Why the only people we should feel sorry for at Portsmouth are the fans

By John Cross

Published 08:02 07/01/10

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Everything changed for Portsmouth during their pre-season tour to Africa in the summer of 2008.

After signing Peter Crouch for £10million from Liverpool, Harry Redknapp set about getting his next target.

In fact, Redknapp had lined up Shaun Wright-Phillips, who was at Chelsea at the time. Wheeler dealer Harry believed with Wright-Phillips supplying the ammunition for Crouch and Jermain Defoe, Pompey would be a major force.

Don't forget that Portsmouth were FA Cup holders, had the likes of David James, Sol Campbell, Sylvain Distin, Lassana Diarra and Niko Kranjcar in their line-up. It wasn't far off a fantasy football XI.

Fair play to Redknapp for putting it all together. But when he asked Portsmouth owner Sacha Gaydamak for a bit more cash to buy Wright-Phillips, that is the moment when the whole house of cards at Fratton Park began to collapse.

Redknapp was told there was no more money and quickly realised time was running out for a talented, but expensive and ageing squad. He knew it was time to make his excuses and leave.

Within three months, Redknapp had taken over at Tottenham and has since signed Defoe and Crouch.

It's always a fine line between apportioning the blame to chairmen who can't say no and managers who carry on spending.

Which manager in the Premier League would turn down the chance to strengthen his squad if he thinks he can persuade the board to give him the money? I'll give you one name: Arsene Wenger. Beyond that, there are very few candidates.

Since then, Portsmouth have gone into free fall. They are now a club with a winding-up petition against them from the tax man, the chief executive has been charged with tax evasion and they have found the only skint Arab owner.

In fact, make that two skint Arabs. Because first came Sulaiman Al-Fahim, whose reign lasted 42 days, and now Ali al-Faraj doesn't seem to have much in the way of money either.

They can't have, otherwise they wouldn't have been late in paying their players for the third time this season.

But chief executive Peter Storrie is still lauded as a hero and was even given a standing ovation by the fans earlier this season when he decided to stay.

Hang on a minute. Isn't a chief executive supposed to run the club and check everything is OK? Storrie tried to lead his own consortium and that didn't work, but has still overseen two other disastrous takeovers.

Now there will be one hell of a fire sale at Portsmouth in this transfer window. An even bigger one than in the previous two where they have cashed in on tens of millions of pounds worth of talent.

But still the club is broke. I was at Fratton Park for Arsenal's visit on December 30 and it's little wonder the fans have turned on the board, shouting for them all to be sacked and for the Arabs to disappear.

Portsmouth has one of the best sets of fans in the Premier League - if not the best. They are loud, passionate and they get behind their team. What little team they have left, at any rate.

But the mismanagement at the club is frightening. For years, the club has promised to build a new stadium. Fratton Park is falling down. The training ground is a joke.

The team under Redknapp was full of stars playing at a run-down ground and training at the worst facilities in the top-flight bar none. Surely, isn't that like building foundations on quick sand?

Furthermore, Portsmouth owe other Premier League clubs and foreign clubs huge amounts on transfers. They also owe agents vast sums, too. They are under a transfer embargo.

Portsmouth insist their debts are actually smaller than some of the big guns. Trouble is, Arsenal are paying off their stadium like a mortgage and Manchester United have a big enough fan base to pay their debts even if it seems unsavoury.

Portsmouth only have their fans. And unfortunately, it is time people woke up and smelled the coffee.

If clubs like Luton can be hammered for 30 points for breaking various rules, then why not a Premier League club?

What is the point of rules if you do not apply them? Spending money that you do not have on star players is tantamount to cheating.

All of Portsmouth's achievements in the past few years in the Premier League, as well as winning the FA Cup, have to be called into question.

If they can't sustain that level of success within the rule book and within their budget then no-one should have any sympathy with any of Portsmouth's owners.

The only people anyone should have any sympathy for at Fratton Park are the fans. They are fiercely loyal and have stood by their team and the club.

But now they are turning. Football should look after the Portsmouth fans. But, sadly, football can also not condone cheating.

That's why it's incredibly sad, but if Portsmouth go crashing then the club should not be spared by any sort of old pals' act. That is an insult to other clubs who have been hammered.

The likes of Luton, Southampton and a few more clubs besides who have gone into administration and been severely punished.

But the biggest lesson of all should be learned by Portsmouth's Premier League and Championship rivals. We're in a recession, these are hard times and even football is not immune.

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