Portsmouth A Bleeding Victim of the Credit Crunch
Posted on | August 6, 2009 | No Comments
I’ve called it the credit crunch because although it is now a full blown recession, it was started by the banks and the banks remain at the heart of it. Portsmouth Football Club know this only too well.
It may be that the agonising, continuous, and extremely damaging delays in this takeover process are being caused not by Sacha Gaydamak or Sulaiman Al Fahim, but by Standard Bank of South Africa. Rumour has it that they are required to authorise the transfer of ownership due to their rather large £30m plus loan to the club. It is not clear whether this is a requirement of the loan agreement, or even of the FA, as has been suggested in some quarters. But the approval request is said to have been with the bank for the last two weeks, with no hint of a reply. Funny that. Read more about it here.
Yes, we have been unlucky regarding the timing of the progress of the takeover, against the onset of the new season and the closing of the transfer window. But unfortunately it was the business plan of the last two years that has ultimatley got us into this position. Portsmouth Football Club is no different to those Northern Rock borrowers who took out 125% mortgages. They had no way of paying back the money. I was under the impression when Sacha Gaydamak first took over, that he was filthy rich and the money was all his (or belonged perhaps to someone close to him). But he was nothing more than a man with a plan. Unfortunately there was no plan B.
Now, I’m not going to say that I wish it had never happened. It brought us the FA Cup. Unfortunately, that was the only way Pompey were going to do it, and I’m glad it happened. But how sad it is that a club has to be brought to its knees like that, to pay the exorbitant transfer fees and wages that the warped football market commands. I will say it again. I am NEVER going to subscribe to Sky Sports.
Some fans on the internet message boards have said that they are looking forward to getting behind the team next season with a ‘backs to the wall’ mentality. There is something attractive about that, but it just won’t be enough in the Premier League. We saw that four years ago. We just have to pray that we manage to start the season with just enough quality in the squad to stay in touch until January. And for that to happen, things have to move pretty quickly over the next few days. I wouldn’t hold your breath. I just HOPE now that we get manage to get out of jail and see Sulaiman Al Fahim’s rather attractive vision for the future of the club realised.
Tags: Pompey > Portsmouth > Portsmouth takeover > Premier League > Sacha Gaydamak > Standard Bank of South Africa > Sulaiman Al Fahim
Comments
Leave a Reply