for the football authorities turning a blind eye to the avarice and greed of the modern game. How has the club been allowed to drift so far down the line, that their very existence is now in doubt? It is to the eternal shame of the football league, FA, whomever have allowed this situation to escalate out of control.
This is probably just the tip of the iceberg, of all clubs seriously overspending on wages, bonuses, etc. And the authorities are still just standing by, and doing absolutely nothing, despite record administrations in the past 10 years.
How has our game been allowed to sink so low, that the only currency the football bigwigs seem to understand is Arab or billionaire owners wining and dining them with the promise of injecting cash into our game. The game is being lost to the working class, for whom the game was meant to be a release from the everyday mundane tasks of trying to earn a living.
The game apparently has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, and what do we have, most clubs seriously in debt, administrations all over the country. Who would have ever thought 20 years ago that Rangers could go into administration and Portsmouth could be on the brink of going out of business completely. Unthinkable.
One of the first games I was brought up on in the late 50s was a 4-4 draw with Pompey at WHL, which in effect was a relegation battle, I was too young though to realise that at the time, I just thought that football was the greatest game ever invented, and Portsmouth just a few years earlier had been Champions twice in successive season, and I was watching a bit of football history with players like Dickinson and Blanchflower.
So whilst I still enjoy the game, the very fabric of the great game is gradually being squeezed out little by little. It really is so sad.
Portsmouth are paying the price
posted on 2/3/12
"their very existence is now in doubt?"
-----
No doubt about it. We're forked. Not going to complete the season.
The FAPP test is a joke. I think it goes something like this:
FA - "you got money?"
Dodgy Geezer - "Yep"
FA - "Prove it"
Dodgy Geezer - "No"
FA - "...ok. You're in anyway "
posted on 2/3/12
The lesser clubs are under less scrutiny re their operation.
The top PL clubs much more so, which means less scope for "creative accounting" etc to go undetected. Spurs especially as THFC was a PLC for nearly two decades (more stringent/transparent disclosure reqs etc) .
posted on 2/3/12
I don't understand why so many Pompey fans still try and blame Harry for the mess they're in. He was given money to spend, so he spent it, and brought them the most success they've enjoyed in a very long time.
The owners/board etc of Portsmouth are completely accountable for what has happened, and i wouldn't wish it upon any club, but it's hard sometimes to have sympathy when you see some of the hatred towards Harry (not from all fans admittedly).
posted on 2/3/12
Pompey were quite a big club in the fifties and were responsible for the "Pompey Chimes"chant that other western and southern clubs adopt. Coventry beat us in a Cup final and now look at them...it's sad.
posted on 2/3/12
If Pompey do go it will be to the eternal shame of the F.A, they're a great club with loads of tradition and good passionate support. None of their current problems can be blamed on the fans, it's entirely down to incompetence and the F.A and a succesion of really dodgey owners that should have been weeded out long before they got anywhere near owning the club.
I hope they get through this but in the current climate and with the debts that they have it's not looking likely
posted on 2/3/12
Portsmouth's plight has nothing to do with 'good old arry'.
Ok, so he payed £25 million in transfer fees and wages to bring quality like John Utaka to the club, but hey, if you want quality, you have to pay for it.
posted on 2/3/12
It wasnt 'good old arry's' fault that he picked up somewhere in the region of £13,000,000 in wages and bonuses whilst managing pompey either.
posted on 2/3/12
"Ok, so he payed £25 million in transfer fees and wages to bring quality like John Utaka to the club"
No he didn't. The CLUB did.
There was no pompeyrosie47 current account.
If the club trusted Arrys' JUDGEMENT on players wanted, tis their problem.
posted on 2/3/12
jloo, you've summed it up perfectly, well done.
It wasn't Harry's fault. If my company decides to pay me a fortune in wages and bonuses, and tells me 'spend whatever you want on expenses to get the job done' - which I then do, and the company goes bankrupt. Is it my fault?
It wasn't Harry's job to control all the club finances. It was his job to sign players, manage the team etc....and he did so extremely well.
posted on 2/3/12
Utaka was worth a buy, he was good just failed in the Premiership.