A dejected Fox had been notified just four weeks before graduating from Pompey’s Academy that he would not receive a first-year professional contract.
After a decade with his beloved Blues, the central defender and under-18s captain was among 11 second-year scholars who left on a dismal day for the young setup.
Yet Pompey remains engrained inside his psyche, and, on that unforgettable April evening, Fox joined his fellow Fratton faithful in toasting John Mousinho’s men’s extraordinary season. ‘I’ve had a season ticket for the last 13 years, even when I was playing for the Academy. “I’ll renew it for next year as well,” Fox told The News.
‘I’m a Pompey fan, I’ll always be a Pompey fan. Even if I’m not playing for them, I’m still a supporter. I’ve been going down there since the age of three – and I’ll keep going.
‘Me and my dad moved from the Fratton End to the South Stand this season, dad prefers to watch a game from a different angle. That also helped with getting onto the pitch against Barnsley, I was probably one of the first ones on it.
‘We’re level with the 18-yard line and, by the end, there was a massive queue of us waiting to get on. As soon as the final whistle went, everyone raced on. Me and my mate Stan Pilgrim even held up a Pompey flag saying “We are going up” in front of the Fratton End.
‘It felt awkward since I see those players every day at training, so I have to find the balance between knowing them and being a fan. That night versus Barnsley, though, was one of the best days of my life.
‘Well, except on the final day of May 2017, when we defeated Cheltenham to win League Two. That season, we were in the North Stand but had direct access to the pitch! I still have those images.
‘This has been my dream. As a Pompey fan watching them on a Saturday, all I wanted to do was play for them. I was able to achieve that.
As a three-year-old, Fox’s first Fratton Park match was a 1-1 tie with Fulham in October 2008, with Peter Crouch netting
for the Blues. From an early age, he also showed immense promise as a footballer and, while with Gosport Borough Youth, had trials at Bournemouth and Reading. Unsurprisingly, he gravitated towards Pompey to join at under-9 level.
Rising through the ranks as a talented central defender, Fox fulfilled his ambition of playing at Fratton Park in November 2022, when he appeared as a second-half substitute in a 5-0 win over Three Bridges in the FA Youth Cup.
Later that season, in March 2023, the defender came off the bench for a Hampshire Senior Cup quarter-final tie at Bournemouth. The number 44 shirt he wore is now framed and hangs on a wall at his Gosport home.
Then last month he skippered Pompey’s under-18s in the Youth Alliance Cup final against Preston, representing a maiden Fratton Park start, a moment he cherishes, irrespective of the 3-1 defeat.
He added: ‘Michael Doyle was the assistant coach at the start of this season. What a really nice guy, although I wouldn’t advise getting the wrong side of him! ‘As part of his interview, he coached a session and all the lads thought “Who’s this?”. I knew exactly who it was! I got a bit excited and was straight on the phone to my dad.
‘I got Michael to sign that famous photo of him overlooking the fans after winning the League Two title and gave it to my dad for Father’s Day. Dad was well chuffed about that.
‘From that Paul Cook team, I really liked Ben Davies, Christian Burgess and Matt Clarke. Erik Huseklepp was my first hero, but my biggest idol was Adam Webster, who’s a proper defender and has done so well for Brighton. ‘I actually had interest from Brighton when I was in the under-13s, they wanted to sign me. It was up to me whether I left – I chose to stay because I’m a Pompey fan.
‘To be honest, it was quite a tough decision at the time considering Brighton’s facilities. Most boys would have said “Yes” straight away, but I was thinking about my club and the amount of travelling my family would have to do if I joined Brighton. Plus I didn’t feel I was ready for a move at that time.
‘Pompey matched Brighton by offering a scholarship two years early, which tied me to the club from the under-14s until the under-18s, basically guaranteeing me to be there for the next four years, which was a no-brainer.
‘Things do change, though. I was actually an early developer and really tall for my age, then suddenly they started catching me up in Year 9. Everyone shot up – and I hadn’t.
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‘I’m now 5ft 10in and I don’t think I’ll grow taller, so I’ve had to adapt my game. Look at Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United, it can be done. Nowadays centre-halves don’t have to be 6ft 3in plus, it’s about reading the game.
‘Still, I’m happy I stayed at Pompey. I’ve experienced stuff I always wanted to do as a kid, playing at Fratton Park, captaining the under-18s, representing my boyhood club.
‘Despite now having left, I definitely don’t regret staying.’
Marlon Pack concluded his coaching session overseeing members of Pompey’s Academy with a few words of advice to the devastated youngsters – and the insistence his door was always open.
The previous day, March 18, Fox and his fellow second-year scholars were each individually notified that they would not be awarded professional terms upon graduation.
With eight matches remaining in their Merit League season, plus cup tournaments, it was a long goodbye, but the Gosport boy, who had never made a first-team appearance, is not resentful.
