<div id="attachment_783" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2010/04/1192104398_spt_ai_palace_warnock_091.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-783" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-783" src="/files/2010/04/1192104398_spt_ai_palace_warnock_091-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300"></figure></div></a><p id="caption-attachment-783" class="wp-caption-text">Warnock: A Former Palace Favourite</p></div>
<p>By 5pm on Saturday we may have a clearer view of the Championship relegation battle as Watford battle Plymouth and Crystal Palace welcome (i use the term loosely) Queens Park Rangers to Selhurst Park. It’s one of those interesting matches that football often throws up, a series of events that cumulate in a heated affair when two sides meet, as any person that follows this league will be aware that if this match had been played a few months prior, Neil Warnock would be giving his pre-match team talk in the home dressing room as opposed to the away one. Warnock left in what some football fans would consider understandable circumstances: Palace entering administration, struggling to fill their bench every week and the club facing the prospect of relegation after a mandatory point’s deduction. But you try telling that to a Palace fan, as they’ll probably feel that Warnock is nothing but a money grabbing so-and-so, who’s left Palace to join a club in almost an identical situation, bar financial difficulties. You wouldn’t blame Warnock for <a href="http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11706_6082294,00.html">feeling the nerves</a> before his return…</p>
<p>But who could blame a Palace fan? Warnock left for the pure reason of money, the power that controls all football today, and to them it feels like Warnock just left the club to sort out its own problems; wiping his hands clean. Warnocck is an unbearable character at the best of times for most English football fans – constantly ranting on about how “I’ve always had to struggle – I’ve never had it easy” and all that lark. It must give Palace fans a great deal of pleasure to see when he did attempt to take the easy way out through buying into the bizarre QPR regime, which has involved 12 managers taking the helm in the past four years (five of them controlling the club this season), that he ultimately struggled for results and is currently battling relegation much like their own club – some would say it’s still not easy for Warnock. The original investment into Rangers promised that they would be the new Chelsea of world football and could reach the top half of Premier League in no time, yet <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/q/qpr/8260661.stm">questionable ownership</a> and a bunch of dodgy decisions has instead left many football fans questioning how legitimate these claims were.</p>
<p>You can throw on top of the fire current Eagles manager Paul Hart being <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1243353/Manager-Paul-Hart-axed-QPR-just-games.html">one of those five men to manage </a>QPR this season and only last a mere five games before his reign was over and he will no doubt be desperate for the win over his former employers. Warnock, unlike his predecessors, will be given until the end of the season due to his experience in the league as the board aren’t that short sighted to realise that he is a good manager and that he faces the problem of a poor squad created due to a lack of stability. It is a shame for the long suffering QPR fans that initially were given the promise of top flight football and a world class side and instead have to watch the inner turmoil of their club as the prawn sandwich eating board squabble over club matters like babies who can’t share their toys.</p>
<p>This game could arguably not come at a worse time for Rangers either, who have not won in their last seven games and now face a Palace side who have not only points to play for but a universal point to prove as well. In a mental edge perspective too, if Palace pick up the three points they will climb over QPR in the table and will feel more in control of their fate. However, with four games to go after this for Rangers, they can send a rival further away from themselves and show bouncebackabillity that could see them rejuvenated for their final run in. This basically the pundits definition of the proverbial “six pointer” and is one game you’d be cautious about putting on your accumulator this weekend.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Radek Cerny, who has been out of the first team since January is set to start for Rangers, a gamble that Warnock is forced to take due to Carl Ikeme’s loan spell ending. Place could be without Danny Butterfield, but Lee Hills returns from suspension, allowing Clint Hill to return to his more natural position of centre -back.</p>
<p>Overall this is the game of the weekend for the football league; it has a script like a Hollywood drama. Both teams will be desperate for a win and I’d be surprised, particularly being a London derby, if the game isn’t a sell out, as Palace fans will be desperate to get one over Warnock, whereas QPR supporters will travel in the hope of seeing their team turn things around and get one step closer to safety. Eyes will be on what sort of reception Palace fans give Warnock, as it is expected to be a chorus of booing and jeering, yet some have suggested that the fans may put the fiasco aside and <a href="http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/8090454.HAVE_YOUR_SAY__Sport_Rant___does_Warnock_warrant_warm_welcome_/">remember Warnock</a> for all the good he did for the team. Putting feelings aside, the most important thing is what happens when the final whistle has gone and what the result is. Both teams need it bad in what is expected to be a cagey and heated affair.</p>


