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Post by Zamoraaaah on Dec 3, 2009 20:26:04 GMT
Portsmouth fail to pay players' wages for second timenews.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8394092.stmPortsmouth have confirmed some of their players have not received their November salaries, the second time this season they have not been paid on time. A Pompey statement read: "The majority of the first team squad have not yet received their November salaries. "A proportion of their wages will be paid on Friday, with the club's new owners working towards paying the remainder over the next few days." The Premier League side's squad were also paid late for September. 606: DEBATE any hopes in an Al Faraj funded revival will be crushed under the news that the players haven't been paid for the last month anybodybutliverpool That followed Sulaiman Al Fahim's takeover from Alexandre Gaydamak at Fratton Park, when Al Fahim promised to inject £50m into the financially-troubled club within a matter of weeks. But Portsmouth were sold again in October, to Saudi business tycoon Ali Al Faraj. Al Faraj acquired a 90% stake in Pompey, leaving Al Fahim as the non-executive chairman with a 10% stake.
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Post by Zamoraaaah on Dec 3, 2009 20:26:58 GMT
And on the same day....
Avram Grant confident over Pompey transfer funds
Avram Grant will have money for new players
Portsmouth manager Avram Grant is confident he will have money to buy new players in the January transfer window.
Grant told BBC Radio Solent: "The new owners want to give money to buy new players because they know this squad was put together at the last moment.
"The people here before did a good job in difficult circumstances, but now is the time to improve the team."
Pompey have been under a transfer embargo since October but are hoping it will be lifted in time for January.
Chief executive Peter Storrie said last week of the embargo: "It should certainly be lifted in time for the window opening and Avram will look at where he thinks we need to strengthen the side."
Grant will face the added need of having to replace his contingent of African internationals likely to be taking part in the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola during January.
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Post by cpr on Dec 4, 2009 7:29:48 GMT
Daft situation, fit and proper, my arse! I wonder if Grunt go paid. As an aside, in wha tother industry would someone get a postion without having a work permit, then when the work permit arrives, someone below him is sacked and he replaces the sacked person?   |
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Post by Zamoraaaah on Dec 4, 2009 7:50:31 GMT
It is madness. They must be next for the dreaded drop down a couple of divisions from the Prem. Meanwhile I can recycle one of my favourite songs Pay up Pompey, Pompey pay up...  |
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Post by QPR Report on Dec 4, 2009 8:32:58 GMT
Guardian/David Hytner
Cash-strapped Portsmouth fail to pay players' wages for second time• Transfer embargo unlikely to be lifted after latest financial crisis
• Portsmouth face bill of £5m-£10m in unpaid transfer paymentsPortsmouth's chances of convincing the Premier League to lift the transfer embargo which has been placed on them suffered further damage yesterday when the south-coast club once again failed to pay the wages of their players on time. Avram Grant's first-team squad were due to receive their November pay packets on Monday and, although some of them have seen the money enter into their accounts, the majority have not. The club have promised that the situation will be rectified in the coming days. It is the latest episode to undermine morale at Fratton Park and comes ahead of what the players described as tomorrow's must-win home match with Burnley. The club, who last week sacked Paul Hart to replace him with Grant, are bottom, seven points adrift of safety, and they have had to deal with a string of off-the-field controversies, principally in relation to ownership issues and finance. The Premier League suspended them in mid-October from signing new players after they admitted to problems in meeting payments due by the end of August on transfers, one of which involved a sell-on fee owed to Chelsea over Glen Johnson, who left Fratton Park for Liverpool. This remains outstanding. The club now face a bill of between £5m-10m by the end of January on the next series of instalments; the transfers in question involve Johnson, Mike Williamson, John Utaka and Younes Kaboul, among others. They must demonstrate to the Premier League how they intend to pay these monies, before the transfer embargo can be lifted, and their inability to meet the requirement of their players' wages has hardly inspired confidence. Grant has said that he needs new signings and he also stands to lose five players to next month's African Cup of Nations in Angola; Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda (Algeria), Kanu (Nigeria), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana) and Aruna Dindane (Ivory Coast). Portsmouth's previous owner Sulaiman al-Fahim was unseated after he failed to meet the squad's salaries for September while his successor, Ali al-Faraj, secured a short-term loan from the Hong Kong-based businessman Balram Chainrai to pay October's wages, totalling around £1.8m, and meet costs to the club's other creditors.Faraj is still coming to terms with the structure of the club's debts. "Portsmouth FC can confirm that the majority of the first team squad have not yet received their November salaries," said a spokesman. "A proportion of their wages will be paid tomorrow with the club's new owners working towards paying the remainder over the next few days." www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/dec/04/portsmouth-players-pay
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Post by froggyranger on Dec 4, 2009 10:34:22 GMT
I agree,within 3 seasons they will be playing in League One. It does seem that they have well and truly screwed things up.
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Post by moriarty on Dec 4, 2009 13:38:58 GMT
There's something very fishy about the owner merry-go-round over there - I would be very concerned if I supported them.
And Zed - 'Pay up Pompey, Pompey pay up...'
Brilliant!!
