Final push as Fratton faithful seek to honour Portsmouth and England great in permanent Fratton Park tribute

Blues legend Jimmy Dickinson is to be immortalised in a statue to be situated in the north-west corner of Fratton Park, between the North Stand and Fratton End.

So far around £100,000 has been raised through fan donations towards the Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust-led project.

Now organisers are seeking to get the last £50,000 required to ensure the life-and-a-quarter-sized statue of Pompey’s record appearance maker can be completed in time for a September unveiling.

Dickinson featured 845 times for the Blues, his only club, winning two Division One titles, while represented England on 48 occasions, including at two World Cups.

In retirement, he remained at Fratton Park, serving as the club’s public relations officer, secretary, and then a two-year spell as manager, before passing away in 1982 aged 57.

And supporters wish to create a permanent tribute to one of their finest players.

‘What’s important now is we push on and get that last bit of fundraising,’ said Ashley Brown, who serves on the Trust’s statue sub-committee.

‘The making of the statue has a number of different phases and it still has to go off to bronzing, it has to be coloured, and then we need to install it and make the ground ready.

‘So we need a bit more money. We need people’s help giving us a bit more finance to make sure Jimmy is celebrated at Fratton Park for many years to come.

‘Altogether we have raised around £100,000, an incredible amount so far, but it’s an expensive process and if we want to do this right – and use the best people with the best tools – then it costs money.

‘We didn’t commission one of those statues that people laugh at, we want something the people of Pompey will be proud of - and that’s why it’s important we raise this last bit of money so we can finish it off.

‘Jimmy is iconic, Portsmouth through and through. I know a lot of young fans won't remember Jimmy, but you’ve just got to go and look him up. Look at the amount of times he appeared for Pompey, his country and his other service to the club after finishing playing.

‘This is an incredible piece of work, I cannot fault it at all. It will be one of the football sculptures that’s really noticed around the country.’

Barnet-based sculptor Douglas Jennings’ previous football work includes Graham Taylor’s statue outside Vicarage Road and Jack Charlton, which is situated in his hometown of Ashington, Northumberland.

He has also created a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, which can be found on the banks on the River Thames in Gravesend, and a statue dedicated to Margaret Thatcher in her hometown of Grantham, Lincolnshire.

Jennings added: ‘It has taken 30 weeks to this point – and now we have another 15 weeks at the foundry.

‘With Jimmy, there are not hundreds and hundreds of photographs, just a handful of all different ages, with different haircuts, so I have chosen one and run with it.

‘I selected a life model of a similar shaped body and height and we set the pose, based on numerous photographs, and started sculpting the body, the muscles, the pose, and going from there.

‘The first phase consists of constructing a metal armature, which is load-bearing because the sculpture will weigh about a tonne at present, with its clay.

‘Next Monday is the mould-making process, which initially involves the foundry coming here and making a piece mould before taking that away to the foundry, with the sculpture remaining here.

‘At the end of the process people will be able to see Jimmy, and we’re very excited about that.’

To donate, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/jimmy-dickinson-statue-at-fratton-park