When The Former King Returns To The Palace: Warnock Set For Hostile Reception

When The Former King Returns To The Palace: Warnock Set For Hostile Reception - World Soccer Talk

<div id="attachment_711" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><div><figure class="external-image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-711" loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-711" src="/files/2010/01/fa-cup-300x300.jpg" alt="3rd round action for Championship clubs" width="300" height="300"></figure></div><p id="caption-attachment-711" class="wp-caption-text">3rd round action for Championship clubs</p></div>
<p>I remember sitting this year in anticipation of the 3rd round draw as per usual after watching Kettering battle to a draw against Leeds United I had a feeling that this could be a draw to remember. My mate who supports Brighton had seen his team qualify to the third round as a league 1/2 team for the first time in his life (Brighton were in the Championship for two seasons so qualified automatically) and he was as excited as I’ve ever seen him been. Another mate, an Aston Villa supporter, was preying to the Gods that the Villans wouldn’t defy chance and draw Man Utd yet again. And me personally as a Toon supporter – there’s a team that wears red and white who were my preferred opponents.</p>
<p>Yet a lot of times these draws can end up as an anti-climax, particularly the 3rd round draw this year. It’s just such a great concept and in any football fans head who doesn’t follow the top four he would love it if Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea all got away draws against a bunch of brick layers and plasterers. Because that is what this is all about and what I personally love to see – the underdog getting a chance. Last year a local side near where I am from, Blyth Spartans got a 3rd round draw against Blackburn Rovers and even though they lost, it’s one of those unique type of matches in football. I’m not saying its a terrible draw, I just love to see a lot of interesting ties.</p>
<p>My Seagull friend was immediately brought down to earth as Brighton got an away tie against Torquay, Villa got a tricky fixture against Blackburn and the Geordie faithful will be forced to make the longest trip in English league football twice this season now as Plymouth were drawn as their opponents. Not inspiring for any of us (particularly now Plymouth have got a new manager and are hitting a bit of form and the Toon are dropping!). A lot of the Championship teams have difficult draws and there are 7 all Championship ties.</p>
<p>On a positive note that means at least 7 Championship teams will be in the 4th round. And Cardiff and Millwall in this past decade have proved that a great cup run can be a memorable thing, which can ultimately end up with a big day out at the end. When 2nd of January comes I know I will be excited about the cup once again because after all – this is what most English fans dream of seeing their club win. And more importantly we have a few interesting ties involving Championship sides (all times are GMT):</p>
<p><strong><em>Nottingham Forest</em> V Birmingham City – 2nd Jan 3pm:</strong></p>
<p>When the draw was made it may of seemed like a slightly interesting tie, but both teams are in amazing form and both are putting their current unbeaten record on the line. Forest have made the City Ground a fortress this season and will be keen to test Paul Hart’s England credentials after recent cries were made to make the City stopper England’s World Cup choice. The FA cup was the one trophy that famously eluded legendary manager Brian Clough in his successful spell at the club and the last time the club lifted the title will be 51 years ago by the time the final comes around. Forest have won their last four at home so be aware Brummies!</p>
<p><strong><em>Middlesbrough</em> V Manchester City – 2nd Jan 3pm:</strong></p>
