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Post by QPR Report on Oct 1, 2009 7:08:51 GMT
They have their own "insider!"  The Sun
Skint Pompey in wages storm By SHAUN CUSTIS
PORTSMOUTH players will demand answers from manager Paul Hart today after the cash-strapped club failed to pay their wages. New owner Sulaiman Al FahiM has deferred players' salaries as he struggles to raise funds for his new club. It is believed Al Fahim is £2million short of meeting the wage bill. And an insider said: "The players are furious - especially the new signings. "There are seven newcomers here. How do you explain to them why they are suddenly not getting their wages?" www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2663070/Skint-Pompey-in-wages-storm.html
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Post by haqpr1963 on Oct 1, 2009 7:25:49 GMT
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Post by cpr on Oct 1, 2009 8:26:40 GMT
Typical press blowing things out of proportion. I think.  |
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Post by QPR Report on Oct 1, 2009 22:18:40 GMT
The Times
Pompey chimes sound like death knell
Commentary: Tony Cascarino Portsmouth’s chimes sound ominously like a funeral march. The intimidating atmosphere created by the fans at Fratton Park has been replaced by uncertainty, fear, doubt, mistrust and paralysis, and, before long, we could have a situation that eclipses the meltdown at Leeds United several years ago. Forget the perception that their players are highly paid and can afford to forgo a month’s salary. It’s not the case at Portsmouth. Mortgages and other commitments need to be paid and when your pay cheque doesn’t appear, it leads to an anxiety in the dressing room that could spill over on to the pitch. Players are as in the dark as everyone else. Some will have lost money on investments in the past year and might also be getting it in the ear from their wife that they can’t buy the latest handbag. Marseilles faced huge financial problems during my time at the club, a topic of daily conversation among the players. Would the bonuses be paid, when, or why not? Any information was hazy and invited misgivings that led to concern. Oddly, it galvanised the players into playing for their careers and a possible next move, should the club have gone under. For Portsmouth to do similarly, much relies on their experienced players to pull the squad together, or they could rapidly disintegrate into cliques and escape hatches. Very soon, it could be each to his own, which will be to the detriment of the team. Players need togetherness and a willingness to play for the cause and pick up points, trying to forget the issues in the background. Leeds fell apart in around 18 months and are now in the third tier. Portsmouth have got to this stage in three months. If this is happening now, what will follow if they are relegated? www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/portsmouth/article6857635.ece
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Post by QPR Report on Oct 2, 2009 6:09:09 GMT
Have to wonder what on earth is going onThe Guardian
Portsmouth in dire straights after Peter Storrie admits cash has run out• Owner Sulaiman al-Fahim in search for new backers
• Players and three board members have not been paidJamie Jackson and Sachin Nakrani guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 October 2009 Portsmouth's owner, Sulaiman al-Fahim, will this weekend make a desperate attempt to attract fresh finance to the club after the chief executive, Peter Storrie, admitted " there is no money left".The move comes after another turbulent day at Portsmouth on which they were forced to admit that their first-team squad and executive board, including Storrie, had not been paid September's wages. The club rely on Fahim to pay those salaries but the owner has not yet delivered the £50m which he last week promised to provide within a month. At the weekend Fahim will meet representatives of two Saudi-based businessmen, the Faraj brothers, who were the leading members of the consortium fronted by Storrie which tried to buy the club this summer. "All the money from all the player transfers and the Sky TV money – all of the £35m from January – has gone straight to the Standard Bank," Storrie said yesterday, referring to Portsmouth's need to pay off a sizeable debt with the South African bank. "There is no money left." "Whatever we spend on a monthly basis comes channelled through from [Fahim]. He has promised to refinance and he has shown me all the documentation but I have no idea about the conditions of the £50m he says will be arriving in a few weeks. We need to refinance, it is as simple as that. As for the players wages for the last month I would imagine it's a blip and they will be paid." Fahim's proposed meeting with the Faraj brothers, which is understood to be scheduled for Sunday, appears to strengthen Storrie's position given thathe fronted a consortium led by them which came close to taking over Portsmouth in late August before the then owner, Alexandre Gaydamak, sold to Fahim. Last night Fahim confirmed he was open to new investors and said he felt "sorry" for the club: "I was always open for any investors if they will add value. No matter who they are." But he hinted the Farajs may have only a short-term interest. "I need people who want to stay with me and the club for the long term." Storrie said he was working tirelessly to keep the club