Leaving doubts about the nature of the takeover aside just for one moment (if that is possible!), Tommy Smith has reportedly cost £1.8m. If there is £1.8m available to spend on a striker, I truly believe that there are better ways to spend it. It is this that worries me even more than the level of immediate financial backing available. There must be strikers available on loan with more quality, who would be available for even less. Can’t think of one off the top of my head (distracted by listening to The Quay’s football hour), but I’ll let you know if one comes to mind. The point is, Tommy Smith doesn’t convince me.

He starts to convince me even less when you look at the manager’s other targets. Mike Williamson from Watford. I’ve never heard of him. MICHAEL BROWN! His past history aside (his last stint at Portsmouth, and trying to break Sean Davis’ leg at Fulham), this is another defensive midfielder! Paul, I don’t care how little money you have, can’t you hear us all saying we don’t need another one?  

It looks like we are about to receive up to £6m for Sylvain Distin. With the finances available as a result of the takeover looking limited to say the least, this money will become vital in the next few days. The trouble is, I don’t trust the manager to use it wisely. Three negative statements in three sentences. Very easy to do at the moment.

There is nothing else we can do, I’m afraid. Typically, we still don’t know what the future is supposed to hold and the completion of the takeover just leaves more questions and a sense of frustration instead of the relief we have all longed for. I am just confused, frustrated and, most depressingly of all, sceptical about the deal and the future. The drawn out summer, and the nature of the eventual deal have given us Pompey fans no reason to be anything else. I think we have all just had enough and, sadly, Al Fahim starts his reign with an uphill battle on his his hands to even convince the fans of his best intentions. Money aside, we can’t even rely on continuity in the boardroom to see us through this difficult time. I would love to believe that all concerned can now pull together for the good of Portsmouth Football Club, but I just don’t think life works that way!

Al Fahim now has just days to make an impact, or the morale-sapping effect of further inactivity will mean the January transfer window may be useless to us. The positive and immediate impact required seems improbable for a man who appears to have been forced into a deal, any deal, to save face. I hope I am wrong, but I am so very tired of it all.

Now personally, I thought Paul Hart should have reverted back to the tactic that worked so well against Sunderland at the back end of last season. Namely, play 4-4-2 and give Utaka one last chance to save his Pompey career up front where he looked like a class act (and interested!) in that Sunderland match. But I wasn’t surpised he opted for 4-5-1, with Utaka in his usual ineffectual wide right role. Again there was no place for Basinas despite the fact we desperately needed someone who could pass the ball in the middle. Mullins played well but does not possess the killer ball (or any forward pass).

Enough about tactics. What was clear from Saturday was that they are irrelevant until we buy some more players, better players. OK we had the farce of Vanden Borre and the Italian Football Association, and Finnan is injured but those two aren’t going to save us. We need a quality striker (or two), and someone who can pass the ball in the middle of midfield. It doesn’t appear that Basinas will ever get the chance to do that. And after that we probably need another three or four players capable of pushng for first team places. This team just isn’t good enough. Although David Nugent hasn’t had the chance to prove himself that Utaka has, the evidence is clear. He isn’t good enough, even for a struggling Premiership side. Also, I hate to say it because I admire the way he has stepped in to the breach, but I am not convinced about Paul Hart’s managerial ability either. Last season was one thing, but to my mind, you try to beat Fulham at home in the first game of the season with what you’ve got. He didn’t do that.

All in all, things are much bleaker now than they were before the game, especially as we are now into Groundhog Day number 827. I can’t bring myself to say any more. It’s been a HELL of a summer…

Fulham obviously had a good season last time out and will probably set up much the same way this term. They have one of the better keepers in Mark Schwarzer, Hangeland is in particular demand at the moment, and Danny Murphy will undoubtedly be pulling the strings again in central midfield. But Fulham are strongest up front, and have real pace with Kamara, Zamora, and Johnson up front. The strength of the rest of the team is debatable, but Roy Hodgson has them very well drilled. All in all, just about a tougher than average test for the opening test of the campaign.

But how will Pompey play? I think this will be dictated by our strength up front. At the moment, Piquionne is the only game in town, and that based on one performance in a friendly. Kanu has just signed a ONE MONTH contract, suggesting that the club hope other players will come in soon, and I believe David Nugent has been earmarked for sale.

David James looks likely to be fit, and the back four could be Hreidarsson, Distin, Kaboul, and Wilson, or possibly new signing Vanden Borre. I hope to see central midfield made up of fit-again Papa Bouba Diop and Angelos Basinas, together with Paul Hart’s man Aaron Mokoena. Basinas can pass a ball and allow us to also have Kranjcar wide on the left. Utaka remains the only viable option on the right, but unfortunately he seems destined never to perform there. You could always try him up front, Paul? I don’t believe he will.

So, I think we still have a team that can compete with Fulham at Fratton Park today. Perhaps the summer goings on and current frustration will work in our favour today and make for an intimidating atmosphere, despite the fact that many fans are still being affected by the recession and Fratton Park is unlikely to be full.

Peter Storrie’s enthusiasm to distance himself from Sulaiman Al Fahim’s proposed takeover at the Radio Solent forum on Thursday night, and his hint that a rival takeover bid may be imminent  has added further spice to the occasion, with many fans now doubtful that Sulaiman Al Fahim will attend as he had promised. You can listen to the forum here, but the main focus now should be on getting three points today against Fulham. Play up Pompey!

This week it really is apt because we haven’t got a clue what is going to happen between now and then! The takeover may have completed, it may have fallen through (remember, I reckon on or the other is going to happen this week!), or it may have completed accompanied by a sense of depression that Al Fahim blatantly doesn’t have any money! In any case, we need to expect the worst. The events of the last two months, if not the last fifty years (largely) have taught us that.

