Anderton
1993 England Paul Walsh
1994 Wales Kit Symons
1995 England Alan Knight
1996 England Alan Knight
1997 England Lee Bradbury
1998 England Andy Awford
1999 England Steve Claridge
2000 England Steve Claridge
2001 England Scott Hiley
2002 England Peter Crouch
2003 England Linvoy Primus
Year Winner
2004 Netherlands Arjan de Zeeuw
2005 Serbia Dejan Stefanović
2006 England Gary O'Neil
2007 England David James
2008 England David James
2009 England Glen Johnson
2010 England Jamie O'Hara

Pompey players at the World Cup

1950

1954

1958

– No Portsmouth player competed at the World Cup between the end of the 1958 and the beginning of the 1994 World Cup.

1994

1998

2002

2006

2010

Portsmouth XI

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

Football team officials

Position Staff
Manager England Steve Cotterill
First Team Coach England Ian Woan
Goalkeeping Coach England John Keeley
Development Coach England Guy Whittingham
Rehabilitation and Fitness Coach England Chris Neville
Head of Sports Performance England Steve Allen
Club Doctor England Nigel Sellars
Director of Youth Operations England Paul Smalley
Kit Manager England Kev McCormack
[9]


Executive staff

Position Staff
Administrators England Andrew Andronikou
England Peter Kubik
England Michael Kiely
Owner Hong Kong Balram Chainrai
Chief Executive England David Lampitt
Club Secretary England Paul Weld
Club Ambassador England Linvoy Primus
Finance Manager England Tanya Robins
[9]

Managers

Figures correct as of 20 May 2010
Includes all competitive matches. Caretaker managers are denoted with an asterisk (*)
Name Nat Managerial Tenure P W D L Win %
Frank Brettell England England August 1898 – May 1901 88 56 9 23 63.64
Bob Blyth England England August 1901 – May 1904 142 84 29 29 59.15
Richard Bonney England England August 1904 – May 1908 206 99 39 68 48.06
Robert Brown England England August 1911 – May 1920 220 100 48 72 45.45
John McCartney Scotland Scotland May 1920 – May 1927 308 129 93 86 41.88
Jack Tinn England England May 1927 – May 1947 586 229 131 226 39.08
Bob Jackson England England May 1947 – June 1952 234 114 51 69 48.72
Eddie Lever England England August 1952 – April 1958 261 88 67 106 33.72
Freddie Cox England England August 1958 – February 1961 120 28 29 63 23.33
George Smith England England April 1961 – April 1970 410 149 110 151 36.34
Ron Tindall England England April 1970 – May 1973 130 34 40 56 26.15
John Mortimore England England May 1973 – September 1974 47 16 13 18 34.04
Ian St. John Scotland Scotland September 1974 – May 1977 124 31 33 60 25
Jimmy Dickinson England England May 1977 – May 1979 91 27 29 35 29.67
Frank Burrows Scotland Scotland May 1979 – May 1982 138 61 39 38 44.2
Bobby Campbell England England May 1982 – May 1984 88 40 17 31 45.45
Alan Ball England England May 1984 – January 1989 222 94 58 70 42.34
John Gregory England England January 1989 – January 1990 50 10 15 25 20
Frank Burrows Scotland Scotland January 1990 – March 1991 60 20 17 23 33.33
Tony Barton* England England March 1991 – May 1991 12 5 2 5 41.67
Jim Smith England England June 1991 – February 1995 199 81 54 64 40.7
Terry Fenwick England England August 1995 – January 1998 131 43 29 59 32.82
Keith Waldon* England England January 1998 – January 1998 3 0 0 3 0
Alan Ball England England January 1998 – December 1999 97 28 26 43 28.87
Bob McNab* England England December 1999 – January 2000 5 0 2 3 0
Tony Pulis Wales Wales January 2000 – October 2000 35 11 10 14 31.43
Steve Claridge England England October 2000 – February 2001 23 5 10 8 21.74
Graham Rix England England February 2001 – March 2002 56 16 17 23 28.57
Harry Redknapp England England March 2002 – November 2004 116 54 26 36 46.55
Velimir Zajec Croatia Croatia November 2004 – April 2005 21 5 4 12 23.81
Alain Perrin France France April 2005 – November 2005 21 4 6 11 19.05
Joe Jordan* Scotland Scotland November 2005 – December 2005 2 0 0 2 0
Harry Redknapp England England December 2005 – October 2008 128 54 29 45 42.19
Tony Adams England England October 2008 – February 2009 22 4 7 11 18.18
Paul Hart England England February 2009 – November 2009 30 9 6 15 30
Avram Grant Israel Israel November 2009 – May 2010 33 10 7 16 30.3
Steve Cotterill England England June 2010 – 2 1 0 1 50

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

Honours

  • 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

Club records

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.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Pompey, Chats and Guz". Royal Navy Museum.
  2. ^ "Portsmouth debt goes up to £135m". BBC Sport. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  3. ^ Lampitt Welcomes CVA Vote Portsmouth FC
  4. ^ THE LIST: 10-1 of the most atmospheric stadiums in football Mail Online, 29 December 2008
  5. ^ "Pompey's Home Kits Through The Ages". PompeyWeb. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
  6. ^ Portsmouth pulls out of 2018 bid BBC Sport, 25 November 2009
  7. ^ "First Team". Portsmouth FC. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  8. ^ "Portsmouth's Tal Ben Haim joins West Ham on loan deal". BBC Sport. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Club Personnel". Portsmouth FC. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "Pompey swoop for Spurs striker". Andover Advertiser. 15 July 1999. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portsmouth F.C..

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.

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