afloat. "We have been very close to administration a few times in the last nine to 10 months but I am not about to give up now," he said. "I've no idea of the timescale about how long this can go on. I don't want to frighten people. I am sure that if the refinancing that has been promised fails for some reason there will be other people ready to step in." Fahim said the players and three fellow board members – Storrie, Roberto Avondo and the finance director, Tanya Robins – would get their money today. "The club needs time to be on track," he added. "And this is the worst [period]. By the end of October [we] will see the light and we need everybody's support in these few days. And, the players will be paid." Pressed over whether there was any chance that he would put the club into administration if this was the best option for Portsmouth in the long term, Fahim seemed to rule this out. "I am always there for the club," he said. Paul Hart, the embattled Portsmouth manager, said yesterday that Robins had spoken to the players to assure them they would be paid "in the next day or so". "We had a meeting this morning and assured them this would be sorted out," he said. "They turned it into a little bit of fun and have been terrific." Hermann Hreidarsson, the club's Professional Footballers' Association representative, added he was not overly concerned. "We didn't get paid but someone came down from the payment department and reassured us we will get paid tomorrow , so everyone's a winner," the defender said. Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the PFA, said his organisation had discussed the situation at Portsmouth but chosen not to intervene because of promises that the players would be paid imminently. "But, of course, this is a very serious matter from our point of view and, if the delay in payments are prolonged or repeated, we would consider intervening and taking action on behalf of our members," he said. "That could involve speaking directly to Portsmouth and seeking guarantees that payments are forthcoming." www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/01/portsmouth-sulaiman-al-fahim-player-wages
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Post by QPR Report on Oct 2, 2009 6:13:45 GMT
Independent - Premier League ready to take control as 'penniless' Pompey crash
Extent of crisis at Fratton Park is revealed, while Notts County deny failing to pay staffBy Sam Wallace Friday, 2 October 2009 The Premier League is preparing to make Portsmouth the first club taken under control of the league's executive body after the club's chief executive, Peter Storrie, admitted yesterday that there was "no money left". A secret transfer embargo was implemented on the club during the summer by the Premier League's chief executive, Richard Scudamore, as they struggled to stay afloat while selling off their biggest names. The club's failure to pay players and staff on time this month has put the league on standby if the situation deteriorates. Now, under rules introduced this month which allow the league to seize control of a club's finances, the Premier League is ready to take over at Portsmouth to stop them slipping into administration. No club in the Premier League has yet gone into administration and the board at Portsmouth, who have lost their first seven games this season, still hopes the situation can be rescued. The club's new owner Sulaiman al-Fahim is chasing £50m of new investment which the club still hope will be forthcoming. However, they are under pressure to pay debts to staff and externally as well. Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are understood to be major creditors and there is believed to be a debt of at least £3m owed to major football agents. The developments at Fratton Park came as Notts County were forced to issue a denial yesterday that they failed to pay their players the full amount due last month. The Professional Footballers' Association was contacted when bonuses were not paid. The club say they have addressed the problem. With Fahim yet to announce the advent of new backers at Portsmouth, Storrie said yesterday that the club was running on empty. "All the money from all the player transfers and the Sky TV money, all of the £35m from January, has gone straight to the Standard Bank," he said. "There is no money left. "Whatever we spend on a monthly basis comes channelled through from the new owner. He has promised to re-finance, and he has shown me all the documentation, but I have no idea about the conditions of the £50m he says will be arriving in a few weeks. "We need to refinance, it is as simple as that. As for the players' wages for last month, I would imagine it's a blip and they will be paid, but I have spent the last nine to 10 months fighting fires on a daily basis, I'm not giving up." The club described the failure to pay the players as "very disappointing". A spokesman said: "It is through the joint efforts of the executive directors that we are in the final stages of securing funding that will allow the club to meet these contractual obligations. "It is clear that, in order to ensure that the club is able to secure its longer-term future, a more permanent financing solution needs to be found quickly as the executive directors consider it an obligation to the club's loyal employees and fans, who undoubtedly feel equally disappointed. "In order to achieve this we will continue to work closely with the owner's lawyers and associates in delivering