29 August 1987 - The Football League's Mystery Milestone

On 29 August 1987, somebody scored the English Football League's 400,000th goal. But nobody knows who it was.



Established in 1888, the Football League governed the top four tiers of English football until 1992, when the uppermost division broke away to form the Premier League. It is believed that the league's first goal was scored by Aston Villa full back Gershom Cox, who put the ball into his own net in the 30th minute of a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 8 September 1888. The other contender for the honor, though, is Fred Dewhurst, who netted from Preston North End in the third minute of their match against Burnley on the same day. Although Preston's match started after Villa's, lack of precision in the exact start times makes it impossible to say with certainty which goal came first.



Similarly, lack of details in match timing makes it impossible to say who scored the 400,000th goal. The records only make clear that it came on 29 August 1987. The day's 43 matches provided a total of 110 goals, with only four scoreless draws among them.



The day's highest score came from Division Three's Gillingham, who beat Southend United 8-1, while the highest tally in the top flight was Arsenal's 6-0 victory over Portsmouth. Darlington came close to that in Division Four, beating Hartlepool United 2-5. Sheffield United delivered the top score of the Second Division with a relatively modest 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.



It took almost nine years for the league to reach 500,000 goals, with Huddersfield's Gary Taylor-Fletcher collecting the honor with a strike against Rotherham United.

23 August 2006 - If You Can't Beat Him To The Ball, Just Beat Him

On 23 August 2006, a match between Manchester City and Portsmouth took a dark turn when City defender Ben Thatcher knocked Portsmouth midfielder Pedro Mendes unconscious with an elbow to the head.



It was the second league match of the season for both teams, with City reeling from a 3-0 loss at Chelsea on opening day. But Thatcher, who had joined City from Leicester in 2004, had already made headlines for violent conduct after elbowing an opponent in a preseason match in China earlier that month. That player, Shanghai Shenhua's Yang Chungang, suffered a collapsed lung as a result.



Against Portsmouth at the City of Manchester Stadium, the first half was a tepid affair with neither side managing to create much of a threat. The mood quickly changed after the break, however, sparked by Thatcher's challenge. Beaten to a loose ball by Mendes near the touchline, Thatcher jumped up and swung his forearm forward, smashing his elbow into Mendes's face. The midfielder collapsed and slid into the side hoardings, then was carried off to the hospital.



The match official issued a yellow card to Thatcher, but the punishment did not end there. After reviewing the incident, Manchester City suspended Thatcher for six matches (two suspended) and fined him six weeks' wages. The FA also took action, issuing a separate eight-match ban and a suspended 15-match ban lasting two years. Mendes was released from the hospital after a day and received a written apology from Thatcher.



While that match ended as a scoreless draw, Portsmouth won the rematch at Fratton Park and finished ninth, while City ended the season five spots lower.

14 February 2009 - James Breaks The Speed Record

On 14 February 2009, Portsmouth goalkeeper David James made his Premier League record 536th appearance in a 2-0 win over Manchester City.

James started his career in 1989 with Watford, who were then in the Second Division. After three seasons there, he moved to the Premier League in 1992, signing with Liverpool for £1.25 million. He had a rough start at Anfield and was dropped from the starting line-up in his second season after the Reds conceded 20 goals in their first 11 matches. But he regained the starting job the following season and stayed there through the 1998-99 season, making 194 league appearances.

He then moved to Aston Villa (1999-2001) and West Ham (2001-04). West Ham were relegated for the 2003-04 season, breaking James's streak of top-flight appearances at 325. But he moved back to the Premiership in January 2004, transferring to Manchester City.

In August 2006, after three seasons with City, James moved again, this time to Portsmouth. In his first year there, he kept a record 142nd Premier League clean sheet, beating the earlier record set by David Seaman. Then, after winning the 2008 FA Cup with Pompey, he made his record appearance, beating the former record held by Welsh midfielder Gary Speed.

James left Portsmouth in July 2010 for Bristol City, who play in England's second tier, the Championship. That ended his run of Premier League appearances, which currently stands at 573.

30 December 2009 - Footballers Of The World Unite (Part 2)

On 30 December 2009, Arsenal won at Portsmouth, 1-4, in a match where neither side's starting XI included an Englishman. It was the first time that had happened in the English top flight.

While not necessarily uncommon for Arsenal at the time, it was an unusual development for Pompey, who were forced by injury to start Bosnian keeper Asmir Begović in place of their regular keeper, England's David James. The most-represented nation on the pitch that day was France, with a total of 7 (5 for Arsenal and 2 for Portsmouth). An additional two players--Portsmouth's Hassan Yebda and Nadir Belhadj--were born in France, though both play internationally for Algeria. The remaining players were from Bosnia, Iceland, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, South Africa, Scotland, Ghana, Spain, Belgium, Wales, Cameroon, Russia, and Croatia.

The Gunners went up 3-0 with goals from Eduardo (28'), Samir Nasri (42'), Aaron Ramsey (69'), before Belhadj puled one back for Portsmouth in the 74th minute. After Alex Song restored the visitors' margin in the 81st minute, an Englishman finally stepped onto the pitch, with midfielder Craig Eastmond (pictured) replacing Nasri in the 85th minute. Not to be outdone, Pompey added an Englishman of their own, with midfielder Michael Brown replacing Scotsman Richard Hughes.

1 August 1976 - Kanu Can Do

On 1 August 1976, future Nigerian striker Nwankwo Kanu was born in the city of Owerri. He would go on to become the most decorated African footballer in history.

Kanu made his professional debut in 1991 at the age of 16 for Nigerian First Division club Federation Works, scoring 20 goals in 35 appearances before moving to fellow Nigerian club Iwaunyanwu Nationale, now known as Heartland FC, in 2002. He won the Nigerian Premier League title in 1993, his first silverware.

He rose to international prominence in 1993, when he signed with Dutch side Ajax. There, he won three consecutive Eredivisie titles (1994, 1995, 1996) and the UEFA Champions League (1995). He left Ajax for Inter in the summer of 1996, after captaining Nigeria to the Olympic gold medal - a feat that earned him the 1996 African Footballer of the Year award. But a defective aortic valve limited his playing time with Inter and he moved to Arsenal in February 1999.

He resumed his successful streak at Arsenal, winning two Premier League titles (2002 and 2004) and two FA Cups (2002, 2003). But the emergence of Thierry Henry pushed Kanu to the bench and, dissatisfied with his reduced playing time, he moved to West Bromwich Albion in 2004. He spent two seasons with West Brom, then moved to Portsmouth, where he again raised the FA Cup in 2008.

30 May 1995 - The Passing Of A Saint

On 30 May 1995, former Southampton forward and FA Cup legend Bobby Stokes died at the age of 44.

Born in Portsmouth on 30 January 1951, Stokes signed for local rivals Southampton in September 1966 as an apprentice and turned professional in February 1968. He made his first-team debut on 7 April 1969 against Burnley and contributed a goal to the Saints' 5-1 win. Thereafter, Stokes was a regular, if not constant, presence in the first team.

He is best known for his role in the 1976 FA Cup Final, which pitted Southampton, at that time in Division Two, against First Division Manchester United. Although United was a heavy favorite, the Saints surprisingly held them to a scoreless draw until the 83rd minute, when Stokes raced past United defender Martin Buchan and shot the ball past keeper Alex Stepney to score the match's only goal. The 1-0 win remains Southampton's greatest honor.

Stokes left the Saints in 1977, playing one season for Portsmouth and two for the Washington Diplomats before retiring from football after the 1979-80 season. He battled with alcoholism and died in 1995 after contracting pneumonia.