Portsmouth F.C.

Portsmouth Football Club is a professional football club based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, which compete in . They are also known as ''Pompey'', a local nickname used by both HMNB Portsmouth and the city of Portsmouth; the ''Pompey'' nickname predates the club and has various unconfirmed origin sources and theories. The club was founded on 5 April 1898 by Sir John Brickwood and began playing home matches at Fratton Park the following year. Portsmouth are one of only five English football clubs to have been champions of all four tiers of the professional English football pyramid. Portsmouth's arch-rivals are Southampton, a rivalry based in part to geographic proximity and both cities' respective maritime histories.

Portsmouth spent their early history in the Southern and Western leagues, winning five division titles before being admitted into the English Football League in 1920 as founder members of the Third Division. They won the Third Division South title in 1922–23 and were promoted out of the Second Division at the end of the 1926–27 season, becoming the first southern club outside of London to reach the top tier of English professional football. They competed in the 1929, 1934 and 1939 FA Cup finals, winning the competition for the first time in latter of these finals and thereby remaining as reigning champions throughout World War II. They won the First Division title in 1948–49 and 1949–50 under the stewardship of Bob Jackson. However, their 32 consecutive years in the top-flight ended in relegation in 1959 and was followed by another relegation two years later, though the goals of Ron Saunders helped the club to win promotion as Third Division champions in 1961–62.

Portsmouth were relegated to the fourth tier for the first time in 1978, their second relegation in three years, though promotion out of the Fourth Division was secured in 1979–80 and was followed by another Third Division title in 1982–83. Promotion back to the top-flight was achieved in 1986–87, though they stayed there for just one season and then remained in the second tier between 1988 and winning the division in 2002–03. They spent seven seasons in the Premier League and lifted the FA Cup again under manager Harry Redknapp in 2008. They lost the 2010 FA Cup final after being relegated, which signalled the start of a difficult period where the club entered financial administration twice and were relegated three times, dropping down to the fourth tier in 2013. Portsmouth were saved from High Court liquidation after being bought out by the fan-owned Pompey Supporters Trust (PST) in April 2013. PST sold the club on to Michael Eisner after the League Two title was won at the end of the 2016–17 campaign. Portsmouth went on to win the EFL Trophy in 2019.

History

Other early Portsmouth clubs

* 1871–1896 – Portsmouth A.F.C. – Amateur club formed by Portsmouth architect Arthur Cogswell. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle played as a goalkeeper under the pseudonym, "A.C. Smith".
* ?–1891–?? – Portsmouth Town F.C. – An amateur team who almost became Portsmouth's first professional club, but whose efforts failed and led to their disbandment.
* 1894–1899 – Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C. (reformed 1900–1901) – A popular British Army regiment amateur football team based at the United Services Recreation Ground complex at Burnaby Road, Portsmouth. Their supporters were the originators of the ''"Town Hall Chimes"'' (later known as, ''"The Pompey Chimes"'') and the team were nicknamed ''"Pompey"'' before the professional Portsmouth F.C. were formed in 1898. A "professionalism" scandal in 1899 led to their "retirement" and a rise in interest of Portsmouth F.C.. Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C. briefly reformed for one more season in 1900–1901.

1898–1899: Founding of Portsmouth F.C.

Contrary to popular belief and urban myth, Portsmouth F.C. were not deliberately formed to replace Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C. The club had already been formed in 1898 before Royal Artillery's 1899 "professionalism" scandal which led to RA's disbandment.

By luck or coincidence, Portsmouth F.C. had been formed earlier on 5 April 1898, at 12 High Street, Old Portsmouth, (the office of solicitor John Edward Pink) as ''"The Portsmouth Football and Athletic Company"'', with John Brickwood as chairman, The company directors were:
* John Brickwood (1852–1932) (owner of Brickwoods Brewery, Portsmouth. Knighted by King Edward VII in 1904. In 1927, he became Sir John Brickwood, 1st Baronet Brickwood of Portsmouth.)
* Alfred H. Bone (a local architect and surveyor)
* George Lewin Oliver (?–1934) (Founder and headmaster of 'Mile End House School', a boys preparatory school, known informally as 'Oliver's Academy')
* John Wyatt Peters (a wine importer)
* John Edward Pink (1866-1939) (a solicitor based at 12 High Street, Old Portsmouth) (b. 6 June 1866, d. 21 March 1939. Became Mayor of Portsmouth 1904–1905)
* William Wigginton (1843-?) (a government contractor and former Royal Engineers Warrant Officer, Foreman of Works, Royal Engineer Department)

A Blue Plaque on the wall of 12 High Street, Old Portsmouth (Alderman John E. Pink's solicitors' office building) commemorates the founding on 5 April 1898.