the finance that is needed over the next 10 to 14 days. Ultimately the responsibility to deliver this remains with the owner." At Meadow Lane, Notts County claimed last night that a new system of paying wages was the reason that their players' salaries were not paid in full for last month. Players at the club immediately contacted the PFA on Wednesday when their win bonuses were not included in September's pay packet. Last night the executive chairman of Notts County, Peter Trembling, said that bonuses had simply been paid a day late because a new payment system meant that bonuses and salaries were now paid separately. "There is no issue. They have been paid and their salaries and bonuses are up to date," Trembling said. "We have implemented an automated process that wasn't here before. The players have no issue with it." The edginess among players at Notts County exists because of doubts over the backers of Munto Finance, the investors who were given control of the club by a supporters' trust this year. Sol Campbell walked out on a £40,000-a-week, five-year contract at Meadow Lane last month because of doubts over the future of the club. The chief executive of the PFA, Gordon Taylor, was contacted by players at Notts County on Wednesday and the union then made representations to the club. Taylor said: "This is the kind of job that the PFA does for all its members. We have to make sure the players get the money due on their contracts and in time too. That does happen at some clubs but you do not expect it, in Portsmouth's case, in the Premier League." Pompey's fall: How financial troubles spiralled out of control Summer 2007 Since rescuing a side seemingly destined for relegation when he returned to Fratton Park in December 2005, the next stage of Harry Redknapp's rebuilding kicks in with a vengeance. Pompey buy midfielder Sulley Muntari for £7m from Udinese, new England striker David Nugent from Preston for £6m, Glen Johnson (£4m), winger John Utaka (£7m) and defensive midfielder Papa Bouba Diop (undisclosed). The only significant sales are Gary O'Neil (£5m to Middlesbrough), while Redknapp adds further to the wage bill by snapping up Sylvain Distin and Herman Hreidarsson on free transfers. Highlighting the sense of optimism at the club, plans for a new 36,000-capacity stadium at Horsea Island designed by world-renowned architects Herzog and De Meuron are unveiled. 31 January 2008 With Pompey challenging for a top six place in the Premier League, Redknapp, who turns down the Newcastle vacancy after Sam Allardyce is sacked, buys big again – midfielder Lassana Diarra is spirited away from Arsenal for £5.5m and Jermain Defoe arrives from Spurs on transfer-deadline day for £9m. Benjani (£3.8m, Man City) and Matthew Taylor (£5m, Bolton) go the other way. 17 May 2008 Redknapp's spending earns a rich dividend as Portsmouth win the FA Cup, beating Cardiff 1-0 at Wembley thanks to Kanu's goal. However, that means preparing for a Uefa Cup campaign and a bigger squad – Redknapp brings back Peter Crouch (£11m, Liverpool) to pair him up front with Defoe, while Younes Kaboul is brought in from Spurs (£6m) as cover for Sol Campbell. The sale of Muntari to Internazionale (£12.7m) helps balance the books. 25 October 2008 Redknapp walks out on Pompey to take over at Spurs. Assistant Tony Adams moves up to become manager and immediately has to deal with a new financial climate as debt levels at the club have risen dangerously high. After months of rumours, owner Alexandre Gaydamak also announces that he is ready to sell Portsmouth. In the winter transfer window the sale of Diarra (£20m, Real Madrid) and Defoe (£15m, following Redknapp to Spurs) brings in £35m but that is deemed not enough. Adams is allowed to buy Hayden Mullins for £1m from West Ham. 9 February 2009 Adams is sacked as Pompey, without a win in the Premier League since November, slide towards the relegation zone. Paul Hart is installed as caretaker and manages to stabilise things, securing a 14th-place finish. 19 March 2009 The new stadium plans at Horsea Island are shelved and a project to redevelop Fratton Park as a 30,000-capacity ground by 2011 is offered as an alternative. Summer 2009 "For Sale" signs go up at Fratton Park, with the club and seemingly all the first-team squad on the market. Out go Johnson (£18m, Liverpool), Crouch (£9m, Spurs), while Lauren, Campbell, Sean Davis and Djimi Traoré are allowed to leave. With the transfer window days from closing and Sulaiman al-Fahim's takeover dragging on, Hart is down to 14 first-team players. Money is found to bring in a number of loans (Jamie O'Hara, Anthony Vanden Borre, Aruna Dindane), Championship players (Tommy Smith, Mike Williamson) and Redknapp's cast-offs at Spurs (Kevin-Prince Boateng). Pompey lose their first seven Premier League games and an air of crisis envelops the club www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/premier-league-ready-to-take-control-as-penniless-pompey-crash-1796230.html
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Post by cpr on Oct 2, 2009 6:15:41 GMT
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Post by QPR Report on Oct 2, 2009 6:17:54 GMT
Had a strange last 15 years...Pennilless and bought by Venables for a quid...The Venables/Fenwick era..Then up...Then down..Then up...Then selling off. Now in big trouble it seems
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Post by cpr on Oct 2, 2009 6:23:30 GMT
Don't forget our Jim was with el tel.
