The 2021/22 campaign proved to be another disappointing one for Portsmouth, with the club failing to make the League One play-offs.

In the end, Danny Cowley’s side could only manage 10th in the final League One standings, 10 points behind Wycombe Wanderers in sixth.

It is a somewhat familiar position for the club to be in since their return to the third-tier in 2017/18.

Although they have made the play-offs on two occasions, in their other three League One campaigns in the last five seasons, they have fallen just short with finishes of eighth in 17/18, eighth in 20/21 and then 10th this season.

With that being said, the club certainly have not been short of talent over the last five seasons, as you will see in this list.

As a result, we thought we’d put together our best combined Portsmouth XI from the last five campaigns at the club, which covers their time in the third tier since their recent promotion from League Two.

Some selections were trickier than others, but here is what we came up with.

The goalkeeper for our best Portsmouth XI was a tough one, and perhaps there is a bit of recency bias here, but we've selected Gavin Bazunu.

Craig MacGillivray was a close second, however, we just felt that in terms of talent and potential, Bazunu was the standout candidate.

The 20-year-old really impressed down in League One this season, making 46 appearances in all competitions for Portsmouth, and keeping a very respectable 17 clean sheets in those matches.

At right back is another player that spent the 202/22 campaign on loan at Fratton Park and that is Mahlon Romeo.

Given that he has been a regular at Championship level in recent seasons, many were surprised to see him drop down to the second-tier to go on loan to Portsmouth this season.

In his 41 appearances in all competitions, the right-back displayed why he had been a regular in the Championship previously, and looked very comfortable playing in the third tier.

As such, he gets the nod as our right-back in this side.

The first of two central defenders was quite an easy one to be honest, with Matt Clarke getting the nod from us here.

Spending two seasons at the club within the last five, Clarke was excellent during his time at Fratton Park, making a total of 175 appearances for the club across his entire time there.

Having spent the season on loan at West Brom from Brighton, Clarke exhibited good ability at Championship level this season and that, combined with his excellent achievements at Portsmouth, which included back to back player of the year awards, mean he slots in at centre-back here.

Given that their partnership worked so well in the past, it felt sensible that alongside Matt Clarke, we selected former Portsmouth centre-half Christian Burgess.

Like Clarke, Burgess also won a player of the year award during his time at Fratton Park, and the pair would once again form a formidable partnership in our best XI from the past five seasons.

Burgess made a total of 210 appearances for Pompey during his time at Fratton Park, and also carries a slight goal threat having scored 12 times and assisted eight in those matches.

The third current Pompey player in our XI now and that is left-back Connor Ogilvie.

In all honesty, we wanted to go with Enda Stevens here, but unfortunately, he left the club just prior to the 2017/18 season, which is the point at which this team can start to be built.

Ogilvie though performed well after making the move to Fratton Park last summer, and with his feet under the table at the club, should kick on and improve further next campaign.

He is certainly one to watch moving forwards after a decent showing in his first season.

On to the midfield now, and on the right hand side, attacking down the right wing, we've selected Marcus Harness.

Over the last few seasons, Harness has shown real ability at Fratton Park, contributing significantly to Portsmouth's efforts with both goals and assists.

In total, the winger has 32 goals and 22 assists in 134 Portsmouth appearances so far, with 11 of those goals and six of the assists coming in 2021/22.

In central midfield, we've gone for a two, the first player of which is Ben Close.

Although he departed Portsmouth for Doncaster last summer, over the last five seasons, Close has contributed significantly to Portsmouth's efforts and in total made 190 appearances for the club.

What we like most about Close, though, is his goal threat from the midfield, with the now 25-year-old having scored 18 goals and assisted 10 during his time at Fratton Park.

Alongside Ben Close, we have selected a slightly more defensive option, and that is Tom Naylor.

Like Close, Naylor has also moved on for pastures new now, but his contributions at Fratton Park over his time at the club cannot be understated.

The defensive midfielder showed his talents as he formed part of a Wigan side that won automatic promotion this season just gone, and his impressive performances during his 149 Portsmouth appearances have earned him a place in our squad.

On the opposite flank to Marcus Harness, down the left hand side, we've selected current Pompey winger Ronan Curtis.

Curtis's numbers during his time at Fratton Park speak for themselves in all honesty.

50 goals and 39 assists in 190 appearances is a fantastic tally, and he has produced those numbers consistently throughout his time at Portsmouth.

He is a shoe-in down the left in our side given his combined goal and assist threat.

On to the forwards now, and with our first selection, we've selected somebody that could have gone on the wings, too. That is Jamal Lowe.

Lowe made 118 appearances during his time at Portsmouth, starring in the 2018/19 season when he scored 15 goals and registered nine assists.

The 27-year-old has gone on to establish himself as a good Championship player since departing Fratton Park with spells at Wigan, Swansea and now AFC Bournemouth where he won promotion this season.

Lowe is more than deserving of one of our striking spots given the threat he carries, and should pair well with our final selection.

That final selection, and the partner up front for Jamal Lowe in our Portsmouth best XI is Brett Pitman.

99 Portsmouth appearances for former AFC Bournemouth striker resulted in an impressive return of 42 goals and eight assists and this could not be ignored in making our selection.

It was the 2017/18 season in particular that stands out, when Pitman scored 24 goals in 38 League One appearances.

Alongside Lowe, and with Harness and Curtis on the flanks, we think our XI has plenty of attacking threat that could result in plenty of goals.