Appleton calls for Football League ‘common sense’
Pompey manager Michael Appleton salutes the fans at Oakwell
Pompey will today crank up their push for players – with Michael Appleton demanding ‘common sense’ from the Football League.
The Blues slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Barnsley on Saturday and had Dave Kitson sent off.
Appleton could name only three substitutes for the Oakwell fixture, and one of those was keeper Jamie Ashdown.
Squad levels remain critical despite George Thorne arriving on loan from West Brom hours before the clash.
Injuries continue to ravage playing numbers.
Kitson must now serve a one-match ban following his dismissal, while youngster Sam Magri is Liverpool-bound.
The club’s administrator, Trevor Birch, will today approach the Football League in an attempt to win permission for more loan arrivals to accompany Thorne. It is understood Appleton has targeted four more players, all of whom would have wages covered by their parent clubs.
And Appleton is praying the former Chelsea chief executive can succeed in persuading football chiefs for the go ahead.
He said: ‘I have got plenty of people ready to go.
‘I just hope the Football League is sensible enough to see it is a bit of a desperate situation and that we do need to be helped.
‘After all, we have to make sure we are competitive for the fairness of the Football League.
‘At the minute they can’t see that and that’s the point I have been trying to make to Trevor (Birch).
‘I am sure he will be making that point to them today.
‘I met him on Saturday for the first time and have been impressed because the first thing he wanted to talk to me about was players and trying to make my squad bigger and better.
‘That is a bit of a sigh of relief really and a breath of fresh air. He said he would address that for me, which was really positive from my point of view.
‘Hopefully someone will come up with a bit of common sense at the Football League and allow us to bring in players.
‘If we can’t fill a bench it could get to a scenario where, with teams at the top of the table, if we are playing against their rivals and can’t be competitive because we haven’t got enough players then they are going to start asking questions.’
Appleton met Birch at the team’s hotel on Saturday morning before the Barnsley match.
It was the Blues boss’ first opportunity to speak to the partner in PKF, who were appointed club administrators on Friday afternoon. And Birch left a good impression.
Appleton added: ‘It’s important to have a football person there – he realises what happens on the football field is key to everything when you are in administration.
‘First and foremost you want to stay in the division.
‘If you’re doing well and do stay in the division you are going to attract a better buyer in terms of stability.’
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Comments
There are 111 comments to this article
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tobermory
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 11:48 AMI agree with you Mr. Appleton, but common sence is something the Football Leauge do not understand.
What Do I Know?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:27 AMSorry meant 'owner' not 'manager'.....
What Do I Know?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:26 AMRussian, good point. 'Shots fan, I humbly apologise, 3 teams within 50 miles. Now Reading have a young Russian manager with 51%, why does that make me nervous on their behalf? Madjeski has been a fantastic owner, we'd all like one like him.
russian chris
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:22 AMPost 104- dont forget Aldershot !
Gibraltar Pompey
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:22 AMPost 100-are you brain dead? If we didn't have the money in the Prem, we wouldn't have spent it would we!!! The point is, we did have it via a benefactor- Gaydamark. He then decided to stop spending the money altogether and the slide started. Chelsea, Man City are spending money they don't have-why don't you start bleating on to them. Or Bolton-over £100m in debt!! Your club is doing exactly the same. You don't generate the revenue to pay the wages to the likes of Sharp etc-you are relying on monies from a benefactors estate. Once that stops, you will need to find a new owner quickly or face the same issues that we currently do. The business model is exactly the same.
russian chris
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:20 AMGibraltar- 50 years ago since i left Gib! Anyway,we all know they are braindead-its just something they cant get out of their heads. I think they wanted us to fold rather than go into admin,and it seems to have upset them (its probably only the one that got banned-changed his name and uses 4-5 different ones) .its really beyond me how much interest they have in our club. I very rarely get on the computer at 8 in the morning,yey there they( he or she) are,all bright and bushy tailed,waiting to put the usual boring remarks on,remarks that they cant back-up with any serious conversation. I call them Plankton,but i guess thats being rude to Plankton.
russian chris
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:19 AMSomeone on another thread( the barnsley game) said is that al we took- we dont need to take thousands away, 1-we make more noise with 618 fans(barnsley) than the little angels down the road make with 6018 fans. Home or away we are the noisiest- oh,except for when the paints fans are booing their top of the league team,oh and possibly the noise from your fans leaving 15 minutes early. 2- whats the point in thousands going away,the away club doesnt benefit,and its no point in you saying anything because your fans dont make any noise -except for the booing and rattling of seats 15 minutes early.
