The games in question are Wigan, Burnley, Birmingham, Sunderland, Stoke, Hull, Blackburn and Wolves. Adult tickets have been cut to £20 in the Milton End, and £30 in the wings of the upper North Stand.

It’s just the kind of gesture the fans need to see at the moment, but more importantly it improves the chances of the ground being full for these important games, as people continue to struggle in the recession. To the season ticket holders who are already complaining, I can only say, STOP BEING SO SHORT SIGHTED! The whole club needs to pull together at the moment and this is a positive step towards that happening. Obviously the biggest step will be a great performance and win against Bolton, but back to the ticket prices. You can’t actually buy a season ticket in the Milton End, and the price you paid guarantees your usual seat. But also remember, when you by something, including a season ticket, there is no guarantee that a better deal won’t come along further down the line. Simple as that. The club should not be criticised for this positive move. Play up Pompey!

At the moment, the club is the laughing stock of not just the Premier League, but the whole of English football. At least Accrington Stanley (if it’s good enough for a milk advert, it’s good enough for me) know what their plans are for this season and what it is likely that they can achieve. Portsmouth have no such plans. We just have complete and utter chaos. The ONE positive thing about the current situation is that the only alternative would appear to be administration.

Now, I’m not blaming Paul Hart here or even Peter Storrie. The blame quite clearly lies either with the current or prospective owner. What I don’t understand is how, over two months since the takeover was announced, the club is NOT EVEN in a financial position to seal the signing of Nikola Kalinic. Don’t get me wrong, he is a player with potential. But he is a prospect, nothing more, and has just signed for Blackburn Rovers. They are taking a risk. We couldn’t even get to that point.

This blog today was never meant to analyse the reasons, but I simply can’t fathom how Dr Al Fahim could not be ready to buy players, at least on some semblance of a competitive level, at the crucial time. There may still be a month until the transfer window closes, but no-one could argue that Portsmouth are not in complete disarray. The pre season results confirm that, and so do the transfer dealings(!) thus far. Surely if the takeover cannot yet complete, there is some way that Al Fahim could at least fund player purchases? Have we found the only Arab investor in the world with no money?!

Of course it is still possible that the takeover will eventually be a success and that we will survive this season before thriving. We would obviously take that here and now. But even if that were the case, I would still like to know what went on here. Because there is no doubt that even at this early stage, even if it goes on to be a success, the Al Fahim era has got off to a VERY bad start. Trust has almost gone before he has even taken over, IF he takes over.

Someone owes the fans an explanation. But more than that, someone needs to take decisive action NOW, before it is too late.

To be fair, Al Fahim has never committed himself to anything in terms of player purchases etc. (probably partly because of his experience during the Manchester City takeover), instead limiting himself to statements about building up the club in the right way. But I think we all know that the deal has not gone to plan. Don’t get me wrong, I am still right behind him, but I now feel scepticism about the future rather than the excitement I expected. It is of course still possible that he will succeed in stabilising and developing the club off the pitch whilst gradually improving stature and reputation on it, but the fact that I feel it is such an awfully long way from here to there (before the takeover is even formally completed!) depresses me.

First look at the players we have signed. Sorry, player. Aaron Mokoena. I’m not going to discuss his strengths and weaknesses, but the fact that he couldn’t get into the Blackburn Rovers first team tells you all you need to know. Then just look at the trialists. Eugen Bopp. Released by Crewe Alexandra last season! Also have a look at our targets. James Perch of Nottingham Forest. Look at a player we reportedly missed out on. James McCarthy has just joined Wigan Athletic. Sven Goran Eriksson has just gone to Notts County for God’s sake! Yes, clubs can and do give trials to any player, and the lesser talents are by definition the ones who end up on trial, but Bopp is just one of the many clouds of smoke that point to a great big fire.

Another cloud is the appointment of Hart himself. Again, I am right behind him and he may turn out to be the right appointment (more chance of that if Brian Kidd returns, I feel) but his appointment undeniably shows that the club is desperately short of funds desite new ownership!

So what went wrong? There is a lot of conjecture in the press and on the internet, but from what I can work out, and it pains me to say it, The Sun may well have had an effect. It ought not to have done, as attempting to mount a takeover with mystery backers who wished to remain a mystery would represent foolishness in the extreme, but the one inconsistency in all Al Fahim’s statements was when he changed tack about who was providing the finance for the takeover. If Al Fahim was as rich as we were led to believe, there still should not have been a major issue, but the theory put forward by his ‘best friend’ on the infamous ‘Dr Al Fahim Blogspot’ sounds plausible to me. Perhaps he could not pay as much as originally intended and we now have a compromise deal which allows Sacha Gaydamak to pay off his debts (and sell our best players).

But I have been saying that Al Fahim and Paul Hart still have my support. They do. Hart has stated that he played the football he needed to play to avoid the drop last season. That his true style is much more attacking. It may well be, but it is the players who play the football, not the manager. I’ve already touched on the qualityof the players. Dr Sulaiman may have completed the deal he had to complete at the time, with a view to building the club in the long term. This is his stated objective. The problem is that it would appear he doesn’t have the money to do it.

One thing’s for sure. Pompey fans need a confidence boost. We have waited for this all summer after a turbulent season before, only to be anxious and despondent at the very point of completion. It would actually be the ultimate triumph to eventually realise all of the new Chairman’s stated ambitions starting with a shoestring first season, the cobbled together team guideed to safety by the wily old foxes Hart and Kidd. Indeed, we should all be behind the new regime until we are given reason to be otherwise, but at the moment it’s vastly more in hope than expectation. Very sad.

Paul Hart said after Sunday’s game that the managerial situation should be resolved this week. This may suggest he is confident, or has even already secured the position. If so, I suggest he takes a relaxing holiday prior to pre season training, as if his strange public admission that his CV is lacking any real record of achievement is anything to go by, he has felt the strain of this season as much as the fans. 