1899–1920: Southern Football League and Western Football League (1900–1909)

Although the founding of Portsmouth F.C. had been agreed on 5 April 1898, a football ground or a team of players did not exist until 1899.

In 1899, work began on developing a plot of former agricultural land near Goldsmith Avenue, Milton, Portsmouth into a new football ground, bought in 1898 from the local Goldsmith farming family. The new football ground was to be named Fratton Park after the nearby and convenient Fratton railway station, with an adjoining railway goods yard located between the two.

Frank Brettell was announced as Portsmouth Football Club's first manager-secretary in February 1899, he had been secretary-player with the St Domingo Club (now Everton) in Liverpool and helped "create the organisation which became Everton". Brettell joined Portsmouth F.C. in May 1899 and his first Portsmouth signings were Irish goalkeeper Matt Reilly and Harry Turner both from the recently "retired" Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C. Also joining Portsmouth as a new director was Regimental Sergeant-Major Frederick Windrum, the treasurer-trainer from Royal Artillery.

Brettell, with his valuable northern contacts, also signed Scottish footballer Tom Wilkie, the former Heart Of Midlothian and Liverpool player. Bob Blyth and Alex "Sandy" Brown were both signed from Preston North End. Edward Turner, Harold Clarke and Harold Stringfellow all came from Everton. Dan Cunliffe, Thomas "Tommy" Cleghorn and Robert "Bobby" Marshall were all signed from Liverpool.

A bold and ambitious application for Portsmouth's direct entry into the Southern League First Division, without the usual probationary period in the lower divisions, was accepted, and the club joined the Southern Football League Division One for the 1899–1900 season. The Southern League were very keen to see a professional team from Portsmouth join the Southern League, the Southern League secretary, Mr Nat Whittaker was quoted in the press as saying; "Personally, I think there is a great future for 'socker'(sic) generally in Portsmouth and if they can only do well next season the success of the club is assured. Help them? Of course, I will, and anyone else who wants to make football grow in the south". Whittaker also said he was confident that Portsmouth would be elected into the league by the other clubs at the next general meeting of the Southern League, which they were.

Portsmouth's first competitive Southern League match was played away at Chatham Town at Maidstone Road, Chatham on Saturday 2 September 1899, which Portsmouth won 1–0, with Portsmouth's first-ever goal scored by Harold Clarke. During the match, Portsmouth manager Frank Brettel had sent telegrams of the latest score every fifteen minutes to Fratton Park, where crowds had gathered to hear the latest news. Four days later, on Wednesday 6 September 1899, the first-ever home match at Fratton Park was played; a friendly against local town rivals Southampton, which Portsmouth won 2–0, with goals from Dan Cunliffe and Harold Clarke. Portsmouth's first competitive Southern League home match followed on Saturday 9 September, a 2–0 win against Reading, with goals again scored by Clarke and Cunliffe, attended by a crowd of up to 7000 supporters. Portsmouth's first 1899–1900 season in the Southern Football League Division One was successful, with the club winning 20 out of 28 league matches, earning them the runner-up spot in the table behind champions, Tottenham Hotspur.

In their second 1900–01 Southern Football League Division One season, Portsmouth finished in third place behind second place Bristol City and first place Southampton. Portsmouth also joined the 1900–01 Western Football League and finished top as Division One champions. The following season saw Portsmouth player Bob Blyth become Portsmouth's second manager on 1 August 1901, replacing Frank Brettell who had left on 31 May 1901. Portsmouth won the 1901–02 Southern Football League championship title. However, Portsmouth were not promoted and no teams were relegated. No clubs had applied for election to the Football League proper. In the 1901–02 Western Football League, Portsmouth also won the Division One championship for a second consecutive season.

