With Paul Cook at the helm, Portsmouth look a team on the ascent, and a club that are back on the up after years of turmoil.

The club were rocked by ownership issues for many years, after two administrations and after a potential threat of liquidation, there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel.

Now owned by the Portsmouth supporters trust, the future of the club is looking bright and they’ve started well this season too.

The board have really gone for it this year, with high profile signings, and ticket prices that have seen more than 16,000 supporters turn up week in week out, and Paul Cook has brought a real element of confidence to the Fratton Park turf.

Here, FLW writer George Harbey identifies FOUR facts that you probably never knew about Portsmouth Football Club......

 

The nickname

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Portsmouth are nicknamed "Pompey", because of the ties with the name of the city and its historic naval base.

"Pompey" is thought most likely to originate from the nautical abbreviation of "Portsmouth Point" to the shorter "Po'm. P." in ships logbooks.

The attendances

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If attendances stay the same throughout this EFL League Two campaign, Pompey will have had the highest average attendance for four successive seasons, after topping the chart for the last three years in the fourth tier, reaching crowds of over 15,000 each time.

The first ever floodlit game

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On February 22nd 1956, Fratton Park played host to the first ever league match in the United Kingdom to be played under floodlights, against Newcastle United.

Newcastle ran out 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Bill Curry and Vic Keeble.

The late Jackie Milburn was given the Man of the Match award for Newcastle too.

The largest fan-owned club in England

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Portsmouth became the largest fan-owned football club in England, after the Pompey Supporters Trust (PST) successfully gained possession of Fratton Park in April 2013, after fears of liquidation and administration.

So...What do you think Pompey fans? Did you know about any of these facts? Can you add to the list? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!