Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim – What Sold Portsmouth to You?
Posted on | May 31, 2009 | No Comments
Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim’s proposed takeover of Portsmouth Football Club has had me wondering, as I have waded through the inevitable media speculation over the last couple of days, ’why Pompey?’.
The next few weeks will be crucial for the future direction of the club, as due diligence is carried out. This issue, especially regarding the Premier League’s ‘fit person’ test, has been complicated after the emergence of the structure of the proposed takeover. It seems that Dr Al Fahim is backed by an unknown group of investors. Whilst this is not a problem in itself, these backers are reportedly reluctant to be identified. This will not go down well with the Premier League and their new-found zeal for complete disclosure.
It would seem reasonable to assume that this issue can be overcome, but while we wait for progress, there will inevitably be extensive media speculation about all aspects of this story including the due diligence process, financial implications of the takeover, players sales and recruitment, and the managerial situation. We can all join in, but the real story, from Pompey fans’ point of view at least, is what will happen if and when the purchase goes through. In the meantime, what has got me thinking, is that question, why Portsmouth?
That excellent site, Vital Pompey, part of Vital Football, has beaten me to it! The extract below was written by ‘Chix’ a regular poster on the site. It’s a great article to start the debate, and I think there’s a lot of truth in it. My thoughts on the reasons for Dr Fahim’s choice follow the extract:
As I was pondering how to break ‘the ever increasing circle of speculation’ I suddenly realised that the man that made all this possible; Uncle Peter Storrie must have, at some point, had to ’sell’ Pompey to the Doc… Just think about that for a minute..
We are talking about convincing an extremely wealthy bloke (and his mates) to put up in the region of £60m to take on a club carrying a huge debt, a squad of (mostly) under-performing players (some of whom want out), a crumbling stadium with the lowest capacity in the Premiership (albeit with a development pending), an un-started training ground development, and a ‘pie in the sky’ idea for a new ground to host Olympic football should Captain Beckham and his cronies convince the people in power that England could host such an event.
OK, so I’ve focussed on the negatives a little, but it still begs the question “What was it that made the Doc sign on the dotted line?”
Some articles I’ve read in the past couple of days suggest he liked the look of Gunwharf, other reports state that he was impressed by the fact that we were situated by the sea, some went as far as to hypothesize that the Spinnaker Tower reminded him of the Burj Al Arab: That seven star hotel in Dubai. What utter tosh! Are we really that stupid to believe anybody would invest upwards of £60m+ because they admired some architecture !
The thing that sold Pompey to the Arabs was us. The fans, supporters and followers of Portsmouth Football Club and I’ll explain why.
Sure the ‘potential’ for our little club to upstage the ‘Wealthy Four’ would have been an attraction. True also, that a model of the new training ground would have been impressive to play-with, as would have been a cardboard mock-up of the new stadium on Horsea Island (or wherever it is this week), but those things do not make us stand out from the rest. Plenty of clubs need further development.
So what was our Unique Selling Point? If you think about it hard enough it is obvious and soon you’ll see why.
If YOU were in the market to buy a football club and were sitting through a video at a sales presentation the thing that would make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, the thing that would stir your emotions more than anything else would be the sight of 200,000 people on Southsea Common welcoming home a cup winning team or the noise of 20,000 people inside a packed Fratton singing ‘Tony Adams (bless him) Blue Army’ for half an hour non stop . Wouldn’t you think … “Now THERE is untapped potential. These fans turn out in numbers and are truly passionate”
We very often beret ourselves at the fact that Fratton Park is not as noisy at it once was and that we should get behind the team more (which of course we should) but if any one of us had to conduct a presentation on the potential of Pompey FC would we not show footage of the very things I’ve mentioned – I’ll answer that for you … Of course we would!
Given the Doc’s comment “Portsmouth has incredible history, and its fans are some of the most loyal in the world of football” I have no doubt whatsoever that he has been sold an image of the most passionate, most loyal and most noisy set of supporters in England filling a new stadium. I can just see it now…
Uncle Peter steps forward and says “The thing is your ‘Doctorship Highness Important one’ we can only accommodate 10% of the people on the Common in our current location. Imagine what noise 40,000 would make in a new purpose built stadium”
Sure, Premiership survival was key to the deal being actually signed but why was there a deal there in the first place and why having looked at other ’small’ clubs such as Spurs and Newcastle did he pick us?
To me the answer is obvious. Survival was a pre-requisite, the status of our Academy a benefit, the new stadium an investment opportunity but we, the heart and soul, the pride and passion even the heartbeat of the club were the USP.
So be prepared to show your pride, be ready to demonstrate your passion and above all gear up for the most dynamic change ever in the history of PFC. It is down to us – Let’s all enjoy it
I have a slightly different take on it, although I think that the quality of our support is likely to have had a part to play. Chix says in his article that plenty of clubs need development and this probably wasn’t the primary factor. I have to say I think that no other club in the Premier League has Pompey’s development potential, and I’m sure that this WAS the main reason for his decision.
We have a ground (not ’stadium’!) that we all love, but that needs COMPLETE redevelopment and possibly relocation to provide the club with 21st century facilities. If it is to be relocation, then the Fratton Park site can also be sold to recoup some of the outlay. I can’t accept that a professional property developer on such a large scale would not be interested in applying that expertise in a situation where it is so clearly called for.
He has obviously shopped around, but Newcastle have been relegated and already have a large, modern stadium. Spurs probably aren’t for sale. Chelsea were too expensive in the sense that they didn’t represent great value for money. West Ham were probably our main competition, but again are much further advanced in terms of infrastructure.
The price of Pompey is relatively cheap, and there is potential to expand. Portsmouth also represents a fantastic project and a challenge to get your teeth into, attractive to a man involved in fighting malnutrition globally. We are the only Premier League club south of London so there is no immediate competition. 200,000 fans on Southsea Common last May has perhaps convinced him that a 40,000 seater stadium is feasible, but what is most exciting if you accept the property development argument is that he obviously believes he can make it happen!
Tags: Al Fahim > Burj Al Arab > Chelsea > David Beckham > Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim > Dubai > Fratton Park > Gunwharf > Newcastle United > Peter Storrie > Pompey > Portsmouth > Portsmouth FC > Portsmouth Football Club > Portsmouth Manager > Portsmouth takeover > Premier League > Spinnaker Tower > Tottenham Hotspur > Vital Football > Vital Pompey > West Ham United
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