Not only is its appearance on the news stands an indication that the new season is just around the corner but it also provides a chance to take stock as well as look forward.
This once-a-year magazine used to be called Soccer In The South and as its title suggests it covered more than just Pompey; our South Coast rivals got a good degree of coverage as well, something which may seem strange to today's fans.
In more recent times this publication has been called The Pompey Magazine and has provided more in-depth pre-season coverage of Portsmouth FC.
Looking back through some old boxes of football memorabilia the other day I came across some of these magazines which I've kept tucked away all this time. My modest collection goes back to 1991 although suspiciously there's nothing for the following years: 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999 or 2003.
I use the word 'memorabilia' with some caution and I say 'suspiciously' because, well, I have some suspicions about their whereabouts!
Mrs PC always refers to my ever growing collection of Pompey football programmes, calendars, books and magazines as 'clutter' and often hints it would be good charity shop fodder. The many charity bags which land on our doorstep these days don't help matters either!
You can see where I'm coming from!
So, as I sit here eagerly waiting for the 2011-12 season squad building activity levels at Pompey to step up a notch or two I thought it would be interesting to look back at one of these magazines to see how the football season build-up back then compared to today. In addition it's fascinating to look at what was said and written at the time and how things actually 'panned-out'
I've chosen to take a look at some of the Pompey articles from Soccer In The South magazine from 1991 - yes it really was twenty years ago although it only seems like yesterday!
The 1991-92 season always brings back mixed memories for Pompey fans and I'm no exception. It was a season that brought great excitement and pride but ultimately tremendous disappointment and thoughts of what might have been.
A season when Pompey came very close to reaching the FA Cup Final only to lose out in a penalty shoot out, after extra time, in a semi-final replay against Liverpool.
So near and yet so far.
Along with the Division II promotion winning team of 1987 and the FA Cup winning team of 2008 the Pompey team that emerged in the 1991-92 season ranks right up there as one of my favourites.
Pompey approached the 1991-92 season under a new manager, Jim Smith, who had left Newcastle United in March and responded to the call from owner Jim Gregory to take over the reins at Fratton Park from caretaker manager Tony Barton.
The magazine, priced at a very reasonable 50 pence, pronounced on its front cover that 'Jim'll fix it!' and further details were provided on page two and three of Jim's hopes, fears and targets for the season under the headline 'I'll wake this sleeping soccer giant!'. It makes interesting reading especially with hindsight – the giant certainly started to stir!
Here are some quotes from Jim Smith in this article:
“We have quite a number of professionals at the club – too many to be able to manoeuvre”
The records show that Pompey used 25 players in the 1991-92 season. In addition two Scots left the club early in the season Graeme Hogg to Hearts and Kenny Black to Airdrie and out of favour Welsh international Gavin Maguire didn't play a single game.
Interestingly, in the 2010-11 season Pompey used 30 players, but that number masks some of the deep problems Steve Cotterill faced. In the current pre-season, at the time of writing, Pompey have less than a full team's worth of players in what could be classified as a first team squad.
By contrast 1991-92 was a sea of tranquility, despite some of the reported rumblings of senior players left out of starting line-ups.
“I will have to decide whether the young lads like Russell, Anderton, Doling and Awford can make the step from 'promising youngsters' to being 'mature professionals'. I am prepared to give them that chance.”
Jim Smith was true to his word, giving some more than just a chance. This was one of the most talented group of youngsters to come through at Pompey ever having previously made the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup. Smith wasn't afraid to play them.
Here is a list of Division I appearances by Pompey's youngsters in the 1991-92 season- remember there were League Cup and FA Cup games on top of this:
Darren Anderton = 40 plus 2 as substitute
Andy Awford = 45 – he only missed one league game!
Stuart Doling = 7 plus 6 as substitute
Darryl Powell = 26 plus 10 as substitute
Micky Ross = 3 substitute appearances
Lee Russell = 7 plus 2 as substitute
Kit Symons = 46 – he didn't miss a single league game!
I wonder what Jim Smith would have done with some of Pompey's recent batch of youngsters, for example Matt Ritchie (now at Swindon Town) and Marlon Pack (now at Cheltenham Town)?