<p>Middlesbrough have had a few troubles this season. Largely tipped by many to be the team most likely to be promoted back to the Premiership at the first time of asking, they decided to change things around and bring Gordon Strachan in. One win in their last five home games doesn’t make great reading coming into this one, especially as Roberto Mancini has come in and lifted Spirits at the sky blue outfit. You would forgive a Middlesbrough fan if a good cup run was the last thing on their mind but I’m sure Strachan will be aware that a victory against the ‘richest team in the world’ will lift the spirits of even the tea lady at the Riverside. It depends what Boro turns up on the day as they can go from the brilliance of dominated QPR 5-1 to disappointment of crumbling 3-0 to Blackpool. I’m sure any neutral would love to see a Boro victory in this match.</p>
<p><strong>Portsmouth V <em>Coventry City</em> – Jan 2nd 3pm:</strong></p>
<p>Coventry, until they lost 2-0 to the in form Forest, were starting to gather a bit of form and confidence and there is no better time to play Portsmouth in an FA cup-tie. Pompey are likely to be missing a number of their African internationals for this game and their team will most likely be pieced together from what is left of their squad. <a href="http://epltalk.com/breaking-news-portsmouth-face-winding-up-order/14299">Current financial issues</a> loom large over the 2008 winners and Coventry will no doubt fancy their chances in this match. This is a huge opportunity to pile more misery on the south coast team and take home a Premiership scalp and Chris Coleman will be letting his players know about the low morale of the Pompey players.</p>
<p><strong><em>Reading</em> V Liverpool – Jan 2nd 5.15pm:</strong></p>
<p>If Reading manage to pull off a win in this game then the all too often used term ‘magic of the FA cup’ would never be more necessary to coin. Although Reading managed to end their horrible home run in November against Blackpool, it still only totalled three home wins in all of 2009. There has been no win in their last five games and caretaker Brian McDermott is currently managing the club. Although Liverpool have had their own troubles this season, they recently snatched a late winner at Villa Park in their most recent fixture – the sort of goal that could kick start any season. It’s mission impossible for Reading really and it will be interesting to see what team Rafa Benitez decides to field considering their options of silverware have dwindled down recently. A brave man would bet on Reading but stranger things have happened and neutrals will no doubt be cheering on the Royals come Saturday.</p>
<p><strong>Chelsea V <em>Watford</em> – Jan 3rd 3pm:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/dec/30/chelsea-roman-abramovich-debt-scolari">Debt free</a> Chelsea welcome cash strapped Watford this weekend; two very contrasting situations for two London clubs. Malky Mackay has done everything he can this season and you wouldn’t argue if he told you that the club has other priorities rather than&nbsp;a good cup run. Chelsea may have lost a number of key players to the African Cup of nations, but this game will give a chance to some of the younger players attempting to break through such as Daniel Sturridge; something that won’t help the Hornet’s cause. There’s bound to be a large following from the Watford fans and hopefully this can inspire the players to raise their game, despite the probable uncertainty over a lot of players futures.</p>
<p>So we are all geared up for an exciting weekend of knock out football and although the Premiership teams have the odds to win this thing, you can never count out anyone in the FA cup. Lower league sides in the past have often shown up the big boys time and time again and hopefully we’ll be in for a weekend of drama and great football. Happy New Year from Championship Talk and all the best to you and your team for 2010!</p>


