I am The Wotcher. My given name, echoed as I visit football stadia across the land, is Uayu.
As I stand outside that metaphorical fast food outlet, the Isthatallyou Takeaway, the continuing debacle at Portsmouth Football Club is enough to see me choke on my imaginary burger. A paltry consolation is that I may not have to munch my metaphors for much longer, as the club seems closer than ever to being liquidated.
Much has been written and discussed about the misfortunes of Portsmouth FC. Observers have noted that this recent sorry turn of events is the second time in a few years that Portsmouth have gone into administration. Not so quickly recalled is the fact that this is actually Pompey’s third stint in administration. When Martin Gregory seemed happy to let the club die, and be shot of a legacy from his father that he clearly never wanted, the prospect of the club going bust seemed very real, until Milan Mandaric saved the day.
I have always thought that Pompey fans should be grateful to Mandaric for what he did for their club. I did not always agree with the speed with which he lost patience with managers. Tony Pulis has demonstrated elsewhere what modest success he might have achieved with a bit more faith and patience. Yet a lot of what has gone wrong for Pompey since then all stems from events at this time. I do not think for one moment that Milan should be held responsible for Pompey’s current woes. I do, however, see elements in his administration that categorise a lot of what is wrong not just with our club, but all of football.
Milan got lucky in having the opportunity to appoint Redknapp as manager. After Harry’s problems at West Ham, it was as if this path was scripted for him. Disillusioned with what management of his beloved club had brought him, he was willing to accept a different type of post, the ill-defined Director of Football. I believe he genuinely did not want to undermine then manager Graham Rix, but surely he very quickly realised that not only was he missing management, but that he could be doing a much better job than Rix.
Once in charge, Harry limped to the end of the season with what he had inherited, then totally rebuilt the team. Everything revolved around Paul Merson on the pitch, and I think even Harry was surprised at just how well the team he put together was able to play their way out of the division.
Then, in the Premier League, we acquired players like Sheringham, Stone, and Berger. At this stage you could see how Pompey were trying to stay competitive in the top flight, signing players that were maybe past their best, but Harry knew still had something to offer, and he clearly had faith in his own ability to bring it out of them. By the time we were signing players like Defoe and Johnson, Muntari and Diarra, it is clear to see that we were overstretching ourselves. Fans and board alike were getting carried away, but for different reasons. Fans continue to shell out their hard earned cash, even more at Premier League prices, and delight in bragging rights from supporting a successful team on the up. Owners and directors probably like to win too, but must surely also delight in being associated with bringing success, as well as the accompanying financial rewards.
Milan Mandaric was long gone by the time the wheels fell off. He had sold the club for a tidy profit, and had moved on to similar projects, but so far with less success, if that is indeed the right word. I still thank him for buying Portsmouth in the first place, eventually achieving a thrilling promotion, and helping bring Premier League football to PFC. I am also delighted that he is a former owner that is not exercising any sort of financial stranglehold over the club.
Sacha Gaydamak, in contrast, has left a very bad stench around Fratton Park. Maybe he did not do so well out of his involvement with Pompey. He may just be clinging on to what he can in order to claw back some of his losses. Whatever the reason for him still casting a shadow over PFC, it is this fixation on financial return that has ruined Pompey, and surely makes life hard and football less enjoyable at other clubs as well.
Given the obvious millions that came in Pompey’s direction, a predictable response from fans and onlookers alike was to ask where all the money had gone. That’s an easy one, the money was hoovered up by players and agents, and those running the show. Supporters were hoodwinked with two different, lavish proposals for new grounds, one of them an unforgettable sci-fi waterside harbour fantasy that if realised, would have surely made Pompey’s home a visual spectacle that would have been famous and recognisable the world over. It was never going to happen.
The question should not be what happened to the money, but how it could ever have been allowed to almost completely sidestep the bedrock and infrastructure of PFC. Owners of football clubs talk sometimes of how they are merely custodians of the clubs, safeguarding them for generations to come. I am sure I have heard Milan Mandaric discuss this very point. Unfortunately it was never less true than in consideration of the dubious, and in one case possibly fictitious, owners that came after him. People were allowed to take control with no verification of their financial situation, borrow money in the clubs name, and disappear again having suffered no obvious personal financial hardship, leaving the club close to ruin and numerous small creditors to suffer.