There but for the grace of etc etc
Be careful what we wish for. Similar size club, fanbase etc.
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Post by QPR Report on Oct 2, 2009 6:27:08 GMT
Except "our Jim" was an old, sick man, and his son for whatever reason was involved.The Times
October 2, 2009
Portsmouth take emergency loan to foot wage billNick Szczepanik Civil war broke out in the Portsmouth boardroom yesterday after three executive directors were forced to arrange an emergency loan to cover players’ wages. The executive board of the troubled Barclays Premier League club then challenged Sulaiman al-Fahim, the owner, to deliver on his promise to refinance the club within the next fortnight after they and the first-team squad did not receive their September pay-cheques. Having hastily arranged financing to cover the £1.8 million shortfall in payroll so that players can be paid today and the club can meet their obligations for the next 30 days, the three-person board — Peter Storrie, the chief executive, Tanya Robins, the finance director, and Roberto Avondo — issued a strongly worded statement. The criticism of al-Fahim was only thinly veiled. “Portsmouth Football Club’s executive directors fully support the club’s owner, Sulaiman al-Fahim, in his efforts to refinance the club and to stabilise the business,” it read. Related Links Storrie convinced to stay by public demand Portsmouth fail to tempt McAllister Hart maintains belief in players’ work ethic Multimedia TONY CASCARINO: death knell is sounding “However, when the club needs to focus on a very important match [away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday] that will help determine its future, it is very disappointing to all of us that the players have for the first time had to wait for their contractual remuneration for reasons entirely outside the club’s control. “It is through the joint efforts of the executive directors that we are in the final stages of securing funding that will allow the club to meet these contractual obligations.” The statement then called for “a more permanent financing solution to be found quickly” and promised that “we will continue to work closely with the owner’s lawyers and associates in delivering the finance that is needed over the next 10 to 14 days.” Tellingly, the statement ended: “Ultimately the responsibility to deliver this remains with the owner.” The developments are being watched closely by the Professional Footballers’ Association and represent another blow to the credibility of al-Fahim. His takeover of Portsmouth was first announced in May, but dragged on until August 26, the club selling players to make ends meet. When he did take over, there was no large injection of cash, although he announced last Friday that he had arranged £50 million of finance that would arrive “within weeks”. The statement appears to have broken the uneasy truce that has existed between al-Fahim and Storrie since the chief executive, impatient at the drawn-out takeover negotiations, put together a rival consortium whose bid to buy the club was not accepted by Alexandre Gaydamak, the previous owner. Storrie had revealed yesterday morning that the club have no money because their share of TV revenue and the proceeds of the sales of Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Lassana Diarra, Glen Johnson and Niko Kranjcar had been swallowed by bank debt. “All the money from the player transfers and the Sky TV money, all of the £35 million from January, has gone straight to the Standard Bank,” Storrie told ESPN. “There is no money left. Whatever we spend on a monthly basis comes channelled through from the new owner. He has promised to refinance, and he has shown me all the documentation, but I have no idea about the conditions of the £50 million he says will be arriving in a few weeks. I’ve no idea of the timescale about how long this can go on. I don’t want to frighten people. I am sure that if the refinancing that has been promised fails for some reason, others will be ready to step in.” That is likely to be taken as a hint that members of the consortium put together by Storrie could still be interested in investing — al-Fahim did not entirely rule that out at a meeting with supporters last Friday, and he might not be in a strong enough financial position to turn it down. When al-Fahim’s takeover was announced, he claimed to have access to backing from Middle Eastern and Asian investors. However, when it was suggested in a number of quarters that Thaksin Shinawatra, the disgraced former Manchester City owner, who has failed the Premier League’s fit and proper persons test, was among them, they melted away. Paul Hart, the manager, was paid on time, but he has experienced financial difficulties at previous clubs and was able to retain some perspective. “Fighting fires, that is my analogy — put one out and another starts up in the corner, that’s how it’s been in my tenure as manager,” he said. Tale of tortuous takeover May 27 It is announced that Sulaiman al-Fahim is to buy out Alexandre Gaydamak, the