It's time for the latest meander down Memory Lane as we look back to Pompey's 'second division' seasons of the past 40 years.

In my View From The North Stand column in the matchday programme all last season, I looked back at each of out most recent 21 seasons in English football's second tier, from 1983 to the present day.

Using my own memories and your contributions, I pieced together the highlights (and some low points) of all those campaigns and remembered the managers, players and matches that stick in the mind.

Not everyone sees the programme so over the course of the summer I am regurgitating them here - three columns at a time - so having already rerun those devoted to 83-84 through to 89-90 it's time to go into full early 90s mode. While 90-91 was not partixularly memorable, the following two campaigns, under Jim Smith, were - if both ultimately heartbreaking.

Here's how I - and some of you - remembered them...

1990-91

While ploughing through this series of pieces on Pompey's past 21 second division seasons, it's surprised me how many campaigns are remembered for cup ties more than league matches.

The 1991-92 season was an obvious contender – when we got so close to the FA Cup final in a run full of hopes and dreams that ended in the cruellest manner.

But there have been others, even seasons which have brought decent Division Two league form, that have sparked more cup than league memories – like 1983-84 and its League Cup double header with Aston Villa and FA Cup classic with that lot up the road; 85-86 for League Cup battles with Spurs and the FA Cup tie and replay with Villa, and 96-97 for its FA Cup run that included a win at Leeds.

The same is true of 1990-91. You wouldn't have had to impress much in any cup tie to outshine a league campaign which had little going for it, but once again, our FA Cup run illuminated the winter.

The fifth round Fratton clash with Spurs stands out – notably because of the way Paul Gascoigne, so soon after his starring England role at Italia 90, took the game by the scruff of the neck and pretty much dumped Pompey out single-handedly by inspiring a 2-1 win.

For Ian Cade, it was his Fratton bow: "That FA Cup game was my first match at Fratton Park, sitting with my brothers on cushions that dad strapped to a barrier on the North Terrace," recalled Ian. "My grandad grew up on White Hart Lane so we had split loyalties, but despite Gazza’s magnificent display, I was hooked - a Pompey fan for life."

The tie is just as vividly remembered by others who'd seen plenty of PFC action before it. Paul Whiteaway said: "That Gazza second half performance in the FA Cup is rightly talked about as one of the greatest seen at FP. I know I've probably bored my son eulogising over it. Just months after Italia 90 and we witnessed one of England's greatest players in his prime."

It wasn't Gazza's first appearance at Fratton, nor his last. He'd starred here for Newcastle in 1988 and was back with Burnley in 2002. And I'm pretty sure he played in Paul Walsh's testimonial in the late 90s. Did he down a pint of Guinness pitch-side in that friendly, or did I imagine that?

Back to 1990-91 and it wasn't all about the FA Cup. Paul Whiteaway also remembered the season for the rise of Darren Anderton - and Guy Whittingham's goals.

Guy scored 20 goals, Colin Clarke 17, but the Blues never got going under Frank Burrows and he stepped away to be replaced by caretaker boss Tony Barton.

Highlghts included a 3-1 home win over Plymouth - Clarke (2) and Martin Kuhl the scorers - and a run of four wins and a draw in October which raised hopes. Spoiler alert: next win – January; 5-1 at home to Hull.

There was more cup fun too: a League Cup stalemate at Chelsea followed by going 2-0 up in the Fratton replay only to lose 3-2, and FA Cup wins of 5-0 and 5-1 v Barnet and Bournemouth to set up the Spurs clash.

Clarke and John Beresford both played 50 games, Steve Wigley 49, Kuhl 48- but a final position of 17th meant it did not live long in the memory.

1991-92

When we welcomed Millwall to town in November (or tried to) I said in the programme we probably wouldn't win 6-1, which is what we did in March 1992, a week after beating Nottingham Forest to reach the FA Cup semi-finals. We must have thought we'd cracked it, though within another seven days, order had been restored in the form of our annual defeat at the Manor Ground.

But that 6-1 win convinced to select 91-92 as the 'second division season' to be remembered in the Millwall programme – though it was a campaign famous more for those FA Cup exploits than for the league campaign, decent though that was.

In the Cup, few had a better view of that Highbury semi-final than Martin 'Scoop' Hopkins, who told me: "At Highbury, we found our seats in the lower tier of the main stand were already occupied and there was nowhere else for us to sit... apart from the end of the Pompey subs' bench next to Jim Smith, Graham Paddon and Neil Sillett in Pompey dugout.

"No one seemed to mind and we watched the whole game from this privileged position, although we had to shuffle along a bit when Mark Chamberlain came off injured and came and sat next to us. When John Barnes shaped to take his fateful free kick, Chambo sat there, head in hands, shaking his head and staring at the floor, saying repeatedly "he’s gonna score, he’s gonna score'.

"When the teams filtered off down the tunnel at half-time, I light-heatedly reminded Liverpool captain Mark Wright of his Southampton connections. He aggressively gave me a one-finger salute right in my face!"

Cup affairs were also recalled by Peadubya66, who wrote: "Darren Anderton's goals v Leyton Orient; joining the queue for Highbury tickets near the top of Goldsmith Avenue; will never forget Anderton running towards me to score THAT goal. The feelings of pride leaving Highbury and Villa Park."

Dave Nich‬ said: "1-0 v Forest in the QF was a good one. Getting off school early to travel up to Villa Park. Motorway was manic with scarves, flags etc." And Pfcpointer remembered 'completely losing it in the Clock End at Highbury when Anderton scored', adding: "A high I’ve never matched since."

Will Chitty‬ said: "There was the small matter of getting on the Fratton pitch after beating Forest to celebrate my 18th birthday." And ‪Martin Fish‬: "Queuing outside Fratton Park with a sign saying: 'I want to buy a semi-final ticket' and Warren Aspinall telling me: 'You’ve no chance.' I got one, thanks, Wazza."

Away from the Cup, Glenn Fryatt‬ ‪said: "I remember that Millwall game really well. There was a slightly annoying kid at school who'd moved to Portsmouth from London and was a Millwall fan. We were in the Fratton End and could see him at the front of the Milton End getting more and more deflated as every goal went in."

John Lish remembered Stuart Doling's home debut against Port Vale, partnering Colin Clarke up front, at the start of the season. He added: “That gritty 1-0 win gave belief to the fans that we would be alright with the kids. Doling, Anderton, Symons, Awford, Powell. It was refreshing.”

Graham Dubber, best known for encounters with Sir Patrick Moore while travelling to or from Blues-Tranmere games, revealed: “My trip to Tranmere that season didn’t involve a story about Sir Patrick, but the home game did see the introduction of that short-lived waving craze by the FP fans.”

1991-92 part two

When you've carefully mapped out which season you'll be writing about in each of the year's matchday programmes, you don't want a late postponement and the need for a new programme for the same opponents to ruin your flow.

But happily, the floodlight failure that ruled out any play in Millwall's first visit here merely allowed me to delve back into our eventful 1991-92 season.

As before, I'll start not with that term's second division campaign but with the FA Cup, which lifted Pompey's 91-92 efforts out of the ordinary.

In the earlier piece we heard how Martin 'Scoop' Hopkins ended up sitting on the end of the Pompey dugout for the semi-final at Highbury after he and his party found their seats taken.

He told us how they had to shuffle along when Mark Chamberlain came off injured – and how Liverpool's ex-Southampton defender Mark Wright didn't take kindly, when the teams came off at half-time, to a reminder of who he used to play for.

Scoop had further memories: "During the game, I wondered where the huge crashes and bangs that filled the air every so often were coming from. It took me a while to realise that these were Liverpool manager Graeme Souness and his assistant Phil Boersma banging the perspex sides of the dugout in frustration.

"The two of them seemed to be perpetually on the edge. I read not long ago that Souness said he was temperamentally quite unsuited to management - and I could see it right there that day."

The semi-final and replay were wonderful (if ultimately disappointing) occasions – ones for the ages – but many will also remember the quarter-final, in which Pompey beat Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest at a packed and buzzing Fratton Park.

Simon Kidd recalled it well: "Aside from those memorable Cup matches at Highbury and Villa Park, I was most excited at the quarter-final stage. Fratton Park fairly crackled as Pompey and Forest entered the arena to do battle with the enticing prospect of us reaching an FA Cup semi-final for the first time since 1949.

"I had managed to get tickets for my dad and his mate – dad recalled that on that 1949 occasion versus Leicester City, he had been playing football that afternoon only to be shocked to learn that Pompey had lost 3-1 to second division City (ironically at Highbury) and therefore did not progress to a Wembley final.

"Pompey managed a memorable 1-0 win against Forest, thanks to Alan McLoughlin’s early goal - and the roof came off at the final whistle as 25,000 fans celebrated wildly. A week later (in front of 10,000 fewer) Pompey crushed Millwall 6-1, courtesy of a Guy Whittingham hat-trick."

My own other vivid memory of the Cup run was the midweek trip to Ayresome Park for the fifth round replay (FA Cup replays? There's a novelty!) when few among the travelling support gave us much chance of getting through. But doubles by Colin Clarke and Darren Anderton – the latter putting one straight in from a corner – proved the doubters wrong and really lit the blue touch paper, for the prize of hosting Forest was already known by that stage. Mind you, it was still a long way home.

Our 91-92 Division 2 campaign wasn't bad either. We missed a play-off spot after a late-season slump but highlights including a Cambridge defender scoring at Fratton one of the best own goals you'll ever see, a home win over Mick Quinn's Newcastle, an actual win at the Manor Ground.

1992-93

I knew I'd not be short of offerings when I asked for memories of Pompey's 1992-93 season for this episode of 'second division seasons' – but I didn't expect to hear from two people each stopped by police on the way home from what had already been a bad night – that 5-5 draw at Oxford.

Andy Pompey on Bluesky write: "Driving home from it, I had four mates in the car, all drinking. I got pulled over in Fareham and thought it was the empties on the parcel shelf. Nope. I was speeding. Policeman asked if we’d been to the game. I replied 'yes', he asked 'Was it bad?'. 'Stoppage time wasn’t good,' I said. He said ‘You’ve had a bad night, I’m not making it worse, slow down and Play up Pompey’."

On the same night, the cops also caught up with Michael Saunders: "Coming back, we missed getting off the train at Eastleigh so got off at Soton Central. There were no trains to Pompey, so we waited at the stationtil the 4am staff train.

"Walking back through Fratton we were stopped by police as suspects in a burglary (a used match prog was my alibi). We’d gone to the game on the train straight from sixth form so had our bags with us. Walking down St Mary’s Road at 4.45am with rucksacks made the old bill question if they were swag bags!"

This exciting but ultimately heartbreaking season began at the home of Bristol City, where we drew 3-3. John Lish recalled having to run to Ashton Gate after traffic congestion and said. "Andy Cole looked terrific that day." Ross Henley also remembered Ashton Gate: “City scored a great early opening goal then after 10 minutes Pompey were 2 1 up. Cole scored for City and super Guy for Pompey. Pulsating game, but a lot of crowd trouble.”

For Steve Dixon, 92-93 remains his favourite season, its ending apart. He wrote: “Late winner at Birmingham, Whittingham hat-trick at Bristol City, Walsh’s winner at Notts County and the pitch invasion that followed. Brilliant times. Bari away, 400-odd Pompey in an empty 64,000 capacity stadium, the 5-5 at Oxford and the collapse at Grimsby before it. Charlton’s first game back at The Valley and Swindon doing us out of an automatic promotion place. And the Walsh/Whittingham move in the 4-1 Boxing Day game at home to Bristol Rovers, the only game my dad ever took my mum to."

Peadubya66 on Bluesky said of that Boxing Day game: “Guy scoring all four, one of them the best I've seen at Fratton. Paul Walsh was outstanding that game and all season, apart from at Roker Park!”

James Knibbs had two favourite goals: "Macca's chip v Oxford; Ray Daniel's finish with the outside of his left foot at home to Wolves.” Ruffy Roy remembered an Anglo Italian game: "Gavin Maguire coming off the bench and instantly doing a two-footer, almost killing an Italian, and seemingly getting away with it!'

Greg Adam had a high and low point: “High, beating Newcastle at home; low, hearing Steve Claridge had equalised for Cambridge at West Ham on the last day when he hadn't.” Pompey Tim wrote: “Suffering the journey from hell to Sunderland by coach with the expectation of beating them, then losing Walsh for the play-offs. I've hated them ever since , but ended up marrying a Mackem girl and have lived there for 18 years.”

Thanks for the memories, all - we will move on to the 1993 to 1996 period next time (spoiler alert: it wasn't as good as 91-93!).

Photo: Action Images

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