Balram Chanrai made a loan to the club, not to the owner. He now seems to own the ground. Gaydamak sold the club, but retains ownership of the car park, and what used to be the club’s flashy new shop and ticket office. When Mandaric took control, he came in, as far as I can tell, with sole control of the assets. That does not seem to be an option for any prospective owner. Even after one recent administration process, we still have vultures circling, keener on getting their cash back than seeing the club survive. What sort of businessman is Chanrai that he thinks loaning millions of pounds to an institution within the fragile world of football finance is a good investment? Would it perhaps be because of the way football creditors are protected? How do we continue to allow our game to be run in such a way that the fat cats are guaranteed to continue to drown in not just the milk from the cash cow, but to gorge on steaks from its still living flesh, and bathe in all vomit and excrement that can be wrung from either end, while small business and charities wait for scraps or even faint splashes that never come?
Any prospective owner of Pompey would surely be mad to put themselves in a situation where they must deal with these ongoing financial issues surrounding the previous owners, yet it seems as if they would have no choice. Surely this is one of the biggest problems in attracting any investor.
Last week Liam Lawrence was quoted as saying that the wrong people were being punished in this affair. He has now been loaned to what some might refer to as ‘championship rivals’, Cardiff. Rivals, yes, in the sense we are in the same league, but with no money, players leaving, a transfer embargo and a points deduction that leaves us in the bottom three, adrift from safety, there are not many other clubs in the same division that will be worried about Pompey as rivals. The only concern Cardiff, or any other championship club, might now have regarding Pompey must surely be just how that club’s dissolution would affect the points situation for all the other clubs in this year’s league.
If the current Portsmouth Football Club must disappear, then please can we all have enough information to understand why and how this has happened? The administration handled by Andrew Andronikou did not get rid of the previous problems. As I remember it saw the appointment of a new chief executive at a time when there was no owner in place, and it saw the same man that put us into administration take us out. Is that right, that someone can enter administration, see debts disappear, and then take the club back on?
Financial problems in football, or even at Portsmouth, are nothing new. There was a cash crisis in the seventies, back when Iain St. John was manager and George Graham was on the playing staff. Sadly, the amount of money in football today means that it is that much more difficult to get yourself out of a serious hole, and similarly difficult to avoid attracting those who wish only to be involved in order to take advantage of those same ludicrously large sums of money.
If Portsmouth must go bust, then so be it. My empathy is with every supporter. I know that if it comes to it, a new club will emerge at some point that local people will have the chance to support if they wish. I have no doubt that this would happen.
If, on the other hand, by some miracle Portsmouth survive in their current form, then let us hope Trevor Birch leaves the club as emaciated as is necessary, but ready to start a programme of rehabilitation that progresses no more quickly than is healthy. If the finances available and all possible revenue, without venturing into the realms of borrowing and gambling against possible promotions or other successes, mean that we can only operate as a League 1 or 2 club, then I would welcome that, rather than see the club disappear. Should we find a suitable owner, then let them invest wisely. Let us have the framework that means we and future generations can continue to enjoy our club. Yes, we will always have ambition to compete and do better, seek promotion and cup glory, but never let it be at the risk of ending our existence. Let our managers have a sound knowledge of the parameters within which they can operate, and let our fans show understanding and realism in the demands we make of those with the power to make the decisions that affect our future.
On the broader canvas of football at large, let us get back as quickly as possible to a situation where all we have to worry about is whether our club has a chance of beating our next opponents on any given Saturday. I have always empathised with fans of other clubs when they have been in difficulties, and I have read comments, even from supporters of nearby clubs at the other end of the table, showing solidarity with Portsmouth’s plight. But we do not need sympathy. We just need a voice and mechanism to demand and provide enough transparency that we can see when things are not right and insist on changes. It is no good having so many clubs in administration that we might have half the teams in any division on points deductions. That makes a nonsense of any competition. Aim for success through a long term faith in a manager, a system or a philosophy, rather than throwing money you have not got at a situation or sacking the coach after three games without a win. Budget for the money you have now, rather than putting yourself in a position where you know you can only survive financially if you stay in the division you are in.
Basically football, just get real, and fans get a grip, do not let those in charge consistently tackle you studs-up in the groin while you thank them and continue to hand over the cash that will disappear with these same people when their questionable tenure comes to an end. A wealthy owner may seem like the Christmas present you want, but fandom is for life, unless perhaps someone liquidates your club. Somehow, fans of all clubs need to take collective responsibility for how they support their club. Blindly hoping your sugar daddy will buy you success is clearly naive, and demanding the board be sacked because you have not achieved the play-offs for two consecutive seasons is unrealistic. These days, any long serving football fan must surely recognise that success may not necessarily be promotion or knocking Manchester United out of the F.A. Cup. It may just be having a club that has a sound enough financial footing that enables you to continue to lend your support, and that at the final whistle, whatever the outcome, you know that you are usually only days away from having another chance to compete.
