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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.

Portsmouth Performances from 1920 until 2023

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 Association Football Club, that flourished from 1883 to 1896, the first goalkeeper of the professional era was Matt Reilly who previously played for the successful Royal Artillery team.

Portsmouth F.C. were formed on 5 April 1898 and coincidentally "replaced" the Royal Artillery Portsmouth club which had "retired" in 1899 after a professionalism scandal. Portsmouth were unusually elected straight into the first division of the Southern League, replacing Royal Artillery Portsmouth (who themselves had replaced the Southampton-based Freemantle F.C. in the 1897-98 season).

Portsmouth F.C.'s first ever 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 The league was won for the first time in the 1901–02 season, by which time Brettell had been replaced by club captain Bob Blyth as manager.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

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Season League FA Cup Top goalscorer(s)
Division P W D L GF GA Pts Pos Name(s) Goals
1899–1900 SL Div 1 28 20 1 7 58 27 41 2nd R1
1900–01 SL Div 1 28 17 4 7 56 32 38 3rd INT
1901–02 SL Div 1 30 20 7 3 67 24 47 1st QF
1902–03 SL Div 1 30 17 7 6 69 32 41 3rd R1
1903–04 SL Div 1 34 17 8 9 41 38 42 4th R1
1904–05 SL Div 1 34 16 4 14 61 56 36 8th R2
1905–06 SL Div 1 34 17 9 8 61 35 43 3rd R1
1906–07 SL Div 1 38 22 7 9 64 36 51 2nd R2
1907–08 SL Div 1 38 17 6 15 63 52 40 9th R3
1908–09 SL Div 1 40 18 10 12 68 60 46 4th R2
1909–10 SL Div 1 42 20 7 15 70 63 47 6th R2
1910–11 SL Div 1 38 8 11 19 34 53 27 20th R1
1911–12 SL Div 2 26 19 3 4 73 20 41 2nd R2
1912–13 SL Div 1 38 14 8 16 41 49 36 11th R1
1913–14 SL Div 1 38 14 12 12 57 48 40 9th R1
1914–15 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
1919–20 SL Div 1 42 23 12 7 73 27 58 1st R1

Non-Football League era (Western League)

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Season League Top goalscorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Name Goals
1900–01 Division 1 16 11 2 3 26 22 24 1st
1901–02 Division 1 16 13 1 2 53 16 27 1st
1902–03 Division 1 16 10 4 2 34 14 24 1st
1903–04 Division 1 16 7 2 7 24 22 16 4th
1904–05 Division 1 20 10 3 7 29 30 23 4th
1905–06 Division 1 20 6 7 7 26 29 19 7th
1906–07 Division 1 'B' 10 4 2 4 16 19 10 3rd
1907–08 Division 1 'A' 12 7 1 4 25 13 1 2nd
1908–09 Division 1 'B' 12 5 2 5 21 21 12 4th

