Monday 25th June 2012. A familiar old story in Fratton Park’s Victory Lounge, the creditors of Portsmouth Football Club meeting to discuss and vote on yet another CVA proposal agreement. After an adjournment to discuss amendments, the creditors accepted a proposal from Portpin, acting on behalf of Balram Chanrai. Problem solved?
No. The meeting left us with plenty of uncertainties still, mainly revolving around the condition of any bid being subject to the high earners coming to a compromise on their settlements to leave the club. The meeting was adjourned to pass an amendments wherby Portpin waived their 28 day exclusivity period, allowing other bids to be made. only two groups look likely to take over the hot potato which is Pompey ownership.
In the red corner, Balram Chanrai and Portpin. The man holding a charge over the club to the tune of £18m, the most reluctant potential football club owner the world has ever known. By his own admission, Mr Chanrai wants out of Fratton Park in 3 years, with £18m recouped. He has offered two pence in the pound to the creditors of Pompey, yet the deal still hinges on reducing the crippling wage bill.
In the partisan Blue corner, the Pompey Supporter’s Trust. Probably the most desperate potential football club owners the world has ever known.
They have raised adequate finances through a community share scheme and ‘high net worth’ individuals, they have put themselves in a position to make Pompey a fan-owned club despite numerous figures doubting their ability to raise the finances and a viable business plan. Their initial bid has been described as ‘serious’ and they now have a 28 day period to finalise and place a bid on the table.
The next 28 days (well, 26 days as of today) is likely to be full of up’s and down’s for the fans of Pompey, Trevor Birch has warned there are no certainties a points deduction is not in the offing, and the stalemate with Kanu, Aaron Mokoena and Tal Ben-Haim shows no sign of resolution. The month of July will pose some interesting questions, will we be placed in the hands of the fans? Will we be forced to settle for our reluctant owner and hope the continued existence of Pompey buys time for a new interest? Or will the high wages and financial mis-management perpetrated by the foolhardy become not only the bain of our current plight, or the end of Portsmouth Football Club as we know it?
28 days to go….
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I understand the dluiicfft position you, as a Portsmouth fan, felt yourself in during the club’s period in administration when it looked likely it might fold. However, I don’t think that because people are emotionally attached to a football club, it should make a difference on the decision of whether or not a club should be forced to go under if their finances are a complete mess. Football is business, first and foremost (albeit shady business in the case you describe). To put it bluntly, fans care much more about their club than their club cares about them particularly if it is owned by someone who is only out to make money.Your raise an interesting point about club ownership in Germany. If the idea of fans owning 51% of their club was adopted in Britain (which is unlikely, as it makes a lot of sense ) then at least people who genuinely care about the club have an involvement in it’s day-to-day running, rather than having to sit back helplessly when clueless profit-seekers march in and take charge.
Posted by Sutrisno | July 21, 2012, 20:54