Portsmouth into administration

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Portsmouth, with debts of about £60m, have become the first Premier League club to enter administration.

The club will be docked nine points as a result and face almost certain relegation to the Championship.

Pompey, who have had four owners this season, were due to face a winding-up order on 1 March but decided to go into administration in a bid to survive.

It was reported that four parties were considering a takeover but no deal was completed before Thursday's deadline.

Administrator Andrew Andronikou, of insolvency experts UHY Hacker Young, now has the responsibility of beginning the process of cutting costs at the club to try to keep it as a viable entity.

 MATT SLATER BLOG
What does \"going into administration\" mean? Is this the end of Pompey's pain? And how has this happened to a recently successful team in the world's richest football league?
 
Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie revealed he would tender his resignation when the administrators had sold the club and said it was \"an extremely sad day for everyone connected with the club.\"

He added: \"By this course of action owner Balram Chainrai has kept the club alive and given someone an exceptional opportunity to take this great club on with fresh investment to steer Portsmouth in a positive direction.

\"It is my intention to work with the administrator to help sell the business and I hope that will be quick as there is already interest in acquiring the club.\"

Milan Mandaric, chairman of Portsmouth from 1998 to 2006 and now Leicester chief, told BBC Midlands Late Kick Off: \"It's really sad. It's not right. I just hope for the sake of the club, and the sporting community, and football in that city, they sort things out.

\"And I think they eventually will. That club will never die. That club has a lion's heart. The fans love their club, they will always be there. Unfortunately they don't deserve these kinds of difficulties.\"

Friday's announcement follows weeks of speculation over the survival of the cash-strapped south coast side and is a big blow to the reputation of the Premier League, widely admired throughout the world.

Portsmouth, who employ nearly 600 people directly or indirectly, have been labelled \"completely dysfunctional\" by accountant Nick O'Reilly of Vantis and he warned to expect a \"rocky\" time ahead.


Pompey can 'rise from ashes' - Redknapp
\"The next few months are crucial to the business,\" he said. \"People will lose jobs, but hopefully the club will come out the other side.\"

As well as struggling at the bottom of the Premier League, Portsmouth have suffered a catalogue of ongoing financial problems.

Players have been paid late on four occasions this season, while the club is also involved in a separate dispute with former owner Sacha Gaydamak over whether they have missed a deadline in paying a £9m chunk of the £28m they owe him.

The Premier League also withheld £2m of transfer payments and diverted a £7m slice of TV revenue to Chelsea and Watford to cover the signings of Glen Johnson and Tommy Smith.

They are also being sued by former defender Sol Campbell for £1.7m for unpaid image rights.

Chainrai recently became Portsmouth's fourth owner of the season, taking 90% of the club shares after the previous owner Ali Al Faraj defaulted on loan payments due to him.

Phil Hall, spokesman for Chainrai, defended the club's owner and said that administration was unavoidable because of the size of debt.

\"He (Chainrai) was given false promises when he came in. He asked the questions and was given answers and assurances that turned out not to be true,\" Hall said.

\"Having put £17m of his own money in, unfortunately he found the club facing a winding-up order on Monday.

\"He had a choice of allowing the club to go into administration, for someone to go in and try to bring it back into a stronger financial position. He feels he's a victim - the club have been overwhelmed by these debts and he is a reluctant owner.

\"He wants to do what is right for the club but also to protect what money he's put in.\"

Despite their precarious financial position, O'Reilly believes the club will continue to exist, while former Pompey boss Paul Hart, sacked in November after just four months in charge, thinks administration could provide a platform for a \"fresh start\".

He told BBC Radio 5 live: \"I think the club can be strong again if they use some foresight and planning and adopt a restructuring programme.


Administration an opportunity - Hart
\"It looks like administration is necessary and hopefully will give the club a chance to recover.

\"The supporters have been long suffering and there are some very good, conscientious people who work there we should be thinking about because their jobs are in a precarious position.\"

Despite the threat of the club being forced into offloading its only asset - the players - many fans will be relieved they still have a club to support with fixtures remaining unaffected.

Pompey travel to fellow-strugglers Burnley on Saturday before the FA Cup quarter-final clash with Birmingham the following weekend. '

[bedale rover]

i hope that the inland revenue and customs do to pompey what they did to leeds and refuse the CVA until us taxpayers get a fair deal

and if they wont liquidate them

cheats!

[Glyn_Wigley]

bedale rover wrote:

i hope that the inland revenue and customs do to pompey what they did to leeds and refuse the CVA until us taxpayers get a fair deal

and if they wont liquidate them

cheats!

When Customs & Excise merged (merger? ho ho hollow laughter, takeover more like) with Inland Revenue the new HM Revenue & Customs Department was left with the hardnosed attitude of the old Inland Revenue.

Prior to the 'merger', C&E's attitude was to not deliberately force companies out of business, as that would mean that nobody got the money they were owed, and that people would lose their jobs etc. and it was better to try and keep people trading and hopefully work their way through the problems and become profitable enough to finance the debts.

Now, the HMRC attitude is that of the old IR - frighten the bas**rds and if some of them go to the wall, it serves as a warning to the rest.

Football's problem is that a lot of the HMRC debt is VAT debt - which previously fell under C&E. Now it falls under HMRC, football is getting a bucket of cold water poured over them by a department who isn't interested in sentiment, only cash.

I can't see this changing unless a policy directive comes from the government itself (of whatever colour) overriding the department's stance.

