98/99: A year to forget...or is it?
Last year season saw Pompey going through all sorts of troubles. Amongst many, the fear of disappearing into the football history books, the sell of our top players (nothing new here, though...) and a "not far from bottom" position in the nationwide league division one. However, there were also some good points, namely the fact that the Fratton faithfuls stuck behind their team, that the support at Fratton Park and away got us elected the noisiest away fan in the league
Then came the summer and Milan Mandaric...not only did that man save the club, he also brought money in so that Alan Ball could buy some players. The most incredible thing was happening, we were BUYING players, not SELLING them! With the arrival of ten new recruits, everyone in sunny Pompey hopes that things are finally changing. Time will tell...
Play Up Pompey!!!
22.10.99
A model of the new stadium
Design view 1
Design view 2
Pompey stood on the threshold of a new era today as spectacular £80m plans were unveiled which promise to end their long quest for a new home. It will provide a 35,000-seat stadium a few yards to the west of the Fratton Park ground which has served them for 101 years. The now largely-derelict goods yard next door will also be transformed with a non-food retail park dominated by a gigantic DIY-style store, possibly a B&Q, as its centrepiece. It is predicted the entire Pompey Centre development, as it is being called, will generate more than 3,000 new jobs altogether. The city will also be provided with a new congestion-easing road through the goods yard named after Pompey legend Jimmy Dickinson. The plans were announced today as a joint venture by Pompey, under the ownership of new chairman Milan Mandaric, and the Sellar Property Group, which bought the goods yard earlier this year from Railtrack. The new £25m stadium will incorporate stylish conference facilities and other revenue-boosting proposals aimed at giving the club the sound financial footing it needs to help propel it towards the premiership. Portsmouth city councillors were last night briefed about the plans and a formal planning application has been submitted to the council. It is broadly in line with the city council's planning blueprint for the area making unlikely a repeat of the disaster at Farlington where the club's plans for a stadium were rejected after a public inquiry. The only obvious point of contention is that the planning application involves more retail space than the blueprint. Councillor Leo Madden, Labour leader of Portsmouth City Council, said: 'It is an excellent plan which will provide a premier division football stadium. 'It is a very viable scheme and I think it will be recommended by planning officers to the planning committee for approval.' Milan Mandaric said: 'We want to build a state of the art stadium that the fans and city will be proud of. We want to put down a firm base for the long-term future of this club. (from The News, 22.10.99)
| 1898 | Six businessmen bought five acres of land close to Goldsmith Avenue for £4,950 and formed Portsmouth FC. |
| 1899 | Fratton Park 'christened' with a friendly against Southampton on September 5th. Competed in the Southern League and finished runners-up. |
| 1900 | South Stand roof ripped off in storm. Replaced at a cost of £120.00! |
| 1901 | First managerial change. Frank Brettell moves to Plymouth Argyle and Bob Blyth takes over. Southern League Champions. |
| 1902 | Pompey lose their first game at Fratton Park to Northampton. |
| 1903 | Pompey fined for illegal transfers. |
| 1904 | Pompey v Swindon interrupted by crowd trouble. |
| 1905 | Pompey create their first ever FA Cup shock by defeating first division Small Heath 2-0 at Birmingham. |
| 1906 | Finished runners up in the Southern League. 24,329 saw Pompey draw 2-2 with Manchester United in the FA Cup. The replay saw Pompey gain a famous 2-1 victory. |
| 1907 | First ever tour, Germany and Austria. |
| 1908 | Death of inaugural Club Secretary Percy Whitney. |
| 1909 | Pompey change from Salmon Pink to White Shirts/Navy Shorts. |
| 1910 | The first ever Pompey transfer fees reported. Joe Dix to Clapton Orient for £100, Fred Chipstone to Northampton for £150, and Bill Beaumont to Southampton for £75. |
| 1910/11 | Pompey relegated to Division 2 of the Southern League. Financial crisis threatens. |
| 1911/12 | Pompey finish runners-up. Portsmouth Football Company Limited formed on July 27th 1912. |
