“Pay Up Pompey”

Posted by Craig Ritchie on January 25, 2012 | No Comments

Yesterday Portsmouth FC were hit with a winding up order from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs with regard to unpaid taxes. It has been less than two years since Pompey were placed into administration whilst still cutting their teeth in money fairground that is the Barclay’s Premiership, the point deduction that followed was the final nail in previously successful top level tenure.

A generation of mismanagement under shady owners and mysterious foreigners has resulted in the much loved local club worry more about finances than performances on the field in recent times. Long gone are the days of playing AC Milan in the Europa League, the likes of Jermaine Defoe and Niko Kranjcar in the starting line up being urged on by the experienced Harry Redknapp. These days the untested Michael Appleton takes charge against teams such as Peterborough relying on the ever ageing Kanu and journeyman Tal Ben Haim to come up with the goods for the expectant Portsmouth faithful.

This test seems to be the biggest they have faced in a long line of financial restraints. Not since Milan Mandaric have Portsmouth had any sort of relevant stability behind the scenes at Fratton Park. Alexandre Gaydamak, Suliamen Al Fahim, Ali Al Haraj and Balram Chainrai have all been in control in the last three years and none of them have provided any good in the grand scheme of things for the club. Yes they have achieved FA Cup success but as a result the club appear to be about to hit the wall with debts at one time quoted at over £100 mil. Silly spending, not paying bills and paying players such as Peter Crouch and Sylvain Distin inflated wages are just a few of the reasons Pompey find themselves in the predicament they now find themselves.

Former chairmen, Vladimir Antonov was recently arrested for alleged assest stripping, prompting the sudden change again in the clubs financial situation. A failed bid for the club from Italian businessman Joseph Cala on Friday has seen the situation deteriorate even further pronoting HMRC to now chase the £1.6mil they are due.

Times look tough once again for a side that was seen to have a lot of potential at the start of the Championship season but now the big worry is the future of the team not the final league position come May.

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