And, to be honest, if a lot of football clubs hadn't taken it for granted that they wouldn't be liquidated and as a consequence not solved their fundamental problems I'd have had more sympathy. as it is, I think the hardnosed attitude is long overdue because it will hopefully make football clubs realise that they must work within their means or else. Once that message finally begins to sink in, I can see transfer fees and player's wages being put under pressure to become realistic for the market, and not before time.

[not on facebook]

the state of football today what with players pay roll spin offs, and agents wedge,
so called chairmen /borad directors,just about all that is wrong within the game today,
can all be traced back to when sky sports got involved heavily in the prem.

i ask you when was the last time pre sky sports a club in top flight division
was in the state that portsmouth find them sens in today?

ok the likes of maidstone i think it was dropped out of league due to off the pitch problems and saying that they was in the basement division plying their trade.

is sky sports becoming the cancer of football???

food for thought

[Glyn_Wigley]

Nothing to do with Sky Sports, they're just a source of income: it's not Sky Sports that mismanage the clubs.

[Glyn_Wigley]

Rigoglioso wrote:

Pompey will probably survive now, but it's still unbelievable that they have got themselves into this mess in the first place! Rather than go into administration (which lets face it, they've only done so that HMRC cannot wind them up on Monday), they should have gone bust and been liquidated. It's a hard line approach and it is totally unfair on the fans, but a precedent does need to be set.

Also, did anyone hear Peter Storrie claiming he was the victim in all of this in his bullsh*t resignation statement? How can he even claim to be a victim, when he's been charged with tax evasion, has lied to the latest owner who took over from Al Faraq and run that club completely incompetently for such a long period of time. All the people from the old regime at Pompey who've sold the club down the pan should never ever be allowed near a football club again, and some of them should be put in prison!

It's only a stay of execution - they can still be wound up and liquidated if there's no buyer, whenever a creditor decides they've had enough and instigates a court order. The point of administration is to somehow keep the club (as a legal entity) a going concern, usually by finding someone to take over the existing debts (or a negotiated CVA). It can still fail.

However, now they're in the hands of the Administrator, any potential buyer will have proper access to the books, but that could be a double-edged sword - full disclosure of the situation may encourage someone to think they can rescue the club. On the other hand, if the situation is bad enough and it can't now be glossed over by Storrie and the like, it could well put off any potential saviours.

[Barmby Rover]

I hope they get wound up. No such option has been given to Chester, why should they be so different? Next year they come into our division, with £30 million in their pot. That should be refused and the money used to pay creditors. If that means that the players don't get paid, they should hand in notice and try to get another job. I cannot understand the way that football players have contracts that cannot be terminated by the club whenever they want, that is the world the rest of us live in. It would do a few good to be made redundant.

[Glyn_Wigley]

Barmby Rover wrote:

Next year they come into our division, with £30 million in their pot. That should be refused and the money used to pay creditors.

One of the things the Administrator is proposing is asking the FA to advance them the parachute payments to keep the club afloat now.

[not on facebook]

the fact that sky sports were throwing money to the fa,clubs etc etc show they could show 'live' prem football sat,sun,mon and sometimes tues/weds

in turn made the prem a worldwide brand watched by millions upon millions

to which the agents/players got and still are asking for more of that pie

right to the extent of where you find the state of portsmouth today

i bet my last dollar that if sky sports did not exsist or a same type of set up today
portsmouth fc would not be in the situation they are today.

ok fare enough pompey might be in league one or whatever div but at least what fans are wactching portsmouth week in week out would still have a club with sole

supporters/fans was the most important thing in football,but today it looks like that is far from the truth....just ask any portsmouth fan

i do take on board that the stadiums have got much better due to sky money,but in same breath how many fans are now up in arms due to lack of atmosphere in todays
all seater grounds.

i would like to know if you had a poll today what per cent of fans/supporters
would like to go back to pre non seater grounds,buy tickets on the day etc etc???

then in 10 seasons time do the same pole again and i say  alot more fans will be banging to get back to good olde days of standing,freezing yer nuts off getting piss wet through,football at 15.00 on saturday,as to go through them conditions
you would not leave game with 20mins to go when yer team went 0-2  down as did at KMS and hillsboro of late

[Glyn_Wigley]

Nobody made Portsmouth spend money they didn't have except the people who ran the club. Trying to blame anybody else is just foolish.

If Portsmouth's woes are solely down to Sky, who's responsible for the dozens of clubs outside the Premiership continually going in and out of administration for as long as we can remember? Goals On Sunday?  :S

[ferribyrover]

There is some good news... for us beer drinkers. Pompey Royal, from a Gosport brewery I think, is excellent. Give it a try next year.

[ferribyrover]

Thinking a bit more about this, if we do face Portsmouth it is a good trip. Not just the pubs and beer but HMS Victory is worth a visit too.

[not on facebook]

as for clubs in lower divisons,its a knock on effect from what is going on in the prem

fair point that clubs are been run badly,but since there is so much money floating about at top end of ladder it has dripped down to lower parts of said ladder.

you only have to see what powers that be have on back bunner for a 'league of eurpoe'
idea that is been kicked around.it seems they want a league in europe to which only the top teams play in it midweek away from their domsetic leagues

sole reason behind above 'tv selling rights', more money,which in turn will only put wages up more,not what the fans want might i add.

ok this maybe not down to sky tv getting the rights but some tv company will
maybe i should now say too much tv is killing the game,just that sky are the main  player in the tv part

[Glyn_Wigley]

Take away TV money and some clubs will still be badly run. TV money isn't the cause per se.