Portsmouth FC Season 1984–1985 and Alan Ball’s Blues come tantalisingly close to a return to Division 1.
Portsmouth FC 1984–1985 and new Manager Alan Ball
Welcome to Part 3 of a long running series entitled “A Meander Through Scrapbook Lane” and here we focus on the 1984/85 season under the stewardship of Alan Ball and a last day showdown with Huddersfield Town and high hopes of promotion to the promised land of the English First Division hanging in the balance.
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 well 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 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.
Pre-season player profiles, a friendly with Hastings and opening day action from the 1–0 home win at Fratton Park versus Middlesbrough. Alan Biley scoring the winner in front of 13,070.
Local youngster Paul Wood celebrating his goal away at Oxford United in a 1–1 draw and Alan Biley and Kevin Dillon tussling for the ball at home to Barnsley in another draw, this time 0–0. First week of September, 1984.
Another late night storied win at Fratton Park, this time over 1st Division Nottingham Forest in the 1st Leg of their 2nd Round League Cup tie, before a 2–2 draw with Charlton Athletic at the end of September.
My childish scribbles tell the story here! October/November 1984.
Yet another late night and storied win, this time over Huddersfield Town on 15th December 1984 in front of 11,797 at Fratton Park.
Christmas 1984 and the incredible last minute Alan Biley winner in the mud of a 2–1 win at home to Oxford United, the Boxing Day draw away at Brighton and Hove Albion before the (in)famous comeback from Fulham on New Years Day 1985.
I was at this game on New Years Day and distinctly remember the vast majority of Fulham fans clambering out of the ground at Half-Time and the hardy souls that remained going berserk at 4–4!
More from Portsmouth (4) Fulham (4) and a distraught, disbelieving Manager Alan Ball as well as the 17,440 fans in attendance.
Look at that pitch at Middlesbrough! No wonder Kevin Dillon fancied an “early bath!”. A 0–0 draw on 19th January 1985.
March 1985 and a 3–1 home win over Leeds United followed by a 0–0 draw at home to Cardiff City.
Local Hero Alan Biley sold to South Coast neighbours and promotion challengers Brighton, March 1985.
Fulham (1) Portsmouth (3), 8th April 1985. Attendance 12,568
After the 3–1 away win at Fulham, everyone it seems is tipping the Blues to be promoted. 6 games remain.
Portsmouth (1) Birmingham City (3), 13th April 1985. Attendance 23,993. Promotion looks further away than ever for the Blues and as below, this result proved crucial at the end of May.
And the season becomes detached from the rails as they follow the home defeat to Birmingham with consecutive 2–1 defeats to Manchester City and Crystal Palace. The defeat to Manchester City would prove crucial too. The Blues now had to win at Huddersfield on the last day of the season and just hope that all other results fell in their favour.
The customary tickertape reception for Pompey at Leeds Road before Huddersfield Town (0) Portsmouth (2). But alas no promotion.
Huddersfield Town (0) Portsmouth (2). Final game of the 1984/1985 season. Promotion was missed on goal difference only to Manchester City. The Blues amassed 74 points and only lost on 8 occasions (compared to the 10 games lost by both Manchester City and fellow promoted team Birmingham City). In an after match interview at Huddersfield, Manager Alan Ball said his players “would be back” and “are so close” to promotion.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this pictorial ramble through this season and if so, please consider these previous season tales of 1982/1983 and 1983/1984 from “Scrapbook Lane” too:
