Portsmouth currently hopes that John Mousinho will turn the team around by the start of the 2023–24 campaign.
With 28 points from their first twelve games, the South Coast team leads League One at the moment and is the only team in the division without a loss; in fact, their unbeaten streak in League matches dates all the way back to March 11. After experiencing the worst moment in the club’s lengthy history—when they fell from the Premier League to League Two in just four seasons—Plymouth is hoping to return to the top division of English football after a twelve-year banishment.
While many players from the team’s time in the premier league will be well-known to fans, we at FLW want to draw attention to four players who struggled to establish themselves at Fratton Park.
Collins Mbesuma
The Zambian forward struggled to make an impression at Portsmouth after moving back in 2005, despite having an incredible run of two seasons for both Kaiser Chiefs and Roan United.
Following his 35 goals in 33 games for Kaiser Chiefs, Mbesuma had just won the South African Footballer of the Year award, drawing the attention of then-manager Alain Perrin. Mbesuma was not at fault when Zambia’s low standing in the world rankings forced him to wait until late in the preseason to obtain a work permit.
Kostas Chalkias
When the Greek goalkeeper replaced fan favorite Shaka Hislop in a local rivalry FA Cup match against Southampton, he was thrown into the deep end as soon as he arrived from Panathinaikos in January 2005.
Chalkias only made five appearances in the Premier League during his brief tenure at Fratton Park, including the South Coast Derby, in which Portsmouth lost 2-1. He had no future at the team due to his inconsistent play and the arrival of former Liverpool keeper Sander Westerweld; as a result, his contract was canceled in January 2006, and he joined Real Murcia.
Tal Ben-Haim
The Israeli center back signed a four-year contract in 2009, but his tenure at Pompey represented a terrible period of time for the club’s supporters. Ben-Haim made 55 appearances for the team, 24 of which came during the 2009–10 relegation season. Portsmouth’s Top-10 Best Ever Managers (Ranked) Administrators wanted Ben-Haim off the books because he was earning £36,000 a week, but he didn’t officially leave the team until August 2012, after finally coming to an understanding to part ways as the club faced liquidation following their relegation to League One that summer due to a winding up petition filed by HMRC for more than £1.6 million in unpaid taxes.
Rory Allen
In July 1999, the 23-year-old attacker moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Fratton Park, becoming the team’s first £1 million acquisition.
But knee ailments would make his stay with the club quite unfortunate, impeding his progress. after netting the first week of his deal, two of his three goals for the team.After that, in September 1999, Allen developed an ankle injury that prevented him from playing until March 2000. In a 3-1 loss against QPR in May 2000, he scored his last goal for the team. The forward’s knee ailments kept him out of action for the whole 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons. In November 2002, he ended his contract, and at the age of 25, he retired.
