Its hard to believe that in 2008, Portsmouth FC were lifting the FA Cup after beating Cardiff City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium. The South-Coast outfit had an international star-studded line-up on the day with the likes of David James, Sol Campbell and goalscorer Nwankwo Kanu amongst their ranks. Fast forward ten years and Pompey find themselves plying their trade in League One, but things are starting to look bright again at Fratton Park.
Having won promotion from League Two in the 2016-2017 season under then manager Paul Cook, Pompey confirmed that they belonged in English football’s third tier as they managed an 8th place finish last season. Having collated 66 points throughout the campaign, the club finished just five points off a playoff spot but many would have seen this as a successful campaign. Goals weren’t something they were short of either, as they managed to score 68 goals in their 46 league fixtures, and this in part was thanks to striker Brett Pitman who notched up 24 goals.
Things seem to be heading in the same direction this season in front of goal, with the team already scoring 17 goals in just 9 league games. Ronan Curtis who operates either as a winger (both left and right) or as a striker leads the clubs scoring charts as he has 5 goals to his name, as well as providing 5 assists for the team so far this season. As well as being free-flowing going forward, Kenny Jackett has built his side on solid defensive foundations as they have conceded just 7 league goals, which is the joint second best defensive record in League One this campaign.
With an average squad age of just 25, Portsmouth have a squad that if successful could play together for many years to come, giving the club stability on the field. This is backed up off the field as even though the club fell from the Premier League to League Two the clubs fanbase hasn’t walked away from them. Averaging 18,453 fans this season, Pompey are the second most watched club in League One behind only Sunderland who average 30,255 per home game at the Stadium of Light.
The clubs future is looking healthy after the recent success of winning League Two and the fact they are currently second in League One and unbeaten this season. Manager Kenny Jackett seems to have put together a terrific squad and distilled a winning mentality at the football club, this backed by the terrific fan base could see Portsmouth return to the Championship and who knows maybe even the Premier League in the near future!
