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The Joy Circuit |
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Portsmouth FC Club History
A century of thrills and spills |
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| How
it began
IT ALL started in 1898 in the offices of a solicitor, in High Street, Portsmouth. There, a syndicate of sportsmen and businessmen passed a minute that land close to Goldsmith Avenue be used for the ‘proposed football club’. The land in Goldsmith Avenue was purchased for the princely sum of £4,950, and stands were swiftly erected on the north and south sides. The original company was launched with a capital of £8,000 in £1 shares and their were five directors of the new club. The appointment of the first Pompey manager caused the most excitement. He was Frank Brettell, an experienced and respected manager who had helped develop clubs such as Everton, Liverpool, Bolton and Tottenham Hotspur. Brettell keenly set to the task of recruiting players to the new outfit. Many of the new players were from the north - Wilkie, Cleghorn, Marshall and Cuncliffe from Liverpool and Turner, Stringfellow and Clark from Everton. However, some local players from the disbanded RA were brought in by Brettell as well, including Matt Reilly, the popular Irish keeper, and Harry Turner, a respected full-back. An application was accepted for the new club to join the Southern League First Division without the usual probationary period. The team was all set - now all it had to do was win football matches. The club’s first match was against Chatham on September 2, 1899. It proved to be a successful debut for ‘The Shrimps’, as they secured victory 1-0 through a goal from winger Harold Clarke. In fact, playing wise that whole first season proved to be a very good one. Portsmouth won 20 out of 28 league games, and were runners up in the division to Tottenham. The Shrimps also had a good cup run, winning nine matches before eventually being knocked out by Blackburn. Despite the season’s gates being a little disappointing, Brettell was extremely upbeat about the progress that was made in that first season. He told supporters: ‘Nothing in the history of football can compare with the phenomenal rise and extraordinary performances of our club.’ Former captain Bob Blyth succeeded Frank Brettell when he moved to Plymouth in 1901. The new manager achieved instant success when the Southern League Championship was won for the first time. In fact, Pompey remained unbeaten for three seasons at home in the league, before losing to Northampton on October 18, 1902. Other highlights in that decade included the visit of Manchester United to Fratton Park in the English Cup. The game was a 2-2 draw with the replay won by Pompey 2-1. The home game for Pompey gave them their first four-figure gate of 24,329. It was not all roses for Pompey in those early years, however. The 1910/11 season was a disaster, with relegation to the Southern second division. There were also financial difficulties, a seemingly perennial problem for Portsmouth. The club had accumulated huge debts, and a public appeal made £392. Through the ‘father of Portsmouth football club’ , Mr GL Oliver, a new club was formed, Portsmouth Football Club Limited. Competitive football was suspended during the war years and did not resume again for Pompey until the 1919/20 season when they won the Southern League for the second time. This was to be Pompey’s last year in the Southern League, however. The following season the club joined the national football league, which was much more glamourous and received national attention. Pompey joined the new third division for the start of the 1920/21 campaign. Pompey’s debut on the national stage did not set the world alight. They finished twelfth in their debut season. In fact, promotion did not occur until the 1923/24 season, with Willie ‘Farmer’s boy’ Haines banging in 28 League goals in 31 matches. Division 1 football did not take long to arrive, either. The 1926/27 season saw promotion, partly resulting from the lethal partnership of Haines and Freddy Forward up front. A dream was realised as top flight football headed for Fratton Park. Pompey’s first season in Division One under new manager Jack Tinn was a struggle with many players failing to make the step up to a higher standard. They finished in twentieth, although some of the new signings made a good impression, especially John Weddle, who netted nine goals in 14 matches. Although Portsmouth continued to falter in the league, they managed a brilliant cup run in the 1928/29 season, culminating in their first final appearance. They lost to Bolton in that final 2-0, rather unluckily by all accounts. Pompey started to make a serious impact in the league at the start of the 1930’s, with the strike partnership of Weddle and Jimmy Easson proving lethal. Pompey finished the season in fourth, and while never championship contenders, they continued to be consistently in the top ten throughout the 1930’s. The real highlight during this period was the cup run in the 1933/4 season, with another final appearance achieved through a 4-1 semi-final win against Leicester at St Andrews. However, it was another disappointing final for the men in blue, with a 2-1 defeat against Man City the end result. The latter half of the 1930’s were nothing to write home about for Pompey with one notable exception... the FA Cup Final of 1939. Pompey were rank outsiders for the final after only narrowly escaping relegation. They were up against a highly-rated Wolves side who on paper were a stronger outfit than Pompey. However, as one supremely intelligent pundit once said, ‘football isn’t played on paper’ and Pompey triumphed 4-1. It was without doubt the south coast team’s finest hour. In fact, it would be six years before the cup left Portsmouth - as world war once again put pay to competitive sport. |
