Portsmouth FC: Cult hero partnership remembered beyond just Fratton Park - View | OneFootball

Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch were fantastic in their year together at Pompey, and reconnected at Tottenham Hotspur.

Portsmouth FC's Premier League run in the 2000s is fondly remembered by many, with Fratton Park playing host to not only English giants but also some of those from Europe, such as AC Milan.

Pompey's FA Cup win in 2008 over Cardiff City earned them a place in the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League), and although the club did not make it out of the group stage, they were able to create many memories for supporters.

Although it was not their best season in terms of their final position in the top flight, two signings in the same year still create feelings of nostalgia for many, as they formed one of the greatest partnerships in the history of the Premier League in just a matter of months.

Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch were already iconic in the division before they joined Portsmouth, but they are perhaps best remembered as a pair.

Crouch and Defoe's goals kept Portsmouth afloat

After the success in the FA Cup the season prior, Pompey had to act fast to ensure that the club could stay away from the relegation places.

Financial issues behind the scenes would seep through the cracks just a year later, but owner Alexandre Gaydamak still sanctioned the purchase of Crouch in the summer of 2008.

Portsmouth bought the taller of the two strikers from Liverpool in a deal worth up to £11 million. It was the then 27-year-old's second term at Fratton Park, after spending a year at the club between 2001 and 2002.

Harry Redknapp had brought Defoe to the south coast a few months prior to the 6ft 7in star from Tottenham Hotspur, securing a £9 million deal on deadline day in January 2008.

It did not take long for the two to form a fantastic partnership, with Crouch scoring seven goals before the turn of the year, while his teammate found the back of the net eight times.

They showed to supporters relatively quickly what they could do together in a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough in September 2008. Defoe scored twice, with his partner in crime setting him up for one of the two, handing Pompey their second win of the season.

Although the team had enjoyed a solid start to the campaign, Redknapp left the club just after the win against Boro to re-join Tottenham, a move that proved to have dramatic consequences for Pompey.

Tony Adams took over the role as manager, but could not inspire the team in the same way as their FA Cup winning boss did, and they started to slide down the table, yet the worst was to come.

Redknapp brought his golden partnership to Tottenham

By January 2009, Portsmouth were sitting 12th in the Premier League, their lowest position since the fifth game of the season.

Their poor form, and the financial incentives made Defoe's move back to Tottenham an almost guarantee, with the two clubs agreeing a £15 million deal for the then 26-year-old.

It was a move that came back to haunt his former club almost immediately, with the striker scoring in just his second game back for Spurs, equalising against Pompey in the 70th minute at White Hart Lane.

By the time the 2009/10 campaign started, the duo were back together, but unfortunately for Portsmouth supporters, their once fabulous strike partnership were plying their trade nearly 100 miles away.

Crouch and Defoe scored 26 goals between them as Tottenham finished in the Champions League places, leaving the Fratton Park crowd only dreaming of what could have been if the two had stayed on the south coast.