South Coast derby

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The South Coast Derby, or Hampshire Derby, are terms used to describe football matches played between Portsmouth F.C. and Southampton F.C.

The two clubs are the largest on the southern coast of England, and lie only 17 miles apart.

Contents

[edit] Changing Fortunes

Southampton were the first of the two clubs to be formed, in 1885. Portsmouth were founded thirteen years later, in 1898.

Southampton and Portsmouth first played each other competitively in the Southern League in April 1900, with Portsmouth winning 2-0 twice in three days. The teams met regularly in the Southern League, and in the early years of the 20th century were rivals for the league title, with Southampton taking the title in 1901, 1903 and 1904 (having also been champions in three consecutive seasons from 1896-97 to 1898-99, before Portsmouth were formed) and Portsmouth taking the title in 1902 (and again in 1920).

The first of four South Coast derbies in the FA Cup took place on January 13, 1906, when Southampton beat Portsmouth 5-1. For the 1920-21 season, both teams were admitted to the Football League (together with the majority of the Southern League First Division sides). The first Football League game between the two clubs was on September 11, 1920, with Southampton winning 2-0. After two seasons in the Third Division, Saints were promoted as champions in 1922. Pompey joined them in the Second Division in 1924 and were promoted to the First Division in 1927. Up to this time the teams had met ten times in the Football League, with Saints winning four, Pompey three and three draws.

Portsmouth then enjoyed a much-superior league position to their neighbours, winning the FA Cup in 1939 and back-to-back League Titles between 1948 and 1950, until 1960, when Southampton gained promotion back to the Second Division, Portsmouth having been relegated from the First Division the previous season. From the 1960s onwards, Southampton found themselves in the ascendancy, being in a superior division nearly every season while defeating their rivals whenever the two sides met in cup clashes.

With Southampton's being in a higher division for most of the period from the 1960s through to the early 2000s, the two clubs rarely met. Events such as the death of Portsmouth goalkeeper Aaron Flahavan, a Southampton-born footballer whose brother Darryl had played for Southampton, occasionally brought the fans together. However, events of recent years have altered this markedly.

Southampton dominated the South Coast derby games in the post-war era, with 14 wins against Portsmouth's 4. Portsmouth's promotion to the Premiership in 2003 evened matters and reignited the clubs' rivalry - the first time the two teams had met in regular league competition since the 1987-88 First Division season. Southampton held the upper-hand, winning two of the three matches played between the two sides in the 2003-04 season.

The rivalry was galvanised with the appointment of Harry Redknapp as Southampton manager in December 2004, just days after he had resigned as manager of Portsmouth, and less than a month after the Saints had beaten Portsmouth at St Mary's Stadium. The following month, the Saints were drawn against and defeated their rivals in a fiery FA Cup match, with former Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch scoring the decisive penalty in the last minute of the match.

However, Portsmouth struck back in the next (and most recent) league encounter between the rivals, with Southampton losing 4-1 at Fratton Park in Redknapp's only return to the ground with the club. Southampton were subsequently relegated from the Premiership on the final day of the 2004-05 season, ending their 27 year run in the top flight of English Football.

[edit] Harry Redknapp

The acrimonious departure of Harry Redknapp from Portsmouth to Southampton brought the bitter rivalry between the two clubs to a new level. When Redknapp returned to Portsmouth in November of 2005 following Southampton's relegation, it only served to further sour relations between the two clubs, which arguably remain at an all-time low. The two club's chairmen at the time, Rupert Lowe (Southampton) and Milan Mandaric (Portsmouth), publicly criticised one another on a number of occasions, with Lowe calling for an inquest into irregular betting patterns in the run-up to Redknapp's re-appointment. Mandaric had even sent a boxed duck as a Christmas 'gift' to Lowe (as Lowe had been on a hunting trip when the "ordeal" began), but the gesture only furthered the animosity between the two.