FA 3rd Round Cup Preview: Championship Chances

FA 3rd Round Cup Preview: Championship Chances - World Soccer Talk

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<p>Is there a worse chairman in the history of the Premiership than Sulaiman Al-Fahim? I’m struggling to think of anyone who has misled, misinformed and treated the supporters of a club so clearly as Al-Fahim has in his 8 month relationship with Portsmouth. Today the HM Revenue &amp; Customs have issues a winding up order against Portsmouth F.C. which will see the club declared bankrupt unless all debts can be settled by February</p>
<p>Now, for me, the Premiership board have to take a long look at themselves over this situation. They allowed a man who clearly didn’t have the financial muscle to own a Premiership club to purchase it and then sell 90% within 6 weeks to Ali al-Faraj who promised to invest significant sums that have still to materialise. Where is all the money going at Portsmouth?</p>
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<p>So here we have a situation where the 2008 F.A. Cup winners are facing going under in 6 weeks. It is an absolute disgrace that this situation has come about and the club have just commented on this story, wholly denying the accusations but does anyone believe them anymore? The club are banned from signing anyone until the footballing debts are settled, the ground needs major redevelopment or a new ground and now the tax man has come knocking.</p>
<p>Going into administration would see them hit with a 10 point deduction immediately and would seal relegation for them. Selling players would leave them weaker than they currently are and it would seem highly unlikely that anyone can step in to bail them out financially. It’s a nightmare situation that has echoes of the crisis which engulfed the club in 1999 when Milan Mandaric rode to the rescue.</p>
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<p>Yet football has changed immeasurable in the ten years since that crisis. Administration now means a points deduction and yet, when al-Faraj bought his 90% of the club in October, the debt to the Inland Revenue was claimed to have been settled. It now seems that once again, it wasn’t true and with the amount supposedly £2 million, where did that go? The <a href="http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/LatestNews/news/PFC-Statement-433.aspx" target="_blank">statement from the club</a> claims that they’ve paid £9.7 million but the HMRC have still sought a winding up order. Who’s telling the truth here?</p>
<p>Mandaric has actually stated just before Christmas that <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leicester_city/8426001.stm" target="_blank">he wouldn’t be buying Portsmouth</a> back which would be bad news for anyone hoping to see him return to the Solent. Yet the club has been hemorrhaging money for the last 3 seasons, losing over £40 million up to the end of the 2007-2008 season. Since then, the club have sold over £80 million of talent, but still owe money to Chelsea, Watford&nbsp; and Rennes. The next allotted amount of TV revenue, which is £7 million could be diverted to those three clubs but it still wouldn’t cover all the outstanding monies.</p>
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<p>The monthly wage bill at Fratton Park is £1.8 million and the only other option is to sell playing assets to try and keep going, but the wages have bounced twice already this season and with everyone aware of Portsmouths situation, they will do well to receive an actual value for those players that matches what they need. All in all, it’s a dire situation and there seems no light at the end of the tunnel for Portsmouths long suffering fans. As always these days at Pompey, they are the last to know anything. I could do a better job than the current incumbents at Fratton Park and I suspect most Portsmouth fans could.</p>