In the 1902–03 Southern Football League, Portsmouth finished in third place. In the 1902–03 Western Football League, Portsmouth won the Division One championship for a third consecutive season.

The following 1903–04 Southern Football League saw a fourth-place finish. On 5 July 1904, Portsmouth F.C. Chairman and Brickwoods Brewery owner, Sir John Brickwood was Knighted by His Majesty, King Edward VII. In the 1903–04 Western Football League, Portsmouth finished in fourth position behind champions Tottenham Hotspur.

Richard Bonney, the ex-army soldier who had co-founded Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C. in 1894, became Portsmouth's third manager on 1 August 1905 for the 1905–06 Southern Football League. Portsmouth finished in third place. In the 1905–06 Western Football League, Portsmouth finished in seventh position behind champions Queens Park Rangers. A new club pavilion was designed and built by Arthur Cogswell in the south-west corner of Fratton Park, which housed the club offices and player's changing rooms. John Brickwood also donated a clock tower spire to the east side of the new pavilion.

In the 1906–07 Southern Football League, Portsmouth ended the season as runners-up for a second time, after Fulham won the title by just two points. Meanwhile, in the 1906–07 Western Football League, the top Division One was split into equal 'A' and 'B' sections, with a playoff between the two section winners to decide a Division One champion. Portsmouth finished in third position in the 'B' section of Division One. The 1906–07 season was highlighted by the visit of Manchester United to Fratton Park in the FA Cup, which generated a record attendance of 24,329. A 2–2 draw meant a replay in Manchester, where Portsmouth recorded a famous 2–1 win.

The next 1908–09 season, Portsmouth finished in fourth position. In their last Western Football League appearance, Portsmouth finished in fourth position of the 'B' section of Division One. At the end of the season, all fourteen members of the split 'A' and 'B' sections of Division One resigned from the Western Football League.

For the 1909–10 Southern Football League, Portsmouth abandoned their salmon pink and maroon "Shrimps" era shirts and changed their colours to white shirts, navy blue shorts and navy blue socks. Portsmouth ended their season in sixth place before the following season saw the team win only 8 of their 38 games and were relegated. Manager Richard Bonney was then let go. A severe financial crisis struck between seasons and a public appeal for funds in May 1911 kept the club afloat.

1912: Reformation

With the recruitment of Robert Brown from Sheffield Wednesday, as Portsmouth's fourth manager, the team finished second place in the 1911–12 Southern Football League Division Two behind Merthyr Town and were promoted as runners-up. However, the club's finances were in trouble again, with losses and debts increasing to £10,000. A shareholders meeting was called on 8 May 1912, where George Lewin Oliver, one of the original founders and directors, proposed that "''The Portsmouth Football and Athletic Company''" should be wound up and replaced with a more business orientated company. The original company was then liquidated to remove the debt and on 27 July 1912, the "''Portsmouth Football Company Ltd''" was formed as the new parent company of Portsmouth F.C., with substantial financial guarantees given by the board of directors. The original 1898 founding director George Lewin Oliver became the new Portsmouth F.C. chairman.

For the new 1912–13 Southern Football League season back in Division One, Portsmouth, now under new ownership, wore new home colours of blue shirts, white shorts and black stockings. Portsmouth finished the season in 11th position.

Portsmouth's famous crest, consisting of a crescent moon and star made its first appearance in the 1913–14 season. The moon and star motif comes from the Portsmouth town (then) coat of arms and are believed to date back as far as the time of Richard I. Curiously, the star on the original badge featured a star with five points rather than the eight that appear on the town crest. Portsmouth ended the season in 9th position.

Football was suspended during the 1914–1918 First World War. Many with connections to Portsmouth F.C. joined the "Pompey Pals Battalions", which formed parts of the Hampshire Regiment. Many never returned home. In 1915, the Fratton End terrace was upgraded to accommodate 8,000 standing supporters and covered with a roof for the first time.

