List of Portsmouth F.C. seasons

This is a list of seasons played by Portsmouth Football Club in English and European football, from 1899 (the year of the club's first FA Cup entry and elected straight into the first division of the Southern League) to the most recent completed season. Football was played in the city of Portsmouth from the 1850s and was popular for sailors and dockers to play in the city. The current club was founded in 1898 with John Brickwood, owner of the local brewery, as chairman, and Frank Brettell as the club's first manager.

A common myth is that the club's first goalkeeper was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. While Conan Doyle did play as AC Smith for an amateur side, Portsmouth Athletic Football Club, that flourished from 1882 to 1894, the first goalkeeper of the professional era was Matt Reilly who previously played for the successful Royal Artillery team.

Portsmouth was formed to replace the defunct Royal Artillery Portsmouth club, and elected straight into the first division of the Southern League. The club's first league match was played at Chatham Town on 2 September 1899 (a 1-0 victory), followed three days later by the first match at Fratton Park against local rivals Southampton. That first season was hugely successful, with the club winning 20 out of 28 league matches, earning them runners-up spot in the Southern League. The league was won for the first time in the 1901-02 season, by which time Brettell had been replaced by club captain Bob Blyth as manager.

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, and Portsmouth recorded a famous 2-1 win. However, this record attendance was surpassed two seasons later when Sheffield Wednesday visited Fratton for the second round of the new FA Cup.

1910-11 saw Portsmouth relegated, but with the recruitment of Robert Brown as manager the team were promoted the next season.

The club has won the League Championship twice, the FA Cup twice, never won the League Cup, the Charity Shield once (shared).

This list details the club's achievements in all major competitions, and the top scorers for each season. Top scorers in bold were also the top scorers in the English league that season. Records of competitions such as the Hampshire Senior Cup are not included due to them being considered of less importance than the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Non-Football League era

Season League FA Cup Top Goalscorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Name Goals
18991900 SL Div 1 28 20 1 7 58 27 41 2nd R1
190001 SL Div 1 28 17 4 7 56 32 38 3rd INT
190102 SL Div 1 30 20 7 3 67 24 47 1st QF
190203 SL Div 1 30 17 7 6 69 32 41 3rd R1
190304 SL Div 1 34 17 8 9 41 38 42 4th R1
190405 SL Div 1 34 16 4 14 61 56 36 8th R2
190506 SL Div 1 34 17 9 8 61 35 43 3rd R1
190607 SL Div 1 38 22 7 9 64 36 51 2nd R2
190708 SL Div 1 38 17 6 15 63 52 40 9th R3
190809 SL Div 1 40 18 10 12 68 60 46 4th R2
190910 SL Div 1 42 20 7 15 70 63 47 6th R2
191011 SL Div 1 38 8 11 19 34 53 27 20th R1
191112 SL Div 2 26 19 3 4 73 20 41 2nd R2
191213 SL Div 1 38 14 8 16 41 49 36 11th R1
191314 SL Div 1 38 14 12 12 57 48 40 9th R1
191415 SL Div 1 38 16 10 12 54 42 42 7th R1
No competitive football was played between 1915 and 1919 due to the First World War
191920 SL Div 1 42 23 12 7 73 27 58 1st R1

Non-Football League era (Western League)

Season League Top Goalscorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Name Goals
190001 Division 1 16 11 2 3 26 22 24 1st
190102 Division 1 16 13 1 2 53 16 27 1st
190203 Division 1 16 10 4 2 34 14 24 1st
190304 Division 1 16 7 2 7 24 22 16 4th
190405 Division 1 20 10 3 7 29 30 23 4th
190506 Division 1 20 6 7 7 26 29 19 7th
190607 Division 1 'B' 10 4 2 4 16 19 10 3rd
190708 Division 1 'A' 12 7 1 4 25 13 1 2nd
190809 Division 1 'B' 12 5 2 5 21 21 12 4th

Football League era

Season League FA Cup League
Cup
Charity
Shield
[1]
Europe
Other
Top Goalscorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Name Goals
192021
Details
Div 3 42 12 15 15 46 48 49 12th R1 Frank Stringfellow 13
192122
Details
Div 3(S) 42 18 17 7 62 39 53 3rd R4 Percy Cherrett 22
192223
Details
42 19 8 15 58 52 46 7th R1 Jerry Mackie 10
192324
Details
42 24 11 7 87 30 59 1st R2 Willie Haines 28
192425
Details
Div 2 42 15 18 9 58 50 48 4th R2 Willie Haines
Jerry Mackie
17
192526
Details
42 17 10 15 79 74 44 11th R3 Willie Haines 20
192627
Details
42 23 8 11 87 49 54 2nd R4 Willie Haines 40
192728
Details
Div 1 42 16 7 19 66 90 39 20th R3 Willie Haines
Jack Smith
11
192829
Details
42 15 6 21 56 80 36 20th R/U Jack Smith 9
192930
Details
42 15 10 17 66 62 47 13th R4 Jack Weddle 21
193031
Details
42 18 13 11 84 64 49 4th R5 Jimmy Easson 29
193132
Details
42 19 7 16 62 62 45 8th R5 Jack Weddle 22
193233
Details
42 18 7 17 74 76 43 9th R3 Jack Weddle 20
193334
Details
42 15 12 15 52 55 42 10th R/U Jack Weddle 17
193435
Details
42 15 10 17 71 72 40 14th R4 Jack Weddle 24
193536
Details
42 17 8 17 54 67 42 10th R3 Jack Weddle 16
193637
Details
42 17 10 15 62 66 44 9th R3 Cliff Parker 12
193738
Details
42 13 12 17 62 68 38 19th R4 Jimmy Beattie 21
193839
Details
42 12 13 17 47 70 37 17th W Jock Anderson 10
193940[2]
Details
3 1 0 2 3 5 2 18th [3] [4] N/A N/A
No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1946 due to the Second World War
194546 n/a[5] R3
194647
Details
Div 1 42 16 9 17 66 60 41 12th R4 Duggie Reid 29
194748
Details
42 19 7 16 68 50 45 8th R4 15
194849
Details
42 25 8 9 84 42 58 1st SF Peter Harris 22
194950
Details
42 22 9 11 74 38 53 1st R5 Shared[6] Ike Clarke 20
195051
Details
42 16 15 11 71 68 47 7th R3 [7] Ike Clarke
Len Phillips
11
195152
Details
42 20 8 14 68 58 48 4th QF Duggie Reid 18
195253
Details
42 14 10 18 74 83 38 15th R3 Peter Harris 23
195354
Details
42 14 11 17 81 89 39 14th R5 24
195455
Details
42 18 12 12 74 62 48 3rd R3 23
195556
Details
42 16 9 17 78 85 41 12th R4 24
195657
Details
42 10 13 19 62 92 33 19th R4 Johnny Gordon
Peter Harris
13
195758
Details
42 12 8 22 73 88 32 20th R4 Peter Harris 18
195859
Details
42 6 9 27 64 112 21 22nd R5 Ron Saunders 24
195960
Details
Div 2 42 10 12 20 59 77 32 20th R3 17
196061[8]
Details
42 11 11 20 64 91 33 21st R5 QF[9] 23
196162
Details
Div 3 46 27 11 8 87 47 65 1st R1 R3 26
196263
Details
Div 2 42 13 11 18 63 79 37 16th R4 R4 29
196364
Details
42 16 11 15 79 70 43 9th R3 R4 34
196465
Details
42 12 10 20 56 77 34 20th R3 R3 Cliff Portwood 12
196566
Details
42 16 8 18 74 78 40 12th R3 R3 Albert McCann 13
196667
Details
42 13 13 16 59 70 39 14th R4 R2 14
196768
Details
42 18 13 11 68 55 49 5th R5 R3 16
196869
Details
42 12 14 16 58 58 38 15th R4 R2 Ray Hiron 17
196970
Details
42 13 9 20 66 80 35 17th R3 R1 18
197071
Details
46 10 14 18 46 61 34 16th R4 R3 14
197172
Details
46 12 13 17 59 68 37 16th R5 R1 Richie Reynolds 11
197273
Details
42 12 11 19 42 59 35 17th R3 R2 Ray Hiron 10
197374
Details
42 14 12 16 45 62 40 15th R5 R2 Ron Davies 16
197475
Details
42 12 13 17 44 54 37 17th R3 R2 Mick Mellows 8
197576
Details
42 9 7 26 32 61 25 22nd R4 R2 Norman Piper 12
197677
Details
Div 3 46 11 14 21 53 70 36 20th R3 R1 David Kemp 17
197778
Details
42 7 17 22 41 75 31 24th R2 R3 21
197879
Details
Div 4 46 20 12 14 62 48 52 7th R2 R1 Jeff Hemmerman 16
197980
Details
46 24 12 10 91 49 60 4th R3 R1 Colin Garwood 27[10]
198081
Details
Div 3 46 22 9 15 55 47 53 6th R1 R4 David Gregory 15
198182
Details
46 14 19 13 56 51 61[11] 13th R1 R2 Billy Rafferty 19
198283
Details
46 27 10 9 74 41 91 1st R2 R1 Alan Biley 27
198384
Details
Div 2 42 14 7 21 73 64 49 16th R4 R2 Mark Hateley 25
198485
Details
42 20 14 8 69 50 74 4th R3 R2 Neil Webb 18
198586
Details
42 22 7 13 69 41 73 4th R3 QF FMC GS Nicky Morgan 15
198687
Details
42 23 9 10 53 28 78 2nd R4 R3 FMC QF Micky Quinn 28
198788
Details
Div 1 42 7 14 19 36 66 35 19th QF R2 FMC R1 11
198889
Details
Div 2 46 13 12 21 45 56 40 20th R3 R2 FMC R2 21
198990
Details
46 15 16 15 62 65 61 12th R3 R2 FMC R2 Guy Whittingham 25
199091
Details
46 14 11 21 58 70 53 17th R5 R3 FMC R2 20
199192
Details
46 19 12 15 65 51 69 9th SF R3 FMC R1 13
199293
Details
Div 1[12] 46 26 10 10 80 46 88 3rd[13] R3 R3 AIC GS 47[14]
199394
Details
46 15 13 18 52 58 58 17th R3 QF AIC GS Gerry Creaney
Alan McLoughlin
11
199495
Details
46 15 13 18 53 63 58 18th R4 R3 Gerry Creaney 22
199596
Details
46 13 13 20 61 69 52 21st R3 R1 Paul Hall
Alan McLoughlin
10
199697
Details
46 20 8 18 59 53 68 7th QF R2 Lee Bradbury 17
199798
Details
46 13 10 21 51 63 49 20th R3 R1 John Aloisi 12
199899
Details
46 11 14 21 57 73 47 19th R4 R2 17
19992000
Details
46 13 12 21 55 66 51 18th R3 R2 Steve Claridge 14
200001
Details
46 10 19 17 47 59 49 20th R3 R2 Lee Bradbury
Steve Claridge
11
200102
Details
46 13 14 19 60 72 53 17th R3 R1 Peter Crouch 19
200203
Details
46 29 11 6 97 45 98 1st R3 R2 [15] Svetoslav Todorov 26
200304
Details
Prem 38 12 9 17 47 54 45 13th QF R4 Yakubu Aiyegbeni 19
200405
Details
38 10 9 19 43 59 39 16th R4 QF 17
200506
Details
38 10 8 20 37 62 38 17th R4 R2 Lomana LuaLua
Gary O'Neil
Matthew Taylor
7
200607
Details
38 14 12 12 45 42 54 9th R4 R3 Nwankwo Kanu 12
200708
Details
38 16 9 13 48 40 57 8th W R4 Benjani Mwaruwari 12
200809
Details
38 10 11 17 38 57 41 14th R4 R3 R/U UC GS Peter Crouch 18
200910
Details
38 7 7 24 34 66 19[16] 20th R/U QF Frédéric Piquionne 10
201011
Details
Champ 46 15 13 18 53 60 58 16th R3 R3 David Nugent 14
201112
Details
46 13 11 22 50 59 40[17] 22nd R3 R1 David Norris 8
201213
Details
Lg1 46 10 12 24 51 69 32[18] 24th R1 R1 FLT R2 Izale McLeod 11
201314
Details
Lg2 46 14 17 15 56 66 59 13th R1 R1 FLT QF Jed Wallace 7
201415
Details
46 14 15 17 52 54 57 16th R1 R2 FLT R2 17
201516
Details