Breaking News: Portsmouth Face Winding Up Order

Breaking News: Portsmouth Face Winding Up Order - World Soccer Talk

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<p>Well, you wonder if sanity has left the South Coast this summer at Portsmouth, with weird takeovers, scraping around for signings, the chief executive being charged with tax evasion, another takeover, being banned from signing due to unpaid debts and now Paul Hart being moved out of the managers seat. What have the Pompey faithful done to deserve this mess?</p>
<p>Of course, Paul Hart is entirely to blame for Portsmouth’s misfortune isn’t he? Yep, everything that has gone on over the summer is all Paul Hart’s fault. It was Paul Hart’s fault that self publicising loudmouth Sulaimin Al-Fahim didn’t have the money he said he did. It’s Paul Hart’s fault that the previous owner, Alexandre Gaydamak refused to finance the club any more and it is all Paul Hart’s fault that he spent most of August trying to sign players as he had no team.</p>
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<p>The statement from Portsmouth’s owners through Peter Storrie is typical of people who have absolutely no idea about football or sport in general. <em><strong>“Paul has worked under very difficult circumstances with the financial restrictions the club has faced since he took over, however, the board feels that the team should have accrued more points to date and that we need a new man in charge to ensure Premier League survival.”</strong></em></p>
<p>What planet do these owners live on? Paul Hart has had to watch as an entire team is dismantled in front of him, then the all shouting and all singing Al Fahim turns up, promises the world but has no money, gets a loan to pay the wages and then sells 90% to someone who doesn’t know anything about football. Did Al Fahim ever have any money? I don’t think he did and he made a packet in 6 weeks for making outlandish statements and walking about with a replica kit on.Well done.</p>
<p>Manchester City’s owners jettisoned him soon enough after he continued to make stupid statements every other day. Al Fahim is well known as a celebrity chaser and loves the limelight ahead of any business sense he may have. He promises to buy the club and then the deal takes forever because he’s having trouble getting the money together. Al Fahim claimed he had £100 million to invest and did that ever appear?</p>
<p>Hart watched on as player after player was sold to keep the wolves from the door and the manager was left with the bare bones of a team with days to spare before the season started. Hart then spends every avenue open to him to try and create a team in a fortnight and they treat him like this? It’s pathetic at best and a disgraceful turn of events.</p>
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<p>The board feels they should have more points? Could they clarify how a team thrown together in a fortnight is supposed to be winning games off the bat. Portsmouth have been playing alright over the last month or so, despite a transfer embargo and delayed wages again, Pompey were slowly coming together. These owners are out of their minds to treat Paul Hart like this.</p>
<p>Of course, Avram Grant’s there now, so I would expect he’ll jump at the chance at this poisoned chalice to try and prove that the rumour about Chelsea almost winning the Champions League in spite of him is untrue. Nicknamed <em>the man from the B.B.C (balls, bibs and cones)</em> during his first spell at Portsmouth due to the amount of input he actually had, this will be a real test of his abilities.</p>
<p>Yet, I feel real sympathy for Paul Hart. I’ve been critical of his managerial abilities before, because his record, other than at Nottingham Forest wasn’t all that good, but that was another situation where he had a talented side that was sold under him. Of course, the fact that David Platt had caused that situation before scuttling off was no fault of his but he had to carry the can and ultimately paid the price.</p>
<p>How can anyone be expected to manage a side with the chaos that comes pouring down from the boardroom at Fratton Park is anyone’s guess, but to do such a callous and despicable act to someone who has acted with the uppermost dignity throughout the last 6 months at Portsmouth is a disgraceful affair. Once again, I feel for the fans at Portsmouth, no club deserves the owners they’ve got their now.</p>

Paul Hart Leaves Portsmouth FC

Paul Hart Leaves Portsmouth FC - World Soccer Talk

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<p>It sounds as if Gary McAllister is about to named as Paul Hart’s assistant manager tomorrow morning. Reports coming from Radio Solent are claiming that McAllister, after turning down the same role under <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8274361.stm" target="_blank">George Burley with the Scottish national team</a> last week, has agreed to join Pompey. After the start that Paul Hart has had to endure with the loss of a team over the summer and then being expected to form one in about 3 days, he’ll be glad of the help.</p>
<p>McAllister’s reasoning for turning the Scotland offer down was that he wanted a full time position in English club football and it seems his chance has now arrived. It’s certainly a baptism of fire but when you’ve worked for Ken Bates, you can turn your hand to most situations without any fear at all. After being out of football for nearly 10 months, since being sacked from Leeds United on December 21st, it sees a welcome return for the likable Scotsman to the Premiership.</p>
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<p>McAllister could actually do with such a position after two ill feted managerial positions at Coventry City and Leeds United. Both clubs had varying pressures that McAllister struggled to cope with, Coventry were desperate to return to the Premiership as quickly as possible but McAllister’s personal life was thrown in to turmoil when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. He resigned in January 2004 to spend more time with her, but she sadly passed away in March 2006.</p>
<p>Leeds United were struggling to overcome the shock of Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet leaving, when McAllister came to the club and they managed to get to the play off final, but lost in a shock defeat at the hands of Doncaster Rovers. After that, it was always going to be tough for McAllister and a shock defeat to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/facup/3537050/Histon-make-history-as-they-knock-Leeds-United-out-of-the-FA-Cup-Football.html" target="_blank">non-league Histon in the F.A. Cup</a> sent the club into free fall.</p>
<p>Now he’s got a chance to come in as an assistant manager and cut his teeth in an environment where he can learn more than simply taking the managers job at a club he used to play for. There’s no pressure from supporters who remember him strolling around the midfield, spraying balls to all corners of the park. There’s nowhere else for Portsmouth to go and Paul Hart has continued to rise above the ridiculous levels of media pressure on his position.</p>
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<p>The two go back to their time together at Leeds United, when Hart was in charge of the youth academy and McAllister was the club captain. This is not a decision based on a whim, the two obviously know each other well and are aware of each others strengths and weaknesses. The existing relationship could be crucial in allowing the duo to hit the ground running and Portsmouth aren’t too far away from getting some points on the board.</p>
<p>Hart has had to suffer the biggest asset stripping seen at a Premiership club since Leeds United’s implosion in 2003-2004. Yet he had to go through something similar when he was the manager of Nottingham Forest as the club desperately tried to recover the money that David Platt had blown in his dreadful tenure as manger.The irony of the situation will not be lost on him at all, but at least is should stand him in good stead.</p>