As I stand outside that metaphorical fast food outlet, the Isthatallyou Takeaway, the continuing debacle at Portsmouth Football Club is enough to see me choke on my imaginary burger. A paltry consolation is that I may not have to munch my metaphors for much longer, as the club seems closer than ever to being liquidated.
Much has been written and discussed about the misfortunes of Portsmouth FC. Observers have noted that this recent sorry turn of events is the second time in a few years that Portsmouth have gone into administration. Not so quickly recalled is the fact that this is actually Pompey’s third stint in administration. When Martin Gregory seemed happy to let the club die, and be shot of a legacy from his father that he clearly never wanted, the prospect of the club going bust seemed very real, until Milan Mandaric saved the day.
I have always thought that Pompey fans should be grateful to Mandaric for what he did for their club. I did not always agree with the speed with which he lost patience with managers. Tony Pulis has demonstrated elsewhere what modest success he might have achieved with a bit more faith and patience. Yet a lot of what has gone wrong for Pompey since then all stems from events at this time. I do not think for one moment that Milan should be held responsible for Pompey’s current woes. I do, however, see elements in his administration that categorise a lot of what is wrong not just with our club, but all of football.
Milan got lucky in having the opportunity to appoint Redknapp as manager. After Harry’s problems at West Ham, it was as if this path was scripted for him. Disillusioned with what management of his beloved club had brought him, he was willing to accept a different type of post, the ill-defined Director of Football. I believe he genuinely did not want to undermine then manager Graham Rix, but surely he very quickly realised that not only was he missing management, but that he could be doing a much better job than Rix.
Once in charge, Harry limped to the end of the season with what he had inherited, then totally rebuilt the team. Everything revolved around Paul Merson on the pitch, and I think even Harry was surprised at just how well the team he put together was able to play their way out of the division.
Then, in the Premier League, we acquired players like Sheringham, Stone, and Berger. At this stage you could see how Pompey were trying to stay competitive in the top flight, signing players that were maybe past their best, but Harry knew still had something to offer, and he clearly had faith in his own ability to bring it out of them. By the time we were signing players like Defoe and Johnson, Muntari and Diarra, it is clear to see that we were overstretching ourselves. Fans and board alike were getting carried away, but for different reasons. Fans continue to shell out their hard earned cash, even more at Premier League prices, and delight in bragging rights from supporting a successful team on the up. Owners and directors probably like to win too, but must surely also delight in being associated with bringing success, as well as the accompanying financial rewards.
Milan Mandaric was long gone by the time the wheels fell off. He had sold the club for a tidy profit, and had moved on to similar projects, but so far with less success, if that is indeed the right word. I still thank him for buying Portsmouth in the first place, eventually achieving a thrilling promotion, and helping bring Premier League football to PFC. I am also delighted that he is a former owner that is not exercising any sort of financial stranglehold over the club.
Sacha Gaydamak, in contrast, has left a very bad stench around Fratton Park. Maybe he did not do so well out of his involvement with Pompey. He may just be clinging on to what he can in order to claw back some of his losses. Whatever the reason for him still casting a shadow over PFC, it is this fixation on financial return that has ruined Pompey, and surely makes life hard and football less enjoyable at other clubs as well.
Given the obvious millions that came in Pompey’s direction, a predictable response from fans and onlookers alike was to ask where all the money had gone. That’s an easy one, the money was hoovered up by players and agents, and those running the show. Supporters were hoodwinked with two different, lavish proposals for new grounds, one of them an unforgettable sci-fi waterside harbour fantasy that if realised, would have surely made Pompey’s home a visual spectacle that would have been famous and recognisable the world over. It was never going to happen.
The question should not be what happened to the money, but how it could ever have been allowed to almost completely sidestep the bedrock and infrastructure of PFC. Owners of football clubs talk sometimes of how they are merely custodians of the clubs, safeguarding them for generations to come. I am sure I have heard Milan Mandaric discuss this very point. Unfortunately it was never less true than in consideration of the dubious, and in one case possibly fictitious, owners that came after him. People were allowed to take control with no verification of their financial situation, borrow money in the clubs name, and disappear again having suffered no obvious personal financial hardship, leaving the club close to ruin and numerous small creditors to suffer.
