# 2005–06 Portsmouth F.C. season

During the 2005–06 season, Portsmouth competed in the FA Premier League. It was Portsmouth's third consecutive season in English football's top-flight.

## Season summary

Manager Alain Perrin was sacked in November with Portsmouth struggling in the relegation zone. Joe Jordan was appointed caretaker manager after the sacking of Perrin. He was replaced by Harry Redknapp, who had walked out of arch-rivals Southampton after being refused permission by the club to talk to Portsmouth about the managerial vacancy. For a while it looked as if Redknapp's efforts were in vain, with Portsmouth eight points adrift of safety at the end of February. However, by the end of March that had been cut to just three (with a game in hand over seventeenth-placed West Bromwich Albion) and eventually Portsmouth managed to secure survival with a 2–1 win at Wigan Athletic to send West Brom and Birmingham City down.

## Kit

Portsmouth signed a deal with Jako to produce the club's kit. Oki became the kit sponsors. The strip was manufactured by Pompey Sport, but after the kit deal with Jako, they were rebadged with its logo. The home shirt was atypical for Portsmouth, as it had a large white space under the collar on the rear where players' names were printed. The away was red and gold, whilst the third was white and navy. The white strip was only worn three times, away at Manchester United, Aston Villa and West Ham United respectively.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 15 | Manchester City | 38 | 13 | 4 | 21 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 43 | |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 42 | |
| 17 | Portsmouth | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 37 | 62 | −25 | 38 | |
| 18 | Birmingham City (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 28 | 50 | −22 | 34 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 58 | −27 | 30 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |

## Results

Portsmouth's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 13 December 2019. Source: 11v11

#### Results per matchday

| 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 | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | D | L | W | D | L | D | D | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | W | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | W | W | W | D | D | W | L | W | W | L |
| Position | 20 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 13 August 2005 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–2 | 20,215 | |
| 20 August 2005 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–2 | 24,404 | Robert |
| 23 August 2005 | Aston Villa | H | 1–1 | 19,778 | LuaLua |
| 27 August 2005 | Manchester City | A | 1–2 | 41,022 | Viáfara |
| 10 September 2005 | Everton | A | 1–0 | 36,831 | Ferguson (own goal) |
| 17 September 2005 | Birmingham City | H | 1–1 | 19,319 | LuaLua |
| 24 September 2005 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 23,134 | |
| 1 October 2005 | Newcastle United | H | 0–0 | 20,220 | |
| 15 October 2005 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–1 | 26,551 | O'Neil |
| 22 October 2005 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–2 | 19,030 | Silva |
| 29 October 2005 | Sunderland | A | 4–1 | 34,926 | Vukić, Taylor (2), Silva |
| 5 November 2005 | Wigan Athletic | H | 0–2 | 19,102 | |
| 19 November 2005 | Liverpool | A | 0–3 | 44,394 | |
| 26 November 2005 | Chelsea | H | 0–2 | 20,182 | |
| 3 December 2005 | Manchester United | A | 0–3 | 67,684 | |
| 12 December 2005 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–3 | 36,141 | LuaLua |
| 17 December 2005 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | 20,052 | Todorov |
| 26 December 2005 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | 20,168 | O'Neil |
| 28 December 2005 | Arsenal | A | 0–4 | 38,223 | |
| 31 December 2005 | Fulham | H | 1–0 | 19,101 | O'Neil |
| 2 January 2006 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–2 | 19,521 | Taylor |
| 14 January 2006 | Everton | H | 0–1 | 20,094 | |
| 21 January 2006 | Birmingham City | A | 0–5 | 29,138 | |
| 1 February 2006 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 19,128 | Karadas |
| 4 February 2006 | Newcastle United | A | 0–2 | 51,627 | |
| 11 February 2006 | Manchester United | H | 1–3 | 20,206 | Taylor |
| 25 February 2006 | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | 42,254 | |
| 4 March 2006 | Aston Villa | A | 0–1 | 30,194 | |
| 11 March 2006 | Manchester City | H | 2–1 | 19,556 | Mendes (2) |
| 18 March 2006 | West Ham United | A | 4–2 | 34,837 | LuaLua, Davis, Mendes, Todorov |
| 1 April 2006 | Fulham | A | 3–1 | 22,322 | O'Neil (2), LuaLua |
| 8 April 2006 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–2 | 20,048 | LuaLua, Todorov |
| 12 April 2006 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | 20,230 | LuaLua |
| 15 April 2006 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | 20,204 | O'Neil |
| 17 April 2006 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–2 | 25,419 | D'Alessandro |
| 22 April 2006 | Sunderland | H | 2–1 | 20,078 | Todorov, Taylor (pen) |
| 29 April 2006 | Wigan Athletic | A | 2–1 | 21,126 | Mwaruwari, Taylor (pen) |
| 7 May 2006 | Liverpool | H | 1–3 | 20,240 | Koroman |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 2006 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | 15,593 | Silva |
| R4 | 29 January 2006 | Liverpool | H | 1–2 | 17,247 | Davis |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 | 20 September 2005 | Gillingham | A | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | 4,903 | O'Neil, Taylor |

