During the 2000–01 English football season, Portsmouth F.C. competed in the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

Season summary

In October,

Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh former professional football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 2 ...

was put on

gardening leave Garden leave (also known as gardening leave) is the practice whereby an employee leaving a job – having resigned or otherwise had their employment terminated – is instructed to stay away from work during the notice period, while still remaini ...

(and sacked not long afterwards) due to a poor relationship with Mandaric. Veteran player

Steve Claridge Stephen Edward Claridge (born 10 April 1966) is an English football pundit, coach and former professional player who is the manager of Fleetlands. He was a pundit for BBC Sport football shows including ''Football Focus'' and ''The Football Leag ...

stepped up to the manager's seat, and some initial success saw talk of promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, only for a horrific run of defeats to set in after the new year, resulting in Claridge being dismissed as manager (but retained as a player) and being replaced in March 2001 by Chelsea assistant manager

Graham Rix Graham Cyril Rix (born 23 October 1957) is an English former professional football player who later became a coach and manager. Rix played for Arsenal for thirteen years, then Brentford (on loan), Caen, Le Havre, Dundee and Chelsea. He also w ...

. Rix did not prove an entirely popular appointment, as he had been jailed for a sexual offence two years previously, and the club only survived on the last day of the season when they won their final game and relegated

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

at their expense.

Final league table

Results

''Portsmouth's score comes first''

Legend

Football League First Division

FA Cup

League Cup

Squad

Left club during season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 Portsmouth F.C. season Portsmouth F.C. seasons

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...