Newcastle United gave Portsmouth FC a Fratton Park favourite they will never forget | OneFootball

Some say they footballers aren’t what they used to be, and if they mean free-scoring, cartwheeling, backflipping superstars then they may well be onto something.

That’s exactly what Portsmouth had with Lomana LuaLua up front in their halcyon days of Premier League football at Fratton Park, with the Congolese striker immediately becoming a fans’ favourite with his antics on the south coast.

Initially joining Harry Redkanpp’s side on loan from Newcastle United in the second half of the 03/04 season, the flamboyant striker added some crucial contributions to Pompey’s survival bid as they went on to finish comfortably in mid-table.

After joining the club on a permanent deal the following summer, the gymnastic goal-getter was something of one of a plethora of striking options for his new side, with the likes of Yakubu, Ricardo Fuller and Diomansy Kamara all helping to lead the line.

Lomana LuaLua early career: Colchester United, Newcastle United, Portsmouth,

LuaLua rose to prominence in the lower echelons of the football pyramid, with an eye-catching spell with Colchester United earning him a move to St James Park in the September of 2000.

After netting on his debut against Chesterfield, the Congolese star would go on to notch 15 goals in 61 league games for the U’s to make a name for himself as one of the most exciting attacking talents across the whole of the Football League.

The Magpies were the ones to take the punt on the forward; parting with £2.25 million to bring him to the club after he had already bagged a brace and a hat-trick in the first nine games of the season in Essex.

From starring at Gigg Lane one week, LuaLua was performing in front of a packed out St James Park the next, as he made his debut against Charlton Athletic in the top flight a matter of days after seeing out a 0-0 draw with Bury in the third tier.

The Toon Army would have to wait to see that flying celebration we were all accustomed to though, with his first domestic goal coming 19 months after he moved to the club in a 3-2 win over Derby County.

Not that it was just goals that he offered, with his physical presence and unpredictable nature when in control of the ball, the attacker wreaked havoc among Premier League defences in his time in the north east, as well as performing admirably on the continental stage.

With the majority of his 88 appearances in black and white coming from the bench, it was only a matter of time before the Kinshasa-born star was itching for a move away from the club, and Portsmouth were more than happy to take him off of United’s hands for the remainder of the season.

As is Harry Redknapp’s way, he got a magnificent tune out of his team of waifs and strays at Fratton Park in Pompey’s return to the top tier, with an ageing Teddy Sheringham helping to lead the line alongside Yakubu, while the likes of Shaka Hislop, Matty Taylor and Patrick Berger were all admirable performers.

The south coast seemed to bring the best out of the former Colchester man almost immediately, as he netted in a 4-3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on his debut, before netting a late equaliser against his parent club weeks later; something that irked those in the away dressing room at the time.

A bundle of energy at the top of the field; LuaLua’s presence helped to run defenders ragged at a time when Pompey needed the points the most, with his bubbly appearances from the bench backed up with strong performances when he started games, as crucial goals against Birmingham City and Leeds United attest to.

WIth Premier League survival assured, both player and club jumped at the chance to make the deal permanent, with the Toon receiving a reported £1.7 million fee in the deal, and Portsmouth getting one of the most memorable players in top flight history on their books.

Lomana LuaLua Portsmouth FC career, Olympiacos move, Blackpool return

You never quite knew what you were going to get with the enigmatic African, with a magnificent strike one week followed by a nonplussed showing the next, with the occasional head loss thrown in for good measure; such as his headbutt aimed at Blackburn Rovers’ Andy Todd.

But it was worth putting up with the temperamental talisman’s tantrums for moments like he produced in the south coast derby later that season, with a brace in a 4-1 victory over Southampton meaning we got to see twice the amount of backflips as usual.

The elastic acrobat continued to produce the goods with nine more goals over the next two seasons, and played a part in one fo the most exciting teams to grace the top flight in the early part of the millennium, with plenty of comings and goings at Fratton Park.

Laurent Robert, Salif Diao, David James, Kanu…. The list of top players turning out in blue each week could go on and on, with LuaLua so often being the party piece to top it all off with his rumbustious nature up top.

He loved Portsmouth, and Portsmouth loved him, so it was a shame to see him move to Greece with Olympiacos in the summer of 2007, as one of the most flamboyant players in Premier League history packed his bags and cartwheeled his way to Piraeus.

After four years away from the English game most fans must have been rubbing their eyes with disbelief when an L. LuaLua appeared on the team sheet for Blackpool in the 2011/12 season; the backflipping brute was back, and in a fetching shade of Tangerine to boot.

Two goals in a 5-0 victory over Leeds United was the highlight of his time at Bloomfield Road - and yes, he was still doing the gymnastics even at the ripe old age of 30 - before losing in the playoff final to West Ham United.

After providing his own illuminations to the Tangerines campaign, LuaLua’s time in England was finally over in 2012, as he made the move to Kardemir Karabükspor in Turkey; a country he would go on to play in for six years before his retirement in 2016.

Pompey fans were privileged to see the Congolese cannonball in his pomp though, when he was at his defender-battling, toe-twizzling best; they certainly don’t make them like him anymore, and we’re all the worse off for it.