Regarding ownership issues, there is already an intriguing titbit in the signing of Aaron Mokoena, Blackburn’s less-than-first-choice central defender. This might purely be the result of Hart’s confirmed appointment leading to the identification of his first free transfer target, as he knows there is no buyer waiting in the wings. On the other hand, Mokoena is the captain of next year’s World Cup hosts, South Africa, and with a prospective buyer from that same country reportedly interested, his signing may be linked to other issues. Either way, his extremely rapid acquisition points to the fact that the club’s situation has been, or is about to be, confirmed.

The truth is that we just don’t know for sure, and despite his continued criticism by some sections of the Pompey faithful, Chief Executive Peter Storrie is in no position to give us a blow by blow account of developments. There was similar uncertainty at the club ten years ago as we entered administration. This can’t be discounted as a possibility now, but surely we are in a better position this time around? Let’s go back those ten years just for a moment…

Pompey had been struggling for much of the previous ten years, the high points being those two fabulous seasons under Jim Smith in the early 90s and a fluke run under Terry Fenwick in 1997 which almost got us to the play offs and saw a decent cup run ended at Fratton Park by Chelsea. 

But here we were in administration, a situation which by today’s rules, would have meant a 10 point deduction and relegation to what is now League 1. We had only stayed up on goal difference, but there was no last day survival drama. Despite the fact that our hero, the late Alan Ball, had returned to rescue us the previous year, 1998-99 was a  rather forgettable season. We only stayed up on goal difference but had lost our last two fixtures, and in fact were nine goals better off than Bury who occupied the last relegation spot. There was only one away win to cheer all season, a 2-0 success at Port Vale in September. The only real highlights that spring to mind are a 5-2 home win over Swindon, and a giantkilling 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup 3rd Round. However, during the close season, there was possibly the most significant event in the club’s modern history when Milan Manadaric bought it for £5m.

We all know the rest, but we also know it was far from plain sailing. The point is that it’s all relative. If Pompey could be turned around then with modest levels of investment, they can be turned around now. All that’s required is that the club doesn’t fall to its knees. As long as they are competing with their peers financially, it’s the management that makes all the difference. We didn’t begin to taste success until Harry Redknapp came along, and then it was instant. You can’t tell me that we can’t compete with Fulham, Hull, Burnley, Blackburn, Bolton, or Wigan. Of course we can.

The problem in all this is that we have so over extended ourselves that the club is not now an attractive proposition, but I think Sacha Gaydamak now realises, if he didn’t before, that he is going to have to take a substantial hit on leaving Portsmouth.  He won’t be the first or last in this recession, and I regret that our football is so uncompetitive that the price for a club like ours winning the FA Cup is so high, but I would like to say thanks for the memories, Mr Gaydamak. Now let’s get back to reality.

I would be especially interested to receive comments and memories regarding those events ten years ago when Milan Mandaric came along to save our club.

In truth, we should have known what was coming. It has been like this for weeks but at least the grind is now over. The job has been done. Portsmouth are set to  kick off their seventh successive season in the Premier League and for that we should be grateful, but we have certainly endured rather than enjoyed the crawl to safety.

Yesterday’ match appeared to just confirm what we have all believed for a while, namely that we were always going to do just enough, and no more. Many of the players had probably long lost belief as a result of Harry Redknapp’s departure and the subsequent turmoil and instability, whilst others probably went as far as to let their minds wander to the subject of their probable summer transfer destinations. It must be said though, that there has been precious little to keep them interested regarding the brand of football they have been required to play. The second half against Sunderland was different, but yesterday the same old negativity returned. A mistake by Sol Campbell midway through the first half gave Wigan their goal and it could have been more. Despite safety being confirmed, the club was weary of this awful season and had no more to give.

Paul Hart will discover his future this week, and the decision will probably depend on the takeover situation or lack of it, but a more positive show yesterday would certainly have helped to alleviate some of the fans’ considerable misgivings. The club’s first reported summer signing, Aaron Mokoena of Blackburn Rovers, would seem to suggest more of the same next season.

The real story, of course, was at Villa Park where Newcastle, despite eventually needing only a draw to survive, were meekly relegated. The standard of the Premier League this season was borne out by the fact that not one of the four teams involved in the relegation issue on the last day could muster even a point. The real crime from Newcastle’s point of view was that they never looked remotely like doing so.

Five years of mismanagement has now come home to roost. Ever since Bobby Robson was sacked shortly into the 2004-05 season, things have been in decline. How Newcastle must long for the top five finishes provided under Sir Bobby’s reign. Even the mid table security of Sam Allardyce’s solid approach would have been preferable to this, and there can’t be many who believe this would have come to pass if Allardyce had remained in charge. His only crime appeared to be not having his team play like Brazil. Perhaps the fans who clamoured for his resignation need to take a share of the blame for that. They got what they wanted, though, as Kevin Keegan made a messianic return, only for Mike Ashley to impose such restraints on him that he found them intolerable. 

Such mistakes have led to this and one of the Premier League’s biggest wage bills will need to be trimmed drastically as well if Newcastle are to avoind the fate of some of their predecessors, most notably Leeds United. They will surely ba back in the future, though and they should take heart from a club like Everton. Traditionally a big club, Everton’s status, like that of many other big cubs recently, has been eroded by the Champions League qualification situation and the creation of the ‘big four’. They are showing, though, that sound sensible management enables a bigger club to produce consistently in the league. The old argument goes that the top players are not attracted to the North East, but Everton have achieved on a limited budget. ‘Achieved’ might be relative in our uncompetitive league, but  it is simply the result of good management. Newcastle will need a lot of that if they are to return any time soon.