July 2009 - Front Page Articles

The purchase price is only the half of it, right?

If you've been fed-up with all the depressing news associated with Pompey, then like me, you've probably been turning some of your attention elsewhere.

In my case it's cars. That's not to say I've been fiddling with them, far from it. In saying that maybe I should. The family Grand Cherokee which we've had since new is now 8 years old and is starting to show its age. It still looks immaculate but the gearbox has decided to start playing silly buggers. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but thanks to the price of oil, big old buses like the Jeep cost more to fix these days than they are worth.

Still it could be worse. I drove an SL55 for 5 years and that needed 41 warranty claims, ranging from collapsed suspension to the electrics discharging themselves if I dared be out of the country for more than a week or so. At the time I was commuting to New York 15-20 times a year which meant my £100k Merc had more visits to the garage than I had nights in my own bed.

Eventually Mercedes agreed to compensate me by offering me £8000 off of a new car and no I couldn't have it in cash - ‘don't be silly you stupid customer'.

But overall I got off lucky. I got out that deal with my shirt still on my back, just, even if it does feel that I single-handedly shored up Germany's declining export numbers over a period of 5 years.

Which is not the case for Bugatti Veyron owners. If you can afford the £975,000 purchase price for Volkswagen's Premier League monster,  you'd have thought that spending the equivalent of 5 very nice semis in Pompey on a single car would entitle you to automotive peace of mind. But no. 

The first service on a Veyron costs an eye watering £13,645 and that's just the start of it. Add to this tyres that need replacing every 2500 miles at a cost of £6325 each. Equating to £25,000 on rubber every couple of months. Wheels need replacing too at 7500 mile intervals at a whopping £29,900 for the set. And here's me thinking my Merc's low profile P Zeros were expensive at £250 a pop.

Extended warranties are a little more reasonable at £38,000 a year or if you are cost conscious, £63,000 for two.  Seems a bargain when you consider a Veyron's oily bits would cost the equivalent of 2 Ferrari 599s to replace and that doesn't include labour.

I can't quite make up my mind whether spending £100k every couple of years keeping a million pound car on the road is reasonable or not. On the one hand it seems excessive but on the other if you can afford to buy it in the first place, you should surely have what it takes to keep it properly maintained and in its rightful place in the Premier League.

Paul Hart, a man of dignity, thankfully.

The King is dead, long live the King, oh hang on, he's still moving... quick, call the Mint and put a hold on the new bank notes and tell the Post Office to delay the order for the new stamps... and whilst your there get me the bank...

That's how it seemed to most us of this week as Pompey released a carefully worded statement announcing that an agreement in ‘principle' had been reached for the sale of the Club to Al Fahim Asia Associates, with Al Fahim being installed as Chairman with immediate effect.

This came on the back of the Premier League announcing that it could find no reason why Al Fahim should not run a Premier League football club.

Many took the P.F.C. announcement to mean that Al Fahim's takeover of Pompey was finally complete and more than one local fan site, along with numerous national papers, published articles celebrating the arrival of the new owner. But of course, nothing is that simple when it comes to Pompey and it has to be said, at times the Club is its own worst enemy.

One can only assume that Pompey has employed a few ex government tax-form compilers to help write its various Club statements. These press releases are becoming increasingly obfuscated and leave you no choice but to read between the lines in an attempt to extract the full meaning behind the text. And even then it's down to interpretation as to exactly what was intended.

As myPompey later found out, the Club and Al Fahim are working to a timetable (Termsheet was the word used) which details what needs to happen before Al Fahim is installed as the new owner. Principle amongst these, certainly as of Tuesday, was the payment of the agreed sums necessary to conclude the deal.

Don't get me wrong.  We are not implying that Pompey deliberately misleads its fans, but given so many got the wrong end of the stick, something needs to change.

myPompey suggested to P.F.C. many months back that the Club should release information to the various fan clubs and web-sites before it went on general release. This would go some way to rewarding the thousands of loyal fans instead of the rags whose sole intent appears to be sales on the back of mischief.