Gary McAllister Agrees To Join The Portsmouth Fight

Gary McAllister Agrees To Join The Portsmouth Fight - World Soccer Talk

<p>The Premiership season begins on August 15th, just under four weeks away and for most clubs in the top flight, July has seen them scurrying about trying to strengthen their squads. At Fratton Park however, Portsmouth find themselves hampered by the current process of due diligence for Sulaiman Al Fahim’s proposed takeover to be completed. As such, no new players have come in and the board have allowed Glen Johnson to leave for £17 million.</p>
<p>The board have now accepted an offer of £12 million from Peter Crouch and it seems a simple matter of crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s. The only question is where Crouch will end up. Sunderland were in the driving seat but the player would like to remain in the south of England which would have put Fulham in the driving seat until Harry Redknapp threw his hat in ring. Having signed him twice before, Redknapp would now appear to be the favourite to see Crouch finally return the club where his professional career began.</p>
<p>Of course, this misses the bigger picture here, that of Portsmouth Football Club. The last few seasons have been eventful at Fratton Park, even by Pompey’s standards, but overall it has been a significant, if not a completely positive period in their history. Until Redknapp left for Tottenham, it had been a&nbsp;period of&nbsp;continual improvement and&nbsp;the F.A. Cup win was the icing on the cake for the whole project. The first team squad had the most quality it had seen in years sprinkled throughout it, with England internationals in every department.</p>
<p>That squad as of today looks threadbare even before Crouch’s departure. So far, 9 players have left the squad. Johnson, Davis, Djimi Traore, Lauren, Little, Thomas, Pamarot and the loan deals of Jermaine Pennant and Amand Traore have concluded. At the moment, the club have 15 professionals on their books. Kanu and Sol Campbell are currently considering new one year deals to extend their time at Pompey.</p>
<p>Now I know that takeover’s seem to take a matter of days when it comes to Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City’s buy outs, but they did take time, we just weren’t so aware of the facts that we are when it comes to the Portsmouth deal. Yet the clubs fans need it resolving as soon as possible. The playing squad needs strengthening as a matter of urgency because if not, it could be too late to get a squad together before the kick off in August.</p>
<p>The news that the shirt manufacturers, Canterbury, have also gone in to administration has meant that Peter Storrie has been having to work hard to secure an alternative. Yet, when you’re the third highest paid executive in the Premier League, it shouldn’t take too much to bring in a new shirt manufacturer, with Umbro leading the charge to take over the contract.</p>
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<p>By all accounts, the deal should be concluded in a matter of days, but with no manager, no shirt manufacturer and now the smallest first team squad in the Premiership, Sulaiman Al Fahim is going to need to hit the ground running to get the club ship shape. A new manager is paramount as a first decision to get the transfer targets already positioned; I’ll be amazed if Al Fayed hasn’t got a manager already on board to takeover. For all the good work that Paul Hart did to rescue the disaster that was Tony Adams’ reign, he has made it clear he wants to return to the academy.</p>
<p>I just hope everything get’s sorted soon for Portsmouth and their fans. It’s a terrific club, with some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever come across. They don’t deserve to get caught in the blocks once the season kicks off, three relegation scares in 5 years will be pushing their luck.</p>


