I remember a long time ago the old joke that asked "What do [insert team name here] and David Blunkett have in common?" The answer was "neither can hold onto a lead!" and such a witty jest would be met with the usual laughter or groans depending on how good (or bad) your sense of humour was.
That joke has faded into distant memory much like New Labour but it could still be applied to the Portsmouth tea of the present and some of the statistics when it comes to points dropped this season are frustrating to say the least.
Neil Allen touched on the issue in a piece he wrote in The News, highlighting how Pompey's dropped points in stoppage time have cost them dearly.
If you haven't read it, Pompey have dropped seven points in stoppage time this season with equalisers for Exeter, Cheltenham and Wycombe coming after the 90th minute along with Ryan Leonard's late winner at Southend.
As Neil mentions, if Pompey could have held on in each of those matches and saved those seven points then they would now be eighth in League Two and talking about promotion.
And while there may have been four instances where conceding stoppage time goals have been costly but Pompey have conceded seven in total, with goals for Burton, Wimbledon and Oxford in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy making no difference to the end result.
Taking this further, if goals conceded after 80 minutes didn't count then Pompey would have an extra ten points rather than seven. Peter Murphy's stunning lob at Accrington came late on to deny Guy Whittingham his first win of the season back in August whilst Southend's Barry Corr struck in the last ten minutes in November to ensure his team won at Fratton Park having come from a goal behind.
Even more frustrating is the fact that Pompey haven't scored a single goal in stoppage time during this campaign. The latest goal in Pompey's favour in a single match came at Bootham Crescent when John Marquis scored an 88th minute consolation goal where the visitors were beaten 4-2.
The latest meaningful goal in a match for the Blues came when Ryan Bird tapped in an 81st minute equaliser at Torquay in a 1-1 draw but that's as good as it gets for Pompey fans as it's our team who are usually on the receiving end of such late drama.
Perhaps the most damning statistic for Portsmouth this season is that the team have dropped a massive 24 points from winning positions, more than any other team in League Two with only Ipswich Town (25) dropping more in the entire Football League. Those extra 24 points would put Pompey second in the division, just a point off the top.
What makes this stat even worse is that Pompey have not once come from behind to win a match this season. They have salvaged six points from losing positions but those games were all drawn.
If only we had the same Portsmouth team as the one that won the FA Cup, a side that won every single game when it took the lead. That team was light years ahead of this one which continues to frustrate with either its lack of fitness and/or concentration late in games.
It wouldn't be surprising if there are more heartbreaking late goals put past Trevor Carson as the season reaches its conclusion and they may well cost Portsmouth Football Club its Football League status.