Of course Pompey's re-signing of Jason Pearce (from Bournemouth) is another interesting case in point, would he have been allowed to leave in the first place? Of course, times were very different at Pompey in 2007 to where the club is today.
All 'what ifs' and 'maybes' of course and history will be the ultimate judge of these decisions, it's too early to say how things will work out for these players.
I think it's fair to say that four of the seven youngsters Smith used in the 1991-92 season (Anderton, Awford, Powell and Symons) all went on to have reasonably good careers, that's a pretty good 'hit-rate' in my eyes. Anderton (England), Powell (Jamaica) and Symons (Wales) all won international caps.
Sadly, the recent vogue at Pompey has been to see a lot of younger players depart, Joel Ward being the obvious exception. If Ritchie, Pack, Kilbey and other youngsters who've recently departed go on to have careers half as successful as most of those from Jim Smith's 1991-92 Pompey team they will have done well.
“We have around 12 games in pre-season...”
I still can't get my head around this number! It must have included reserve team games as well, surely? At the time of writing I don't have any further details to comment.
However, just to compare and contrast, for the 2011-12 pre-season, at the time of writing, Pompey have officially announced friendlies against: Havant & Waterlooville, Chelsea and Charleston Battery in the USA – three games!
“Everything has been geared to August 17 when we go to Blackburn. It's an exciting fixture – possibly the match of the day in the second division”
How times change! August 17th for the opening League fixture! In the 2011-12 season Pompey will have played four matches by August 17th! The opening day fixture – away to Middlesbrough – is on August 6th.
Blackburn Rovers were at the start of their rise back to the top flight of English football funded by the wealth of Jack Walker.
For the record the match at Ewood Park, played out in front of just 11,118 fans, ended in a 1-1 draw but Pompey went very close to securing an opening day victory only conceding the equaliser in the final minute. Pompey's goal was scored by Darren Anderton.
Pompey versus Blackburn Rovers 17/08/1991: Alan Knight, Andy Awford, John Beresford, Chris Burns, Kit Symons, Guy Butters, Darren Anderton, Martin Kuhl, Colin Clarke, Guy Whittingham, Darryl Powell. Substitutes: Mark Chamberlain and Lee Russell.
Blackburn Rovers finished sixth and were promoted through the play-offs. Pompey finished 9th with 69 points, five points off sixth place and the play-off positions.
On pages twelve and thirteen there are three pieces by Mike Neasom, who'd been writing about Pompey for 18 years, on: Martin Kuhl, Andy Awford and Alan Knight.
Pompey skipper Martin Kuhl, was entering the new season as the holder of the Player Of The Year award for 1990-91, when he also secured the skipper's armband something he was clearly very proud of: “I was chuffed, really chuffed...I enjoyed being captain last time...it's a great honour to be a captain of a club like this”.
Clearly, Jim Smith had made a positive impact on Kuhl who stated: “There's a new air about the place. Since I've been here, I've never known people so keyed up and confident. It's down to the boss really – in many ways he's like Ballie. He's got that same passion for the game and it's beginning to rub off on people”. That is high praise indeed, but doesn't surprise me. It maybe shouldn't be a surprise also that two of Pompey's most successful managers in recent years showed a bit of passion from time to time!
Andy Awford was just 19 at the time, although he'd made his League debut two years before. In the article he's described as 'self-assured' but not 'over-confident'. Awford expresses his desire to play 20 games in the upcoming season and says: “The boss has said everyone will get chance if they're good enough – and I mean to see that he has to think about me”. However, he's under no illusions about the competition for places in the starting line-up: “I know the challenge I face – with people like Gavin Maguire, Graeme Hogg, Guy Butters, Lee Russell and Kit Symons at the club as well, but I have belief in my ability and if I play as I know I can then I'm sure I'll get a chance and when it comes I'll do everything to see that I take it”. Modest words indeed. As I've shown above, Awford actually played 45 league games in the 1991-92 season, missing just the one match. I think it's fair to say that he took his chance well!
