Eisner's long-term strategy raising big questions now for Portsmouth's ambitions
The advent of the Independent Football Regulator is set to change football’s landscape, but how will that new terrain help Pompey - and what happens to the club in the meantime?
It was a 15-minute Pompey Supporters’ Trust (PST) address which offered glimmers of insight to the way forward - and also raised questions meriting further inspection.
Michael Eisner’s quirky to and fro with son Anders last week took us on a meandering tour in their video message screened at the AGM, with stop-offs covering the club’s improved facilities, strategy, Pompey Women and, of course, the increasingly critical plan for the January transfer window.
Regulator clearly key to Eisner’s Pompey strategy
But for every illuminating snippet, there were further queries which felt needed addressing.
To what extent are the club going to ‘concentrate on players’ when the shutters come up for winter business? How does ‘ambition’ and ‘patience’ in reaching the Premier League align? And, crucially, how on earth did the baseball player Eisner signed for $100m injure himself with a snowball machine?
But amid the thousands of words which spilled forth, a very revealing stance emerged over the pathway forward for this football club.
It came specifically with reference to the advent of the independent football regulator (IFR), after the Football Governance Act was given Royal Assent this summer.
With chair David Kogan now in place the expectation is for the IFR to oversee a more sustainable future for the game, with the share of broadcast revenue between EFL and Premier League clubs a major issue at present.
With the Championship landscape skewed by relegated Premier League clubs receiving parachute payments, it’s an issue with salience for Pompey as they look for a more even playing field over the distribution of the £1.6bn for EFL clubs over a three year period.
This change is clearly a moment the Eisners are waiting to arrive, when it comes to their strategy of the Blues becoming more competitive at second-tier level.
‘Parliament has passed a law, finally there is a group, a regulator (Independent Football Regulator), who is going to look at what the EFL gets from its share of the media,’ Eisner said in the message.
‘Right now we get six per cent, which is trouble. I think within about 18 months the law’s passed, there will be more money for the EFL, we have to make sure it’s spent correctly.
‘That’s one hope of correcting the financial climate. The other hope is eventually getting to the Premier League - and we can’t spend eight years getting there, that would be catastrophic financially.’
So it sounds as if Eisner is expecting the potentially fractious battle over financial redistribution to take a while to be resolved, with the regulator having backstop powers to intervene and impose a settlement if an agreement isn’t found.
The glaring question for Pompey over changing landscape in football
Which begs one glaring question: What happens in the meantime?
Pompey’s place at the rear of the Championship spending hierarchy is well established, with it unclear to what extent Eisner’s promise of redirecting investment from infrastructure to on-the-pitch matters will play out.
It’s abundantly clear, however, the Blues punched significantly above their weight to finish 16th in the Championship last term.
But how reasonable is it for Mousinho to be expected to repeat the trick for the next couple of seasons, aided by sporting director Rich Hughes and the recruitment team’s business?
The summer transfer window’s work suggests it may not be such a straightforward task to continually unearthing gems, while being priced out for other options on the shortlist.
Beyond the broadcast revenue distribution, we are seeing a shift in the EFL from the current profit and sustainability (P&S) rules to a new squad cost ratio (SCR) system.
The system, which limits clubs to spending 85 per cent of their football-related revenue on squad costs, is being introduced in the Premier League next season.
A shadow system is in place in the EFL this term with similar rules, with clubs able to lose £40m over three years and a cap on owners being able to inject cash as equity. That currently stands at £10m per year in the Championship, with discussions ongoing over details between members.
Pompey’s squad and transfer fee spending isn’t going to worry those ceilings anytime soon, with owners clearly still being able to speculate on reaching the Premier League.
Perhaps the shifting sands in the game will help level the playing field, but any notion this is going to solve all the ills of the game to the Blues' benefit appear fanciful.
So if Eisner doesn’t want to be in the Championship in eight years, it’s apparent the time is nearing where spending levels will need to be ramped up to hit that stated ambition. Otherwise, it’s going to be achieved via a return to League One.