Portsmouth FC in yet more trouble - administration again?

[gray]

Seriously doubt that. The points aren't deducted to try and relegate someone.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I think I might have read that if Pompey gets relegated by say 10 points, they start next season with a nine point deduction, as it the nine point deduction wouldn't have mattered this season anyway.

 

No, as gray says the points penalty isn't given to ensure a team gets relegated, it has nothing to do with their league position or where they finish.

[TooonDoom]

I think I might have read that if Pompey gets relegated by say 10 points, they start next season with a nine point deduction, as it the nine point deduction wouldn't have mattered this season anyway.

 

No, as gray says the points penalty isn't given to ensure a team gets relegated, it has nothing to do with their league position or where they finish.

 

I have read the same thing.  It is to avoid clubs timing their administration (and points deduction) if they know they are down already.  Not sure that it is true but I have definitely read articles stating this.

[healthyaddiction]

It happened to Southampton (it might be a different club) didn't it?  They were given a points deduction but it only ended up applying the next season because they were going to be relegated anyway.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I stand corrected, madness if true though.

 

Also, hasn't it already been applied?

[ikri]

There's also a chance that if they haven't sorted out their finances by the start of next season and don't have a Company Voluntary Arrangement in place the Football League can deduct another 15 points, so they could start next season on -24 points.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

But they've already applied the points penalty, surely it can't be removed and then reapplied under different circustances?

 

I agree it's unfair of teams to time their administration to lessen the impact, but it's equally unfair of the league to time the points penalty to do maximum damage.

[dinotheprehistoricgeordie]

Just read that they can sell players outside of the window. Does that mean the players automatically join up with them or do they have to wait until July?

[Teasy]

They're allowing them to complete transfers but still not allowing those players to play for their new club, so its not really that different from what any club can do at anytime during the season.

[SEMTEX]

No premier league club is allowed to play them before the end of the season. Foreign leagues and The Football Leagues may decide differently.

[jdckelly]

But they've already applied the points penalty, surely it can't be removed and then reapplied under different circustances?

 

I agree it's unfair of teams to time their administration to lessen the impact, but it's equally unfair of the league to time the points penalty to do maximum damage.

fairness doesnt matter a damn to the football league, what happened to southampton wasnt fair either but they dont give a shit about helping clubs survive

[Dr.Spaceman]

Fairness shouldn't come into it at all.  The rules are there and should be followed by the letter.

[Guest Roger Kint]

Fairness shouldn't come into it at all.  The rules are there and should be followed by the letter.

 

Exactly, didnt Soton do a Leeds and wait til relegation was pretty much likely or something like that? Obviously not to the same extent as they did like

[steve_69]

Fairness shouldn't come into it at all.  The rules are there and should be followed by the letter.

 

Exactly, didnt Soton do a Leeds and wait til relegation was pretty much likely or something like that? Obviously not to the same extent as they did like

 

As far as i'm concerned if they leave loopholes in their rules then it's tough shit if teams exploit them. It's up to the FA to cover all possible eventualities. What they did to Leeds was a fucking disgrace.

I don't know about Southampton but Leeds entered into administration when they knew they were pretty much relegated so the points should have applied then and only then. To add on an additional 6 point penalty for the club exploiting the loophole was unbelievable. Just typical English FA behaviour.

[Delima]

FM TIME

 

5 England MF Jamie O'Hara (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) - £5M

23 Germany MF Kevin-Prince Boateng - £7M

26 Israel DF Tal Ben Haim - £3M

32 Algeria MF Hassan Yebda (on loan from Benfica) - £3M

39 Algeria MF Nadir Belhadj - £5M

[Elbel1]

From the BBC website

 

Pompey allowed to sell players outside transfer window 

 

Portsmouth have been given special permission by the Premier League to sell players outside of the transfer window to ease their financial crisis.

 

Pompey, who had nine points deducted for going into administration, can sell stars on condition they cannot play for another Premier League club this term.

 

They have debts of about £60m and have laid off 81 staff to cut their costs.

 

Administrator Andrew Andronikou said: "This has given us an option, but we're not necessarily going to sell players."

 

Pompey are bottom of the Premier League and virtually certain to be relegated, but Andronikou said there was no immediate need for cash given the income generated by their run to the FA Cup semi-finals.

 

He added on Sky Sports News: "At the moment we don't necessarily need (the money from sales).