What Do I Know?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:13 AMMark (Sky Blues Fan), I think most of us in the Navy Blue city look at the situation Coventry find themselves in and probably think ourselves (relatively) lucky at this point. Coventry have also suffered a succession of owners that haven't been able to pull them away from a downward direction so perhaps at this point you've hit rock bottom and things will soon turn positive again. I also think attracting investment in Coventry is much harder than Mr Birch will have for Portsmouth. After all, you have a number of PL and FL teams within a stones throw and this limits your supporter catchment (I know some incredibly loyal Coventry fans). In Portsmouth there are only 2 proper teams within 50 miles (Brighton and Reading) and then it's either Bournmouth or Fulham, so perhaps our fan base is larger. Anyway, to your point, our academy system has struggled over recent years - until Andy Awford took over (future PFC Manager - top, top guy). It will take a few years to get our academy producing really good home grown players. We might have a few but I suspect some of our younger players aren't actually as good as yours. I believe we are near the bottom of the Academy league (if that is in fact a good indicator?). We have some promising youngsters, but as others have posted Mr Appleton is better placed than any of us to judge and this rule about first team squad might well have caught others (such as Coventry?) out but they've just not come out and said it? I suspect there's lots of things going on clubs we could all shout 'foul' about but because they're not in admin it's not made public.
TaskForce
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:06 AMsaintmichael. we have NO INTEREST in your comments now p1ss off back to your own clubs forum.
Seedhouse Rides Again
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:06 AMSuperbly put Mark82. Coventry have been through the mangle. Sadly this lot don't get it. They are special, nothing is their fault, they've been so hard done by and they shouldn't have to pay the price for years of cheating. I actually was in two minds but they have convinced me they would do it all again given the chance. Their lack of humility at what they've done is breathtaking, no remorse to be found here. They will think nothing of taking players they can't afford so someone else has to pay the wages and putting you down to save their sorry skins again. They are morally as well as financially bankrupt.
What Do I Know?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 08:59 AMThis potential that we might be allowed to sign up to 4 loanees (players that are yet to establish themselves at their own clubs or are perhaps surplus) seems to have rattled so many cages, particulaly those from along the coast. Could it be that they are getting nervous about the game in April? Getting loan players is standard practice for teams with limited funds - it's been going on for years. It's teams living on finance (not cash) that don't use that particular system - and we should know, at our cost. Portsmouth will not be the last team to suffer that consequence. Also, Espaniel forgot to mention one of the main cuplits responsibile for our predicament - Mr Storey. Rotten to the core - I suspect I'd probably have to agree.
Re
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 08:58 AMMark82 - You clearly don't understand, the normal rules for clubs in administration shouldn't apply for pompey. They believe that they are a big club after spending money they didn't have in the premiership. Maybe one day they will realise that they are a lower mid table championship side at best and that there are at least half a dozen bigger teams in league one.
Devon Pfc
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 08:51 AMSame old boring stuff from the Stains. Your on the wrong forum. This is the fans forum your sad wind up crititisim needs to be directed to those who were the decision makers. Check out past owners and CEO I'm sure they would love to debate with you. We are but the fans who in the face of adversity show our support vocally at every game for our great club. Sadly this can not be said of yours.
Gibraltar Pompey
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 08:50 AMPost 94. When you say the whole Football League, you just mean your own sad, bitter club. You're having one of the best seasons in your clubs history and you and the majority of your fellow Saints fans are more interestedupset by Pompey going into admin. WTF!!
mark82
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 08:41 AMAs a Coventry fan just want to set the record straight on our position. Since the end of last year we have lost our 6 best and highest paid players and not replaced them. We have 2 loans currently, Oliver Norwood & Alex Nimely. For these 2 plus Hreidersson we had to move on 3 players to make way. We currently have 6 academy players who are not really ready for first team in our squad. We cannot afford to loan players. You are very lucky to get players on loan without paying wages, most available for nothing are rubbish. You may be lucky and find a free loan but it won't be be ause of your manager or your club, it will be so their player can get match fitness. Our chief scout is our manager as we could not afford a qualified manager. If you are to continue to exist as a club, this is what you have coming. Your club will not be alone in this as many clubs will have to scale back. You may have to play youth players. If we didn't play our youth players with the injuries we currently have we would have a squad of 6. I would have a guess that your wage bill is probably 10 times higher than ours is currently.
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