1 Early years    (1898 - 1911)	The Premiership at last (2002-2004) In Redknapp's first full season in charge, (2002-03), he brought in a number of experienced Premiership players such as Steve Stone, Tim Sherwood and Paul Merson, and combined them with younger, up-and-coming talents such as Gary O'Neil and Matthew Taylor. Pompey stormed the league, comfortably beating Leicester City to the 2002-03 Division One Championship, winning the title with a game to spare.[3] The following season the club tipped for immediate relegation from the Premiership surprised many by staying up and have to date remained in the top flight. During their four Premiership seasons to date Pompey have produced some surprise results, notably three home wins - including two in consecutive seasons - against Manchester United. In their Premiership debut season, Portsmouth had one of the best home records in the Premiership, but poor away form restricted them to a 13th place finish. Had they been able to match their impressive home form on their travels, then a top half finish or even a European place could have been achieved. After the third game of the season, a 4-0 home victory against Bolton Wanderers, Pompey topped the Premiership and were comfortably in mid-table throughout the autumn, inflicting a resounding 6-1 victory at Fratton Park on Leeds United in November 2003. A 1-1 draw against Arsenal at Highbury, when Teddy Sheringham put Pompey in control before half-time, before a foul on the Gunners' Robert Pires earned the Londoners a penalty in the closing stages of the match, which when converted effectively ended the South Coast club's chance of registering a famous away win over Arsenal, signalled the start of a run of eleven games in a row without victory for Pompey. There were suggestions, backed by evidence from video replays on the BBC's Match of the Day, that Pires may have dived in the box during the match at Highbury, precipitating the award of the penalty, although Pires has always vehemently maintained his innocence. Nevertheless, this draw marked the first of a horrendous run of results that left the team odds on to be relegated in mid-March. However, a 1-0 win at home to rivals Southampton followed by a first Premiership away win at Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park proved to be the catalyst for a run of form that included a famous 1-0 win over Manchester United in April, with Steve Stone (rejected by Sir Alex Ferguson on a bid to join Manchester United less than two years earlier) the scorer in Pompey's first win over Manchester United for nearly 60 years. This surprise win handed Pompey a relegation lifeline as it lifted them out of the drop-zone for the first time since February. A 2-1 away win over Leeds United and a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham in their next two matches confirmed that Portsmouth would not be relegated in their first Premiership season. The club signed off their impressive Premiership debut season with a 5-1 crushing of the season's league cup winners Middlesbrough at Fratton Park on the final day of the season on 15 May 2004.
2 Climbing up the league    (1919 - 1927)
3 Life at the top    (1927 - 1939)
4 Glory years    (1946 - 1959)
5 Life in the lower leagues    (1961 - 1976)
6 Near oblivion   (1976 - 1980)
7 Back on track   (1980 - 1988)
8 Waiting for success   (1988 - 2002)
9 The Premiership at last   (2002-2004)
10 Crisis and struggle     (2004 - 2006)
11 A change of fortunes     (2006 - 2007)
12 Qualification for Europe     FA Cup glory    (2007-present)