| 1912/13 | Colour change. Pompey wearing Royal blue shirts with white shorts. |
| 1913/14 | Pompey collect biggest transfer fee to date. £250 for reserve goalkeeper Bill Bradley when he joined Newcastle. |
| 1914/15 | Finished seventh in the Southern League. |
| 1915/16 | 27,825 see Cup tie v Sheffield Wednesday. |
| 1916/17 | Baseball game at Fratton Park! US Army v Canada. |
| 1919/20 | Southern League Champions on goal difference. |
| 1920/21 | Elected to the third division of the Football League. Finished twelfth. |
| 1921/22 | Eventually finished third after looking capable of winning promotion. |
| 1922/23 | Finished sixth in the league and knocked out of FA Cup at first round stage again. |
| 1923/24 | Champions of division three by four clear points. 87 goals scored and only 30 conceded. |
| 1924/25 | Pompey finished fourth in division 2. Rugby Union staged at Fratton Park. New Zealand beat Hampshire 22-0 |
| 1925/26 | Fratton Park renovated. New South Stand built at a cost of £20,000. Pompey finished eleventh. |
| 1926/27 | Pompey gain promotion to the first division on goal average. Thus they became the first team to achieve that status from the Southern League. |
| 1927/28 | Pompey almost slipped straight back. However, Manager Mr Tinn reshuffled the side and a run of seven unbeaten games brought 13 points and at the end of the season Pompey finished third bottom. 477,774 spectators watched the 21 home matches. |
| 1928/29 | The Milton end of the ground is re-terraced, increasing the capacity of Fratton Park to 40,000. Lost 10-0 at Leicester and although relegation was only just avoided, Pompey's success game in the FA Cup. Pushing relegation worries aside they reached the Final, only to lose 2-0 to Bolton in front of 92,570. |
| 1929/30 | Pompey finished thirteenth. An outstanding performance at Leicester where they won 5-0 with ten men for most of the game. |
| 1930/31 | Pompey finish fourth in division one, their highest position to date. In the FA Cup they eventually lost to WBA 1-0 at Fratton Park in the fifth round. |
| 1931/32 | Pompey and Newcastle make history - the first ever match without a single corner kick - predictably a goalless draw. A good end of season run lifts Pompey into eighth place. In the FA Cup, went out to eventual finalists Arsenal in the fifth round. |
| 1932/33 | Pompey start the season in great style but finish only ninth and went out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle...but a better Cup run was on the way. |
| 1933/34 | A humdrum league season with Pompey finishing tenth, but Wembley beckoned again. Although they lost 2-0 to Manchester City in the final, revenge was exacted on Bolton in the fifth round. Pompey won 3-0 and avenged the disappointment of the '29 final. |
| 1934/35 | Jack Smith makes his 500th league appearance. |
| 1935/36 | Pompey reserves became the first provincial champions of the football combination. 12,519 watched the reserve game between Pompey and Charlton on Boxing Day. |
| 1936/37 | Chairman Albert Hooper dies and is replaced by Mr William Kiln. |
| 1937/38 | Pompey collect 33 points from their last 27 matches, bettered only by champions Arsenal. |
| 1938/39 | Third time lucky! Pompey arrived at Wembley for the FA Cup Final as underdogs but gave one of the best performances to beat the favourites Wolves 4-1. Pompey retained the Cup for six years. |
| 1942 | Pompey reached the final of the War Cup but were beaten 2-1 by Brentford. |
| 1944 | On January 8th Jimmy Dickinson signed as a professional and in March General Montgomery was elected Pompey's President. |
| 1946/47 | Manager Jack Tinn resigned after 20 years in which he had steered Pompey to three FA Cup Finals, culminating in the triumph of '39. |
| 1947/48 | Pompey finish in eighth place. |
| 1948/49 | Pompey celebrate their 50th anniversary in style with the First Division championship. 762, 398 saw Pompey remain unbeaten at Fratton Park in the league. The ground record of 51,385 was set against Derby in the 6th round of the FA Cup. Pompey lost 3-1 to Leicester in the semi-final. |
| 1949/50 | Pompey retained the Championship on goal average from Wolves! Thus they became the first team since Sheffield Wednesday in 1929/30 to do so. The fifth round of the FA Cup was reached before losing to Manchester United after a replay. |
| 1950/51 | Pompey finished seventh in the league and go out of the FA Cup in the third round. Pompey play a friendly in South America against Fluminese and lost 2-1 in front of 200,000 spectators! |
