Why Burnley are heading for the drop, and football must gets its house in order after Portsmouth farce

By

Published 22:47 28/02/10

Follow on Twitter

Burnley are seemingly doomed to relegation in my opinion.

I admire the Clarets’ new boss Brian Laws, who is a former team-mate of mine from Nottingham Forest.

But the Turf Moor side’s ability to make repeated elementary mistakes is alarming.

You can get away with it in the Championship, but not in the Premier League.

They are a good passing team with an admirable philosophy.

But in the Premier League you need pragmatism and grit and the ability to dig in.

Just like West Bromwich Albion last season, having footballing principles is one thing, but you need points to back it up.

A 2-1 home defeat to Portsmouth leaves them in the drop zone and I can’t see them getting out.

******

Portsmouth have recouped £100million on the sale of players in the last 18 months yet have still gone into administration.

It is astonishing and gives an indication as to the size of the problems at the Fratton Park club.

But enough is enough now and all clubs up and down the country must take stock of their finances ASAP.

The easy credit that was available in the good times has been stopped due to the credit crunch.

And clubs must now think very carefully before buying that extra striker or midfielder.

I feel particularly sorry for Pompey’s fans, who deserve better.

It would have been an absolute travesty if Portsmouth were allowed to go to the wall and vanish from football altogether.

I sincerely hope the administrators find a buyer to prevent that doomsday scenario.

And in the meantime I hope if there has been any wrongdoing by anybody, the football authorities should throw the book at them and the police should be called.

Fancy winning £3,000 for FREE this month? Play Mirror Football Streak for your chance to win cash prizes! Start predicting now!