Following their FA Cup triumph in May, Portsmouth entered the 2008/9 season with a UEFA Cup campaign to fight alongside the Premier League. An historic 2-0 win over Vitoria Guimaraes gave them a great start and they went on to reach the group stages where they led Italian giants AC Milan 2-0 before eventually drawing 2-2.

Harry Redknapp left the club for a second time in October, replacing the recently departed Juande Ramos at Spurs. Second in command Tony Adams took over but failed to set Pompey on the winning trail and was dismissed in February to be replaced by youth team coach Paul Hart for the rest of the season.

The club were also put up for sale by Alexandre Gaydamak who said that he couldn’t devote the time and resources need to take the club forward. The recent news that Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, the same individual involved in the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover of Manchester City, was to buy the club must have been greeted with delight by supporters who now anticipate a substantial investment in both squad and facilities.

Portsmouth finished the season in a comfortable 14^th but will expect better next campaign especially if the deal goes ahead and funds are made available.