Im no financial expert, I have read as
much as I can to understand the situation at Pompey. I'd love anyone
who knows more or can correct any of the below i'd love to hear from
you.
So Chainrai has burst back on to the
scene, as a potential saviour of the club. The reaction from some
seems to be vitriolic. Well lets examine how he got involved in the
club. When no-one else would loan Pompey any cash Chainrai would.
This was of course not altruistic, he is a businessman with no
emotional ties to Pompey. He is involved in the club to make profit.
I dont know much about liquidation law, but surely he is less likely
to get his investment back if the club folds? But he doesnt care as
long as he gets his cash back. I dont begrudge him that. He is a
businessman, and he made a loan that was obviously risky at the time
(why else would the banks not loan us cash) it went wrong so now he
is attempting to get back his investment – I dont see him as much
of a villain as others (although have a look at my favourite Pompey
writer SJ Maskell's excellent article to see why you might)
If, and its a big if, Chainrai's
involvement can save the club from going into liquidation, what
happens next? He does not want the club, he just wants his money. So
presumably he does one of two things he sells the clubs assets and
winds it up or he sells it on.
Picture the scenario he steadies the
ship but Pompey are relegated he then finds from somewhere someone to
buy the club. Lets say for arguments sake he is the stereotypical
buyer of a championship club, say a Latvian millionaire, business
investments in the states, 17th richest man in Latvia
wealth estimated to be £200m, he has had a couple of business fail,
and there was that investment in Austria that he was accused of
avoiding the taxman, but he denies any wrong-doing. He then puts £5m
into the club, talks of increased discussions with the fans and
Pompey start league 1 4th favourites for promotion, as the
managers of other clubs talk of our premier league experience as
Hayden Mullins, TBH and Ashdown stay at the club. Gaydamark owns the
land around Fratton Park, Chainrai is owned £17m and local
businesses and charities are ripped off being repaid 3p in a £. The
Pompey trust promise to do as much as possible to get a seat on the
board and early conversations are positive. But as the year goes on
Pompey fans being to forget the debt surrounding the club and settle
into supporting their team once more, this chap doesnt seem so bad.
This is where and why I increasingly
think Plan B is the way forward. This period of ownership has tainted
our club and has demoralised the fans. Other fans look on us as a
representation of all that is wrong with football currently and I am
a bit sick that my club is the manifestation of this negativity, what
is most likely to happen is Pompey get towards some sort of ugly
status quo.
If I am being brutally honest, and I
know this will not go down well with many fans, it is never going to
be as good as it was in 2008, we are never going to have a team
better than the Diarra, Johnson, Muntari, James, Playing Milan and
winning the FA cup. We will keep going and we will love watching our
team. Football is an unsustainable luxury, both for owners, the banks
who loan them money and the supporters who are struggling in the
economic climate. Within 5 years it wouldnt surprise me if a number
of teams went under, the new Portsmouth football club (who
incidentally I would just call Pompey) could be the trend setter, we
could lead the way and join AFC Wimbledon and FC United as a club run
by the fans and respected by other supporters, rather than watching a
club flirting between Championship and league one, reminiscing about
the late 2000s and always being associated with financial
mismanagement.
It would be an exciting new adventure.
Football is littered with clubs who have replaced previous clubs, who
have morphed and changed names of clubs but have absorbed their
histories, Woolwich Arsenal, Newton Heath and Pompey's predecessors
the Royal Artillery Football Club just a number of examples. Having
said all that, I would never want a Plan B team setup in an attempt
to compete with a Chainrai owner Portsmouth FC. I say other than a
rich Portsmouth fan buying the club, agreeing to a small percentage
of fan ownership and much clearer accountability, I will never trust
owners again and that will surely only damage my relationship with
the club and the team. If you read Maskell's article and the
interconnectedness of all of the dubious owners, management and
administrators, it will only depress you more. I will always be a
Pompey fan and I struggle to see a time when I wont watch the team,
but in answer to administrator Birch's question Pompey or bust? I
love our history and dont want to throw it away, but I am
increasingly leaning towards bust.
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