Portsmouth

Portsmouth F.C. were formed on 5 April 1898, at 12 High Street, Old Portsmouth, as "The Portsmouth Football and Athletic Company", with John Brickwood as chairman. 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. Frank Brettell was announced as Portsmouth Football Club's first manager-secretary in February 1899. 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.

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 and joined the 1900–01 Western Football League, where they finished as Division One champions. Portsmouth won the 1901–02 Southern Football League championship title but were not promoted. In the 1902–03 Western Football League, Portsmouth won the Division One championship for a third consecutive season.

In the 1906–07 Western Football League, the top Division One was split into equal 'A' and 'B' sections, with a play-off between the two section winners to decide a Division One champion. 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. Portsmouth ended their season in sixth place before the following season saw the team relegated. A severe financial crisis struck between seasons and a public appeal for funds in May 1911 kept the club afloat.

The team finished second place in the 1911–12 Southern Football League Division Two 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.

Football was suspended during the First World War. 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.

Competing in the Football League Third Division, Portsmouth claimed the title in the 1923–24 season. Debuting in the Second Division for the first time, they finished in fourth place. Portsmouth won promotion to the First Division by finishing runners-up in the 1926–27 season and in the process, recording their club record win in a 9–1 victory over Notts County. Portsmouth's debut season in the 1927–28 First Division was a struggle, finishing one point and one place above relegation. Despite their difficulties in the top flight, Portsmouth reached the FA Cup final for the first time, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers in 1929.

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 but lost to Manchester City. Having established themselves in the top flight, the 1938–39 season saw Portsmouth reach the FA Cup final. This was indeed third time lucky, as Portsmouth managed to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1. The start of World War II in 1939 resulted in the suspension of the FA Cup competition for the duration, so Portsmouth held the trophy until it resumed in 1945–46.

The new 1939–40 season was cut short with the start of World War Two. 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' along with an annual national cup competition, the Football League War Cup. In 1942, Portsmouth reached the London War Cup final. Portsmouth progressed to the 1942 London War Cup final at Wembley Stadium, but were beaten by Brentford. 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 Football League finally resumed in 1946–47. Portsmouth won the First Division title in the 1948–49 season. 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. In the following 1950–51 season, Portsmouth finished in 7th position. After narrowly avoiding relegation in previous seasons, Portsmouth finished bottom of the First Division at the end of the 1958–59 season, ending their 32-year stay in the First Division.

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. Under the guidance of George Smith, Portsmouth were promoted back to the Second Division at the first time of asking, winning the Third Division title. Despite limited financial means, manager George Smith maintained Portsmouth's Second Division status throughout the rest of the 1960s. 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 and ended the 1976–77 season only one place and one point above the Third Division's relegation zone but were relegated at the end of the new 1977–78 season, finishing in bottom place.

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 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. By the middle of the new 1987–88 First Division season, the club was again in financial trouble with the ground in a poor condition. 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.

The club's parent company had a name change from 'Portsmouth Football Company Limited' to 'Portsmouth Football Club Limited' on 23 January 1989. Portsmouth ended the season only two places above the relegation zone. The 1992–93 Football League season saw a major restructuring of the English football "pyramid" system, with the new FA Premier League becoming the new first tier and the First Division becoming the second tier. Therefore, Portsmouth played in the new "First Division" but missed out on automatic promotion 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 to Leicester City.

Terry Venables took over as chairman in February 1997 after buying a 51 per cent controlling share in the club for £1. Venables sold his shareholding back to Martin Gregory in 1998. Alan Ball then returned as manager for the second time on 26 January 1998. Relegation to the third tier was avoided on the last day of the season – by 1 point. Portsmouth's centenary season, 1998–99, saw a financial crisis hit the club, and in December 1998 Portsmouth went into financial administration. Serbian-born US businessman Milan Mandarić decided to buy Portsmouth in May 1999. Alan Ball was sacked on 9 December 1999 during the 1999–2000 season with the club near the bottom of the table. Tony Pulis steered the club to safety. Portsmouth escaped relegation on the last day of the 2000–01 season when they won their final game and Huddersfield Town lost theirs, keeping Portsmouth up at their expense. A week before the new season began, 25-year-old Portsmouth goalkeeper Aaron Flahavan was killed in a car crash on 5 August 2001 with the club retiring his number 1 shirt for the season. Harry Redknapp became manager in 2002. After a 17th-place finish, he led Pompey to the First Division title in 2002–03, after an absence of fifteen seasons from the first tier.

