# 2000–01 Portsmouth F.C. season

During the 2000–01 English football season, Portsmouth F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In October, Tony Pulis was put on gardening leave (and sacked not long afterwards) due to a poor relationship with Mandaric. Veteran player Steve Claridge stepped up to the manager's seat, and some initial success saw talk of promotion to the Premier League, only for a horrific run of defeats to set in after the new year, resulting in Claridge being dismissed as manager (but retained as a player) and being replaced in March 2001 by Chelsea assistant manager Graham Rix. Rix did not prove an entirely popular appointment, as he had been jailed for a sexual offence two years previously, and the club only survived on the last day of the season when they won their final game and relegated Huddersfield Town at their expense.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 18 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 52 | |
| 19 | Stockport County | 46 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 58 | 65 | −7 | 51 | |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 46 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 47 | 59 | −12 | 49 | |
| 21 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 57 | 70 | −13 | 49 | |
| 22 | Huddersfield Town (R) | 46 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 48 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Portsmouth's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 12 August 2000 | Sheffield United | A | 0–2 | 15,816 | |
| 19 August 2000 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–1 | 12,511 | Bradbury |
| 25 August 2000 | Gillingham | A | 1–1 | 8,741 | Moore |
| 28 August 2000 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–1 | 14,124 | Claridge (3, 1 pen) |
| 2 September 2000 | Preston North End | A | 0–1 | 13,343 | |
| 9 September 2000 | Watford | H | 1–3 | 14,012 | Quashie |
| 12 September 2000 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–0 | 9,235 | Mills, Bradbury |
| 16 September 2000 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | 14,113 | |
| 23 September 2000 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–1 | 11,937 | |
| 30 September 2000 | Burnley | A | 1–1 | 15,494 | Claridge |
| 8 October 2000 | Stockport County | A | 1–1 | 6,212 | Mills |
| 14 October 2000 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–1 | 16,040 | Thøgersen, Claridge |
| 17 October 2000 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 2–1 | 14,621 | Thøgersen, Claridge (pen) |
| 21 October 2000 | Crystal Palace | A | 3–2 | 15,693 | Claridge, Thøgersen, Panopoulos |
| 24 October 2000 | Norwich City | A | 0–0 | 18,772 | |
| 28 October 2000 | Birmingham City | H | 1–1 | 15,218 | Bradbury |
| 4 November 2000 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 12,038 | Bradbury |
| 11 November 2000 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–2 | 14,141 | Quashie, Panopoulos |
| 18 November 2000 | Fulham | A | 1–3 | 19,005 | Claridge |
| 25 November 2000 | Barnsley | A | 0–1 | 12,853 | |
| 2 December 2000 | Norwich City | H | 2–0 | 13,409 | Panopoulos, Quashie |
| 9 December 2000 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–2 | 19,284 | |
| 16 December 2000 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–1 | 12,041 | Claridge |
| 23 December 2000 | Sheffield United | H | 0–0 | 13,606 | |
| 26 December 2000 | Wimbledon | A | 1–1 | 10,518 | Claridge |
| 1 January 2001 | Gillingham | H | 0–0 | 14,526 | |
| 13 January 2001 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 20,869 | Lescott (own goal) |
| 20 January 2001 | Wimbledon | H | 2–1 | 12,488 | Bradbury (pen), Quashie |
| 27 January 2001 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–2 | 4,128 | Bradbury |
| 3 February 2001 | Preston North End | H | 0–1 | 13,331 | |
| 10 February 2001 | Watford | A | 2–2 | 16,051 | Quashie, Claridge |
| 17 February 2001 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–2 | 11,377 | Panopoulos |
| 24 February 2001 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–2 | 17,645 | |
| 3 March 2001 | Burnley | H | 2–0 | 12,941 | Nightingale, Panopoulos (pen) |
| 7 March 2001 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 20,503 | |
| 10 March 2001 | Stockport County | H | 2–1 | 12,202 | Bradbury, Lovell |
| 14 March 2001 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–1 | 9,872 | Harper |
| 17 March 2001 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–1 | 5,182 | |
| 31 March 2001 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–4 | 13,199 | Mills |
| 7 April 2001 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–2 | 13,018 | |
| 14 April 2001 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | 13,426 | Bradbury |
| 16 April 2001 | Birmingham City | A | 0–0 | 23,304 | |
| 21 April 2001 | Fulham | H | 1–1 | 17,651 | Bradbury |
| 29 April 2001 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–3 | 24,257 | Panopoulos |
| 2 May 2001 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–4 | 19,013 | Mills, Tiler |
| 6 May 2001 | Barnsley | H | 3–0 | 13,064 | Bradbury, O'Neil, Harper |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 2001 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–2 | 11,058 | Bradbury |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 22 August 2000 | Cambridge United | A | 0–0 | 2,904 | |
| R1 2nd Leg | 5 September 2000 | Cambridge United | H | 1–0 | 5,570 | Mills |
| R2 1st Leg | 19 September 2000 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–4 | 10,360 | |
| R2 2nd Leg | 26 September 2000 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–1 (lost 1–5 on agg) | 2,731 | Nightingale |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Andy Petterson |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Linvoy Primus |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Justin Edinburgh |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Shaun Derry |
| 6 | DF | JAM | Darren Moore |
| 7 | MF | SCO | Kevin Harper |
| 8 | MF | SVN | Mladen Rudonja |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Steve Claridge |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Lee Bradbury |
| 11 | MF | WAL | Ceri Hughes |
| 12 | MF | SCO | Nigel Quashie |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Aaron Flahavan |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Tom Curtis |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Jamie Vincent |
| 16 | DF | DEN | Thomas Thøgersen |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Lee Sharpe (on loan from Bradford City) |
| 18 | DF | NIR | Dave Waterman |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Luke Nightingale |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Rory Allen |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Gary O'Neil |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Lee Mills |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Rowan Vine |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Scott Hiley |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Jason Crowe |
| 26 | GK | ENG | Chris Tardif |
| 27 | MF | SCO | Garry Brady |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Rob Wolleaston (on loan from Chelsea) |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Tom White |
| 30 | MF | BRA | Stefani Miglioranzi |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Steve Lovell |
| 32 | MF | GRE | Michael Panopoulos |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Lewis Buxton |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Carl Tiler |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Shaun Cooper |
| 38 | MF | ENG | Carl Pettefer |
| 44 | GK | ENG | Alan Knight |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | DF | FRA | Bernard Lambourde (on loan from Chelsea) |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Jason Cundy (Retired) |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Andy Awford (Retired) |
| 25 | MF | FRA | Marc Keller (on loan from West Ham United) |
| 27 | DF | ENG | David Birmingham (to Bournemouth) |
| 39 | MF | WAL | Adam Holbrook (Released) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Russell Hoult (to West Bromwich Albion) |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Adrian Whitbread (to Reading) |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Guy Whittingham (to Wycombe Wanderers) |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Joe McNab (Released) |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Neil McNab (Released) |