1988)
The club's fortunes began to turn around with the appointment of Frank Burrows as manager in 1979, and in his first season in charge Pompey won promotion back to the Third Division. They nearly won a second successive promotion the next year, but a mediocre finish in the 1981-82 season saw Burrows resign and take a coaching job at Sunderland instead. Bobby Campbell succeeded him and repeated Burrows' achievements by earning promotion - and this time the Division Three title - in his first season. The following season saw the club struggle to maintain any consistency in the league, and also saw the indignity of an FA Cup exit to rivals Southampton. While the club were never in serious danger of relegation, it was all enough to cost Bobby Campbell his job.
Under Alan Ball's management, Pompey narrowly missed winning promotion to the First Division twice before finally succeeding in 1986-87. However, they were unable to establish themselves back in the top flight and were relegated after just one season. The summer of 1988 saw Deacon sell the club to London based businessman and former QPR Chairman, Jim Gregory.
Read more about this topic: History Of Portsmouth F.C., Bouncing Back (1980