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eskey8
Dave Sexton
www.cycle2austria.com
Posts: 2,274
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Post by eskey8 on Dec 4, 2009 14:43:10 GMT
I wonder if Grunt go paid. My last name is Grant - I have received similar abuse all my child hood!  |
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Post by cpr on Dec 4, 2009 16:18:53 GMT
I wonder if Grunt go paid. My last name is Grant - I have received similar abuse all my child hood! My apologies, a scum mate called him average grunt when he was with them, sort of stuck. A good mate is also Grunt and my nephew is Grunt or Grundle. ;D |
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Post by QPR Report on Dec 4, 2009 17:08:16 GMT
Got a loan BBC Portsmouth loan settles players' wages crisis Portsmouth have secured a loan which means they can finally pay their players' wages for November. The players had failed to be paid as scheduled for the second time this season but all of the salaries were paid on Friday, BBC Sport understands. The club met a delegation of players and officials from the Professional Footballers' Association. Portsmouth, who are bottom of the Premier League, also paid their players late in September. That followed Sulaiman Al Fahim's takeover from Alexandre Gaydamak at Fratton Park, when Al Fahim promised to inject £50m into the financially-troubled club within a matter of weeks. But Portsmouth were sold again in October, to Saudi business tycoon Ali Al Faraj. Al Faraj acquired a 90% stake in Pompey, leaving Al Fahim as the non-executive chairman with a 10% stake. PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor told BBC Radio Five live he was concerned at the latest developments at the club. 606: DEBATE Talk about shooting ourselves in the foot! t111sho "This week we've had problems with wages at Crystal Palace, at Watford and we've had lower division clubs who've had trouble paying wages where sometimes that's not entirely unexpected. "But at Premier League level, that's the last place you would expect there to be trouble in paying wages on time," he said. "It's not good for the image of the Premiership and you have to wonder about their financial book keeping. I thought things had got sorted but apparently not. "The players have been promised they will be paid, albeit not exactly on time. Wage woes won't affect Pompey - Grant "Throughout all these clubs the players show a great deal of solidarity, they're not going to go running and wanting away from the club and Portsmouth are in a difficult position so they will hold together and hope that things get sorted." Portsmouth were placed under a transfer embargo in late October until they settle debts owed to other English clubs - although in any event, they would not be able to sign players until the January transfer window opens. Chief executive Peter Storrie stated last week that he expected the embargo to be lifted by the time the window opens on 1 January, while manager Avram Grant has said he is confident he will have money to spend. newsvote.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8394092.stm |
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Post by QPR Report on Dec 6, 2009 8:41:20 GMT
When Saturday Comes (WSC) Problems mount at Fratton Park Image 5 December 2009 ~ With only seven points from twice as many fixtures, Portsmouth welcome Burnley to Fratton Park this afternoon desperately needing a win. They have lost their last five matches – including their midweek exit from the League Cup – and are steadily sliding towards the Championship. As unthinkable as it sounds, however, the players may have more pressing concerns than their dire run of form. The arrival of a new owner, Saudi businessman Ali al-Faraj, and new manager Avram Grant was supposed to signal an upturn in the club's fortunes. But for the second time in the past three months players have not received their wages on time. Only last week Grant seemed positive that the new regime would provide funds for new players in January: "The new owners want to give money to buy new players because they know this squad was put together at the last moment. Now is the time to improve the team." But before Portsmouth can buy in January they must circumnavigate their transfer embargo. The club were banned from signing new players earlier in the season after they failed to pay installments on transfer fees. The club's previous failure to pay up led to Al-Faraj taking the club over from the previous owner, fellow Saudi Sulaiman al-Fahim. Where the club go from now is unclear. Contrary to Grant's intimation that funds will be available in January, Portsmouth's chairman Sulaiman Al-Fahim has now cast doubt on the club's ability to pay their debts. Al-Fahim, the club's former owner, had backed Al-Faraj to lift the embargo but has now altered his view. "I would like to apologise for saying publicly last month that I was confident the transfer embargo would be lifted. I said this in good faith. As the embargo is still in place, it seems there is still an ongoing issue. Avram Grant needs this situation clarified one way or another as we are now less than a month away from the January transfer window." Portsmouth have claimed they will pay their players by the end of the coming week but their latest cash crisis shows how perilous the club's finances have become. If wages are late by more than two weeks players have the right to terminate their contracts. David James was aware of this ruling back in September and has since spoken of the turmoil he faced in keeping it to himself. "In the midst of the wages chaos there was a moment where the players came together and wondered: 'Just what are we dealing with here?' Privately, I had been told about a ruling that if a club do not pay wages within two weeks of them being due you can terminate your contract. I sat in a meeting with the other players, armed with that knowledge and wondered whether to share it. Things were so bad at that point that I worried that if I told the lads about it they might think 'sod it, this is the perfect excuse to leave'." Talk of players terminating their contracts might seem reactionary but the excessive wages that clubs pay are crippling finances throughout the leagues. Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, argued yesterday that while financial difficulties are understandable in the lower divisions, Premier League clubs should generate enough revenue to turn healthy profits. “You can understand much better problems in the Football League and lower down – Chester City, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Watford,” he said. “But there can’t be any good reason in the Premier League with the money they enjoy from television income alone, never mind sponsorship. That is what life is about in football, paying the wages of the players." Despite what Taylor believes, Portsmouth are simply not making enough money to support the £1.8 million they pay to players in wages every month. Everton – who have a stadium twice the size of Fratton Park – finished fifth in the League, reached the FA Cup final and played in the UEFA Cup in the 2008-09 season but still made operating losses of £6.7m. Wage structures are bloated and ready to burst even in the highest reaches of English football. Portsmouth's players are every bit as liable as their counterparts in the lower leagues. At least one Portsmouth player at today's game will not have to concern himself with economics. David Nugent, who is currently on loan at Burnley, will watch the match from the stands. The loan arrangement between the two clubs stipulate that he cannot play against his parent club. No doubt Nugent would like to show Portsmouth's new boss what he can do, but he won't be too dismayed – his loan terms also require that Burnley pay his wages. www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/4135/38/ |
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