P.F.C. has now introduced some of the measures we suggested, but this principally concerns timing of releases. The much more serious matter of statement content should be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Al Fahim has promised a ‘New Era' both in his internal business plan (or was it sales brochure...?) and to the fans. We are expecting a closer more open dialog than has been the norm in the past. If this is to be the case then Club statements, be they to fans or to the media in general, need to be more open and less veiled.

By way of an example, Peter Storrie repeatedly criticizes the fan base for its attitude toward certain aspects of the Club. Take Paul Hart as a case in point. Many fans are deeply concerned at this appointment and Mr Storrie has appealed for people to get off the new manager's back.

But can you lay the blame solely with the fans? Nobody that I have spoken to believes Paul Hart was first choice and even the gentle team boss himself has acknowledged that big names were in the frame for his job. Sources close to Al Fahim recently told myPompey that Mancini got very close to being our new manager, yet the Club appears to be saying that Hart was always number one choice.

In the absence of clear Club statement to the contrary, you could conclude that Paul Hart's appointment along with Al Fahim being installed as Chairman, are linked. Not because Al Fahim was responsible for appointing Hart, more that there isn't as much money around as originally thought and timetables are being adjusted, both in terms of when we get a new manager and when Al Fahim eventually becomes owner.

If that is the case, why not just come out and say it? It would make all of our lives easier and not least the Club's.  It's not just a case though of changing a few words on a few press releases, we firmly believe the culture at the Club needs to change.

Portsmouth unlike any other city in the land is an atomic, self contained community by virtue of its island status. We are a single people and we only have one team in our vicinity and the Club enjoys our unconditional support as a result. But you do get the impression that the Club takes this support for granted and more than once, it has left many of us feeling remote and detached due to its tardy communications policy.

Come on Pompey. With this new dawn comes your opportunity to start afresh and commit to a policy of greater transparency and dare I say it, candour. We will all benefit from such an approach, not the least the fans who await your every word, be it good news or bad.

An ageing Fratton Park. One of the more obvious issues to contend with

If you thought that taking over a Premier League football club was simple, think again. If you thought that as some Wags would have you believe it resembles buying a house, think again.

If you think that perhaps it's a process filled with challenges, surprises and gotchas, not least the prospect of losing all your money, then you are probably on the right track.

Consider this. Ten years ago Pompey very nearly went bust and not for the first time. Had it not been for Milan Mandaric, we would now most likely be doing our shopping in the Fratton Park Saturday market.

As it was Milan came in and in the space of a few years made us into an established Premier League Club. If anybody needs a hero then join the queue.

Then in stepped Sacha Gaydamak and on the back of a credit bubble that was about to burst, we won the Cup and acquired some very tasty players. Tasty players incidentally, that were being paid obscene amounts of money when the fabric of the Club itself remained stuck steadfastly in the middle of the 20^th Century.

Overall, I think Sacha has been good for Pompey. I certainly believe he took us over with good intentions and, let's face it, he's not alone in being overtaken by world events.

But, and a big but, under his ownership we appear to have borrowed heavily and now as the Club is about to change hands again, the new owner wanted to ensure that the Club he inherits is properly assessed in terms of assets and more importantly in terms of liabilities.

Seems like a sensible thing to do if you ask me. And given the Club burns through money quicker than it can generate it, it's not only sensible Al Fahim gets the right deal, it's essential. Imagine if you would the debts of yesteryear continuing to plague what we hope would otherwise be a new era.

Imagine too the prospect of the Club you are buying being so short of cash that the Executive Chairman was led to comment that not finding a new owner would make the consequences unthinkable, or words to that effect. And now as the weeks pass by the players are being sold to meet these debts, or that's what we have to conclude given the takeover is not yet complete.

Many have said that Al Fahim has sanctioned the sale of these players so as to reduce the wage bill that he inherits. I don't believe that to be the case. It's no more complicated than the Club doing what Peter Storrie hinted it would do if a new owner was not found.

As of today a new owner hasn't been found. Yes we have a very good candidate but until the deal is done the Club must stand alone and fight its own battles and pay its own bills.

As if taking over the Club is not complicated enough, spare a thought for Al Fahim's political position in the Middle East. We have it on very good authority that some of the Sheiks that run the Emirates and a certain part of North West England, are a little miffed at this young upstart buying 'his own' Premier League football club.

