List of Portsmouth F.C. seasons explained

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 The league was won for the first time in the 1901–02 season, by which time Brettell had been replaced by club captain Bob Blyth as manager.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

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	bgcolor=silver	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	bgcolor=gold	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	bgcolor=silver	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	bgcolor=Pink	20th	R1
1911–12	SL Div 2	26	19	3	4	73	20	41	bgcolor=PaleGreen	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	bgcolor=Gold	1st	R1

Non-Football League era (Western League)

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	bgcolor=Gold	1st
1901–02	Division 1	16	13	1	2	53	16	27	bgcolor=Gold	1st
1902–03	Division 1	16	10	4	2	34	14	24	bgcolor=Gold	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	bgcolor=Silver	2nd
1908–09	Division 1 'B'	12	5	2	5	21	21	12	4th

Football League era

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	bgcolor=Gold	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	bgcolor=PaleGreen	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	bgcolor=Silver	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	bgcolor=Silver	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	bgcolor=Gold	W				Jock Anderson	10
1939–40		3	1	0	2	3	5	2	18th	—		FA Charity Shield	—	colspan=2
No competitive football was played between 1939 and 1946 due to the Second World War
1945–46	n/a									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	bgcolor=Gold	1st	SF				Peter Harris	22
1949–50		42	22	9	11	74	38	53	bgcolor=Gold	1st	R5		FA Charity Shield	bgcolor=gold	W	Ike Clarke	20
1950–51		42	16	15	11	71	68	47	7th	R3		FA Charity Shield	—	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	bgcolor=pink	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	bgcolor=Pink	21st	R5	QF				23
1961–62	Div 3	46	27	11	8	87	47	65	bgcolor=Gold	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	bgcolor=Pink	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	bgcolor=pink	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	bgcolor=palegreen	4th	R3	R1			Colin Garwood	27
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	13th	R1	R2			Billy Rafferty	19
1982–83		46	27	10	9	74	41	91	bgcolor=gold	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	bgcolor=palegreen	2nd	R4	R3	Full Members' Cup	QF	Micky Quinn	28
1987–88	Div 1	42	7	14	19	36	66	35	bgcolor=pink	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	46	26	10	10	80	46	88	3rd	R3	R3	Anglo-Italian Cup League play-offs	GS SF		47
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	bgcolor=Gold	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	bgcolor=Gold	W	R4			Benjani Mwaruwari	12
2008–09		38	10	11	17	38	57	41	14th	R4	R3	FA Community Shield UEFA Cup	RU GS	Peter Crouch	16
2009–10		38	7	7	24	34	66	19	bgcolor=pink	20th	bgcolor=Silver	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	bgcolor=pink	22nd	R3	R1			David Norris	8
2012–13	Lg1	46	10	12	24	51	69	32	bgcolor=pink	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	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	W SF	Jamal Lowe	15
2019–20		35	17	9	9	53	36	60	5th	R5	R3	EFL Trophy League play-offs	RU 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	24

Key

• P = Played
• W = Games won
• D = Games drawn
• L = Games lost
• GF = Goals for
• GA = Goals against
• Pts = Points
• Pos = Final position
• Div 1 = Football League First Division
• Div 2 = Football League Second Division
• Div 3 = Football League Third Division
• Div 3(S) = Football League Third Division South
• Div 4 = Football League Fourth Division
• Prem = Premier League
• Champ = EFL Championship
• Lg1 = EFL League One
• Lg2 = EFL League Two
• n/a = Not applicable
• 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
• RU = Runners-up
• W = Winners

bgcolor=gold

Champions

bgcolor=silver

Runners-up

bgcolor=PaleGreen

Promoted

bgcolor=Pink

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.

References

• Web site: Portsmouth . Football Club History Database . 13 May 2021.