On 24 April 1916, an Easter Monday, two charity fund-raising matches between Portsmouth FC and Southampton FC both simultaneously took place at both Fratton Park and Southampton's The Dell. The Fratton Park game was won by Portsmouth 7-0; the other match at The Dell was won by Portsmouth 2-3.

On 6 June 1918, an American army team played a Canadian army team in a baseball match at Fratton Park, with the gate money donated to the British Red Cross. The US army team won 4–3.

Following the resumption of matches in the 1919–20 season, Portsmouth won the Southern League championship for the second time. Portsmouth were then elected to the Football League Third Division as founder members. John McCartney took over as the fifth manager of Portsmouth on 1 May 1920 from Robert Brown who had left to join Gillingham, also in The Football League.

1920–1939: The Football League

Competing in the inaugural season in England's Football League Third Division, Portsmouth claimed the title only four years later in the 1923–24 season with the team being promoted into the Second Division. Debuting in the second division for the first time, they finished in fourth place behind Derby County, Manchester United and the division champions, Leicester City. The following season , a new South Stand was designed by renowned football architect Archibald Leitch and was opened by Football League President John McKenna on 29 August 1925, just before the kickoff against Middlesbrough. The season ended with Portsmouth in eleventh position.

After finishing in eleventh position, Portsmouth won promotion to the first Division by finishing runners-up in the 1926–27 Second Division season and in the process, getting their biggest club win with a 9–1 home win over Notts County, which is still the highest home win scoring record to date. Portsmouth's promotion to the top division in English football was a double celebration; the first achieved by a football club based south of London, and the first achieved by a club graduating from the Third Division to the First Division.

Sunderland A.F.C. fan and South Shields manager Jack Tinn joined Portsmouth as new manager on 1 May 1927, replacing John McCartney who had resigned due to ill health. Portsmouth's debut season in the 1927–28 First Division was a struggle, finishing one point and one place above relegation.

The next 1928–29 season in the First Division, Portsmouth continued to falter, losing 10–0 away at Filbert Street to Leicester City, which is still a club record away defeat. Despite their failings in the Football League, however, that season also saw Portsmouth reach the FA Cup Final for the first time, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers. One Pompey supporter is reported to have "carried a black cat, with the club colours around its neck" to the 1929 FA Cup Final. Portsmouth managed to survive relegation, finishing one place above relegation.

From 1929 to 1934, Portsmouth had become a regular top-half table finisher in the First Division. The 1933–34 season saw Portsmouth again reach the FA Cup final for a second time, having beaten Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City and Birmingham City on the way. The club was again defeated in the FA Cup Final, this time by Manchester City.

Halfway through the 1934–35 season, on 23 December 1934, the original 1898 founding director and later Portsmouth chairman, George Lewin Oliver died. Using money from the June 1934 sale of defender Jimmy Allen and money from the 1934 FA Cup Final, Portsmouth F.C. announced at Christmas 1934 that Fratton Park's North Stand was to be demolished and replaced with a much larger stand, increasing the ground capacity to more than 58,000. The 1934–35 season ended with Portsmouth in fourteenth position and seven points above relegation.

On 7 September at the beginning of the 1935–36 First Division season, in a home game against Aston Villa, the new North Stand was opened by John McKenna, who had also opened Fratton Park's new South Stand ten years earlier. Former Portsmouth defender Jimmy Allen, whose sale in 1934 had largely paid for the new North Stand, was present at the game, as captain of the visiting Aston Villa team. The new North Stand briefly held the nickname of "The Jimmy Allen Stand" for a while afterwards. Portsmouth ended the 1935–36 season in tenth place.

1938–39 season: First FA Cup triumph

Having established themselves in the top flight, the 1938–39 season saw Portsmouth reach the FA Cup Final for the third time with manager Jack Tinn, who had worn his 'lucky' spats throughout the qualifying rounds. This was indeed third time lucky, as Portsmouth managed to defeat favourites Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 in what the press had dubbed, 'The Gland Final' – a reference to 'monkey gland' testosterone injections – used by both teams (and others) that season. Bert Barlow and John 'Jock' Anderson scored, whilst Cliff Parker scored twice (third and fourth goals).

The new 1939–40 season in the First Division began on Saturday 26 August 1939. On Friday 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. On Saturday 2 September 1939, all divisions of the Football League played their third and final game of the season, with Blackpool F.C. at the top of the table and Portsmouth in 18th position. These would be the last national Football League fixtures before abandonment following the British declaration of war on Germany on Sunday 3 September 1939. Large gatherings of crowds were suspended with the implementation of the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939.

However, football competitions did take place during the war, with the Football League being split into ten regional mini leagues, with Portsmouth in 'League South'. An annual national cup competition was held too, called the Football League War Cup.

In 1942, Portsmouth reached the London War Cup final, a competition that had begun only a season earlier in 1940–41. The London War Cup was held once again during the 1941–42 season and was intended by its organisers to stand in for the FA Cup, despite the official Football League War Cup competition had been taking place annually since 1939. The London War Cup competition required Portsmouth, the current FA Cup champions, to secede from the Football Association to enter. Portsmouth progressed to the 1942 London War Cup final at Wembley Stadium, but were beaten by Brentford and finished as runners-up. After the competition, Portsmouth paid a ten Pounds readmission fee to rejoin the Football Association again. The London War Cup competition was never played again. Ironically, the London War Cup trophy won by Brentford in 1942 was reused for subsequent Football League War Cup competitions. The trophy was last presented in 1945 to Chelsea and remains in the Chelsea F.C. museum today.

During his wartime visits to Portsmouth, Field Marshal Montgomery became interested in Portsmouth Football Club and was made honorary President of Portsmouth F.C. in 1944 (until 1961).

The end of World War II in 1945 caused Portsmouth to hold the distinction of holding the FA Cup trophy for the longest uninterrupted period of seven years, as the trophy was not presented again until the 1946 FA Cup Final. Manager Jack Tinn was rumoured to have kept the FA Cup trophy 'safe under his bed' during a part of the war. Because the navy city of Portsmouth was a primary strategic military target for German Luftwaffe bombing, the FA Cup trophy was routinely moved around the city of Portsmouth for its safety and protection, moving from Fratton Park's boardroom, into bank vaults, back to Fratton Park and around local pubs. During the worst of the bombing on Portsmouth, the FA Cup trophy was also taken ten miles north of Portsmouth, to the nearby Hampshire village of Lovedean, where it was kept and displayed in a quaint thatched roof country pub called "The Bird in Hand". In 1945, the FA Cup trophy was taken around the streets of Portsmouth and proudly shown off at Victory in Europe Day street parties.

FA Cup competition was resumed for the 1945–46 season, but the resumption of the Football League had to wait one more year. Portsmouth, as a Division One team and as the current FA Cup Champions (from 1939), were drawn to play against Birmingham City in the Third Round stage of the FA Cup competition. The first of the two-leg tie was played at Birmingham's St. Andrew's stadium on 5 January 1946 and the result was 1–0 in Birmingham City's favour. The second leg at Fratton Park ended 0–0 on 9 January 1946, with Birmingham City winning 1–0 overall on aggregate. (See 1945–46 FA Cup for full results) The FA Cup trophy was not to stay with Portsmouth for an eighth consecutive year and was returned to the Football Association in time for the 1946 FA Cup Final, in which Derby County were awarded the trophy.

The Football League finally resumed in 1946–47. Portsmouth had capitalised on the footballers called up to serve in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines in the war years and recruited some of them. In this way, Portsmouth had the pick of some of the best. Portsmouth ended the 1946–47 Football League First Division season in 12th place. On 1 May 1947, legendary manager Jack Tinn left Portsmouth, with Bob Jackson taking over the role on the same day.

The second post-war Football League First Division season resumed under manager Bob Jackson in 1947–48. This was also the first season Portsmouth wore red socks, which replaced their traditional black socks. The red socks were an idea proposed by Portsmouth's honorary president, Field Marshal Montgomery, who had suggested that Portsmouth should wear red socks to commemorate the sacrifice of British servicemen lost in war. Red is traditionally the colour of the British Army and also of the Remembrance poppy flower, and so Montgomery's idea was adopted by Portsmouth at the start of the season. Bob Jackson's Portsmouth finished in 8th place at the end of the 1947–48 First Division season.