The thing is, despite the fact that Paul Hart’s managerial mettle has yet to be proven, he is the only one we can believe in at the club at the moment, if only on the level that he is doing his best under difficult circumstances. But more importantly, whether Paul Hart says it or not, it is blatantly obvious that that is what we need to do on Saturday. Get behind the team with the kind of backs to the wall mentality that hasn’t been needed since the great escape.

And be honest, that’s when Pompey matches are at their best isn’t it? Huddersfield and Bradford away, going to Middlesbrough on a freezing midweek night in ‘92 and winning 4-2, Manchester City and Wigan a couple of years back? They were some of the best games, with the best atmospheres, I’ve ever been to, INCLUDING winning the FA Cup at Wembley.

So, with everyone fed up to the back teeth of talking about this takeover, today’s message is simple. Get defiantly behind the lads on Saturday and sweep them to a victory which could be precious come the end of the season. As for the takeover, I think Peter Storrie has the right idea. Wait and see, just wait and see.

First, the timescale. Of course, most people believe Sacha Gaydamak has now set a deadline for Sulaiman Al Fahim to complete the deal, which will expire some time at the weekend. If true, we will obviously have a resolution one way or the other before then, but typically nothing is clear with the Al Fahim camp denying the existence of this time limit. The reason I believe that something must happen this week is because of the twin pressures of Gaydamak’s debt to Standard Bank and the ever tightening transfer window. 

Even if no such deadline has been formally set by Gaydamak, in essence it exists. Despite an encouraging win over Glasgow Rangers at the weekend, the squad is at tipping point, both in terms of quality and depth. If he cannot be sure of completion, Gaydamak will have to begin selling more players next week in order to keep the club out of administration. This would be the worst case scenario for him as it would see him losing even more than most people believe he already stands to lose from the deal, quite apart from the fact that he would have no choice but to act to avoid a ten point deduction. Equally, Al Fahim cannot possibly want this to happen as the squad would then be so damaged as to be unable to compete, even over half a season. Al Fahim is believed to be planning to attend the match against Fulham at Fratton Park on Saturday. Should be very interesting!

I referred to the team itself earlier. That win against Rangers has given us all hope, especially as our star close- season signing, Frederic Piquionne, showed that he can score goals (good goals too). More than that, the whole team played well with Kranjcar putting in an impressive shift and Marc Wilson looking good. I just hope we don’t get too carried away. It did show that we have a team that can still compete, but it was still just a pre season friendly, and the squsd needs more depth for the long season ahead. This needs addressing NOW and I hope Al Fahim realises this.

Titbits? Well, the latest seems to have come from Peter Storrie, who seems cast in an ever more heroic light at the moment, given the circumstances. In an aricle in The News today, he said, ‘just wait and see’, twice! I would find that a strange comment for someone who just a couple of days ago emailed a fan to say that he knew nothing about the progress of the takeover or how long it would take, and was at pains to point out that it was between the two protagonists. In the same interview he attacked the national press for printing rubbish. Very bold for someone who had seemed so downcast a couple of days ago. Come on Peter, spill the beans!

Even if Storrie does know that the takeover will go through, the question still remains as to what kind of takeover it will be. We are not so sure now of a bright new future with riches to spend on a new stadium, training ground, and players. But surely a prospective new owner would not go through all this trouble, only to struggle to even add to an already depleted squad? If the takeover happened tomorrow and we were only able to buy a couple more modest players before the end of the month, I would expect this squad to get through to January competitively while more permananet foundations for the club were laid. This has to be his intention, doesn’t it? Something approaching his original vision for the future? Only time will tell. This Week.

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.

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.

Paul Hart has been quoted in The News today as saying that as well as potential new arrivals, more players may yet leave the club in the coming weeks. He is then very quick to add that this will be decided by him, for footballing reasons. Forgive me if I don’t quite believe that. For some reason, events over the last few weeks have made me sceptical!

Let’s assume for one moment that this is indeed his true intention. Rumour has it already that two of the players Hart wouldn’t be too upset to see the back of are John Utaka and Nadir Belhadj. Now, I know they are not what you would call top notch Premier League players, but I’m damn sure they are not players we can afford to lose in our position! Either the club is still in a precarious position, despite the takeover, or Paul Hart truly believes he can afford to sell them. I really hope it’s the latter, although that leaves Hart’s footballing vision as the only solution to that particular issue. I don’t believe that vision has been proven yet!

I think the real pointer to the true state of the club will be what happens with Sylvain Distin. Even if the club does want to keep him, he may decide that, given recent goings-on, his future lies elsewhere. If he then successfully forces a move, the effect on the pitch is just as bad as if Portsmouth couldn’t afford to keep him. Given what we know about potential transfer targets, the squad could then already be just too weak to compete.

A lot will become clear in the next two weeks but things do not look good at the moment, and just when the future should be looking distinctly brighter, it appears things could get even worse.

I saw a great article in The Times’ online fanzine section today, by Gareth Beavis. You can read it here. I do agree with a lot of what it says but I was depressed to find that it wasn’t enough to lift me out of my gloom. You see, the point I can’t agree with is that, because ten years ago we were on the brink of extinction, we should just be grateful that we are in the Premier League at all. That’s not enough to placate my frustration at the current situation, I’m afraid.

At the same time, I do get frustrated with comments from fans who clearly have no idea where we have come from. I guess my attitude is that although I realise we have been overachieving recently, I don’t see any reason why we can’t reproduce that kind of consistency over time with the right long term strategy. The potential in the club is there. If Dr Al Fahim is to be true to his word, we just have to ride out this storm first. The trouble is , the swell seems to be getting bigger by the day.

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.