Pompey set to go offline
Ana | Jan 29, 2010 | Comments 1
It is hard to imagine a worse season than the one Portsmouth are suffering at the moment. The extravagant and irresponsible excesses of recent years are unravelling by the day as the club careers towards financial meltdown.
Portsmouth’s Premier League odds already make grim reading, but a clutch of incidents this week have left the club on the edge.
The start of the week actually brought good news, with the Premier League partially lifting the club’s transfer embargo, allowing them to sign players on loan and on a free transfer. Ghana striker Quincy Owusu-Abeyie signed on loan to lighten the gloom.
But as the week progressed things took a downward path. It was revealed that talks had taken place with Spurs over the transfer of Younes Kaboul and Amir Begovic. Portsmouth have a threadbare squad as it is so further player sales would put their ability to name a full match day squad into doubt. But with debts of £60 million the bills have to paid somehow and it looks like further player sales are the answer.
However, these talks took place without the knowledge of boss Avram Grant or chief executive Peter Storrie. The talks were handled instead by Daniel Azougy, the Israeli lawyer employed by the club’s owners to look after Portsmouth’s finances, despite his convictions for fraud and obstruction of justice in Israel. Angry at their exclusion both Grant and his chief executive might resign with Storrie admitting his position was untenable.
It gets worse.
An email was sent to club staff warning that their wages may not be paid on time for the fourth time this season and a humiliating week was capped when the club website being taken offline by the clubs digital partner due to unpaid fees. It returned after a few hours when a new payment plan was agreed but the damage to the clubs flagging reputation had been done.
The south coast club face a winding up petition on February 10th and given the events of this week it is hard not to see them becoming the first Premier League side to fall into administration. A sad sorry tale of a club mismanaged from top to bottom, Pompey have not heeded the lessons of Leeds United’s excesses ten years ago.
Their FA Cup triumph in 2008 was supposed to have heralded a great new era for the club. Instead it may be the last major trophy the club will ever win.
The football odds suggest Portsmouth will be playing Championship football next season, but they might not last that long.
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Filed Under: English Football • Featured • Football Business
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Great post there, good work.
Seems to be everyone wants a piece of Pompey right now, theres stories about Gaydamak (former owner) demanding money that is owed to him, also I’m sure I read somewhere Sol Campbell is going to sue them for something to do with his image rights.
It is certainly a lot for them to deal with, but with Storrie and Grant coming out to say they won’t walk away, I guess there is a hope they could grind out some results with the squad they have, get a few breaks, and perhaps claw a way out of the relegation zone.
Of course whether they are still around at the end of the season or not does remain to be seen. It’s just another sad example of a club thats been living beyond their means for a long time now. Leeds United is a decent comparison, but look into the story of King’s Lynn FC, there are a lot of interesting similarities between the two clubs, albeit one a Premier League side and the other was a non-league team.
Anyway keep up the great work.