Portsmouth F.C. won their first major trophy since 1950, thanks to an FA Cup campaign that saw them beat Cardiff City in the final. The run to the final included a surprise 1–0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford, thanks to a Sulley Muntari penalty.
The millions of pounds invested in the squad on players such as Glen Johnson, Lassana Diarra, Muntari and others also enabled Portsmouth to have an unprecedented run in the modern Premier League era, finishing in eighth despite losing the last few matches of the season. During the autumn, Portsmouth was involved in the battle for a Champions League spot, thanks to its surprise form. The season also saw a remarkable game, beating Reading by 7–4 at Fratton Park, following eight goals in the second half.
However, despite the success in the FA Cup and league, the club's overspending on players would lead to a financial crisis that would see Portsmouth enter administration twice and suffer relegation to the fourth tier within five seasons. Players First-team squad Squad at end of season
Left club during season
Reserve squad The following players did not appear for the first-team this season.
Transfers
In +DateNationPositionNameFromTransfer Fee23 May 2007DFSylvain DistinManchester CityFree Transfer25 May 2007DFHermann HreiðarssonCharlton AthleticFree Transfer30 May 2007MFSulley MuntariUdinese£7,000,00026 June 2007DFMartin CranieSouthamptonFree Transfer5 July 2007MFArnold MvuembaStade RennaisUndisclosed11 July 2007FWDavid NugentPreston North End£6,000,00011 July 2007FWJohn UtakaStade Rennais£7,000,00031 August 2007DFGlen JohnsonChelsea£4,000,00031 August 2007MFPapa Bouba DiopFulhamUndisclosed7 January 2008FWDanijel SubotićFC BaselUndisclosed17 January 2008MFLassana DiarraArsenalUndisclosed31 January 2008FWJermain DefoeTottenham Hotspur£9,000,000
Out DateNationPositionNameToTransfer Fee4 July 2007FWSvetoslav TodorovCharlton AthleticFree Transfer12 August 2007FWLomana LuaLuaOlympiacos£2,800,00013 August 2007DFAndy O'BrienBolton WanderersUndisclosed24 August 2007FWAndy ColeSunderlandFree Transfer31 August 2007MFGary O'NeilMiddlesbrough£5,000,00031 August 2007DFDejan StefanovićFulham£1,000,00017 January 2008MFMatthew TaylorBolton WanderersUndisclosed5 February 2008FWBenjani MwaruwariManchester City£3,870,000
Loans In DateNationPositionNameFromLength18 January 2008DFLucien AubeyRC LensUntil end of season27 January 2008FWMilan BarošOlympique LyonUntil end of season
Loans Out DateNationPositionNameToLength10 August 2007GKAsmir BegovicAFC BournemouthUntil January (recalled 11 October)10 August 2007MFJean-François ChristopheAFC BournemouthUntil January21 September 2007DFMarc WilsonAFC BournemouthOne Month8 October 2007DFMartin CranieQueens Park RangersThree Months (ended 7 November)15 November 2007DFMarc WilsonLuton TownOne Month18 January 2008DFDjimi TraoreStade RennaisUntil end of season11 March 2008MFJean-François ChristopheYeovil TownOne Month
Competitions Premier League
Results
Table
FA Cup Opposing Team For Against Date Venue RoundIpswich Town 1 0 5 January 2008 Portman Road, Ipswich Third roundPlymouth Argyle 2 1 26 January 2008 Fratton Park, Portsmouth Fourth roundPreston North End 1 0 17 February 2008 Deepdale, Preston Fifth roundManchester United 1 0 8 March 2008 Old Trafford, Manchester Sixth roundWest Bromwich Albion 1 0 5 April 2008 Wembley Stadium, London Semi-finalCardiff City 1 0 17 May 2008 Wembley Stadium, London Final
League Cup Opposing Team For Against Date Venue RoundLeeds United 3 1 28 August 2007 Fratton Park, Portsmouth Second roundBurnley 1 0 25 September 2007 Turf Moor, Burnley Third roundBlackburn Rovers 1 2 30 October 2007 Fratton Park, Portsmouth Fourth round
Statistics Appearances and goals
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season
Top scorers Premier League Benjani – 12 Jermain Defoe – 7 Sulley Muntari – 4 Niko Kranjčar – 3 Nwankwo Kanu – 3 John Utaka – 3
Notes
References
External links