In Portsmouth's Premiership debut season in 2003–04, the partnership of Harry Redknapp and Jim Smith resulted in a 13th place final position at the end of the season. Almost halfway through the following 2004–05 season in the Premiership, Harry Redknapp unexpectedly walked out on Portsmouth in November 2004 after a row with chairman Milan Mandarić. Velimir Zajec then replaced Redknapp as Portsmouth manager, but in April 2005, Zajec was replaced by Frenchman Alain Perrin. Perrin managed to secure Portsmouth's Premiership status with a few games of the season left. During the 2005–06 season, Alain Perrin was sacked with Harry Redknapp then making a surprise return to manage Portsmouth again after leaving relegated Southampton. In January 2006, Portsmouth were sold by Milan Mandarić and bought by businessman Alexandre Gaydamak. The club survived their third season in the Premier League one place above the relegation zone in 17th position. With large amounts of money available for Redknapp to make record signings, the club finished the 2006–07 season in the top half of the table for the first time since their promotion, in ninth position.

The following 2007–08 season, Portsmouth finished eighth in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final for the first time since 1939 and defeated Cardiff City in the FA Cup final.

The FA Cup win had also earned Portsmouth a place in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, the club's first time playing European football. On 25 October 2008, Redknapp left Portsmouth for a second time, leaving his assistant Tony Adams to be promoted to the managerial role. On 27 November 2008, Portsmouth drew 2–2 with AC Milan, going 2–0 up, but conceding two goals later in the game. Adams was dismissed in February 2009. Youth team coach Paul Hart took over as manager until the end of the season, eventually finishing in 14th place. Because of the financial problems suffered by the club, Portsmouth were forced to sell several of their top players and high earners. Al Fahim completed the takeover on 26 August 2009. 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. Owing to the financial difficulties, the Premier League placed the club under a transfer embargo.

Avram Grant took over at Portsmouth on 26 November 2009, following the dismissal of Hart. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) filed a winding-up petition against Portsmouth at the High Court of Justice on 23 December 2009. In March 2010, this winding-up petition was dropped, leaving Portsmouth with a nine-point penalty for entering administration.

The club were later relegated but competed in the 2010 FA Cup final losing to Chelsea. Despite being FA Cup finalists, the club were denied a licence to play European football the following season in the UEFA Europa League. On 17 August, Balram Chainrai completed his takeover of the club.

In October 2010, it was revealed just hours later that Portsmouth had finally come out of administration, with Balram Chainrai regaining control of the company. On 1 June 2011, Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) owned by Russian Vladimir Antonov completed its takeover of the club, although an arrest warrant would later be issued for him in November 2011 following allegations of asset stripping. He shortly afterwards resigned as chairman of Portsmouth after parent company CSI entered administration. On 17 February 2012, Portsmouth went into administration for the second time in two years, bringing them an automatic 10-point deduction. They were relegated from the Championship in 2011–12, the first time in 30 years that the club had played in the third tier.

Following Pompey's relegation to League One, the entire professional playing squad left the club. The team were given a 10-point deduction in December 2012 for their financial issues. On 9 November 2012, Chanrai halted his attempt to buy the club. Six days later, the Pompey Supporters Trust signed a conditional agreement with PFK to buy the club. The club went on a record winless run of 23 matches during the season. On 10 April 2013, a deal with administrators was reached, although the Pompey Supporters' Trust had not yet finalised the purchase. Portsmouth were relegated again at the end of the season, to the fourth tier of English football for the first time in 33 years. On 19 April 2013, Portsmouth exited administration when the Pompey Supporters' Trust (PST) deal to buy the club was completed.

The 2013–14 season was also a turbulent one for Pompey with a high turnover of managers. With the club in serious danger of relegation to non-League, Andy Awford was again made caretaker manager and guided the club away from the drop. In a historic announcement on 29 September 2014, the club was able to declare itself debt-free after paying back all creditors and legacy payments to ex-players. Following an unsuccessful 2014–15 campaign, Paul Cook was appointed new manager of Portsmouth on 12 May 2015. Following an unsuccessful play-off attempt in the previous season, Paul Cook's side secured promotion to League One in 2016–17 with a 3–1 win away at Notts County and were later confirmed as champions. However, Paul Cook resigned on 31 May 2017 to join Wigan Athletic.

In May 2017, the Pompey Supporters' Trust (PST) voted in favour of a proposed bid by The Tornante Company, headed by former Disney chief executive Michael Eisner, to take over the club which was completed on 3 August 2017. Portsmouth finished their first season back in League One in 8th position. In the following season, they won the EFL Trophy, defeating Sunderland on penalties in the final but lost to the same team in the play-offs.

Portsmouth were due to return to Wembley to defend the EFL Trophy against Salford City on 5 April 2020 in the final, however, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of the season on 13 March. After the league was suspended, a points per game calculation meant that Pompey competed in the play-offs, albeit behind closed doors. Nevertheless, they lost on penalties to Oxford United.

The delayed 2020 EFL Trophy final was eventually played behind closed doors at Wembley Stadium in March 2021, with Portsmouth losing on penalties to Salford City. After three seasons finishing just below the play-off positions, they won promotion in the 2023–24 season as champions, ending their 12-year stay below the second tier.