1948–49 and 1949–50: Champions of England

In their 50-year "Golden Jubilee" anniversary 1948–49 season, Bob Jackson's Portsmouth side were tipped to be the first team of the 20th century to win a historic Football League and FA Cup "double". The potential of a rare 'Double' saw Fratton Park attracting average home attendances of 36,000 supporters, and a record attendance of 51,385 in an FA Cup quarter-final match against Derby County on 26 February 1949, which Portsmouth won 2–1. Portsmouth lost 1–3 in the FA Cup semi-final against Leicester City on 26 March 1949 at the neutral Highbury stadium. Portsmouth however, did win one half of the 'Double', securing the First Division title and becoming Football League Champions of England at the end of the 1948–49 season, with Manchester United finishing as runners-up. Portsmouth's championship-winning team consisted of Ernest Butler, Phil Rookes, Bill Spence, Harry Ferrier, Jimmy Scoular, Reg Flewin, Jimmy Dickinson, Peter Harris, Duggie Reid, Ike Clarke, Len Phillips, Jack Froggatt, Jasper Yeuell, Lindy Delapenha, Bert Barlow and Cliff Parker.

Bob Jackson's Portsmouth side beat Aston Villa 5–1 on the last day of the following 1949–50 season, winning the Football League title again for a second consecutive season – on goal average – as both Portsmouth and runners up Wolverhampton Wanderers finished the season with 53 points each, and only one point ahead of third place Sunderland on 52 points. Portsmouth are one of only five English teams to have won back-to-back consecutive top-flight League titles since the end of World War II.

In the following 1950–51 season, League champions Portsmouth finished in 7th position, 13 points behind title winners Tottenham Hotspur.

Eddie Lever took over at Pompey in 1952 after championship-winning manager Bob Jackson joined Hull City. In the 1952–53 season, Portsmouth finished in 15th place and only 4 points above the relegation zone, with Arsenal F.C. winning the league title.

Portsmouth finished third in the 1954–55 season, only 4 points behind winners Chelsea F.C.

In the 1955–56 season, on 22 February 1956, Fratton Park hosted the Football League's first ever floodlit evening game, against Newcastle United, played under floodlights erected on top of the North Stand and South Stand roofs. Portsmouth ended the season in 12th place in Division One.

The original solid earthbank Fratton End stand was replaced in 1956 with a new stand built from prefabricated concrete and steel. It had two distinctive terraced tiers, a roofed upper terrace and an open-air lower terrace. In the 1956–57 season, Portsmouth escaped relegation by four points and finished two places above the drop zone.

In the following 1957–58 season, Portsmouth once again escaped relegation on goal average and finished one place above the relegation zone. Manager Eddie Lever left Portsmouth in April 1958.

Freddie Cox became new Portsmouth manager in August 1958. The new 1958–59 season was the first Football League season with four national divisions. The two old regional Third Divisions (North and South) which had begun in the 1921–22 season were restructured and replaced with two new national divisions, named the Third Division and Fourth Division. At the end of the 1958–59 season Portsmouth finished bottom of the First Division, ending their 32-year stay in the First Division, and relegation to the Second Division. By now, the championship winning team of 1949 and 1950 had been broken up, caused by ageing or injury.

1959–1979: Decline and relegation to the Fourth Division

Following the bottom-place finish in the previous 1958–59 First Division season, Portsmouth started the 1959–60 season in the Second Division, the second tier of English football, which Portsmouth had last been in during the 1926–27 season. After another poor season, they escaped a further relegation to the Third Division only by 2 points and finishing only one place above the relegation zone.

In the 1960–61 season Portsmouth finished second-to-last place in the Second Division relegation zone and were relegated once again to the Third Division, (the first former English League champions to do so). Manager Freddie Cox was sacked in February 1961.

