Pompey could have more points deducted
120578-959_BARNSLEY_POMPEY_SR_18/2/12 Action from Pompey vs Barnsley at Oakwell. Pompey administrator Trevor Birch at Oakwell. Picture:Steve Reid (120578-959)
POMPEY’S new administrator admits the club could still be docked further points but says he is confident of finding a buyer.
Trevor Birch, of accountancy firm Pannell Kerr Forster, who has been appointed administrator of the club along with partners Ian Gould and Bryan Jackson, described the way the club has been run in the past as unsustainable.
Portsmouth FC went into administration on Friday for the second time in two years after a hearing at the High Court in London.
Asked what had gone wrong at Portsmouth Mr Birch said: ‘In simplest terms, expenditure has exceeding income in a large way.
‘Predominately due to handing out unsustainable salaries to the players on long-term contracts which has been funded by what we call a fragile ownership of the club over recent years.
‘I’m not sure it’s about executives running it in an inappropriate way; it’s a funding model which is inherently unstable.
‘You have an owner who is funding excess of expenditure over income, and he’s prepared to fund that, you can’t say that’s inexcusable, that is just a model that is unstable.’
Asked if the club was still paying former players he said: ‘No they aren’t, they still have some pretty onerous contracts with the players that still remain.’
He said the highest paid player at the club was on more than £30,000 a week, adding, ‘which for a championship club is just crazy’.
Asked if players and staff were being paid he said: ‘They weren’t paid for the January payroll but hopefully we are going to resolve that.
‘The bank accounts are now unfrozen after the winding up petition that was lodged in January.’
He added: ‘The only club that has actually physically gone out of existence is Maidstone United in 1992, so there is always somebody that will come forward.’
The club have already been docked 10 points but if Portsmouth do not come out of administration via a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) there is a risk of the Football League deducting further points.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Mr Birch said: ‘The precedent is there for those clubs that didn’t come out via a CVA of incurring further point penalties, Leeds being the latest one who didn’t come out via a CVA and I think they were docked a further 15 points before the start of that particular season.
‘That will be a threat if it didn’t come out via a CVA but there’s no reason why it wouldn’t come out via a CVA at this stage.’
Asked about the effectiveness of the Football League’s test for owners he said: ‘The Football League have a fit and proper test which has to be run on a series of objective measures rather than subjective measures because if they turn people down just on the subjective basis then they are going to be open to attack and trying to defend those claims is obviously going to be costly, that will then take funds away from clubs from the central distribution so it’s a bit of a difficult circle.
‘If they haven’t got a criminal record or they haven’t had any insolvencies, these are factual objective issues that people can look at and anything else is just subjective.
‘If you’re a Portsmouth fan you must wonder what have we done wrong to be subjected to this kind of instability.
‘It’s a one-cub city, fantastic fan-base, I think if we can restructure behind the scenes in terms of its debts then yes it’s got a great opportunity to sell the club.’
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 104 comments to this article
Page 1 of 7
theawfultwooof
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 11:19 AMYour deluded belief that you are in some way "special" is an insult to every other club in the football world...no, you don't boo your team, you just sing the praises of crooks like...what was it again "there's only one Peter Storrie"....there is a fine line between passion and being a bunch of mindless idiots and if a team puts in a bad performance, it is acceptable to show your displeasure and as for never booing your team, I think you are talking out of your backside.
AllMouth
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 10:57 AM@102 - You have literally learnt nothing from all this. I can only hope that whoever buys us is wiser than you.
wjd
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:54 AMPost 96 - As you say some fans might swap 5 visits to Wembley including winning the FA Cup for a new stadium, but personally I would not. Pompey may temporarily be in trouble but we will recover. We may one day build the new stadium, like so many other clubs, but will all those clubs win the FA Cup? I don't think so. Football is about excitement, passion and glory, and winning the cup is also a permanent achievement on the club's record. A new ground would be fantastic too but hardly something you can tell your grandkids about, whereas the day you watched Pompey win the FA Cup again.....now that is SPECIAL!
The Moderator
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:41 AM98 theawfultwooof In all the years I have been watching my team I have never BOOED them. But you Stains showed your true colours when booing your team off when you were top of the table, says it all about 5cummers I think !
The Moderator
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:34 AM98 theawfultwooof Oh and I am glad to see that you accept that you only sing and GAY Sway when your winning, lmfao.
The Moderator
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:32 AM98 theawfultwooof Oh and I am glad to see that you accept that you only sing and Gat Sway when your winning, lmfao.
theawfultwooof
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 08:27 AM@97, you also boo you're team, we've all heard it. Please don't make yourselves out to be something you are not.
The Moderator
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 08:23 AM92 Baddesley You only sing and gay sway when your winning. When your loosing you BOO your team or have you conveniently forgotten that fact ?
mickymellowswasmagic
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 08:07 AMPost 92 - I agree with you - and whilst I am dyed in the wool blue - I am midly jealous that the net result of your troubles is a new ground and an unincumbered Balance Sheet, whilst ours is memories of 5 trips to Wembley. Many a PFC fan would trade the Wembley memories for a new ground and to be a mid-table provincial club in the Premiership - but when we finally cut free from the chains of the crooks and villans that have been involved with PFC - then we can go forward.
Nothing but the blues
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 12:58 AMWatched Stevenage play very well v Spurs. It put stuff into perspective, at least for me. We are going to do just fine. But if it doesn't work out quickly, MA for England Manager. PUP. Woof.
theawfultwooof
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 12:36 AM@93 whereas you just don't turn up.
The Moderator
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 11:32 PMComment removed by moderator
Baddesley Bill
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 10:22 PM@89 Walter.."soul-less" is not how I would describe the atmosphere at SMS...I took my young daughter, niece and nephew to the game yesterday and they were blown away by the atmosphere (although, of course, I have memories of more intimidating afternoons for the away fans). My point is that (judging by many comments on here), a large percentage of your fans just don't realise that the future of your Club actually does mean following our blueprint. I know that won't go down too well on here...but that's the way I see it.
spencerc
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 10:10 PMComment removed by moderator
theawfultwooof
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 10:00 PMPretty sure Yellowsubmarine is on a wind-up.....pun intended.
Page 1 of 7
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.