Portsmouth to be Bought by Arab Billionaire

Posted on | May 28, 2009 | No Comments

What a difference a day makes! Twenty four little hours could be twenty four big hours in the history of Portsmouth Football Club.

Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim has agreed a deal to buy the club from Sacha Gaydamak, and a period of due diligence now begins. Assuming that the commercial due diligence process has already taken place (how else would this have reached a stage where the deal has been publicly announced?), this must constitute the tying up of legalities and the satisfaction of Premier League requirements. It would appear, then,that before long, Portsmouth will become the second Premier League club to be owned by wealthy Middle East interests.

So what do we know about him? Well, those who watched Piers Morgan’s programmes a few months ago on the world’s wealthiest destinations, may remember him hosting Piers on his private jet in Dubai. He lost the whole of his immediate family in a car crashin 1998, and is now something of a philanthropist, with involvement in worldwide projects to eradicate malnutrition. He studied in the United States and has a number of other interests including chess and a TV show called the Hydra Executives in which his catchphrase is “Impress Me!”. Alan Sugar eat your heart out!

Football wise, he can also be recalled as the initial broker of the deal which saw Abu Dhabi United Group take control of Manchester City, although he no longer has any involvement with them. His development company, Hydra Properties, is currently building a football academy in the UAE in partnership with Inter Milan. Rumours of his other possible targets include Chelsea, West Ham, and Newcastle, although he has settled on Portsmouth with the intention of ‘turning a smallish Premier League club into something big over a number of years’. That remit would, if achieved, would consitute the perfect outcome to the recent uncertainty surrounding the future of the club.

What is the level of his investment and ambition? We don’t know yet. But we should soon. After all, the Premier League’s ‘fit person’ test should be a breeze to a man like him. Let’s allow our imagination to run away with us for a moment…

Off the pitch, I would suggest a Middle Eastern property developer would be very keen to fulfill the development potential offered by the club and the city. Whilst a lot of the barriers to the Horsea Island project are of the planning variety, they are also intrinsically linked to financial implications. Increased investment in the project begins to allow the potential development to become more favourable, with a reduction in the planned retail floorspace for example. The effect of a real propsect of delivery on even Portsmouth City Council surely can’t be underestimated, especially with a World Cup bid in the offing. In this scenario, Dr Al Fahim still stands to recoup some investment if he so wishes from the Fratton Park site. I would be happy to move to Horsea to bring the club into the 21st century as long as the stadium was built with the atmosphere in mind (and the prices!). Someone get on the phone to Herzog and De Meuron again! The academy project must also be seen through, so that the club is run in the right way. Local talent deserves its chance, and although there may well be increased competition from foreign youngsters, we live in a globalised world now. Football is proving to be no different, and there is the opportunity to provide better opportunity to local talent than has ever existed before.

On the pitch, I see Sven arriving and Paul Hart returning to his previous position, if willing, to carry out that important work. With reasonable investment, a top ten finish in his first season would be guaranteed, with the chance to get back into Europe. Then we would see how serious Dr Al Fahim is. Which players would we go for? Which would come? It’s an interesting prospect, but in the short term there’s not much to tinker with. The majority of out-of-contract players are on their way out of the club anyway. No change there then. Those prized assets that were looking likely to leave should be kept (I’m thinking more of Johnson and Crouch here than Kranjcar). Finally, let’s get in players in those areas that can help us challenge for Europe again. Everyone knows what’s needed. A defender to replace Sol Campbell, a whole new midfield, and a pacy striker to start with.

How far can this go? Some of the more wild quotes, in today’s Sun for example, have the man in a competition with Manchester City to see who can spend the most money! If he has this kind of money, there is theoretically no limit, Champions League, you name it, although a bigger, modern, full stadium with a fantastic atmosphere would help to reinforce future credibility. Deep down, I wish that Burnley could challenge for the title next season with nothing more than good coaching and management, and a few canny buys. I’m thinking Brian Clough and Nottingham Forest here. But, it seems the world is on the irreversible path to globalisiation, and football is no exception. ANYTHING that breaks the current uncompetitive monotony of life at the top of the Premier League is fine by me, and I would  LOVE IT, LOVE IT to be us!

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