Portsmouth chairman. He claims backing from the Middle East and Asia. A target date of late July is mentioned for completion of due diligence and the takeover. July 1 Glen Johnson is sold to Liverpool for £18 million. July 21 The Premier League says that al-Fahim has passed its fit and proper persons test and he becomes chairman. August 26 Al-Fahim announces the completion of his takeover, that Paul Hart will stay as manager and Storrie has been invited to stay on as chief executive. September 12 Portsmouth lose 3-2 at home to Bolton, their fifth defeat in a row and their worst-ever start. September 25 Al-Fahim cancels a meeting with supporters, then calls it back on after fans express their outrage. At the meeting he reveals that he has negotiated a finance package worth £50 million, to be rolled out within a month. September 26 Portsmouth lose 1-0 at home to Everton, their seventh defeat in a row in the Premier League. September 30 The wages of the first-team squad and executive directors are not paid. Words by Nick Szczepanik www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/portsmouth/article6857655.ece
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ingham
Dave Sexton
Posts: 1,896
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Post by ingham on Oct 2, 2009 10:47:50 GMT
It's a menagerie of impossible creatures. Ostriches with their heads buried in the sand, running round the farmyard like headless chickens, blind as bats, with as much night vision as your average roadkill.
Let's not face up to reality! Yes, let's not. Overspending has completely screwed things up! Yes, it has. So Let's spend even more!
HURRAH!
Come on, baby, let's refinance.
Then we'll leave you in your underpants.
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Post by Zamoraaaah on Oct 2, 2009 10:55:15 GMT
Lol ;D I believe the technical term is 'p!ssing in your pants to keep warm' or 'the QPR way'  |
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Post by QPR Report on Oct 3, 2009 6:40:21 GMT
Guardian
Peter Storrie admits Portsmouth are 'two weeks' away from meltdown• Club quickly needs cash to pay transfer fees to agents
• Owner Sulaiman al-Fahim stil recovering in hospitalJamie Jackson The Guardian, Saturday 3 October 2009 The Portsmouth chief executive, Peter Storrie, has revealed the true extent of how close the club is to financial disaster. Storrie warns that 30% of the £50m the owner, Sulaiman al-Fahim, has promised to provide this month has to be in place within two weeks or Portsmouth face possible meltdown. Following revelation that Fahim was unable to pay the club's first-team squad and three executives of its board their monthly wage, Storrie said Portsmouth will also have to find millions owed to several clubs and agents in unpaid fees for transfers. Discussing the need for Fahim, who is recovering from an operation for kidney stones he underwent yesterday in Dubai, to find the fresh finance to save Portsmouth, Storrie confessed he is unsure if the 32-year-old will be able to produce the required amount. "I have to be truthful and tell you that I don't know if the 30% of the £50m refinancing package will arrive with us in mid-October. I would say that you have the date about correct, around 15 October," he said. "So the bottom line is the middle to end of October. I really don't know what will happen if that money doesn't come through. All I can tell you is what I have seen. The documentation is in place but the proof of whether it is all genuine will be if it turns up. Sulaiman says it will, so I have to believe it will. He believes it, so let's wait and see." Storrie also revealed that a £5m loan, borrowed from the Saudi-based Faraj brothers so that Portsmouth could pay the missing wages and day-to-day costs, may have been borrowed against the club. "We have a loan to pay the players' wages for last month but what has been used as security I cannot tell you because it has been handled by the lawyers between the two parties, while I have just been the guy doing the introduction," he said. "If we are talking about the club being used as security, then all I can say is that I genuinely don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me. I persuaded them to help the club. There are people willing to help this club because it is worth saving." Pompey may have further problems with suggestions last night that the Revenue and Customs could issue the club with a statutory demand for unpaid taxes, the first step towards a winding-up order. Agents, meanwhile, including two high-profile representatives – thought to be Pini Zahavi and Jonathan Barnett – are owed around £3m for deals that brought Sulley Muntari, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe to Fratton Park. "It is true that we owe a couple of top agents a great deal of money and, if you say it is £3m, I can confirm it is not far short of that figure. But there are other agents owed their commissions as well," Storrie said, before claiming that only his relationship with the pair has staved off their demand to