 

"We're looking forward to the semi-final and that's obviously given us working capital to play with.

 

"I've always said, we've had means within the club. So it's a window that's open to us."

 

The Premier League's decision is a turnaround after it rejected Pompey's initial plea in February.

 

But in a statement on Wednesday, the Premier League said it had reconsidered after a board meeting last week.

 

A Premier League statement read: "The Premier League board meeting that convened last week to consider the administration of Portsmouth FC dealt with a number of matters beyond just the application of the sporting sanction (deduction of nine points).

 

"In accordance with Premier League rules, postponement of the suspension of Portsmouth FC as a member club was conditional on a number of undertakings being given by the administrators.

 

606: DEBATE

If a player is sold, do they have to go on gardening leave? Can they stay at Pompey "on loan" for the remainder of this season?

 

devonFRATTONiser

"These have now been received to the satisfaction of the board and therefore it has decided to allow Portsmouth FC to make player sales."

 

However, Portsmouth must fulfil certain conditions before any sales can go through. They are:

 

1. Players may be sold to other Premier League Clubs but may not play first team football for the new club before the end of the season.

 

2. Players may be sold to a Football League or foreign club, subject to Fifa's approval.

 

3. Portsmouth FC may enter into an agreement with another Premier League, Football League or foreign club that a player will be transferred to that other club in the summer.

 

Pompey, who have had four owners this season, went into administration last month after contesting a winding-up order.

 

That resulted in the points deduction which has left them 11 points adrift at the foot of the table.

 

In order to raise funds, the debt-ridden club initially appealed last month to be allowed to sell players outside the transfer window.

 

In line with the rest of Europe, there are two transfer windows a year in England, running from 1 January to 31 January and from 1 June to 31 August.

 

Portsmouth sold three players in the last window but their financial position has since worsened.

 

 

 

 

[Elbel1]

FM TIME

 

5 England MF Jamie O'Hara (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) - £5M

23 Germany MF Kevin-Prince Boateng - £7M

26 Israel DF Tal Ben Haim - £3M

32 Algeria MF Hassan Yebda (on loan from Benfica) - £3M

39 Algeria MF Nadir Belhadj - £5M

 

How could Portsmouth sell players that don't belong to them?

[durhamunigeordie]

Anyone think there is any chance we might act quickly and buy someone off them with next season in mind? PL clubs may be reluctant to do so due to the fact that they cannot actually play for them until next season and so perhaps this could be an opportunity to nip in and buy someone like belhadj, beh haim, prince boateng?

 

(I don't believe for one moment that we will just wondering really if there is any of their players people would like to see!)

[ChrisJbarnes]

would be a good opportunity to purchase some back up players at knock down prices. Which may well appeal to Ashley!

[leffe186]

It's a pity that probably the most interesting player is a left back, the one position you guys don't need. Boateng might be interesting, plus one of the forwards.

[Pilko]

Spartak have offered them £250,000 to end Owusu-Abeyie's loan deal early.

[cubaricho]

It's a pity that probably the most interesting player is a left back, the one position you guys don't need. Boateng might be interesting, plus one of the forwards.

 

Had the same thought myself.  Was watching their match the other day and Belhadj(sp?) kept ending up in the box getting on the ends of chances then I read that he's actually a left back (may have been playing as LW though at the time), was pretty .

[LooneyToonArmy]

Premier League - Niemi paid £450k for 90 minutes on bench

 

Portsmouth have released Antti Niemi after the goalkeeper picked up nearly half a million pounds without making a first-team appearance.

 

The Daily Mirror reports that the Finn signed a contract worth £14,000-a-week in August, but played just twice for the reserves and spent one Premier League match on the substitutes' bench - over the eight months he was at the club, Niemi received around £450,000.

The 37-year-old was rewarded handsomely despite spending his time at Fratton Park as third choice keeper behind David James and Jamie Ashdown.

 

Cash-strapped Pompey are in administration and narrowly averted being wound up after a catalogue of financial mismanagement left them with an unpaid £11 million tax bill.

 

Administrator Andrew Andronikou has already axed 85 jobs at the club and is now looking to slim down the playing staff.

Left-back Nadir Belhadj is expected to join Russian outfit CSKA Moscow, while on-loan striker Aruna Dindane cannot play because another appearance would trigger an automatic £4m bid for the Lens player.