It's not the done thing and I am told Al Fahim has been pressurized by the those surrounding the ruling elite in his homeland, not to proceed with the deal.  Pressure that to date he has ignored and given he has had plenty of opportunities to pull out of the deal during due diligence, his resolve to see it through speaks volumes for the man's character and ambition.

Crouchie's manager bless him, has been lighting 2m Peter's name up in Vegas size letters just in case another Prem team needs a hard working 15+ goal a year striker. Can't be many of those can there?

Take your guesses as to whether Crouchie put him up to it or l'agent provocateur took it on himself to help his charge become one of the Prem's most travelled players, whilst simultaneously bolstering his own personal bank account.

My money is on Crouch wanting away despite earlier this year suggesting that he'd arrived home and was satisfied with his lot.

But what is the motivating factor? Take your pick from a long list including ambition, trophies, better terms or .... and I've never believed this one, better facilities.

Ok I can understand the lure of United, Milan or Madrid, but not every player can play at that level. For every one that is lucky enough to call Alex Sir, there's 20 or more in the Prem playing week in week out in front of average crowds and playing with average teammates. In other words only a few are good enough or perhaps lucky enough to escape the mediocrity, which let's face, it pervades the 15 or so Prem clubs that don't have £100m at their disposal for new players every 12 months.

But Crouchie is not good enough for these mega rich teams. Tapas had the right idea at Anfield. When there's need for a player like Crouchie, play him, else make sure he's blocking no one else's view when he sits on the bench.

But ego is a fickle master. Just like most of my mates at the Florence in Southsea back in the 80's thought  they were great pool players (RIP Elsie and Klaus) so too do professional footballers by and large think they are better than they are.

How many times do we see players throwing a strop because they have been substituted, kidding themselves that a goal was just a minute away had they been allowed to stay on and score it?

There's no escaping the skills of great players like Ronaldo, Torres and Ronaldinho, but the fact is too many ‘good' players think they are better than they are.

When the Crouchies of this world get paid £50k+ a week, they can buy a shed full of fast cars and a house full of even faster women, so it's not surprising that football too, in their eyes at least, becomes a commodity. "Hello agent, I'm a great footballer, get me out of here"

But perhaps they miss the irony that we pay to watch week in week out. Any muggings can aspire to be a great player but only the really great make it. The trouble is that their search of greatness makes them miss the point.

Take Ronaldo. A brilliant player we'd all agree but imagine if he were playing for Newcastle not United and single handedly kept them in the Prem. Now that would be greatness. Not feigning, diving and leg-overing like a communist army parade doing a goose march, followed by repeated glances at the big screen making sure your new gel is holding up.

Greatness is measured not by the tools you have at your disposal or the women you have on your arm, it's measured by what you achieve as a person, or in the case of a footballer what you achieve as a player.

So the question all aspiring players should be asking themselves is whether they are great players by performing immaterial of their surroundings, or whether they need the baubles of success, so that even if on the pitch they don't deliver, someone off it will convince them they have.

If you want a challenge Crouchie, take a leaf out of Jamo's book. England's number 1 and proving it every week. No need for his name in lights, no agents touting his skills. No beach shots with yesterday's glam lamb, just greatness week in week out.

Priceless and proud to be Pompey.

Tired of all the regurgitated bull? Read on.

Regular readers of myPompey will know that we get to the truth when it comes to Pompey, be it good or bad. Don't ask us how we do it, let's just say we have very clear and usually very accurate crystal balls.

Take due diligence for example, whilst the world was claiming it's all done and dusted, we ‘saw' it differently. Our little lump of futurevision told us that it's almost done. All of the heavy lifting is complete but a few odds and ends are still ‘outstanding'.

Seems reasonable when you think about it, especially when due diligence can't really be complete until the Premier League franchise itself is deemed to be transferable to the new owners. And as we all know, the fit and proper person's test will be measure of whether Al  Fahim & Co can rightly call themselves owners of a Premier League Football Club.

So when will the Premier League officially gives its blessing? A quick rub of our balls suggests that the League will need to take a look at share issue documents which detail exactly who or what will own our Club. And if there are more whats than whos on the list, such as holding companies rather than individuals, then these ‘whats' will need to be investigated as to ‘who' is behind them.