| 1951/52 | Pompey finish fourth in the league and reached the sixth round of the FA Cup. Tickets for the sixth round were put on sale a week previously at a reserve game - the result was a crowd of 30,289! A friendly v Southampton was Pompey's first floodlit game - at the Dell! |
| 1952/53 | Manager Bob Jackson who steered Pompey to their successive Championships departs for Hull City and Eddie Lever takes over the reins. Pompey finish in 15th place. |
| 1953/54 | Pompey reach 5th round of the FA Cup after three successive replays. The Championship side begins to break up. |
| 1954/55 | No Cup success but Pompey finish third in the league after looking title contenders. |
| 1955/56 | Duggie Reid retires with 128 goals from 309 appearances. The first ever league match played under lights took place at Fratton Park on February 22nd 1956. Newcastle were the visitors and Pompey won 2-0. |
| 1956/57 | The new Fratton End built at a cost of £40,000 opened. Relegation only just avoided. Jimmy Dickinson and Peter Haris reach 400 appearances for Pompey. |
| 1958/59 | Manager Eddie Lever departs and is replaced by Freddie Cox. Enormous changes on the field. Pompey go 24 games without a win and are relegated. |
| 1959/60 | Pompey almost go straight through into the third division. Only seven points from four games in March save them. |
| 1960/61 | Freddie Cox departs and George Smith arrives in April, too late to save Pompey from relegation. Rare success that season in the new Football League Cup as they reach the quarter-final. |
| 1961/62 | A great start to the season, unbeaten for thirteen games. Jimmy Dickinson reaches 600 appearances and Pompey celebrate with the third division championship. |
| 1962/63 | Fratton's new floodlights officially opened by a visit from Burnley. The worst winter in memory decimates the fixtures. Pompey's Cup-tie with Scunthorpe postponed ten times. Pompey eventually finish 17th. |
| 1963/64 | Pompey finish mid table but Ron Saunders grabs 33 goals! |
| 1964/65 | Pompey grab an equaliser six minutes from time in the final match at Northampton to avoid relegation. This match also saw Jimmy Dickinson's final appearance for Pompey. Dickinson had played 764 league matches, 58 Cup-ties and never once cautioned by a referee. Pompey also scrap all other sides bar the first team as a cost cutting exercise. |
| 1965/66 | After early season injuries Pompey string a sequence of results together to finish mid table. Over 20,000 attend Dickinson's testimonial match. |
| 1966/67 | Mid table once more. In the FA Cup Pompey beat Hull City after three games before losing to Spurs in front of 57,910. |
| 1967/68 | Pompey in top spot for most of the season, but a return of only eight points from the last twelve games saw them finish fifth. Pompey reach the fifth round of the FA Cup before losing to WBA. |
| 1968/69 | After a good start to the season Pompey finish in mid-table. George Smith sold to Middlesbrough for £50,000 - a club record fee. |
| 1969/70 | One of the less memorable in Pompey's long history. Smith replaced as Manager by Ron Tindell. |
| 1970/71 | Pompey finish 16th in the league. After holding Arsenal 1-1 at Fratton Park in the FA Cup watched by 39.659, they lose a thrilling replay 3-2. |
| 1971/72 | A poor season on and off the field. No success in any Cup competition and 12th place in the league and financial pressure as the accounts show Pompey lost £92,000. |
| 1972/73 | Pompey finish 17th in the league. John Deacon joins the board. |
| 1973/74 | Pompey's 75th anniversary season. Deacon becomes Chairman, John Mortimore replaces Ron Tindell as Manager. £200,000 spent on Ron Davies, Peter Marinello and Phil Roberts. In December Pompey are still struggling and another £200,000 spent on Malcolm Manley and Paul Went. Pompey finish 15th. |
| 1974/75 | Manager John Mortimore replaced by Ian St John. Another season of struggle and Pompey finish 17th. |
| 1975/76 | Pompey relegated to the third division. Financial pressure mounting and St John turns to the Youth team for players. |
| 1976/77 | A disastrous start to the season. By September Pompey in 22nd place. John Deacon calls a public meeting and SOS Pompey is launched. £35,000 is eventually raised. St John send out Pompey's youngest ever team, seven teenagers, to earn a draw at Port Vale. Relegation avoided by one point and Ian St John became another Managerial casualty. Jimmy Dickinson takes over. Pompey reserves win the mid-week league. |
