As a follow up to yesterday’s account of Portsmouth’s first Championship win, here’s the story of how they retained the title the following season. Again, much is taken from Colin Farmery’s account of those glory years.

There was little change to the Championship winning squad, Portsmouth’s books revealing a credit balance on transfers of £16,400! The champions started the season quite well with a 3-1 win at Newcastle United, but they were up and down after that. There was a home defeat to Stanley Matthews’ Blackpool, interspersed with a 5-1 win at Middlesbrough and a 7-0 thrashing of Everton at Fratton Park. On October 1, league leaders Wolves visited Fratton Park, and for the first and only time. more than 50,000 spectators crowded on the ground for a league match. With the tie 1-1, Pompeyo was seventh, but only three points behind Wolves. The title race was to remain close for the remainder of the season.

Large scale merchandising was still a thing of the future in those days and in the Football Mail on 15 October, the Pompey Championship ties at Landports Drapery (later to become Allders) were announced. Portsmouth did not have a club shop until the late 1960s and the only items visible in the club’s colors in the crowd were usually scarves and rosettes. But a follower of the era, Cyril Lucas, recalls that the absence of large-scale commercialism added to the sense of occasion on match day. “When I stood on the north terrace in front of the tunnel, I couldn’t wait until the players went up the tunnel. I was so full of pride when I saw those royal blue shirts and that star and crescent badge. That jersey was only worn by the eleven players, nobody else was wearing it, unlike the replica jerseys you see these days, and you wouldn’t see it again until the next game. He was the pride and glory of Pompey, and when the players were gone there was a standing ovation.

Even the players had to supplement their salaries! Eleven of them commissioned photographers to take individual and team photos, which were then sold privately to supporters and through newspapers.

Pompey continued to have its ups and downs, and one characteristic of the season was that the team was much more unstable than it had been the previous season. More players were used, and more than one found themselves making their lone appearance at Pompey while covering up injuries.

Portsmouth faced Third Division (South) side Norwich City in the FA Cup third round and underperformed in the Fratton Park tie, drawing 1–1. In another example of how similar football fans are both then and now, consider this letter to the Football post-game post. “I think this was a disgusting sight for a top division team. Almost 20 years in the Park and I have never seen anything like this… If Pompeyo wants to put on a show in the Cup or the league he has to go out and buy a couple of forwards in my opinion. I consider Pompeyo the baddest club in all payable divisions, and I may be done, if Pompeyo doesn’t win on Thursday (replay), my old lady will have more of my company on Saturday afternoons in the future. Like I said, nothing changes!

Going into March, four points separated the top seven with Pompey in fourth behind Manchester United, Liverpool and Sunderland. Portsmouth continued to stutter, losing 2-1 in Derby with Jimmy Scoular sent off. This was a huge incident in the days when it was extremely difficult to even receive a booking, and the issue loomed over Pompey for weeks before the relevant FA committee met to discuss punishment. But it seemed to be the title that nobody wanted to win as other teams also lost points.

Before the crucial match against leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford on April 15, four points separated the top six, with Pompey in third place, one point behind the leaders. Reid and Froggatt scored in the last six minutes for a priceless 2-0 victory. Second-placed Sunderland lost at home to Manchester City. Pompey was now on pole position with three games to go, and could become the first club to retain the Championship since Arsenal completed the title treble in 1935.

Pompey won their next game against Liverpool, and the results for that day showed that a win out of two was now required to retain the Championship. The next game was at Highbury, never a happy hunting ground. Pompey had never won there at the time and went down 2-0. But the math still holds and a win in the last game at home to Aston Villa would be enough, barring an improbable 20 goals from Wolves in their last game.

This was the era of goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), and Pompey’s was far superior. From the moment they scored 20 seconds into the match at Fratton Park, the result was never in doubt and they came out winning 5-1. The Championship was retained. The next team to achieve the feat was Manchester United’s Busby Babes in 1957. Portsmouth had proven to be the best team in the country.

Despite this, the press did not recognize the achievement. Alex James of the Daily Express, a distinguished former Arsenal striker, reserved his team of the year pick for Second Division champions Tottenham Hotspur. “Don’t think I’m bashing Pompey,” he said, “it takes a wonderful side to win the league championship two years in a row.” He evidently considered it more wonderful to win the Second Division once than to win the First Division twice!

That reminds me that I have to catch up on the latest installment of ‘Pompeygate’.