Football League era

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Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Europe/Other Top goalscorer(s)
Division P W D L GF GA Pts Pos Name(s) Goals
1920–21 Div 3 42 12 15 15 46 48 49 12th R1 Frank Stringfellow 13
1921–22 Div 3(S) 42 18 17 7 62 39 53 3rd R4 Percy Cherrett 22
1922–23 42 19 8 15 58 52 46 7th R1 Jerry Mackie 10
1923–24 42 24 11 7 87 30 59 1st R2 Willie Haines 28
1924–25 Div 2 42 15 18 9 58 50 48 4th R2 Willie Haines
Jerry Mackie 		17
1925–26 42 17 10 15 79 74 44 11th R3 Willie Haines 20
1926–27 42 23 8 11 87 49 54 2nd R4 Willie Haines 40
1927–28 Div 1 42 16 7 19 66 90 39 20th R3 Willie Haines
Jack Smith 		11
1928–29 42 15 6 21 56 80 36 20th RU Jack Smith 9
1929–30 42 15 10 17 66 62 47 13th R4 Jack Weddle 21
1930–31 42 18 13 11 84 64 49 4th R5 Jimmy Easson 29
1931–32 42 19 7 16 62 62 45 8th R5 Jack Weddle 22
1932–33 42 18 7 17 74 76 43 9th R3 Jack Weddle 20
1933–34 42 15 12 15 52 55 42 10th RU Jack Weddle 17
1934–35 42 15 10 17 71 72 40 14th R4 Jack Weddle 24
1935–36 42 17 8 17 54 67 42 10th R3 Jack Weddle 16
1936–37 42 17 10 15 62 66 44 9th R3 Cliff Parker 12
1937–38 42 13 12 17 62 68 38 19th R4 Jimmy Beattie 21
1938–39 42 12 13 17 47 70 37 17th W Jock Anderson 10
1939–40[a] 3 1 0 2 3 5 2 18th —[b] FA Charity Shield —[c] —
No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1946 due to the Second World War
1945–46 n/a[d] R3
1946–47 Div 1 42 16 9 17 66 60 41 12th R4 Duggie Reid 29
1947–48 42 19 7 16 68 50 45 8th R4 15
1948–49 42 25 8 9 84 42 58 1st SF Peter Harris 22
1949–50 42 22 9 11 74 38 53 1st R5 FA Charity Shield W[e] Ike Clarke 20
1950–51 42 16 15 11 71 68 47 7th R3 FA Charity Shield —[f] Ike Clarke
Len Phillips 		11
1951–52 42 20 8 14 68 58 48 4th QF Duggie Reid 18
1952–53 42 14 10 18 74 83 38 15th R3 Peter Harris 23
1953–54 42 14 11 17 81 89 39 14th R5 24
1954–55 42 18 12 12 74 62 48 3rd R3 23
1955–56 42 16 9 17 78 85 41 12th R4 24
1956–57 42 10 13 19 62 92 33 19th R4 Johnny Gordon
Peter Harris 		13
1957–58 42 12 8 22 73 88 32 20th R4 Peter Harris 18
1958–59 42 6 9 27 64 112 21 22nd R5 Ron Saunders 24
1959–60 Div 2 42 10 12 20 59 77 32 20th R3 17
1960–61 42 11 11 20 64 91 33 21st R5 QF 23
1961–62 Div 3 46 27 11 8 87 47 65 1st R1 R3 26
1962–63 Div 2 42 13 11 18 63 79 37 16th R4 R4 29
1963–64 42 16 11 15 79 70 43 9th R3 R4 34
1964–65 42 12 10 20 56 77 34 20th R3 R3 Cliff Portwood 12
1965–66 42 16 8 18 74 78 40 12th R3 R3 Albert McCann 13
1966–67 42 13 13 16 59 70 39 14th R4 R2 14
1967–68 42 18 13 11 68 55 49 5th R5 R3 16
1968–69 42 12 14 16 58 58 38 15th R4 R2 Ray Hiron 17
1969–70 42 13 9 20 66 80 35 17th R3 R1 18
1970–71 46 10 14 18 46 61 34 16th R4 R3 14
1971–72 46 12 13 17 59 68 37 16th R5 R1 Richie Reynolds 11
1972–73 42 12 11 19 42 59 35 17th R3 R2 Ray Hiron 10
1973–74 42 14 12 16 45 62 40 15th R5 R2 Ron Davies 16
1974–75 42 12 13 17 44 54 37 17th R3 R2 Mick Mellows 8
1975–76 42 9 7 26 32 61 25 22nd R4 R2 Norman Piper 12
1976–77 Div 3 46 11 14 21 53 70 36 20th R3 R1 David Kemp 17
1977–78 42 7 17 22 41 75 31 24th R2 R3 21
1978–79 Div 4 46 20 12 14 62 48 52 7th R2 R1 Jeff Hemmerman 16
1979–80 46 24 12 10 91 49 60 4th R3 R1 Colin Garwood 27[g]
1980–81 Div 3 46 22 9 15 55 47 53 6th R1 R4 David Gregory 15
1981–82 46 14 19 13 56 51 61[h] 13th R1 R2 Billy Rafferty 19
1982–83 46 27 10 9 74 41 91 1st R2 R1 Alan Biley 27
1983–84 Div 2 42 14 7 21 73 64 49 16th R4 R2 Mark Hateley 25
1984–85 42 20 14 8 69 50 74 4th R3 R2 Neil Webb 18
1985–86 42 22 7 13 69 41 73 4th R3 QF Full Members' Cup GS Nicky Morgan 15
1986–87 42 23 9 10 53 28 78 2nd R4 R3 Full Members' Cup QF Micky Quinn 28
1987–88 Div 1 42 7 14 19 36 66 35 19th QF R2 Full Members' Cup R1 11
1988–89 Div 2 46 13 12 21 45 56 40 20th R3 R2 Full Members' Cup R2 21
1989–90 46 15 16 15 62 65 61 12th R3 R2 Full Members' Cup R2 Guy Whittingham 25