Key

  • P = Played
  • W = Games won
  • D = Games drawn
  • L = Games lost
  • F = Goals for
  • A = Goals against
  • Pts = Points
  • Pos = Final position

  • INT = Intermediate Round
  • GS = Group Stage
  • R1 = Round 1
  • R2 = Round 2
  • R3 = Round 3
  • R4 = Round 4
  • R5 = Round 5
  • QF = Quarter-Finals
  • SF = Semi-Finals
  • R/U = Runners-up
  • W = Winners

Champions Runners-up Promoted Relegated

Note: bold text indicates a competition won.
Note 2: Where fields are left blank, the club did not participate in a competition that season.

Footnotes

  1. The Charity/Community Shield was founded in 1908.
  2. The 193940 season was abandoned in early September and all results annulled.
  3. Held The FA Cup the longest because of World War II and beat Sheffield United's record of 5 years because of World War I
  4. They didn't play the match because War broke out soon after the FA Cup final and the Charity Shield was never played
  5. The FA Cup was contested in 194546 but the Football League did not resume until the following season. They had the Football League South
  6. From 1939 to 1993, in the event of a draw, the Charity Shield would be shared between the two competing teams, with each team having possession of the trophy for six months. Shared with Wolverhampton Wanderers after drawing 11 at Highbury
  7. Should have played Arsenal because they won the FA Cup. However the match was contested between an England World Cup XI and the FA Canadian Touring Team
  8. The League Cup.
  9. First time in the League Cup.
  10. Played for Aldershot Town and Pompey in the same season but scored 10 Goals for Aldershot and 17 Goals for Pompey
  11. The 198182 season saw the introduction of three points for a win.
  12. The Four Divisions Changed name Level 1 was called the Premier League
    Level 2 was called Division 1
    Level 3 was called Division 2
    Level 4 was called Division 3
  13. Lost 3-2 on Aggregate to Leicester City in the Play-off Semi Final
  14. Pompey goalscoring record.
  15. The Charity Shield is renamed the Community Shield.
  16. Deducted 9 points for entering administration
  17. Deducted 10 points for entering administration
  18. Deducted 10 points for exiting administration
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