be paid what they are owed immediately. "The two agents you talk about have been incredibly helpful," he added. "It is through my friendship with them that they are not banging on the door. Rather they have been really understanding. But we have owed money on transfers to a number of clubs, and those clubs have also been extremely helpful. So it all depends on the refinancing and I don't see it as a deadline necessarily in mid-October but [it] cannot go on any longer than the end of October, to be realistic. I have been asking people to be patient – but they cannot be patient for ever. The Premier League has also been helpful. We've been in touch with them and work closely with them. They are keeping an eye on the situation but I am keeping them informed. They are aware of all the facts." Portsmouth's predicament has revived the Faraj brothers' interest in buying a major shareholding; representatives are due to meet Fahim to explore how big a partner the Saudi Arabian businessmen might become. They were leading members in a consortium, headed by Storrie, that tried to buy the club in the summer. The players remain unpaid and are understood to have been offered minimal information by the club. They are, though, in dialogue with the Professional Footballers' Association through their representative, Hermann Hreidarsson. www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/03/portsmouth-cash-crisis-peter-storrie
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Post by QPR Report on Oct 3, 2009 7:01:04 GMT
WSC flashback to the Portsmouth financial problems and the time of VenablesWhen Saturday Comes
DAILY October 2009 Pompey problems
Pompey problems Friday 2 October ~ Shady owner? Money issues? Unfulfilled new ground promises? It's Portsmouth, of course, but from over a decade ago, as Sarah Gilmore reported in WSC 131 (January 1998)Late night shopping has never thrilled me. So you can imagine how I felt to be faced with a mass of families packed into Portsmouth city centre, eagerly responding to the local radio DJ’s attempts to whip up some enthusiasm for the Christmas lights switch-on. Expectation was in the air as I shoved my way through the throng of 3,000 people. The DJ squawked his way to a hysterical climax interrupted by huge roar for the celebrity switcher: “Ladies and gentlemen... Mr Terry Venables!” The only sound of dissent amid the cheering, and stamping came from the man squashed next to me. “Bloody second from bottom,” he said – as he clapped enthusiastically. This good-natured reception reflects the fact that in little over a year, El Tel has become a symbol of Pompey: his blokeyness hitting a chord in a city marked by its unpretentiousness. He is Mr Portsmouth, our most famous citizen; the bloke most men would like to have a pint with and who at least arouses curiosity (if nothing else) in women who would not be seen dead near Fratton Park. But two days after he switched on the lights, building work on the new Fratton Road stand was suspended due to yet another serious cashflow crisis at the club. Rumours of financial difficulties had been coming for a while. Hotel bills run up during away matches were apparently going unpaid and local traders were refusing to deal with the club because of late payments. The club is still unable to attract the required level of investment despite having one of the most charismatic men in the game at its head, and despite the fact that Portsmouth is a city with a thriving service sector and some huge businesses operating within it (IBM’s European HQ is located here). Certainly, part of the problems with financing the stand comes from the Football Trust’s drip-feed policy of providing monthly payments to the club instead of a lump sum, but what about the financing of the club itself? Why has the new chairman seemed to be so unsuccessful at raising the dosh? Obviously Terry’s reputation is going to be a factor for any would-be investor. But that is not the whole story. It is no secret that Venables has been in negotiations with the former chairman and owner, Martin Gregory, seeking to buy the rest of Gregory’s 46 per cent stake in the club. Estimates put the asking price for this share at £3.5 million, money that Venables either does not have or does not want to pay. Unsurprisingly, negotiations have recently broken down and Venables has stated that he is willing to sell if the right offer for control was made and was in the club’s interests. Remember that Venables bought his 51 per cent share in the club for the sum of £1 – yes, as in one hundred pence – last year. He has never hidden his desire to own a club outright, and by extending his controlling interest at the club, he would be able to control the share structure – potentially paving the way for a stock market flotation and a nice little touch for Terry. As a result of the deadlock with Gregory, Venables can be in no doubt as to what his share in the club is currently worth, which has to prompt questions as to what his long-term intentions are at Portsmouth. Will he clear off with approximately £4m in his pocket, or will he stay for the possibility of much more should the club float successfully? Logically, you’d probably put your money on the latter, but TV has always shown a distinct lack of the staying power you need to be chairman of a distinctly unglamorous club that is not yet within spitting distance of the big boys of the Premiership. Two months ago an American property developer, Vince Wolanin, and his business partner, Brian Howe, unveiled plans to bankroll Portsmouth and build a new stadium. Venables dismissed their offer on the grounds that there was not sufficient detail in their proposals, but he seems to be a little more inclined to talk now – or at least when Australia’s World Cup campaign is out of the way. Ah, the Aussie business. Venables is said to control every aspect of the club and that includes the team. One can certainly detect his hand in the purchasing of five Australian players despite specific clauses in his contract as Aussie national coach that prevent him from doing so. This might not necessarily be an issue if Portsmouth could win matches. But performances have been so uninspiring that at my last visit the three children I took – fans all – were more interested in a cyber pet. Which leads one to wonder whether Venables has lost his touch in an area where he was inviolable. The disaster that is this season cannot simply be laid in total at the door of the awful Terry Fenwick when the chairman has clearly had more than a passing involvement in playing affairs. Most Pompey fans, I will confess, don’t feel the way I do. They see a new stand taking shape at last after years of promises and failed attempts. The fact that he promised a stadium gets neatly forgotten. In the last few matches, Venables has gone down to the dugout from the directors’ box. You can feel the buzz when he does this – the expectation is tangible. Reality rarely seems to intrude into Terry Venables’s world. Judges may criticise him, but it’s his business adviser Eddie Ashby who goes to prison. We’re near the relegation zone but it’s Terry Fenwick that the fans are screaming at. The people of Portsmouth just seem relieved that that the dreary days of the Gregorys are over and that the present incumbent is at least acting out partial aspects of his promises. The happy shoppers applauding their adopted son are showing their appreciation for bringing “good times” that could be leading all the way to Division Two. www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/3872/38/
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Post by QPR Report on Oct 4, 2009 12:56:08 GMT
Times Online October 4, 2009
Fresh confusion surrounds 'Saudi takeover' of PortsmouthConfusion surrounds the increasingly desperate financial situation at Portsmouth after reports this morning claimed the club could be sold for the second time in three months. Sulaiman al-Fahim, the embattled owner, claims he is in talks to sell part of his stake to Saudi Arabian investors to help inject more cash into the club. Al-Fahim says he plans to meet the representatives of the al-Faraj brothers, who provided the emergency injection of funds to help play the players' wages and are said to be interested in investing further. The Saudi siblings were the main backers of the consortium put together by Peter Storrie, the Portsmouth chief executive, with a view to taking over the club before Alexandre Gaydamak, the previous owner, decided to sell to al-Fahim. Al-Fahim, who was admitted to a Dubai hospital on Thursday night because of kidney stones, says he will fly to London tomorrow to finalise the deal. Related Links Portsmouth win at last but cash crisis deepens Al-Fahim has until ‘end of October’ to save club Portsmouth owner admitted to hospital "Due to my situation I will need rest and meet them on Monday," he added. "My lawyers are in discussion with the consortium lawyers. "I decided to have two owners for the club for its sustainability," al-Fahim added. "I don't know how much of a stake . We have to agree on the terms."
Al-Fahim recently told Portsmouth supporters that he would raise £50m to help safeguard the club's precarious financial position and allow Paul Hart to strengthen his squad.
Ivo Gabara, al-Fahim's spokesman, told Sportsweek that he believed the refinancing deal was on course to be completed over the next three weeks, but contradicted al-Fahim, who he says still wants to be the club's sole owner and is not open to a buyout.
"There have been talks between the lawyers of the Al-Faraj family and the lawyers of Sulaiman Al-Fahim," he said. "I actually understand those talks are still ongoing. There may be an opening for other investors to come into the ownership of Portsmouth Football Club so I know he is prepared to forego his full ownership of the club, which was his position even before the takeover had been completed.
"But I don't think he would be open [to a complete buy-out]."
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/portsmouth/article6860626.ece
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