2009/10 to 2017/18

Portsmouth spent one of the nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18 in the Premier League and two in the Championship, with six lower down. Their best finish was 20th, in 2009/10. They didn’t win a major trophy. Over those nine summers they paid £9.7m in transfer fees and took in £21.6m, a net profit of £11.8m. In 115.football they get City’s £900m instead.

Portsmouth won the FA Cup in 2008. By the start of this game's window the bills were arriving. The 2009/10 season ended bottom of the Premier League with 19 points, after a points deduction for going into administration, yet the same team reached the FA Cup final and lost to Chelsea. Two seasons later, 22nd in the Championship, they went down again.

The sales began before a ball was kicked. Glen Johnson left for Liverpool for around £17.5m in summer 2009, and Kevin-Prince Boateng, signed from Tottenham that same summer, was one of the few arrivals with a fee. Later, young players such as Joel Ward and Adam Webster were sold for small sums.

Portsmouth on 115.football is the ultimate what-if. The real club ran out of money; this one starts with £900m. Keep Johnson, steady the ship, and Fratton Park could enjoy a decade as good as the one that came before it.