History of Portsmouth F.C. place, thanks to academy director Paul Hart stepping in as caretaker boss, seven points clear of the relegated clubs, despite the disruption brought by the departure of Harry Redknapp and the subsequent sacking of his successor, former assistant manager Tony Adams. At the start of the 2008–09 season rumours began to fly around that Portsmouth were facing crippling debts due to their recent heavy spending and owner Alexandre Gaydamak was looking to sell the club. After Redknapp's departure many key players began to depart with Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe leaving in January. In May 2009, Sulaiman Al-Fahim had a
Portsmouth F.C. (basketball) three-pointer on the buzzer to narrow their margin of victory to 88-85. Shackleford scored another 33 at Manchester Giants, who beat Portsmouth 80-73, before the curtain came down at home to Birmingham Bullets on 10 March. A fourth future Portsmouth player, Karl Tatham, appeared against them, scoring 12 points, but the day was all about whether the departing players could record a second victory to say farewell. At half-time it was a possibility, with Portsmouth only down 42-36, but Birmingham extended their lead to 21 points before a late home surge took the final score to 86-79 in the visitors'