| 1977/78 | Pompey always near the foot of the table and were eventually relegated to the fourth division! Ray Crawford departs as coach and is replaced by Frank Burrows. Alan Knight makes his first appearance in the final game of the season. |
| 1978/79 | Pompey start off well and in December are second in the table. They eventually finish eighth. The legendary Jimmy Dickinson suffers a heart attack in March and formally resigned in May to be placed by Frank Burrows. |
| 1979/80 | Steve Foster sold for £150,000 and six players bought from the proceeds. The season commences with five straight wins. Five more players purchased in the autumn and crowds were flocking back. 20,755 and 23,871 watch the visits of Newport and Bradford. 31,000 watch the FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough. Promotion gained thanks to a last gasp win at Northampton on goal difference. |
| 1980/81 | £300,000 spent on Mick Tait, Bobby Doyle and Billy Rafferty. The Football League Cup produces a piece of Fratton Park folk-lore. Pompey reached the fourth round and were paired away to Liverpool. 15,000 fans travelled to Anfield and though Pompey lost 4-1 the occasion was bigger than the game. In the League Pompey finished in sixth place. |
| 1981/82 | Pompey finish in 15th place. Bobby Campbell who had joined the coaching staff takes over as Manager from Frank Burrows. |
| 1982/83 | Campbell sets about changing the squad and his three new signings Alan Biley, Neil Webb and Ernie Howe all score in the opening match of the season. In the New Year Pompey win seven matches in a row - a club record. The Championship was won by an emphatic five points. |
| 1983/84 | Pompey appoint their first woman director Mrs Joan Deacon. Campbell pulls a master stroke with the signing of Mark Hateley. Alan Ball joins the club as Youth Team manager. The visit of Southampton in the FA Cup attracts a capacity 36,000. In the league Pompey struggle and Alan Ball replaced Bobby Campbell with just one game to go. Swansea are thrashed 5-0 and Hateley scores two to reach 25 for the season. In June Ball's appointment made permanent and Mark Hateley moved to A C Milan for £1 million. |
| 1984/85 | Pompey just miss out on promotion. Pre-season signings Blake, Gilbert and Kennedy are joined in mid-season by Hilaire. An exciting season and the promotion battle goes right to the last game of the season. Manchester City take the second spot on goal difference. |
| 1985/86 | Heartbreak once more. Pompey just miss out on promotion. Webb departs to Nottingham Forest. O'Callaghan and Channon are pre-season buys and in March Mick Quinn is bought from Oldham to keep the promotion challenge going. But Pompey finish in the "bridesmaid" spot once more. |
| 1986/87 | Only once close season signing. Paul Mariner, who arrives on a free transfer from Arsenal. His experience completed the jigsaw and promotion is achieved! Mick Quinn scores 21 league goals to send Pompey back to the first division after 28 years. |
| 1987/88 | Pompey's joy short-lived and the return to the first division lasts just one season. Record signing Ian Baird from Leeds United scores just one goal in 22 appearances and later returns to Leeds. Kennedy is sold to Bradford City. Alan Knight becomes the youngest Pompey player to enjoy a testimonial season. Chairman John Deacon sells out to Jim Gregory's Blue Star Empire and a new era at Fratton beckons. Fratton Park is remodernised ready for the new season and team building begins! |
Back Row : Robert Mitchell, Luke Nightingale, Anthony Fenton, Jason Cundy, Alan Knight, Kevin McCormack, Ted MacDougall, Thomas Thogerson, Guy Whittingham, Steve Soley, Robbie Simpson
Middle Row : Jimmy Ball, Jonathon Trigg, John Durnin, Jason Crowe, Rory Allen, Chris Tardiff, Aaron Flahavan, Andy Petterson, Matthew Robinson, Michalis Vlachos, Dave Waterman, Neil McNab, Shaun North
Front Row : Carl Pettefer, Sammy Igoe, Adam Newton, Gary Connolly, Jeff Peron, Steve Claridge, Adrian Whitbread, Alan Ball, Kevin Bond, Andy Awford, Adam Holbrook, Martin Phillips, Alan McLoughlin, Fitzroy Simpson, Neil McNab, Joe McNab
Some of these songs are rude, even aggressive, this does not mean that I'm an aggressive person. I am just giving raw information about the club, whether I agree, or not, about the content of these songs is another matter. Thank you and don't feel offended!!!!!
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