Full disclosure, this is probably just going to be a love letter to John Michael Lewis Mousinho.
Today, on 21st April 2025, Portsmouth Football Club secured their Championship status for next season following a 1-0 win over Watford at Fratton Park. This came hot on the heels of a 5-3 win over Norwich at Carrow Road, only Pompey’s 3rd away win of the season. The results were enough to mathematically guarantee that the Blues are safe from relegation and will be a Championship team again next season.
There were points this season where this seemed completely unlikely. As recently as November, 14 games into the season, Pompey found themselves rooted to the bottom of the Championship, 6 points adrift having just lost at fellow strugglers Plymouth.
And yet, any noise for Mousinho to lose his job was almost exclusively external. The majority of supporters fully backed the manager, and were grateful for the Eisner’s lack of a trigger-happy attitude.
The same cannot be said for others in the Championship. In fact, all 8 teams that are below Portsmouth at time of writing have changed manager this season. Some of them more than once.
And yet there was never any doubt that the man that lead Pompey to the League One title last season was the man to see them through the troubled waters of a Championship relegation battle.
John Mousinho. Fratton End. 🔵
You know the rest, #Pompey fans. 😍 pic.twitter.com/A1R3mwMtgV
— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) April 21, 2025
There was, understandably, question marks when Mousinho was unveiled back in January 2023. Oxford’s back up CB retired from playing to take the Fratton hot-seat, and people were confused. Some were so baffled by the decision they decided to hire a plane to fly so high over a stadium that about 4 people saw it. Weird behaviour.
And yet, fast forward 2-and-a-bit years, and Mousinho has not only delivered the League One title and ended Pompey’s stay in the third tier after 7 years (something which much more experienced managers failed to do), but he’s now secured their survival. This is despite wide reports that Pompey’s playing budget is the lowest in the division, missing their star striker for the first 3 months due to a heart problem, and several significant injuries to key players at the worst parts of the season. There hasn’t been a single week this season where Pompey have had a fully fit squad, and it’s a squad being paid less than the other 23 teams in the division (allegedly).
Portsmouth FC: 🔵Lowest budget in the league ⚪️Least amount spent on transfers 🔵Only team in bottom half NOT to have sacked their manager this season ⚪️Conceded 69 goals (the second highest) Now nearly safe from relegation! John Mousinho 👏👏👏#pompey #Portsmouth pic.twitter.com/7u0z7LWCuF — Championship Terrace Talk (@ChampionshpTalk) April 18, 2025
John Mousinho has delivered arguably the best times at Fratton Park since the Premier League days, and deserves nothing but credit for his achievements in PO4. I sincerely hope that he’s given the opportunity to succeed even further next season, because if I was a club in the top half of the Championship that just misses out on promotion this year, and was looking for a manager in the summer…
No. I don’t even want to think about it.
Thank you, Mr Mousinho. We go again.