## First-team squad

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 |
| 3 | DF | SCG | Dejan Stefanović |
| 4 | MF | ARG | Andrés D'Alessandro (on loan from Wolfsburg) |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Andy O'Brien |
| 6 | DF | DEN | Brian Priske |
| 7 | DF | FRA | Grégory Vignal |
| 8 | FW | NOR | Azar Karadas (on loan from Benfica) |
| 9 | FW | BUL | Svetoslav Todorov |
| 10 | MF | CRO | Ivica Mornar |
| 11 | DF | FRA | Noé Pamarot |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Matthew Taylor |
| 15 | GK | ENG | Jamie Ashdown |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Andy Griffin |
| 17 | FW | FRA | Vincent Péricard |
| 18 | MF | SEN | Aliou Cissé |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | FW | ZAM | Collins Mbesuma |
| 20 | MF | SCG | Ognjen Koroman (on loan from FC Terek Grozny) |
| 21 | MF | FRA | Franck Songo'o |
| 22 | MF | SCO | Richard Hughes |
| 23 | FW | POL | Emmanuel Olisadebe |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Wayne Routledge (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| 25 | FW | ZIM | Benjani Mwaruwari |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Gary O'Neil |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Sean Davis |
| 29 | GK | ITA | Andrea Guatelli |
| 30 | MF | POR | Pedro Mendes |
| 32 | FW | COD | Lomana LuaLua |
| 33 | GK | IRL | Dean Kiely |
| 40 | MF | SEN | Salif Diao (on loan from Liverpool) |
| 43 | MF | ENG | Scott Harris |

### 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 |
| 1 | GK | NED | Sander Westerveld (on loan to Everton) |
| 4 | MF | COL | Jhon Viáfara (on loan to Real Sociedad) |
| 11 | MF | FRA | Laurent Robert (on loan from Newcastle United) |
| 20 | MF | GRE | Giannis Skopelitis (on loan from Egaleo) |
| 24 | DF | WAL | Richard Duffy (on loan to Coventry City) |
| 27 | FW | SVN | Aleksandar Rodić (on loan to Kayserispor) |
| 31 | FW | URU | Darío Silva (released) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 33 | GK | GRE | Konstantinos Chalkias (to Real Murcia) |
| 34 | FW | ENG | James Keene (on loan to GAIS) |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Gary Silk (on loan to Boston United) |
| 38 | MF | SCG | Zvonimir Vukić (on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk) |
| — | DF | IRL | Marc Wilson (on loan to Yeovil Town) |
| — | MF | NIR | Daryl Fordyce (on loan to Bournemouth) |

## Reserve squad

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 |
| — | GK | CAN | Asmir Begović |
| — | DF | ENG | Jason Pearce |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Liam Horsted |

## Statistics
### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
* GK: #15, Jamie Ashdown, 18
* RB: #2, Linvoy Primus, 21
* CB: #5, Andy O'Brien, 32
* CB: #3, Dejan Stefanović, 30
* LB: #6, Brian Priske, 28
* RM: #26, Gary O'Neil, 39
* CM: #22, Richard Hughes, 24
* CM: #28, Sean Davis, 17
* LM: #14, Matthew Taylor, 35
* CF: #25, Benjani Mwaruwari, 16
* CF: #32, , Lomana LuaLua, 25

## Transfers
### In

* Andy O'Brien - Newcastle United, £2,000,000, 13 June
* Laurent Robert - Newcastle United, undisclosed, 19 June
* Jhon Viáfara - Once Caldas, £1,600,000, 7 July
* Grégory Vignal - Liverpool, free, 12 July
* Collins Mbesuma - Kaizer Chiefs, undisclosed, 12 July
* Sander Westerveld - Real Sociedad, free, 22 July
* Azar Karadas - Benfica, loan, 22 July
* Brian Priske - Genk, undisclosed, 22 August
* Zvonimir Vukić - Shakhtar Donetsk, undisclosed, 29 August
* Darío Silva - Sevilla FC, free, 31 August
* Franck Songo'o - Barcelona, £205,000, 31 August
* Salif Diao - Liverpool, season loan, 31 August
* Emmanuel Olisadebe - Panathinaikos, undisclosed, 4 January
* Benjani Mwaruwari - Auxerre, £4,100,000, 5 January
* Noé Pamarot, Pedro Mendes, Sean Davis - Tottenham Hotspur, £7,500,000 combined, 12 January
* Dean Kiely - Charlton Athletic, undisclosed, 25 January
* Wayne Routledge - Tottenham Hotspur, season loan, 30 January
* Ognjen Koroman - Terek Grozny, loan, 30 January
* Andrés D'Alessandro - VfL Wolfsburg, season loan, 31 January

### Out

* Patrik Berger - Aston Villa, free, 17 May
* Yakubu - Middlesbrough, £7,500,000, 23 May
* Richard Duffy - Coventry City, season loan, 7 June
* Rowan Vine - Luton Town, £250,000, 4 July
* Steve Stone - Leeds United, free, 29 June
* Diomansy Kamara - West Bromwich Albion, £1,500,000, 26 July
* Ricardo Fuller - Southampton, £90,000 (rising to £340,000 if Southampton gain promotion), 28 July
* Shaka Hislop - West Ham United, free, 29 July
* Arjan de Zeeuw - Wigan Athletic, £90,000, 11 August
* David Unsworth - Sheffield United, free, 22 August
* Kostas Chalkias - released (later joined Real Murcia), 19 January
* Darío Silva - released, 13 February
* Sander Westerveld - Everton, 28-day loan, 24 February
* Jhon Viáfara - Real Sociedad, loan, January
* James Keene - GAIS, loan, March
* Hayden Foxe - released
* Aleksander Rodić - Kayserispor, loan
* Giannis Skopelitis - Egaleo, loan
* Gary Silk - Boston United
    Transfers in: £16,250,000
    Transfers out: £9,450,000
    Total spending: £6,800,000