Under the guidance of George Smith, Portsmouth, now in the Third Division for the 1960–61 season had a good season and were promoted back to the Second Division at the first time of asking after winning the Third Division title. Field-Marshal Bernard 'Monty' Montgomery of Alamein, was the honorary President of Portsmouth, having begun to support them during World War II due to the proximity of his headquarters at Southwick House on the outskirts of Portsmouth. In private correspondence dated 25 April 1962, he wrote to Smith: "I congratulate you very much on getting Portsmouth out of the Third Division – which was completely a wrong place for a famous team. While the players all did their stuff, the major credit goes to you."

Despite limited financial means, manager George Smith maintained Portsmouth's Second Division status throughout the rest of the 1960s until Smith was replaced by Ron Tindall in April 1970 as Smith moved upstairs to become general manager in April 1970, until his retirement from football in 1973.

The cash injection that accompanied the arrival of John Deacon as chairman in 1972 failed to improve Portsmouth's Second Division position. Ron Tindall was replaced in May 1973 by John Mortimore. However, Ron Tindall returned for two games as caretaker manager after manager John Mortimore left in 1974. Ian St. John became new Portsmouth manager in September 1974.

With Deacon unable to continue bankrolling the club on the same scale, Portsmouth finished bottom of the Second Division in the 1975–76 season and were relegated down to the Third Division.

In November of the 1976–77 Third Division season, 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 inexperienced young players. Initially results improved, but then declined again. On 4 May 1977, Ian St. John was replaced as manager by former Portsmouth and England international player Jimmy Dickinson. They ended the 1976–77 season only one place and one point above the Third Division's relegation zone.
They were relegated at the end of the new 1977–78 season, finishing in bottom place.

In the 1978–79 Fourth Division season, Portsmouth finished in 7th position. Jimmy Dickinson suffered a heart attack near the end of the season and after the season in May 1979, was replaced by Frank Burrows.

1979–1987: Return to the First Division

Under Frank Burrows new management, Portsmouth gained promotion back to the Third Division after finishing in 4th place in the 1979–80 season. Portsmouth would take three seasons before in 1983, Portsmouth claimed their Third Division championship title, gaining promotion back into the Second Division.

In the 1983–84 Second Division season, Portsmouth finished sixteenth place in the table. After the season, Bobby Campbell was replaced by former England international and 1966 FIFA World Cup winner, Alan Ball on 11 May 1984.

Under Ball, Portsmouth's results markedly improved and they narrowly missed winning promotion to the First Division in the 1984–85 Second Division season, finishing in 4th place on goal difference. They finished in 4th place again for the following 1985–86 season.

In Ball's third season as Portsmouth manager in the 1986–87 Second Division season, Portsmouth finished as runners-up behind Derby County, gaining promotion back to the First Division for the first time since the 1958–59 season. During the season, the upper tier of the Fratton End stand, built only thirty years earlier in 1956, was closed due to structural concerns, leaving only the lower tier of the Fratton End open to fans.

By the middle of the new 1987–88 First Division season, the club was again in financial trouble. Portsmouth were relegated straight back down to the Second Division. The summer of 1988 saw chairman John Deacon sell the club to London-based businessman and former Queens Park Rangers chairman, Jim Gregory. Fratton Park was in a poor condition, with the Fratton End still half closed to fans and leaking roofs in the North and South stands.

With new chairman Jim Gregory injecting money into the club, work began in the summer of 1988 to demolish the upper tier of the Fratton End and its roof. The North and South stands were refurbished and both received smart new blue-coloured metal sheet roofs.

1988–2003: The Second Tier

After a single disappointing season in the First Division, Portsmouth were relegated back to the Second Division for the 1988–89 season. Halfway through the season, Alan Ball was sacked on 17 January 1989 and replaced by John Gregory. The club's parent company had a name change from 'Portsmouth Football Company Limited' to 'Portsmouth Football Club Limited' on 23 January 1989. The entire Fratton End stand was closed during most of the season during demolition works, with only the lower tier of the stand reopening in the springtime of 1989. Portsmouth ended the season only two places above the relegation zone.

Following the 15 April 1989 Hillsborough Disaster, Portsmouth removed the perimeter fences from Fratton Park for the new 1989–90 season, except at the Milton End to separate away supporters. The season saw John Gregory leaving the club on 3 January 1990. Assistant manager Frank Burrows became manager for a second spell on 23 January 1990. Portsmouth finished in 12th position at the end of the season.