Portsmouth Need To Sort The Takeover Out Quickly

Portsmouth Need To Sort The Takeover Out Quickly - World Soccer Talk

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<p>Ah, isn’t buying a football club the easiest thing in the world. Look how quickly Abramovich bought Chelsea, the Glazers bought Manchester United and the Abu Dhabi group picked up City. Compared to the protracted nature of the proposed takeover of Portsmouth, even buying Newcastle United may be easier.</p>
<p>When Sulaiman Al-Fahim reappeared in May to announce he was to buy Portsmouth, I wasn’t surprised, just perplexed. I’d forgotten that the buyers of Manchester City had quickly jettisoned him last autumn when he started making wild statements to the press about transfer targets and wages. Well, now here he is again and it seems another can of worms has been opened over the takeover.</p>
<p>The English press, well known for its balance and refusal to use knee jerk headlines, has been all over the Pompey takeover this weekend. From <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/15/portsmouth-thaksin-shinawatra-takeover" target="_blank">the Guardian</a>, to <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2481125/Pompeys-60million-fear-over-Al-Fahim.html" target="_blank">the Sun</a> to the, erm, <a href="http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/84874/Thaksin-I-m-not-Pompey-backer/" target="_blank">Daily Star</a>, rumours abounded about who was actually involved in the deal. First we had Premier League Chairman Dave Richards getting embroiled in the takeover before going on a media blitz to say he had no involvement or had set the deal up.</p>
<p>Then amazingly, international fugitive and former owner of Manchester City, Thaksin Shinawatra then came out claiming he was not involved at all after he was reported to be involved. Finally, expecting Adolf Hitler to be involved in some freak time machine/cryogenically frozen worm hole scandal, disappointingly it then seemed that Al-Fahim’s <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/14/portsmouth-sulaiman-al-fahim-premier-league" target="_blank">Hydra Group was owned by the brother of Manchester City’s owner, Sheikh Mansoor</a>.</p>
<p>Ok, have you followed this so far? Good. Now after all that, what must the Portsmouth fans think of it all? The Fratton Park faithful, who have seen more than their fair share’s of ups and downs over the years, must have thought they’d seen most things, but even this little pot-boiler must be an unusual set of events even in Portsmouths history.</p>
<p>With no manager with Paul Hart’s temporary contract now having run its course, Glen Johnson tipped to leave very soon and now Peter Crouch coming out in the press to admit his disappointment and frustration at events, it could hardly be duller. Add to that Chief Executive Peter Storrie’s <a href="http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/frattonlatest/Storrie-Troublemakers-out-to-get.5365288.jp" target="_blank">annoyance at the wild speculation</a> surrounding the Al-Fahim’s bid and Crouch’s comments and you have a situation that will have the Pompey fans wondering if Godzilla may turn up coming out of the Solent next and stomp his way through Fareham on the way to the cricket ground.</p>
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<p>When the dust finally settles, I truly hope that Al-Fahim is as good as his word, the Portsmouth fans deserve it. The last 10 years have been like a day out at Southsea fairground for the loyal fans of Pompey. This is a club that deserves and needs some investment on a continual basis, as great a ground for atmosphere Fratton Park is, it looks well past it sell by date. The new proposal for the ground that came out last year <a href="http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3085673" target="_blank">looked fantastic</a>; it’s such a relief to see a ground so different to the normal identikit shoeboxes that seem to pop up these days and let’s hope the new owners agree to it.</p>
<p>New investment is crucial though for Portsmouth to compete both on and off the field and the sooner Al-Fayims due diligence is completed, the better for the fans. After all, they’ve a certain other clubs<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/southampton-relegated-after-points-deduction-1673158.html" target="_blank"> recent relegations </a>to warn them of the promise of good times that are always around the corner but never arrive.</p>
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Portsmouth's Fans Don't Deserve Being Messed Around

Portsmouth's Fans Don't Deserve Being Messed Around - World Soccer Talk

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