 

Earlier this month defender Dusko Tosic went on loan to Queen's Park Rangers after the Premier League refused to ratify him as a Portsmouth player following his arrival on a free transfer in February.

 

Former chief executive Peter Storrie has also left the club. He was paid a reported seven-figure annual salary despite bearing, in Andronikou's words, "a large part of the responsibility" for Portsmouth's plight.

 

The club's finances were plunged into chaos last summer after Franco-Russian businessman Sacha Gaydamak sold the club to Sulaiman Al-Fahim.

 

The Premier League's bottom club Portsmouth are all but guaranteed to be relegated after being deducted nine points for going into administration.

 

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/31032010/58/premier-league-niemi-paid-450k-90-minutes-bench.html

[Liam Liam Liam O]

 

David James says 2008 FA Cup win began Pompey crisis 

 

Portsmouth goalkeeper David James says victory in the 2008 FA Cup final set the club on the road to financial ruin.

 

"It has had a terrible effect on the club over arguably the last 18 months," said James, whose side face Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.

 

"Qualifying for Europe was financially and physically damaging for the club."

 

Portsmouth, who appointed David Lampitt as its new chief executive on Friday, went into administration in February with debts of over £60m.

 

Two years ago, Harry Redknapp delivered Portsmouth's first FA Cup success since 1939 with victory over Cardiff at Wembley.

 

But with several players collecting bonuses for their success, James says the Cup victory began the process of financial meltdown.

 

"To offer people the opportunity of big bonuses to qualify for Europe seems like a pretty safe bet, simply because you do not anticipate a club like Portsmouth winning the Cup," said James.

 

"Had we not won the FA Cup, bizarrely it would probably have done us a lot better, because we would not have qualified for Europe and would have been able to build on two decent years of progression.

 

"Having won the cup, the financial impact was crippling and then as a squad we just were not kitted out to be able to sustain the European, as well as league and cup campaigns which followed.

 

"We ended up suffering on both fronts."

 

Despite his misgivings about the 2008 Cup success, James is relishing the prospect of taking on Spurs at Wembley.

 

"Winning the FA Cup on its own was a tremendous achievement," he added.

 

"This year we have got a semi-final against decent opposition, and if we can give ourselves a chance of winning the cup again, that would not be for the lure of getting into Europe - it would be winning another trophy for Portsmouth."

 

If Pompey do make the final, they may have to do without several of their players, who will be making their final appearances for the club in the semi-final because of expensive trigger clauses in their contracts.

 

Administrator Andrew Andronikou has revealed that "five or six players" would be eligible for bullet payments if they played another game.

 

These could be cash payments of up to £100,000 or the guarantee of a contract renewal for next season.

 

"These bullet payments mean that they can play in the semi-final, but not play another game after it, unless they waiver those payments," said Andronikou.

 

"That would be tragic for the player if the team is in the FA Cup final, but it will be the players', or their agents', decisions. They are going to have to forfeit those contractual obligations or they cannot play again.

 

"As the club is in administration and as the administrator, I am not in a position to allow these payments or indeed to allow the players to automatically renew their contracts for next season."

 

Meanwhile the club announced on Friday that Lampitt, the Football Association's head of football integrity, would be replacing Peter Storrie, who stepped down on 12 March.

 

"I am delighted to have the opportunity to take up this new challenge with Portsmouth," he told the club's website.

 

"The club has been through some tough times this season and I intend to bring some stability and transparency to operations.

 

"Pompey have some of the best fans in the country and they deserve their great support to be matched by equally high standards of governance at the club."

 

Lampitt, a qualified chartered accountant, will take up the post once his period of notice has been agreed with the FA.

 

FA chairman Lord Triesman said: "David Lampitt has been with the FA for six years and has made an outstanding contribution to our regulatory obligations.

 

"It is a great tribute to him that one of our oldest and most famous clubs should look to his expertise and personal character to bring it through a time of great difficulty.

 

"Portsmouth's fans should take comfort in a wise long-sighted appointment, and I wish David every success."

 

Pompey are on the brink of relegation to the Championship, having been deducted nine points on 17 March for going into administration.

 

Andronikou was appointed on 26 February with the aim of cutting costs and finding a buyer for the Hampshire team, currently owned by Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai, who took control in early February.

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8612358.stm

 

Pretty shocking that.

[Village Idiot]

Why did they sign Niemi at all? They had James, Begovic and Ashdown at the time.