Balram Chanrai made a loan to the club, not to the owner. He now seems to own the ground. Gaydamak sold the club, but retains ownership of the car park, and what used to be the club’s flashy new shop and ticket office. When Mandaric took control, he came in, as far as I can tell, with sole control of the assets. That does not seem to be an option for any prospective owner. Even after one recent administration process, we still have vultures circling, keener on getting their cash back than seeing the club survive. What sort of businessman is Chanrai that he thinks loaning millions of pounds to an institution within the fragile world of football finance is a good investment? Would it perhaps be because of the way football creditors are protected? How do we continue to allow our game to be run in such a way that the fat cats are guaranteed to continue to drown in not just the milk from the cash cow, but to gorge on steaks from its still living flesh, and bathe in all vomit and excrement that can be wrung from either end, while small business and charities wait for scraps or even faint splashes that never come?
Any prospective owner of Pompey would surely be mad to put themselves in a situation where they must deal with these ongoing financial issues surrounding the previous owners, yet it seems as if they would have no choice. Surely this is one of the biggest problems in attracting any investor.
Last week Liam Lawrence was quoted as saying that the wrong people were being punished in this affair. He has now been loaned to what some might refer to as ‘championship rivals’, Cardiff. Rivals, yes, in the sense we are in the same league, but with no money, players leaving, a transfer embargo and a points deduction that leaves us in the bottom three, adrift from safety, there are not many other clubs in the same division that will be worried about Pompey as rivals. The only concern Cardiff, or any other championship club, might now have regarding Pompey must surely be just how that club’s dissolution would affect the points situation for all the other clubs in this year’s league.
If the current Portsmouth Football Club must disappear, then please can we all have enough information to understand why and how this has happened? The administration handled by Andrew Andronikou did not get rid of the previous problems. As I remember it saw the appointment of a new chief executive at a time when there was no owner in place, and it saw the same man that put us into administration take us out. Is that right, that someone can enter administration, see debts disappear, and then take the club back on?
Financial problems in football, or even at Portsmouth, are nothing new. There was a cash crisis in the seventies, back when Iain St. John was manager and George Graham was on the playing staff. Sadly, the amount of money in football today means that it is that much more difficult to get yourself out of a serious hole, and similarly difficult to avoid attracting those who wish only to be involved in order to take advantage of those same ludicrously large sums of money.
If Portsmouth must go bust, then so be it. My empathy is with every supporter. I know that if it comes to it, a new club will emerge at some point that local people will have the chance to support if they wish. I have no doubt that this would happen.
If, on the other hand, by some miracle Portsmouth survive in their current form, then let us hope Trevor Birch leaves the club as emaciated as is necessary, but ready to start a programme of rehabilitation that progresses no more quickly than is healthy. If the finances available and all possible revenue, without venturing into the realms of borrowing and gambling against possible promotions or other successes, mean that we can only operate as a League 1 or 2 club, then I would welcome that, rather than see the club disappear. Should we find a suitable owner, then let them invest wisely. Let us have the framework that means we and future generations can continue to enjoy our club. Yes, we will always have ambition to compete and do better, seek promotion and cup glory, but never let it be at the risk of ending our existence. Let our managers have a sound knowledge of the parameters within which they can operate, and let our fans show understanding and realism in the demands we make of those with the power to make the decisions that affect our future.
On the broader canvas of football at large, let us get back as quickly as possible to a situation where all we have to worry about is whether our club has a chance of beating our next opponents on any given Saturday. I have always empathised with fans of other clubs when they have been in difficulties, and I have read comments, even from supporters of nearby clubs at the other end of the table, showing solidarity with Portsmouth’s plight. But we do not need sympathy. We just need a voice and mechanism to demand and provide enough transparency that we can see when things are not right and insist on changes. It is no good having so many clubs in administration that we might have half the teams in any division on points deductions. That makes a nonsense of any competition. Aim for success through a long term faith in a manager, a system or a philosophy, rather than throwing money you have not got at a situation or sacking the coach after three games without a win. Budget for the money you have now, rather than putting yourself in a position where you know you can only survive financially if you stay in the division you are in.
Basically football, just get real, and fans get a grip, do not let those in charge consistently tackle you studs-up in the groin while you thank them and continue to hand over the cash that will disappear with these same people when their questionable tenure comes to an end. A wealthy owner may seem like the Christmas present you want, but fandom is for life, unless perhaps someone liquidates your club. Somehow, fans of all clubs need to take collective responsibility for how they support their club. Blindly hoping your sugar daddy will buy you success is clearly naive, and demanding the board be sacked because you have not achieved the play-offs for two consecutive seasons is unrealistic. These days, any long serving football fan must surely recognise that success may not necessarily be promotion or knocking Manchester United out of the F.A. Cup. It may just be having a club that has a sound enough financial footing that enables you to continue to lend your support, and that at the final whistle, whatever the outcome, you know that you are usually only days away from having another chance to compete.
