Portsmouth On The Brink Again?

Paul Bestall — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:26:38 +0000

What the hell is going on at Portsmouth? Despite Sulaiman Al Fayed passing the fit and proper persons test that the Premier League subjected him to, he’s still not completed the takeover at Fratton Park. The fans of Pompey deserve better than this, it’s not fair and it’s getting beyond a joke. The club has had no additional finances for over 9 months now from current owner Alexandre Gaydamak, so desperate is he to recoup his overall investment.

Perhaps someone should point out to him that you get a lot less for a team that is either in the Championship or nothing for a team in administration. Portsmouth are clinging to the cliff edge by their fingernails and unless the deal gets sorted immediately, they are in serious trouble of lasting until the transfer window shuts.

On May 17th 2008, Portsmouth fielded the following side in the F.A. Cup final; James, Johnson, Hreidarsson, Distin, Campbell, Utaka, Mendes, Diarra, Kranjcar, Muntari, Kanu. Subs: Ashdown, Paramot, Diop, Nugent, Baros. Of that match day squad, 10 still remain at the club with another 8 who were either not at the club or unable to play that day, which swells the ranks to 18 first team players.

The Premiership season starts in 11 days and at this moment in time, it has now become clear that there is no guarentee that how many more of the remaining squad members will still be there come 3pm on the 15th when they face Fulham. That is unacceptable for Portsmouth’s fans, who always seem to be the last to know anything these days.

The protracted takeover for the club by Sulaiman Al Fayed has still not been completed and today the club inadvertently revealed the financial woes that the club faces. There’s nothing worse than sending a confidential e-mail to suddenly realise it’s become major sporting news. Portsmouth’s Chief Executive Peter Storrie has opened a can of worms this evening after such a scenario revealed the state of Pompey’s financial woes. Storrie’s e-mail stated that “The business has debts to pay and the banks are not releasing funds, so this leaves the club with no option but to sell to keep going.”

Since the F.A. Cup final, Portsmouth have raised over £70 million pounds in transfer revenue and spent around £10 million. Where on earth has the other money gone? Storrie claims that the club simply cannot function without selling further players, so where has the TV revenue gone? Each club receives on average £45 million a season in the Premiership, so add that to transfer revenues and you are looking at £115 million coming in to the club.

Even if the the transfer deals are paid in installments, it is still a revenue stream that the club can include in its accounts.Don’t forget the club received £5 million from Tottenham for Harry Redknapp to take charge back in October too!What is happening at Fratton Park? How did it get to this point that they are so close to the wall that even £115 million can’t keep them functioning?

Is Sulaiman Al Fayed banking on them going to the wall? By entering administration, Portsmouth will automatically be docked 10 points. Not an insurmountable deficit in the Premiership, but only if you have a team that you can put out. At this rate, Paul Hart may have to register himself as a player just to top up the subs bench.

With Storrie’s admission of the state of Portsmouth’s finances, the Premiership vultures are circling. Other clubs know now that they can pick off the best of the rest, with Niko Kranjcar and Sylvain Distin at the top of few clubs shopping list. Hot prospect Martin Cranie is another player that several managers will have already earmarked and Younes Kaboul will have several suitors, no doubt with Ajax and Lyon leading the field.

Yet, when you’re paid £1.3 million a year, you’d think that e-mailing a national newspaper would make Storrie think about what you discuss with them. What a mess, what a shame. Can Portsmouth keep going until the protracted takeover is complete? I hope so, otherwise the pebbles on Southsea beach may be coloured blue when the sharks come to finish off the club. I hope it doesn’t come to that.

Portsmouth Turning Into A Farce Due To Financial Troubles

The Gaffer — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:09:13 +0000

Alarming reports are coming out of England this morning regarding the future of Portsmouth Football Club.

According to The News Of The World, owner Alexandre Gaydamak has put the club up for sale to avert a financial crisis, and is looking to sell Pompey for an initial £20 million.

Incredibly, the newspaper is also reporting that a stunning 90 per cent of Portsmouth’s annual income is used to pay player’s wages, which is a definite recipe for disaster.

“The financial position of the club is fully audited and is consistent with its peers in the football industry,” said an official from Portsmouth FC in a statement from the club this morning. “The club’s owner has already stated that the club is not for sale but, as with all businesses, should the right offer be forthcoming, serious consideration would be given to the proposal.”

What an absolutely ridiculous statement by Portsmouth. First, the club fails to address the newspaper’s statements head-on and says that their financial position is similar to bigger clubs in football — which is a scary thought for the other clubs. So, they don’t deny they’re in severe financial trouble.

And second, they say they’re not for sale, but if the right offer came along they would be. What politically correct nonsense is that? The club owners are too proud to say the club is for sale, but behind everyone’s backs they’ll tell insiders that they’re for sale. At least Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley had the balls to tell the public he wants to sell his club.

The problem for Portsmouth is that they may face a difficult task trying to find an investor willing to buy the club from Gaydamak. Their Fratton Park ground only fits just less than 20,000 and their new 36,000 stadium on Horsea Island is still up in the air and won’t be ready until 2011 at the earliest.

I know that Harry Redknapp has a penchant for buying lots of expensive players, but what sort of wages is Portsmouth playing their stars if that amounts to 90 per cent of its income? Sure, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, David James and Lassana Diarra must be making huge wages. But other than those players, what other stars do they have? Kranjcar, Distin, Diop, Lauren, Hreidarsson and Utaka to name a few.

Either Portsmouth is paying more than they should for wages, or their income they’re bringing in is inadequate. Whatever the case, this looks like an extreme case of poor management by Gaydamak, which spells disaster for Portsmouth if a wealthy investor doesn’t bail them out soon.

EPL Talk » Alexandre Gaydamak

Portsmouth On The Brink Again?

Portsmouth Turning Into A Farce Due To Financial Troubles