Post-War Glory - and disappointment |
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From league title to relegation Despite the war, Pompey made some footballing discoveries that would pay huge dividends when League football resumed again in 1946/47. Players such as Jimmy Dickinson, pictured, Peter Harris and Jimmy Scoular would go on to play a huge role in the success Pompey would have in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. The pinnacle of Pompey’s achievements was winning the league title in 1948/49. Their great day came on April 23, when goals from Peter Harris and Ike Clarke sealed the 2-1 title win against Bolton. The following season they successfully defended their title and remained league champions. Sadly Pompey never repeated the achievement. Towards the end of the 1950s Pompey’s form deserted them, leaving the Blues lingering near the bottom. Between 1956 and 1959 they finished no higher than 19th, and in the season of 1958/59 fans had to watch Pompey’s bad form hit rock bottom as they were relegated into division two. The beginning of the 1960s saw Portsmouth playing in the second division and after a poor start they could only finish 20th. When dedicated fans thought that things could not get any worse, they did and the Blues were relegated to division three at the end of the 1960/61 season. After this wake-up call Portsmouth were soon back on track and their excellent form saw them capture the division three title in the 1961/62 season and earn promotion back into the second divison. During the early part of the 1960s, however, Pompey were beset by increasing financial worries - a problem that has plagued the club for many years. They decided the only remedy was a radical solution which included reducing the playing staff from the mid-30s to 16, scrapping the reserve A and youth team and operating with a single side league. This drastic measure saved the club £20,000 a year. 1964/65 was a very special time for one of the legends of Portsmouth, Jimmy Dickinson. Almost 20,000 crowded into Fratton Park to bid farewell to the loyal one-club man, who played 764 league games and was pivotal in the club’s double league win. As Pompey was walking a financial tightrope it meant they hadn’t the resources to buy too many new players, relying heavily on the existing staff. Even though the team fought gallantly the financial short comings were clear. For the rest of the 1960s the team finished in the bottom half of the table and had poor runs in the FA Cup, only reaching the fifth round on one occasion, in the 1967/68 season. The 1970s was one of the worst decades in the club’s history, as they were once again in financial turmoil. The beginning of the decade saw a change in manager to Ron Tindall. His introduction marked a flurry of transfer activity. They experienced a good run in the FA Cup but the season drifted into anticlimax and with 17 league matches left they only scored twice leaving them in an unhealthy 16th position. The next few years saw mounting financial pressures and the club had a £70,000 overdraft. The mediocre performances on the pitch began to reflect in the turnstiles. The 1972/73 accounts showed that Pompey had lost nearly £93,000 on the year and bizarrely enough Tindall was allowed to continue adding to the squad. As the 75th anniversary of the club approached and despite them being heavily in debt, they went on the biggest shopping spree in their history. This caught the fans’ imagination but even with full crowds at Fratton Park for the first game of the season - it was short lived. They finished 15th - a poor return for the substantial money spent. Under Ian St John, and with an enormous wage bill, the club had sunk to the bottom of the table. With the chairman funding between £1,000-£2,000 a week just to keep the club going, the overdraft was more than £300,000 and the overall loss for that year was in excess of £400,000. Not surprisingly, Pompey were relegated from division two at the end of the 1975/76 season. And with no money, they only finished in 20th position in division three. There was still worse to come, however, as the following season they were relegated into division four for the first time in their history. By the beginning of the 1980s they were back playing in division three. There was a significant change off the field as Portsmouth became a private limited company and came completely under the umbrella of John Deacon’s Superior Properties. Success came in 1982/83 season as they were crowned champions of division three. Their return to the second division relied heavily on the striking partnership of Biley and Rafferty. Biley finished with a total of 26 goals - 23 in the League matches - to become the first player since Ron Saunders to break the 20 barrier, while Rafferty scored 19. Pompey were guided by Alan Ball from 1984 and under his guidance and good form on the pitch meant they finished fourth for two consecutive seasons. Ball’s biggest achievements came in May 1987, when, after a 28-year exile from the top flight, they finished in second place to be promoted back to division one. |