‘I’m a slow burner, so it took me a while to react and comprehend what had occurred, but it was certainly upsetting,’ said Fox, who spent three loan spells with Baffins Milton Rovers this season.
‘Everything occurs for a reason, and I’m not going to let the opinions of one or two coaches influence my football career. Some coaches truly like you, and some don’t.
‘I expected it, and I had a gut feeling it would happen. Part of me still wondered, “What if I actually get something?” but 70% of me knew I wouldn’t. This is the truth of football.
‘All second-year pupils are assigned a time window for those meetings; I brought my mother and father with me, and you meet with the Academy management and the under-18 manager. When they freed me, they asked if I wanted to learn more about why. I told them I did not.
‘Looking back, I suppose I should have. Learning what I could have done better as a player might have been beneficial, but at the time, I didn’t want to hear it.
‘I was astonished no one from my year stayed on. I felt Koby (Mottoh) would have gotten one because he’d had the most opportunity with the first squad and was with them frequently. But definitely not.Of course, it raises issues about the Academy, but the fact that Pompey does not have an under-21 team does nothing to improve our predicament.
‘For an under-18 player seeking to break into the first-team setting, there is no development group, which makes it much more difficult. At the very least, an under-21s setup allows for an extra couple of years of development; we need time.
‘We don’t even have the facilities for an under-21s at the training ground at the moment, instead second-year scholars are expected to go straight into the first-team or leave. Every club needs an under-21 side.
‘It’s even harder for a defender to break through. Those that normally do are wingers and strikers, players with pace that you can introduce from the bench to try to affect a game. You’re not going to put me on for Sean Raggett if we’re winning or need to get a goal. ‘Despite that, Pompey do have a good Academy, it has definitely improved during my 10 years at the club. There’s more of a structure now, it’s far better than when I first started at under-9s level.
‘It just didn’t work out for me at Pompey. They’re going up to the Championship and are focusing more on the foundations for that, which is fair enough.’
Also departing Fratton Park were Harvey Laidlaw, Mitch Aston, Sam Folarin, Brian Quarm, Bastian Smith, Malachi Osei-Owusu, Maxwell Hurst, Kevin Bosaka, Dan Murray and Koby Mottoh.
In addition, third-year scholar Destiny Ojo, who had spent loan spells with Poole Town, Sholing and Lancing this season, was also released. It leaves Toby Steward as the last remaining Academy graduate of recent years, with the highly-promising goalkeeper recently pledging his future to Fratton Park by signing a new two-year deal.
Fox added: ‘To be fair, Pompey have helped us the best they can. We receive player care, people involved in American scholarships have spoken to us, there are life after football plans. They have also helped us get trials.
‘The other week I travelled to Kidderminster with my team-mate Dan Murray for exit trials. We went up on the Tuesday night and played the next day in matches involving other boys who had just been released.
‘You are put into an 11 v 11, 60-minute game, it’s a chance to showcase you with loads of scouts watching. Fortunately, I managed to play the whole game as there weren’t many defenders. ‘I thought I played well. They’ll get in contact with you if anything comes up. If not, at least I tried.
‘I had trials at Eastleigh for their under-19s, which went really well. They operate a 12-month programme, which also involves a personal trainer course. That really interests me, it’s something to stay fit and you can put on your CV.
‘I’m open to anything, I’m prepared to see what there is and try new things, but ideally I want to stay in football
‘At the moment I’m keeping my options open, it’s still quite early days so I’ll see what’s about. Ideally I will try to play men’s football, like I did with Baffins, when I went on loan there.’
Fox’s last day as a Pompey player was last Friday, when the class of 2024 disbanded.
The farewell consisted of a five-a-side match between first and second-year students, with four teams competing, with the defender’s side losing in the final.
With the first-team players and staff long gone on holiday, the training facility was strangely quiet, but for the noisy presence of assistant kitman Kev McCormack.
The teenager packed out his locker for the final time and was allowed to keep his workout gear, which was labeled with 59, the number he chose this season because it was the largest available.
Then it was finished.
He explained: “Maxwell Hurst and I had been at Pompey since the under-9s, and we were the only two who had stayed. I’m proud of myself for getting all the way through to the under-18s.’That Friday, I sat in the changing room alone for a while, reminiscing memories and taking one last look around, snapping a few photos. It felt like graduating Year 11 at school.
‘It will probably sink in in a few weeks. It will be strange not to be around the area after being there from Monday to Saturday for the past two years.
‘It was a huge accomplishment, and I’m glad I was there. I was happy, and I wouldn’t alter anything.
As a Pompey fan, I’ve led my club, including our 125th anniversary match versus the Royal Artillery.
‘It has had its ups and downs, but it has been a worthwhile adventure. It’s a bad it’s ended, but I remain a Pompey supporter. That will never change.
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