The 1990–91 season saw Frank Burrows resign as manager on 13 March 1991 after a string of bad results. Burrows was replaced by coach Graham Paddon until the end of the season, finishing in 17th position.

Jim Smith's arrival as manager at the start of the 1991–92 season sparked a revival in the team's fortunes and that year Portsmouth reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, meeting Liverpool at neutral ground Highbury on 5 April 1992 – the 94th Anniversary of Portsmouth Football Club. Portsmouth took the lead in extra time from a 111th minute Darren Anderton goal. However, Liverpool's Ronnie Whelan equalised five minutes later, and the semi-final match ended tied 1–1 after the allotted 120 minutes. The tie was then replayed at Villa Park on 13 April 1992 and ended 0–0 after extra time. Portsmouth then lost 1–3 on penalties to Liverpool, who went on to meet Sunderland in the 1992 FA Cup Final, which Liverpool won 2–0.

The 1992–93 Football League season saw a major restructuring of the English football "pyramid" system, caused by all the First Division clubs resigning from the Football League and forming a new breakaway top tier FA Premier League. Now without a First Division, the Football League Second Division was renamed as the "Football League First Division" for the 1992–93 season. The FA Premier League also had a new winners trophy made, meaning the famous old Football League First Division championship trophy became demoted in status, now acting as the new second tier "First Division" championship trophy instead. Portsmouth had a good 1992–93 season in the new "First Division", but missed out on automatic promotion to the new first tier Premier League by virtue of scoring only one fewer goal than second-placed West Ham United. In the subsequent promotion play-offs, Portsmouth lost 3–2 on aggregate over two games to Leicester City in the play-off semi-finals for the third promotion place.

During the 1993–94 season under manager Jim Smith, Portsmouth finished 17th out of 24 in the First Division, winning 15 matches, drawing 13 and losing 18. The team reached the quarterfinals of the League Cup and the third round of the FA Cup, in both cases being knocked out after replays.

The 1994–95 season was a disappointing one for Portsmouth and after a decline in form which left them struggling at the wrong end of the "new" First Division, Jim Smith was sacked on 1 February 1995 and was replaced by Terry Fenwick, who guided them to safety with 4 wins in their final 6 league games.

In the 1995–96 season Fenwick's first full season in charge of Portsmouth, relegation to the Second Division was avoided on the last day of the season (on goal difference) when Portsmouth won away at Huddersfield Town while other results went the club's way.

In the summer of 1996, Terry Venables arrived at Portsmouth as a consultant. Venables had recently resigned as the England national team manager after the UEFA Euro 1996 competition. Fratton Park was transformed into an all-seat stadium, with new blue plastic seats fitted to the lower North terrace, Milton End, lower South terrace paddocks and also to the remnant of the Fratton End terrace.

In the 1996–97 league campaign, Portsmouth finished just short of the qualifying places for the playoffs for promotion to the Premier League. Terry Venables took over as chairman in February 1997 after buying a 51 per cent controlling share in the club for £1. The team enjoyed a run in the 1996–97 FA Cup competition, beating FA Premier League side Leeds United on 15 February 1997, but were eventually beaten 1–4 by Chelsea F.C. in the quarter-finals at Fratton Park on 9 March 1997.

At the end of the 1996–97 season, the Fratton End was fully demolished in the summer (of 1997) and work began to build a new Fratton End stand. Additionally, a new roof extension was built over the lower tier of the North Stand and was completed before the new season started. These new additions to Fratton Park were partly funded by the Football Trust (now The Football Foundation).

At 4.59pm on Friday 31 October 1997, the new £2.2 million Fratton End was officially cleared for its opening, with one minute to spare before a 5 pm deadline. Problems with some misorientated Fratton End rooftop floodlights caused the Fratton End of the pitch to be "shrouded in gloom on Hallowe'en", according to the Sky Sports 3 TV commentator, causing some doubt that the live televised Division One game against Swindon Town would take place. Fortunately, the match referee, Paul Danson

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