Simple really isn't it and reveals that the Prem's due diligence will be proportional to the complexity of Pompey's new ownership structure.

And what of the structure? Will Al Fahim be the sole owner or will there be others? We are led to believe not to expect any major surprises. Although there could be one or two little interesting revelations. Meaning Al Fahim will be at the centre of events but he won't necessarily be the only new name on the list that the Premier League has to bless.

And when will all this be done. Soon is as close as I read it with a reminder that the new owners will have all of August in which to get Pompey shipshape and ready for the rest of the season. Interpret that as we won't have all of our playing staff in place for the first game but all should be done and dusted before the window closes.

Talking of windows, the Club has received several offers for Crouch and although there is no need to sell him, it would be considered ‘good business' considering the size of the offers received. My crystal got a little chandeliered at this point and it remains unclear as to whether Crouchie will be staying or going.

My best read would be that it all depends on the availability of someone to replace him. My guess is that the sooner this deal is done, the more likely Crouch is to go, leaving us a longer period to find a replacement.

Talking generally of replacements, it's no secret that several new players are being lined up and this is moving along in parallel with the final stages of the takeover described above.

The only thing I can't get my head around is the manager situation. Peter Storrie told myPompey recently that there were two lists of players being targeted, one if we are sold and one if we are not.

Interestingly the ‘sold' list was compiled with the help of Al Fahim and his advisors and these are the players now being pursued. But who are the advisors? You'd expect the new manager to be one of them leading us to conclude that someone has been waiting in the wings for the big day to arrive.

There are many candidates being put forward but it would seem that we can discount any manager arriving who is used to having pots of transfer money at his disposal.

The way I ‘read' it, this precludes the likes of Mancini, although that's not to say we won't see a big name arriving, it just won't be on the back of any big money signings.

It looks like this week or at the latest next, we will finally know our immediate destiny.

Apparently DD as it's now known amongst us educated Pompey fans (3 changes of ownership in the past 4 years didn't you know...?) is now complete and all that remains is for..... anybody out there know for sure what happens next?

Presumably DD raised a couple of negotiating points and either Peter Storrie fresh from his hols, or the increasingly aloof Sacha Gaydamak, will be chewing over the value of the Club with Al Fahim, or his representatives, or whoever is behind the deal.

Once the money has been settled, or at least a final figure agreed, then it's down to the PLFAPPT! Or to you and me... the Prem's Fit and Proper Person's Test.

One would hope that the PLFAPPT!  is just a rubber stamping exercise. After all there has been so much fuss made of it in the papers that you'd expect Al Fahim and ‘co' to be very well prepared. Then subsequently adjudged as very fit and proper by certain Premier League officials looking on from their holier than thou glass houses.

As I read it, only investors with more than 10% need to be made known to the Prem and only those with more than 30% need to pass the PLFAPPT.

Which if correct, leads to the bizarre possibility of 11 members of an ownership syndicate each having 9% and remaining unknown to the Prem and to you and me for that matter. As for the 30% rule, doesn't that mean that anybody can be a part owner as long as they don't own more than the magic number?

I am sure I have got the mechanics of the PLFAPPT wrong somewhere and no doubt as we speak some high rolling Prem official is polishing his ball point with the intention of ticking all the right boxes and in doing so approving our third overseas owner since we gate crashed Europe's Premier League.

Should we care who buys us? Yes and no. Let none of us take the high ground about moral and ethics pertaining to prospective new owners. One man's highwayman is another man's Robin Hood. All that really matters is that the new owners want to make the Club successful. If that means chasing the dollar round the campfire, do we really care as long as success off the pitch is matched by success on it?

Yes we do care. On the one hand we enjoyed the success that Hotspur brought us but on the other we are still suffering one hell of a hangover. There has to be a balance doesn't there?

Would we prefer strong ethical leadership even if that meant compromising our ultimate league position? I know I would. But that doesn't stop us hoping for both. A top 6 finish on a regular basis and an owner and manager to be proud of would be perfect and given everything we've had to endure since the 50s, perhaps it's about time our luck and fortune changed for good.