# 2007–08 Portsmouth F.C. season

Portsmouth F.C. won their first major trophy since 1950, thanks to an FA Cup campaign that saw them beat Cardiff City in the final. The run to the final included a surprise 1–0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford, thanks to a Sulley Muntari penalty.
The millions of pounds invested in the squad on players such as Glen Johnson, Lassana Diarra, Muntari and others also enabled Portsmouth to have an unprecedented run in the modern Premier League era, finishing in eighth despite losing the last few matches of the season. During the autumn, Portsmouth was involved in the battle for a Champions League spot, thanks to its surprise form. The season also saw a remarkable game, beating Reading by 7–4 at Fratton Park, following eight goals in the second half.
However, despite the success in the FA Cup and league, the club's overspending on players would lead to a financial crisis that would see Portsmouth enter administration twice and suffer relegation to the fourth tier within five seasons.

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | David James |
| 3 | DF | FRA | Lucien Aubey (on loan from Lens) |
| 4 | DF | CMR | Lauren |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Glen Johnson |
| 6 | MF | FRA | Lassana Diarra |
| 7 | DF | ISL | Hermann Hreiðarsson |
| 8 | MF | SEN | Papa Bouba Diop |
| 9 | FW | CZE | Milan Baroš (on loan from Lyon) |
| 10 | FW | ENG | David Nugent |
| 11 | MF | GHA | Sulley Muntari |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Jermain Defoe |
| 15 | DF | FRA | Sylvain Distin |
| 16 | DF | FRA | Noé Pamarot |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | NGA | John Utaka |
| 18 | MF | COD | Arnold Mvuemba |
| 19 | MF | CRO | Niko Kranjčar |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Martin Cranie |
| 21 | GK | ENG | Jamie Ashdown |
| 22 | MF | SCO | Richard Hughes |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Sol Campbell (captain) |
| 27 | FW | NGA | Nwankwo Kanu |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Sean Davis |
| 30 | MF | POR | Pedro Mendes |
| 31 | GK | CAN | Asmir Begović |
| 34 | MF | FRA | Franck Songo'o |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 3 | DF | SRB | Dejan Stefanović (to Fulham) |
| 6 | DF | MLI | Djimi Traoré (on loan to Rennes) |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Matthew Taylor (to Bolton Wanderers) |
| 25 | FW | ZIM | Benjani Mwaruwari (to Manchester City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Gary O'Neil (to Middlesbrough) |
| 32 | FW | COD | Lomana LuaLua (to Olympiacos) |
| 33 | DF | IRL | Andy O'Brien (to Bolton Wanderers) |

### Reserve squad

    The following players did not appear for the first-team this season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Linvoy Primus |
| 24 | DF | WAL | Richard Duffy |
| 35 | DF | IRL | Marc Wilson |
| — | GK | ENG | Nicholas Jordan |
| — | DF | ENG | Callum Reynolds |
| — | DF | ENG | Joel Ward |
| — | MF | ENG | Tom Kilbey |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Marlon Pack |
| — | MF | ENG | Matt Ritchie |
| — | MF | FRA | Jean-François Christophe |
| — | FW | DEN | Adda Djeziri |
| — | FW | BEL | Andréa Mbuyi-Mutombo |
| — | FW | SUI | Danijel Subotić |

## Competitions
### Premier League
#### Results

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | D | W | L | L | D | W | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | D | W | L | L | D | L | W | L | W | L | D | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | W | D | L | L | L | L |
| Position | 10 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |

#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 71 | 51 | +20 | 60 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 7 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 58 | |
| 8 | Portsmouth | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 9 | Manchester City | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round |
| 10 | West Ham United | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 42 | 50 | −8 | 49 | |
* ↑ As FA Cup winners
* ↑ Manchester City qualified as the highest-ranked team not already qualified for European competitions of Premier League Fair Play Ranking by The Football Association, the top association among UEFA Fair Play ranking winners.

### FA Cup

| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Round |
| Ipswich Town | 1 | 0 | 5 January 2008 | Portman Road, Ipswich | Third round |
| Plymouth Argyle | 2 | 1 | 26 January 2008 | Fratton Park, Portsmouth | Fourth round |
| Preston North End | 1 | 0 | 17 February 2008 | Deepdale, Preston | Fifth round |
| Manchester United | 1 | 0 | 8 March 2008 | Old Trafford, Manchester | Sixth round |
| West Bromwich Albion | 1 | 0 | 5 April 2008 | Wembley Stadium, London | Semi-final |
| Cardiff City | 1 | 0 | 17 May 2008 | Wembley Stadium, London | Final |

### League Cup

| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Round |
| Leeds United | 3 | 1 | 28 August 2007 | Fratton Park, Portsmouth | Second round |
| Burnley | 1 | 0 | 25 September 2008 | Turf Moor, Burnley | Third round |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1 | 2 | 30 October 2008 | Fratton Park, Portsmouth | Fourth round |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | David James | 42 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | ENG | Jamie Ashdown | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | FRA | Lucien Aubey | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | CMR | Lauren | 18 | 0 | 11+4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Glen Johnson | 36 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | ISL | Hermann Hreiðarsson | 39 | 3 | 30+2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | FRA | Sylvain Distin | 45 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | FRA | Noé Pamarot | 22 | 3 | 14+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Martin Cranie | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Sol Campbell | 37 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 6 | MF | FRA | Lassana Diarra | 17 | 2 | 11+1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | SEN | Papa Bouba Diop | 32 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | GHA | Sulley Muntari | 33 | 5 | 27+2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | COD | Arnold Mvuemba | 12 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | CRO | Niko Kranjčar | 42 | 5 | 31+3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | SCO | Richard Hughes | 17 | 0 | 8+5 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Sean Davis | 25 | 0 | 18+4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | POR | Pedro Mendes | 24 | 0 | 14+4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | FRA | Frank Songo'o | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | CZE | Milan Baroš | 16 | 0 | 8+4 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | David Nugent | 22 | 3 | 5+10 | 0 | 1+3 | 1 | 2+1 | 2 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Jermain Defoe | 12 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | NGA | John Utaka | 36 | 5 | 25+4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | NGA | Nwankwo Kanu | 31 | 7 | 13+12 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0+1 | 1 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 6 | DF | MLI | Djimi Traoré | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Matthew Taylor | 15 | 1 | 3+10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | ZIM | Benjani | 27 | 12 | 21+2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Gary O'Neil | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 May 2018 Source: Competitions

### Top scorers
#### Premier League

* Benjani – 12
* Jermain Defoe – 7
* Sulley Muntari – 4
* Niko Kranjčar – 3
* Nwankwo Kanu – 3
* John Utaka – 3