The 1990s and into the 21st century |
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From the doldrums to the Premiership ALAN Ball's triumph was shortlived. Pompey were in the top flight for just one season before they were relegated back into the old second division - later the Nationwide first division - where they languished for more than a decade. There was one bright spot in 1992, when Pompey were minutes away from causing one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history as Darren Anderton’s goal put Pompey ahead of the mighty Liverpool in an FA Cup semi-final at Highbury. Sadly, they became the first team to get knocked out of the cup on penalties at that stage as they lost the replay at Villa Park. More agony was to follow 12 months later as Pompey and West Ham United were vying for promotion - Pompey missed out by just two goals. In 1996 they avoided relegation on the last day of the season after beating Huddersfield. And two years later they repeated the feat on the final day by winning 3-1 at Bradford. The club went into administration and, as they desperately tried to find a new owner, Serb-American millionaire Milan Mandaric stepped in. Pompey’s last-day heroics came to the fore once again, when they stared relegation in the face on the final day of the 2000/01 season - but a 3-0 win over Barnsley rescued them yet again at Fratton Park to send the fans into ecstasy. But it was Harry Redknapp's arrival as manager that
brought the good times back to Fratton Park. In his first, remarkable,
season as boss Redknapp piloted the Blues to the division one title in
2003. Inspired by skipper Paul Merson, Pompey smashed records wherever
they went. There was a club record eight straight wins, 98 points and 97
goals. Svetoslav Todorov won the first division's golden boot, hitting the
net 26 times. And it was his goal that secured the Blues promotion with a
1-0 win over Burnley at Fratton Park on April 15, 2003, a day forever
etched in the memory of Blues fans who went wild with joy. Twelve days
later, and the scenes were repeated as Pompey beat Rotherham 3-2 at
Fratton to land the title - their first silverware for 20 years.
Redknapp then put together a side which finished a respectable 13th in
their first season in the promised land of the Premiership - a dream come
true for all true Blues - and plans for a new stadium began to take shape.
But Redknapp's relationship with chairman Milan Mandaric became
increasingly fraught, with hints of arguments over control of the transfer
budget. Harry and his emblematic assistant Jim Smith left midway through
the 2004-5 season after the appointment of Velimir Zajec as executive
director - and, the ultimate betrayal in fans' eyes, Harry popped up as
manager of Southampton.
On 19th July 2006 co-owner and club chairman Milan Mandarić transferred full ownership of the club over to Alexandre Gaydamak. After a 7 year tenure that has seen Portsmouth rise from the brink of liquidation into the top tier of domestic football, Mandarić leaves a considerable legacy appreciated by the majority of the club's supporters. In finding a new owner who appears to have both ambition and a willingness to invest he looks to have secured a bright future for the football club. As a show of thanks to Mandarić's work and probably also due to his popularity with supporters, Mandarić remained at the club in a role as Non-Executive Chairman until the 25 September 2006. During the summer transfer window, England internationals Glen Johnson (on a one-season loan from Chelsea), David James and Sol Campbell were signed as well as former under 21 midfielder David Thompson. Veteran strikers Nwankwo Kanu and Andrew Cole were brought in on short term contracts, with midfielders Manuel Fernandes and Roudolphe Douala joining on loan. Serbian midfielder Ognjen Koroman's loan from Terek Grozny was extended for a further season. Pompey's most expensive signing was that of Croatia international Niko Kranjčar, who cost £3.5 million from Hajduk Split. Portsmouth made a strong start to the 2006-07 Premiership campaign without conceding any goals in their first five games and were briefly top of the Premiership. Two defeats in a row - to Bolton (1-0 at Fratton) in a match where Portsmouth dominated only to be sunk by a stunning first-half volley from Wanderers leading goalscorer Kevin Nolan and Tottenham (2-1 at White Hart Lane) in a match marred by a series of yellow cards for both sides) respectively - dented this record, but at Christmas they still occupied fourth place - good enough for automatic UEFA Cup qualification or even an outside chance for a crack at the Champions League. Later results have seen them drop to sixth place as they face the prospect of going to Manchester United in the fourth Round of the FA Cup after a rare defeat at Fratton Park by second-to-botom side Charlton Athletic. They eventually ended the 2006/2007 season in 9th place, their highest finish for more than 50 years and just missing out on a UEFA Cup place. |
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Last update |
08/04/2008 11:07:35 |
© Dave Wateridge |
