PORTSMOUTH 1982-83 DIVISION THREE CHAMPIONS
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
ALAN ROGERS played a major role when Portsmouth lifted the Third Division title 35 years ago. Left-winger Rogers played 40 games as Pompey, managed by Bobby Campbell, romped to the league success by five points from Cardiff City.
It was their second promotion in four seasons after falling into bottom division and was largely achieved after a pre-season spending spree which saw Campbell freshen up his squad.
He brought in strikers Alan Biley (22), Billy Rafferty (17) and Neil Webb (8) who were their three leading scorers.
Rogers thought he was heading for the exit door when former England winger Dave Thomas arrived, only for him to suffer injury problems.
“Bobby recognised that we had quite a decent team and at the start of the season we brought in Neil Webb and Alan Biley to add a bit of quality.
“They really were the icing on the cake because they were quality players. We also brought in Billy Rafferty who I had played with at Plymouth Argyle.
“Another player he brought in was Dave Thomas - I would imagine that was to replace me! It worked fine because I was always the kind of player who needed a kick up the backside.
“I could get a little bit casual and bringing Dave Thomas in was a good move. He didn’t play many times but what it did was make me play.
“From my point of view, it was my best season in football, we all improved from the previous season.
“In the end the quality of players like Rafferty and Biley made the difference. They were very strong in that league particularly and we had the best team,” he said.
Special
The title was secured with a run of six wins from the last seven games and Kevin Dillon was the only member of the side on the final day at Plymouth Argyle who didn’t play on the opening day.
“In the opening game of the season we beat Sheffield United 4-1 at Fratton Park and you sensed then that ‘this could be a good season’.
“And it went on from there really. I think we were lucky, because I always think that teams who got promoted back then didn’t really have a big squad.
“I was a believer that if you could keep the nucleus, you do well and that’s what it was. We were lucky with injuries.
“Also, we never really stumbled. When we were promoted three years earlier, we had a run of about 10 or 11 games when we couldn’t win for love nor money.
“We fell from something like first to fifth but this time it didn’t happen at all - we were pretty consistent all the way through the season.
“At one stage we had a sequence of seven consecutive wins, including going to Bournemouth, who were doing quite well, and we turned them over,” he added. 1. John McLaughlin: Fullback won two promotions with Pompey and another with Colchester. Became a French polisher with GR Pearce in Middleton-on-Sea near Portsmouth. 2. Alan Rogers: Winger won two promotions with Pompey. Is back living in Plymouth where he ran the Swinton Hotel near Plymouth city centre for 30 years until retiring. 3. David Crown: Striker won promotions with Reading and Southend United and is now running his own successful accountancy practice in nearby Leigh-on-Sea. 4. Neil Webb: England midfielder. An FA Cup winner with Manchester United and had David Beckham clean his boots. Became a postman then a van driver for a transport company. 5. Paul Wimbleton: Midfielder who won a promotion with Cardiff. Now lives in New Jersey where he owns a soccer academy as well as a real estate business, J Properties. 6. Colin Sullivan: Full-back, won a promotion with Norwich City before becoming a postman. Then ran a garden maintenance business from his base in Titchfield, Hants. 7. Mick Tait: Midfielder, a Full Members Cup winner with Reading. He returned to his native North-East where he managed and coached before becoming a Newcastle United scout. 8. Bobby Doyle: Midfielder twice voted in the PFA Team of the Year. Set up a successful haulage business and then became a HGV driver for King Brothers near Peterborough. 9. Steve Aizlewood: Welsh under-21 international defender returned to his home town of Newport, Gwent where he was working as a chartered surveyor until his death in August 2013. 10. Andy Gosney: England youth international goalkeeper is now living in Torquay and works in the building trade. His son Mike had trials at Millwall and Reading. 11. Alan Knight: Only Jimmy Dickinson has played more games for the club than the goalkeeper. He became a goalkeeper coach, ground worker and is now a Fratton Park ambassador. 12. Andy Rollings: Central defender settled in Brighton where he won two promotions. Ran the Chalet Cafe in Preston Park, Brighton for many years. 13. Billy Rafferty: Striker who won a promotion with Plymouth Argyle. Lives in Tarraby near Carlisle and has business interests that include a health and fitness club and indoor soccer school. 14. Trevor Senior: Striker who won two promotions with Read- ing. Moved back to Dorchester where he is assistant manager and has managed several Non-League clubs while running soccer schools. 15. Bobby Campbell: He went on to manage Chelsea and Al Qadsia Kuwait and Al-Arabi Kuwait. Was part of Roman Abramovich’s inner circle at Stamford Bridge until his death in December 2015. 16. Steve Berry: Midfielder went into sales and marketing. He is now a partner in Paris headhunting firm Tillerman Executive Search. 17. Peter Ellis: The full-back won two promotions with Pompey before becoming a deep sea diver. Retrained as a fireman based at Southsea Fire Station in Portsmouth. 18. Alan Biley: Striker won back-to-back promotions with Cambridge United. Has managed a host of Non-League sides and ran his own health and fitness club Biley’s in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. 19. Ernie Howe: Central defender was a a member of Fulham’s 1975 FA Cup final squad. Managed Basingstoke Town and then Sutton alongside running his own building company. 20. Dave Thomas: England winger won promotions with Burnley and QPR. Is now retired on the South Coast and spent 16 years as a PE teacher. Also coached a university team. 21. Gordon Neave: Served Pompey as trainer, coach and kitman from 1959 until his retirement in 1999. He died in August 2003 after a short illness, aged 78.