Jimmy Dickinson, Aaron Flahavan, and Alan Knight are all recognised as Pompey legends with their place in the club's history secured.
But there is one current player who can be added to that illustrious
list.
Linvoy Primus is not recognised by many outside Portsmouth, but the
defender's bravery, desire and affinity with the south coast club have
made him an idol at Fratton Park.
His strong Christian faith and ability to win over the doubters have
made him a firm favourite in the city.
And it's his refusal to accept defeat which means relegation for the
Blues isn't part of Primus' thoughts.
Primus said: “I think we’ll be ok. In the last four of five performances we’ve taken some good points, but unfortunately there have been a few games where we’ve conceded in the last minutes. If we can string together some more wins we’ll be well clear.”
Primus has been hailed as one of Pompey’s best and most committed players in recent history, having been at Fratton Park since summer 2000, and with a 10th year testimonial match in sight, both Pompey and Primus are very keen to secure an extra year on his contract to see this out.
Portsmouth Chief Executive Peter Storrie said: “If anybody deserves a
testimonial it’s Linvoy. He needs to do one year next season and two months, so we're talking about giving him another year. But whether that will do him we'll have to wait and see. We'll have to maybe give a year's contract and then a month-to-month contract.”
This is the thought of the majority if not all of the Pompey fans, who have seen Primus grow from a hard-working Division One player to an experienced top-quality Premier League centre-back.
But Primus’ career didn’t start very well at Pompey. After securing a free transfer from Reading to Portsmouth, he made his first appearance against Sheffield United in the old Division One, and started by putting the ball in the Pompey net for an own goal.
Things didn’t carry on too well for Primus, as he was forced out for six months through injury only a couple of months after making his debut. When Primus returned from injury, he had to prove to new manager Graham Rix, that he was committed and had the talent to help Portsmouth turn things around.
With the appointment of Harry Redknapp in March 2002, Primus found a new lease of life, as he proved to the manager that he was not only a decent Division One player, but that he could compete in the Premier League.
Primus was a key player in Pompey’s promotion to the Premier League in 2002/03, and his turn around in luck, according to him, was his discovery of Christianity.
“I really believe that everything I have done since becoming a Christian has been for God. I want to give him glory, because he’s given me talent and skill and even though it’s not as good as the best players in the world, I just
want to give it to him to use so that his name is glorified.”
Since becoming a committed Christian, Primus has set up the charity Faith and Football, and has run many fundraising events to help establish this.
Primus’ latest project, after a very successful walk of the Great Wall of China back in 2005, is the Pedal for Primus project, along with the Team Golf Classic.
Primus, who is very keen to keep people active through these charity events said: “We’ve got something coming up in September called Pedal for Primus, and it’s just going to be cycling 160 miles over three days to different clubs on the south-coast, and then ending back up at Portsmouth. We did a similar one last year with all the clubs I’ve played for, so we’ve had lots of different things going on.”
The English centre-back saw himself left out of the side during the early Premier League campaign after Redknapp reverted to a 4-4-2 system, despite Primus picking up seven different Player of the Year awards in Pompey’s promotion season. Redknapp’s new formation change came following the signing of Dejan Stefanovic to partner Arjan De Zeeuw at centre-back. This left Primus out of the previous 3-5-2 system.
After chopping and changing a number of managers, and after Redknapp infamously left to Portsmouth’s down-the-road rivals, Primus established himself back in the side under French manager Alain Perrin, who gave Primus the chance to prove his worth, and that he was more than capable of keeping Portsmouth in the Premier League.
Primus, who has made 209 appearances for Pompey to date through nearly
nine years at the club, scored his first Premier League goal against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day 2004, before scoring two more on Boxing Day 2006 against West Ham United.
With the return of Harry Redknapp to Fratton Park, Primus once again became a regular and did a splendid job helping Pompey steer away from relegation in 2005/06 before partnering Sol Campbell in defence the season after – a partnership that saw Primus gain in experience and hold his own next to the Portsmouth captain. It was up to this date where Primus was recognised for his solid performances.
Whether he was starting week-in week-out, or was dropped and brought back when someone was injured, Primus never moaned and got on with the job and always gave 110%. His work-rate was second to none, and saw him going in for everything and never giving up.
A similar attitude to many of the players during the relegation-fighting era in the Premier League for Pompey that has seen them stay up and establish themselves as a top-flight club.
Whether Primus got the credit he deserved from fans outside of Pompey is yet to be seen, but the Portsmouth fans certainly appreciate it, and the Pompey “legend” recognises the Fratton Faithful’s huge support for the player.
He said: “My relationship with the fans has helped not just on the football pitch, but with the charity that I started here. So that gives me a lot of satisfaction and joy to know that it’s not just football it’s a round thing. I appreciate how the fans are with me and I just want to keep giving them my all!”
Linvoy once again saw a large setback after a career threatening knee injury and missed 2007/08 season. There were many worries that the solid centre-back wouldn’t return to play football, but with commitment, determination and the belief of help from God, he got through it and returned to full fitness thanks to the help of specialist surgeon Dr. Richard Steadman. A surgeon who has also worked wonders with the likes of Alan Shearer and many other Premier League players.
After returning from injury this season, Primus returned to Charlton Athletic, the club where he briefly started his career, making 10 appearances for Phil Parkinson’s side before returning to Pompey and working his way up back through from the reserves at Christmas.
Linvoy said: “My main aim now is really just to play as many games as possible and just wait for my chance. I’ve been in positions like this before and I know that if I’m on top of my game, wherever I play, then I’ve got a chance to get back into the first team.”
Primus’ hard work and commitment hasn’t stopped there though, after returning to Pompey from his loan spell at Charlton, Primus has become determined to help out the young academy players coming through the ranks, playing in the reserves.
“I’m playing with these young players who look to me to lead and to be the voice of the team and that’s what I’ve tried to do. Hopefully the chance will come, but if not I’m just going to enjoy playing and trying to help out this group.”
In May 2008 as we all remember, Portsmouth beat West Brom in the FA Cup final to lift the trophy for the first time since 1939, and although Primus didn’t feature at all for Pompey last season, when the gentle giant lifted the trophy to celebrate, he got the biggest roar out of all the players and staff, as the fans showed their appreciation to Primus’ hard work and commitment.
Primus has also been labelled as one of the nicest guys at Portsmouth, and anyone who has met him in and around the city would surely agree.
With a smile on his face, and the support of the Pompey fans, Primus will be looking forward to what may be his last couple of seasons playing football, but not his last few years at Portsmouth.
Primus said: “As football comes to an end I believe that there is more to come with life after football with Portsmouth, with the charity. I’m really excited about the next part of my life, and I believe the next part is going to be just as good if not better than playing football.”
The idea of a job somewhere in the set-up excites both parties, and could see Primus extending his stay at Pompey. Peter Storrie added: “I think we need to do something. Whether Linvoy could act as an ambassador or whatever it takes to be involved in the club. I think he would be ideal for that role."
Although it would appear he has a role at the club after he retires, Linvoy doesn’t think he’s quite finished yet. “When I know in my heart that I’m ready then I’ll stop, but I’m not going to put a number on it,” said Primus.