[edit] Current Positions

As of 2007, the rivalry between the two clubs remains incredibly fierce, but any derby between the two clubs can only occur if they are drawn together in either the Football League Cup or the FA Cup, as Southampton's relegation to the Football League Championship makes any league fixture temporarily impossible.

[edit] Inter-fan rivalry

Exactly when the fierce rivalry between the supporters of the two clubs began is not entirely clear. However, until the 1970s, many fans would go and watch the other team when their side was playing away, indicating anything but hatred. Some ascribe the growing rivalry since then to the cities' diverging economic fortunes, which included the transfer to Portsmouth of cross-Channel ferry services once based in Southampton.

[edit] Nicknames

Portsmouth supporters often refer to Southampton supporters as "scum" or "scummers". There are a number of competing theories as to origin and supporters of many clubs refer to their rivals as "scum", although Portsmouth fans more commonly use the term "the scummers".

According to some Portsmouth fans, the term "scum" developed out of an acronym standing for Southampton City (or Corporation) Union Men, with the term allegedly originating from when Southampton dockyard workers supposedly crossed the picket lines in the 1930s when Portsmouth dockyard workers were on strike. However this story is unlikely, as the two cities rely on entirely different types of ports - Southampton being a merchant port and Portsmouth, a naval one. There is also no known record of any strike occurring during the mentioned time period. Rather, this seems to be a modern attempt to incorrectly describe the origins of the rivalry. [1] It must be noted that there is no universally accepted or attributable source to the term other than common football usage. [1]

Southampton supporters have taken to referring to their local rivals as "Skates". This is a derisive alternative to "matelot" to describe naval sailors, Portsmouth being the home of the Royal Navy. This term is in fact originally a dismissive one for sailors, which some Southampton fans have adopted. It was made popular as an abusive term towards Portsmouth fans after a Southampton fanzine asked readers to help search for the term most likely to cause offence to them.[1]

[edit] Derby results in summary

"First class" competitions only.

Competition Played Results Goals
Saints Pompey Draw Saints Pompey
Southern League 32 15 12 5 43 43
Football League 26 12 6 8 47 33
Premier League 4 2 2 0 6 6
FA Cup 4 4 0 0 11 2
League Cup 1 1 0 0 2 0
TOTAL 67 34 20 13 109 84

All official competitions[2]

Portsmouth - 61

Southampton - 56

Drawn - 19

[edit] Players who have played for both clubs

   

[edit] Managed both clubs

[edit] Played for one, managed/coached the other

[edit] Women's football

Both Portsmouth and Southampton have women's counterparts. Although Southampton Saints L.F.C. has the better history, with their record 9 FA Women's Cups won and their once-star player Sue Lopez having made it all the way to the English Football Hall of Fame, most of their achievements came before the creation of the actual Women's Premiership. Portsmouth L.F.C. is a relative newcomer to the women's game by contrast.

Both teams played in the Southern Championship in the 2006-07 season. Portsmouth was a strong contender for promotion (it finished 3rd), while Southampton was relegated to the Regional Combinations. Interestingly, the current Portsmouth manager, Vanessa Raynbird, played in and later managed Southampton as well.

[edit] Major Honours won by the Clubs

When it comes to honours Pompey have the edge, as follows:

Portsmouth
Southampton

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Mitchell, Kevin (2005-01-23). Scummers v Skates. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  2. ^ Dave Juson & others (2004). Saints v Pompey - A history of unrelenting rivalry. Hagiology, p. 267, Table 2. ISBN 0-9534474-5-6. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the Premier League. Similarly until 1992, the Second Division was the second tier of league football, when it became the First Division, and is now known as The Championship. The third tier was the Third Division until 1992, and is now known as League One.
  • Colin Farmery (2004). Seventeen Miles From Paradise - Saints v Pompey: Passion, Pride and Prejudice. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-89-9. 


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South Coast derby | All articles
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