The interview with Alan Knight is under the headline 'Don't Brand Me A Golden Oldie!'. Thirty year old Knight was concerned about being called a 'veteran' having made 401 league appearances for Pompey. However, he also had a keen eye on the record books: “I'd like to think I could get close to dear old Jim Dickinson's record before I finish – but I can't see me overtaking him – another 364 matches will take a bit of playing. But I'd like to think I could get into second place. If I were to play every match this season I'd go in front of Johnny Gordon and would be pretty close to Peter Harris's record as well. We'll see, it's something to aim for, isn't it?”. As we all know Alan Knight did make it in to second place on the all-time appearances list for Pompey behind Jimmy Dickinson. In terms of just league games Knight played in 683 to Dickinson's 764.
Pages sixteen and seventeen, the centrefold, are given over to the 1991-92 season fixture lists for Pompey, Saints and Brighton.
It's interesting to note that there are just eight other teams in the 2011-12 Championship season who were in Division II with Pompey in 1991-92. They are: Ipswich Town, Middlesborough, Derby County, Leicester City, Watford, Millwall, Barnsley and Bristol City.
Page twenty-two took a look at who the bookmakers fancied to top the Division II goal scoring charts. Guy Whittingham was at 10-1, Colin Clarke at 14-1. Other fancied strikers were: Marco Gabbiadini (Sunderland), Mick Quinn (Newcastle United) and Steve Bull (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Pompey were 20-1 for the Division I title and 100-1 to win the FA Cup. Sunderland were the Division I favourites at 6-1.
Page fourteen had the league tables from the previous season for Divisions I, II and III. Pompey, in Division II, had finished 17th out of 24 on 53 points.
There was also an announcement that the Sports Mail was 'going tabloid' and would be on sale on the evening of Saturday August 17th for 24 pence!
Finally on page fourteen and leading nicely on to the article on page fifteen there is a competition to win a terrace season ticket worth more than £200 – at Fratton Park, the Dell or the Goldstone Ground by predicting where the 24 clubs in Division II would finish.
Mike Neason predicted the top three to be: Sunderland, Pompey and Blackburn Rovers whereas Simon Parker predicted Newcastle United, Middlesbrough and Pompey. You can see that expectations of Pompey were high.
On page fifteen Pompey defender Gary Stevens reinforced that view where he ran through all the teams in Division II under the headline 'Stick Your Cash On Us'. He predicted Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, Millwall and Cambridge United would be Pompey's main rivals for promotion.
The 1991-92 season saw Ipswich Town and Middlesborough automatically promoted to Division I along with Blackburn Rovers through the play-offs as I've already mentioned. After their FA Cup heroics Pompey missed out.
Plymouth Argyle, Brighton & Hove Albion and Port Vale were all relegated to Division III. The much fancied Sunderland, who lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup Final, finished 18th and Newcastle United finished a disappointing 20th. The other teams mentioned by Stevens, Millwall and Cambridge United, finished 15th and 5th respectively.
Page fifteen also has a picture of the Pompey players 'being put through their paces' at Purbrook – well doing some light jogging anyway. Colin Clarke, Alan Knight and Kenny Black are at the forefront in shorts that look just a little bit tight, even for 1991! See for yourself below!
In addition to the articles about Pompey the magazine also gives over plenty of column inches to both Saints and Brighton. The proposed Premier League also gets plenty of coverage. The 1991-92 international fixtures are included, accompanied by a picture of Gary Lineaker, and there is an interview with local referee Mick Pierce.
All in all this 1991 magazine is an enjoyable read and it's brought back plenty of memories for me - perhaps it's done the same for you too! Let me know.
If you have any more information on Pompey's pre-season friendlies for 1991-92 or if you have copies of the magazines from the 'missing years' which I mentioned above or if there's anything factually incorrect, let me know. It's always good to tidy up these loose ends.
Now, when's the Pompey Magazine 2011-12 due to be published....? I can't wait! Although Mrs PC might have something to say about that!
References
Soccer In The South magazine published by The News 31/07/1991
Portsmouth From Tindall To Ball, A Complete Record by Colin Farmery (1999)
Pompey Players 1920-2001. The Official Guide To All Portsmouth's Football League Players by Roger Holmes (2001)
@PompeyChicken at Twitter.com
