Pompey are sad to learn about the death of former director David Deacon at the age of 81.
He joined the club’s board in 1974, shortly after father John had taken control of the club, and his involvement at Fratton Park spanned almost 30 years.
The Blues were soon relegated to the fourth tier, but then enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top-flight under the leadership of first Frank Burrows, then Bobby Campbell and Alan Ball.
John sold the club to Jim Gregory in the summer of 1988, but David – whose mother Joan also served as a director – remained on the board.
He became vice-chairman in 1992 – the same year that Pompey went agonisingly close to reaching the FA Cup semi-final, losing on penalties to Liverpool after a replay.
There was more heartache to follow a year later, with Jim Smith’s side falling just short of automatic promotion to the Premier League before suffering a cruel defeat in the play-offs.
David resigned as a director soon afterwards, but returned as chief executive and introduced Milan Mandaric to the club.
That led to Pompey exiting administration – and ultimately returning to the top-flight – before Deacon departed Fratton Park in 2001.
The thoughts of everyone at Portsmouth Football Club are with David’s family and friends at this sad time.