1990–91 46 14 11 21 58 70 53 17th R5 R3 Full Members' Cup R2 20
1991–92 46 19 12 15 65 51 69 9th SF R3 Full Members' Cup R1 13
1992–93 Div 1[i] 46 26 10 10 80 46 88 3rd R3 R3 Anglo-Italian Cup
League play-offs 		GS
SF 		47[j]
1993–94 46 15 13 18 52 58 58 17th R3 QF Anglo-Italian Cup GS Gerry Creaney
Alan McLoughlin 		11
1994–95 46 15 13 18 53 63 58 18th R4 R3 Gerry Creaney 22
1995–96 46 13 13 20 61 69 52 21st R3 R1 Paul Hall
Alan McLoughlin 		10
1996–97 46 20 8 18 59 53 68 7th QF R2 Lee Bradbury 17
1997–98 46 13 10 21 51 63 49 20th R3 R1 John Aloisi 12
1998–99 46 11 14 21 57 73 47 19th R4 R2 17
1999–2000 46 13 12 21 55 66 51 18th R3 R2 Steve Claridge 14
2000–01 46 10 19 17 47 59 49 20th R3 R2 Lee Bradbury
Steve Claridge 		11
2001–02 46 13 14 19 60 72 53 17th R3 R1 Peter Crouch 19
2002–03 46 29 11 6 97 45 98 1st R3 R2 Svetoslav Todorov 26
2003–04 Prem 38 12 9 17 47 54 45 13th QF R4 Yakubu 19
2004–05 38 10 9 19 43 59 39 16th R4 QF 17
2005–06 38 10 8 20 37 62 38 17th R4 R2 Lomana LuaLua
Gary O'Neil
Matthew Taylor 		7
2006–07 38 14 12 12 45 42 54 9th R4 R3 Nwankwo Kanu 12
2007–08 38 16 9 13 48 40 57 8th W R4 Benjani Mwaruwari 12
2008–09 38 10 11 17 38 57 41 14th R4 R3 FA Community Shield
UEFA Cup
GS 		Peter Crouch 16
2009–10 38 7 7 24 34 66 19[k] 20th RU QF Frédéric Piquionne 10
2010–11 Champ 46 15 13 18 53 60 58 16th R3 R3 David Nugent 14
2011–12 46 13 11 22 50 59 40[l] 22nd R3 R1 David Norris 8
2012–13 Lg1 46 10 12 24 51 69 32[m] 24th R1 R1 Football League Trophy R2 Izale McLeod 11
2013–14 Lg2 46 14 17 15 56 66 59 13th R1 R1 Football League Trophy QF Jed Wallace 7
2014–15 46 14 15 17 52 54 57 16th[n] R1 R2 Football League Trophy R2 17
2015–16 46 21 15 10 75 44 78 6th R4 R2 Football League Trophy
League play-offs 		R1
SF 		Marc McNulty 12
2016–17 46 26 9 11 79 40 87 1st R1 R1 EFL Trophy GS Kal Naismith 15
2017–18 Lg1 46 20 6 20 57 57 66 8th R1 R1 EFL Trophy R3 Brett Pitman 23
2018–19 46 25 13 8 83 51 88 4th R4 R1 EFL Trophy
League play-offs
SF 		Jamal Lowe 15
2019–20 35 17 9 9 53 36 60 5th[o] R5 R3 EFL Trophy
League play-offs
SF 		Ronan Curtis 11
2020–21 46 21 9 16 65 51 72 8th R3 R2 EFL Trophy R3 John Marquis 9
2021–22 46 20 13 13 68 51 73 10th R2 R1 EFL Trophy R3 Marcus Harness 11
2022–23 46 17 19 10 61 50 70 8th R3 R2 EFL Trophy QF Colby Bishop 20
2023–24 46 28 13 5 78 41 97 1st R1 R2 EFL Trophy R2 Colby Bishop 21

Key

[edit]
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

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  1. ^ The 1939–40 season was abandoned in early September and all results annulled.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ The 1939 FA Charity Shield was not held due to the outbreak of the Second World War.
  4. ^ The FA Cup was contested in 1945–46 but the Football League did not resume until the following season. They had the Football League South.
  5. ^ 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 1–1 at Highbury.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Played for Aldershot Town and Portsmouth in the same season but scored 10 goals for Aldershot and 17 goals for Portsmouth.
  8. ^ The 1981–82 season saw the introduction of three points for a win.
  9. ^ The 1992–93 season saw the introduction of the Premier League, so Division 1 replaced Division 2, Division 2 replaced Division 3 and Division 3 replaced Division 4.
  10. ^ Pompey goalscoring record.
  11. ^ Deducted 9 points for entering administration.
  12. ^ Deducted 10 points for entering administration.
  13. ^ Deducted 10 points for exiting administration.
  14. ^ Lowest League finish.
  15. ^ The 2019–20 season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with league positions decided on a points-per-game basis. Portsmouth averaged 1.71 points from 35 games.

References

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