Portsmouth FC Season 1992–1993. Over 50 cuttings from an incredible season that promised so much yet ended in Play Off heartache.
Yet another “Field of Dreams”. Yet another failed field of dreams. In more ways than one. Season 1992/93.
Welcome to Part 11 of a running series entitled “A Meander Through Scrapbook Lane” and here we focus on the 1992/93 League Division Two season and ultimate heartache for the Blues as a season of such promise and such stylish football and an incredible points tally only resulted in a play off spot and early defeat to Leicester City. The Blues amassed 88 points from 26 league wins but missed out on automatic promotion on goal difference (again) before tasting bitter defeat in the Play Offs.
Disclaimer — All pictures contained within this blog will be almost certainly from the Portsmouth Evening News and Sports Mail as well as wholly contained within some loved, if dusty, scrapbooks of over 30 year vintage and placed here purely for enjoyment purposes and I hope that this disclaimer meets everyone’s needs. If not, thank you www.portsmouth.co.uk for entertaining this Pritt Stick and scissors wielding young child/spotty teen/tall and gangly late teenager and young adult who should’ve stopped ripping and cutting up newspapers long before he hung up his scissors!
Disclaimer II — This is far from a fully comprehensive review of the season and purely the contents and selected pages from my earliest scrapbooks. I am also a Liverpool fan born of a Manchester United supporting Mother who was born and raised in Portsmouth.
I was nicknamed by my Liverpool match going pal as “The Cutter” in reference to an Echo and the Bunnymen song and so hence, here are my cuttings.
Disclaimer III — As a cursory glance at any of my blogs will confirm, I write a lot. Here, not so. Pictures speak a thousand words apparently and from the annals of my childhood scrapbooks I think they sound strikingly eloquent on their own and with only minimal intrusion or commentary from me.
So I hope these scraps from my books jog a memory of the match concerned or the era, the city in general or your life at that time.
Human memories are a precious commodity. I hope you enjoy.
Bristol City (3) Portsmouth (3). Opening day of the season and the Blues, in unfamiliar all blue, also have a new striker, Paul Walsh.
Two 4–0 September wins for the Blues, firstly in the league against Birmingham City and away to Blackpool in the now re-named (again) League Cup, now known as the Coca-Cola Cup.
Newcastle United (3) Portsmouth (1), 12th September 1992. And a ghost of Christmas past comes back to haunt the Blues in the shape of former striker and Fratton Park idol, Micky Quinn.
A 0–0 draw with Southend United on 18th September is followed by easy wins over Blackpool in the Coca-Cola Cup and a 3–1 home win over Swindon Town on 10th October.
The Blues depart from the Coca-Cola Cup after a 1–0 home defeat by Ipswich Town before on 3rd November 1992 being involved in an incredible 5–5 draw away at Oxford United. There were only 5,490 spectators to witness this 10 goal extravaganza and I was one of them. If memory serves me, the Blues led comfortably at 3–1 and 4–2 and 5–3 but Oxford scored two goals in the final minute or so to force a 5–5 draw. ’Twas a surreal night!
Watford (0) Portsmouth (0), 14th November 1992. And bottom right, the hardy souls prepare for their trip to Bari in Italy for the Anglo Italian Cup tie.
L to R: Portsmouth (4) Tranmere Rovers (0) on 21st November followed by a 3–0 defeat by Bari in the Anglo Italian Cup (the Blues fans pictured in an almost empty stadium!) and a 1–0 victory over Millwall on 28th November. Quite a week for the Blues!
5th to 12th December 1992: A 1–0 defeat away at Charlton before a midweek 2–1 win in the Anglo Italian Cup over Lucchese and a 1–1 draw away at Peterborough.
Yet more “Artists Impressions” of a possible transformation of Fratton Park into a “Super Stadium” whilst back in reality, the Blues take 4 home points out of 6 against Notts County and Bristol Rovers over the Christmas period.
Derby County (2) Portsmouth (4), 28th December 1992. Attendance at the Baseball Ground 21,478.
Brighton and Hove Albion (1) Portsmouth (0), FA Cup 3rd Round, 2nd January 1993.
Portsmouth (2) Southend United (0), 9th January 1993. Just 9,717 were present to see Guy Whittingham net his 30th goal of the season.
Costly January dropped points on the road as the Blues lose 2–0 at West Ham United and draw 1–1 at Barnsley.
7 crazy days in early February as first the Blues lose 3–2 at home to lowly Bristol City before travelling to St Andrews and beating Birmingham City by the same 3–2 score line.
L to R: More action from the 3–2 away win at Birmingham and a 2–0 win over a Kevin Keegan managed Newcastle United in front of a bumper Fratton Park crowd of 21,028.
Portsmouth (2) Luton Town (1), 6th March 1993. Attendance at Fratton Park 10,457.
L to R: Yet more tabloid speculation as to where English football’s top striker will go next and a vital away win at Cambridge United on 13th March to stay in the hunt for automatic promotion.
A 4 day spell toward the end of March 1993 and the Blues pick up a maximum of 6 points against Charlton Athletic and Tranmere Rovers without conceding a goal.
More from Tranmere Rovers (0) Portsmouth (2) on 23rd March 1993 and the Blues 5th league win in a row and only conceding 2 goals.
Portsmouth (3) Oxford United (0), 27th March 1993. Attendance at Fratton Park 14,652.
4 days in early April and the Blues take another 4 points out of a possible 6 as they march towards promotion.
10th to 12th April and another six points out of six for the Blues who are in the middle of a five successive game winning streak. Here the Blues win 2–1 away at Bristol Rovers before defeating Derby County at Fratton Park in front of a bumper crowd of 23,805.
The 5 game winning run continues at the end of April with a 1–0 away win at Notts County before a week later, Wolves are beaten 2–0 at Fratton Park in front of 23,078. Beating Wolves takes the Blues to the top of the table and with only two games remaining in the season the Blues are favourites for automatic promotion to Division 1.
Another “artists impression” of another failed dream. “Parkway” was never realised, nor realistic.
Sunderland (4) Portsmouth (1). A dreadful “May Day” for all Blues as they slip out of promotion contention in a tight battle with West Ham United for the final promotion place.
Portsmouth (2) Grimsby Town (1), 8th May 1993. Attendance at a heaving Fratton Park 24,955. Yet again, as in 8 years earlier with Manchester City, the Blues are denied automatic promotion by goal difference only, this time to West Ham United. They go into the lottery of the play offs as a form team and the highest ranked of the 4 remaining teams.
A special “Sports Mail” colour edition for the Play Offs, and either the Blues, Leicester City, Tranmere Rovers or Swindon Town will be joining West Ham United and Newcastle United in Division 1 of the English League, or soon to be renamed, “Premiership”.
A picture speaks a thousand words.
Leicester City (1) Portsmouth (0), Play Off Semi-Final, 1st Leg. 16th May 1993.
L to R: More from the 1st Leg of the Play Off Semi-Final and the first of many painful headlines seen around Portsmouth on and after 19th May 1993.
After an incredible season of tumbling records, the dream becomes a nightmare for all Blues, 19th May 1993.
Portsmouth (2) Leicester City (2), Play Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg, 19th May 1993. After the “Foxes” 1–0 win in the 1st Leg, they progressed to the Wembley final ahead of the Blues 3–2 on aggregate.
Despite that incredibly disappointing end to the 1992/1993 season I hope it’s entertained you along the way. If so, please do take a peek at the previous volumes listed below from “Scrapbook Lane” and only recently published:
