HE’S BEEN an ever-present sight at Pompey games for decades and is arguably the most recognisable football fan in the country.
So it made perfect sense for Roger Holmes to launch his collection of Portsmouth FC booklets at the Petersfield Bookshop that John Westwood runs when he’s not cheering on The Blues.
If you want to know how the story of how Pompey romped to the Division 3 South title in 1924 then Mr Holmes is your man as the 65-year-old has compiled a 16-page booklet about that season.
The lifelong fan from the Isle of Wight has produced 89 booklets altogether, which each telling the story of a separate campaign from their inaugural season to the present day, minus the war years.
It’s been an “exhausting” ten-year labour of love but the collection - which will be launched on Friday, September 30 in The Petersfield Bookshop - will delight anyone from the blue corner of Hampshire.
“It’s always been a hobby of mine and even as a kid I making notes,” said Mr Holmes, who started watching Pompey 60 years ago when he was five.
“I think winning the league title in 1949 was a favourite and it’s also been very enjoyable researching all the promotion winning sides we’ve had along the way.
“But I think I got the most pleasure working on the pre-war seasons because they were so different to what we’ve got today.
“I think today’s players and managers, if they had to go back to those days, would be complaining an awful lot because they often had to play three matches in three days, often on muddy pitches and without substitutes.”
Mr Rogers will have a few familiar faces alongside him in The Petersfield Bookshop as Alan Knight, Ray Crawford, Dave Munks and Guy Butters are among the ex-players who have agreed to attend the launch.
They could be joined with a few other favourites from the 80s and 00s at the launch, which will take place at the bookshop from 12noon to 5pm.
Visit www.pompeymatchreports.co.uk for more details.