Whatever you thought about players of Pompey's past. Fratton Faithful gives the lowdown on where some of these players are in the days where our club is currently in the dizzy heights of fourth in the Premiership.
Yoshi Kawaguchi
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Yoshi was seen as a legend during his relatively short (or relatively long going by how long some players stay here!) spell at Fratton Park despite having a torrid time and eventually being replaced by Dave Beasant. Yoshi was well liked by fans for having a bit of character about him and being a genuinely nice person.
Yoshi left Pompey in 2003 and joined Dutch side Nordsjaelland but only made a handful of appearances for them and so moved back to his homeland to play for Jubilo Iwata the following season where he is still currently plying his trade. Kawaguchi was also Japan's number 1 and had a great tournament, producing some great saves against Brazil and saving a penalty against Croatia. He has since been made captain of the Japanese national side.
Dave Beasant
Despite being a relic whilst playing for us, he was signed by Brighton and Hove Albion in 2002 and also played for Wigan that same season. He now is a goalkeeping coach for Fulham and Northern Ireland.
Jamie Vincent
The journeyman defender continued to travel after leaving Pompey having had spells with Derby County, Walsall and Millwall. In the summer he was signed by Dennis Wise and now plays for Swindon at the age of 31.
Scott Hiley
After leaving Pompey in 2002, the popular Pompey defender (and captain at one point) re-joined Exeter City, then in the old Division Three. Exeter were relegated but Hiley continued to be a mainstay in the side and participated in the infamous Manchester United cup tie where the Grecians drew 0-0 and forced a replay. Hiley left Exeter at the end of last season but at 38 years-old continues to play at conference level for Crawley Town.
Courtney Pitt
Like Jamie Vincent, Pitt has fallen down the leagues since Harry Redknapp took charge of Pompey. The midfielder joined Oxford (then under Graham Rix) but then moved the following season to fellow League Two side Boston. Nowadays he plays in the conference for Cambridge United.
Robert Prosinecki
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A player who could well go down as a one-season legend much like Paul Merson for his ability to win games single-handedly, Prosinecki was seen as a massive coup when he agreed to play at Fratton Park but unfortunately only stayed with us for one season. He now currently plays for a Croatian 4th division side by the name of Savski Marof (Yes, I've never heard of them either) at the age of 37.
He also appears as a doll in a Spanish satrical advertising campaign by Renault where the doll (named Prosikito) is taunted by the narrator as he says if you were to put this doll on a field it would faint and when you push the button he always gets injured. Prosikito also likes Barbie dolls which is a take on Prosinecki's lifestyle where he is said to be a heavy smoker.
Shaun Derry
Another former Pompey captain held in high regard by some of the fans. Derry joined Crystal Palace in the summer of 2002 and was promoted to the Premiership with them under Iain Dowie through the play-offs. Derry was seen surplus to requirements and joined Nottingham Forest on loan before signing for Leeds permanantly where he was almost promoted again but his team lost 3-0 to Watford in the play-off final last season.
John Aloisi
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Once another popular figure at Pompey, Aloisi was sold to Coventry as most of you probably know but such a success in the midlands and moved to Spanish side Osasuna where, despite playing for them for four seasons he never managed to score as many goals there as he did during his time with us.
Despite being heavily linked with us last year when Perrin was in charge, he was tipped to join Panathinaikos but ended up staying in Spain to join newly promoted Alaves. They were subsequently relegated and Aloisi is currently still there at the age of 30. Although he has not had the best success for his clubs, he still remains an Aussie legend having scored the winning penalty against Uruguay to qualify Australia for the World Cup. He also put one past Yoshi when playing against Japan in Germany this summer.
Mark Burchill
Despite making a meagre 24 appearances for Portsmouth, the Pompey fans held Burchill in high regard as he found the net 8 times in a Pompey shirt. Unfortunately Mark suffered a nasty knee injury and was subsequently loaned out to Dundee, Wigan, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham but could only make a handful of apperances for each of those clubs. Burchill was finally allowed to leave Pompey in 2005 and return to Scotland to play for title challengers Hearts (under Graham Rix) but only scored a few times before moving onto Dunfermline Athletic where he is currently finding the net more regularly playing alongside another former Pompey man in Scott Wilson.
Lee Bradbury
The Pompey man had thought to be fading into obscurity after signing for the club which seems to be a retirement home for Portsmouth players: Oxford United. However Bradbury is back on the up and now currently plays in the Championship for Southend and those with good short-term memories will remember he scored against us in a friendly this pre-season.
Next Time: Where are the players that were signed by Harry Redknapp and took part in that amazing Championship season and our first season in the Premiership? Find out at Fratton Faithful!