Another Blues title-winning squad is quickly broken up as 10 leave
In the same way John Mousinho’s title-winning squad has been quickly broken up, so the same is true for Pompey Women’s Southern Premier Division champions.
It was a historic double success in 2023-24 with both the Blues’ men and women winning promotion to the second tier of English football.
And both their retained lists showed 10 players have not been offered new contracts for the next level up.
For the women, Dani Lane and Leeta Rutherford lead those set to depart Fratton Park.
Lane was an ever present across Pompey’s stunning league campaign, which saw them drop just four points in 22 games.
Deputising at centre half for the second part of the campaign, she made 15 starts in all with another seven off the bench.
Rutherford, who was in her third stint at the club, started 17 league games with one sub appearance.
She departs after having played her part in a third Pompey title triumph, having previously appeared in the 2011-12 and 2014-15 successes.
Ali Hall was another Southern Premier Division regular - 11 starts plus nine sub outings - who has not been kept on.
Kelci Bowers, Evie Gane, Tierney Scott, Jess Smith, Mia Adaway, Ella Wild and Mia Smith have also been released.
Of those, Gane made six starts plus four off the bench and Wild three starts plus 10 sub outings.
Scott (4) and Bowers (2) were restricted to just sub appearances, while the Smiths and Adaway didn’t feature at all.
Pompey remain in contract negotiations with Nicole Barrett, Jazz Younger, Ava Rowbotham, Emma Jones, Sophie Quirk, Izzy Collins and Riva Casley.
If many of those depart, then boss Jay Sadler will be looking at some major close season squad rebuilding.
Casley was an everpresent, starting all 22 games in 2023-24, while Barrett and Rowbotham also appeared in every league match, making 19 and 17 starts respectively.
Quirk only missed one game - starting 19 - and ending as Pompey’s leading league scorer with 11 as her side finished nine points clear of runners-up Hashtag.
That was one more than Jones, who also missed just one game having made 17 starts.
Collins started 17 games, with two off the bench, while Younger made 12 starts and one sub outing prior to a season-ending ACL injury in
February.
As it stands, seven players are contracted to Pompey for next season - goalkeeper Hannah Haughton, Annie Rolf, Daisy Mclachlan,
Ella Humphrey, Georgie Freeland, Scarlett Williams and Emily Pitman.
*Though it has eluded the men, at least Pompey’s women have south coast league derbies with Southampton to look forward to in 2024-25.
The Saints finished fourth in the second tier, six points adrift of champions Crystal Palace.
There are also localish games with Reading, Charlton and the London City Lionesses, but against that are long treks to Sunderland and Durham.
It was a historic double success in 2023-24 with both the Blues’ men and women winning promotion to the second tier of English football