PFC New owner hunt 2012

That is the reason Liebherr bought Saints. However Saints could be brought relatively cheaply and had no outstanding debts. They also had a modern stadium, a training ground and a large loyal fanbase. Pompey have none of these.

This billionaire you talk of would rank Pompey low down on a list of investment opportunities. A billionaire would see a club like Sheff Utd, Bradford etc etc as better investment opportunities.

 

Bradford and Sheffield United are in areas where there are lots of big football teams. There are very few large football teams near Portsmouth. That is our main comparative advantage I feel.

But, like I said on the thread about St Mary's in the Southampton board, if billionares just go for teams with decent stadiums, what on earth are teams like Portsmouth with comparatively poor stadiums actually meant to do? The answer is **** all we can do unless there's a particularly altruistic billionaire who has an interest in Portsmouth and is willing to redevelop Fratton Park or build a new stadium.

 

But that is irrelevant when Sheff Utd are currently averaging more than Pompey whilst in a lower league and Bradford are two league lower and struggling and averaging close to what Pompey do.

Well if Pompey had used their 7 years in the Premier League wisely and invested in infrastructure rather than players and their wages as much as they did, they would be a lot more attractive to investors.

All your fans were happy to lap up signing Defoe, Crouch, Diarra etc etc and UEFA matches against AC Milan and FA Cup wins. But you were still left with huge debts, no training ground and a roof over the away end was all the improvement to be seen at Fratton Park.

 

True.

However I will reiterate, the fans do not run the club and we are not privy to the financial dealings of the owners and board of directors. So if some a*sehole passes the Premier League's F&PP test to become the owner why would the fans know any different? The FL say they don't have the resources to investigate potential owners properly........... I sure as hell don't either! Do you?

 

So we don't have the current crowds, but we have loads of potential.

Plus, regardless of league level, the success of a club and overall 'feel good factor' both have a great impact on attendences. Even if Bradford are struggling, I'm sure they're not in dire financial straights and frankly, rubbish we've had recently, there's barely any 'feel good factor' about going to Fratton Park. If it looks like coming close to returning, something seems to come along to get rid of it (i.e. this).

True. And because we didn't, we're now ****ed.

Also we did invest a bit in our infrastructure. We put a roof on the Milton End.

 

At the point they took over none of you previous owners had anything stopping them owning a company in the UK. There is nothing the Premier League or Football League could do. In respect to Antonov, it was rumoured he was highly dodgy, but his activities at the banks only become available after he had brought Pompey. Harsh to blame the football authorities for not spotting something the Lithuanian police/financial services hadn't at that point.

 

At the moment they are "alleged" activities.

We can think what we like but our legal system is still innocent until proven guilty.

 

There is hardly a feel good factor at Bradford, they have fallen from the Premier League to 22nd in League Two. Yet they still average 10,177.

Pompey average 12,567 two leagues higher whilst having much larger away followings than Bradford do to prop up the numbers. The actual number of home fans at Fratton Park and Valley Parade is probably very similar despite the two league difference.

It isn't just Bradford, there are lots of other clubs offering more than Pompey would to a rich investor.

You fans were more than happy at the time to gloat about all that was achieved whilst racking up the debts, not paying creditors and not improving infrastructure. You can't have it both ways and expect people to feel sorry for you and that the fans were the innocent victim.

 

You're generalising the entire Portsmouth fan base here. I for one don't recall ever gloating about what was achieved (although if I did do, I apologise). Plus, most people would say, I expect, that the 'good times' weren't really worth it. Myself included. Anyhow, I don't expect people to feel sorry for us. I'm just stating a fact, we are ****ed.

 

You have managed to combine 3 seperate issues here.

Firstly - You fans were more than happy at the time to gloat about all that was achieved - guilty m'lord!

Secondly - whilst racking up the debts, - Gaydamak splashed the cash, similar really to a lot of other owners, including Dave Wheelan, Steve Lansdown at Bristol City and Abramovitch at Chelsea

Thirdly - not paying creditors and not improving infrastructure. - the fans were distraught and humiliated by this and took all steps available to them, including collecting monies due to the charities.

Tell me, how did you feel when Saints went belly-up? Wasn't that due to spending on your infrastructure and you only got out of it by sheer good fortune?

 

I hope this is helpful to you Blues fans.
What,s past is past & nothing is going to change that, so the hair shirt stance is not going to help at all.
I have serious doubts about Andronika (the appointed administrator for CSI) Seems to me that he has profited hansomely from PFC,s problems. Having taken a serious amount of money for services rendered, I bet he cannot believe his luck that he,s going to do so again.
The whole world economy is in tatters at this moment & finding a suitable buyer of your club is going to be very,very difficult in this climate.
I notice that much derision has been slanted at Chanri. However,needs to be said that he was the ONLY buyer at the time - he may well have been looking after his own interests, but the harsh fact is that, without him, you would have folded.
You are of course correct, there is little you fans can do, except of course stand behind the manager & HOPE.
You are also correct to say that Saints were very lucky & we never stop remembering Marcus Lebherr at the stadium - and of course his family who avowed to see his dream followed through. Without him, we were days from folding.
No real football fan should rejoice in your suffering - in todays climate you never know who,s next.

 

Saintsalive thanks for some perspective - MLG is being a tad harsh and I don't think Pompey fans are looking for sympathy - in the perfect world whilst we were in the Cash cow league SG should have said Ok fans I can either buy Crouch, Diarra & Defoe or actually rotate the ground get a 36 K stadium in place...what shall I do?" But he didn't - he bankrolled us (like City/Chelsea and others) and made his own choices - we can't and never will control that unless we become like Barca owners wise - however I think all we're looking for is an acknowlegement that we have been both misled and unlucky from the day SG took the money and ran - we'll come through it because we are PFC - watching us in every division is something I'm actually proud of as a fan and not many clubs have fans who can say that. It marks out fandom & love rather than fickleness or glory hunters. PUP

 

Most Saints fans want to see you humiliated on the pitch not in the high court. We have had our flirtation with extinction, with the endless "what ifs" and "who would buy us" and it was not fun. I would not wish that on anyone, not even Pompey fans.

Things do not look good for you guys. The club will need to find additional investment very quickly in the new year to avoid financial meltdown. But if Chanrai does come back, he at least has a track record of supporting the club rather than letting it slide into bankruptcy.

However, as I said when you went into Admin the first time, there will always be a Portsmouth FC, no matter what happens. You will probably avoid a points deduction, but even if you dont and go down, you will find, just as we did that L1 is not as bad as you might think. Winning is winning, and winning in L1 is more fun that losing in the championship, and getting crucified in the premiership.

 

I have to agree with Woops regarding the fans having no control, all they could do was "get on the bus".

With regard to Antonov taking over, surely alarm bells should have been ringing at the football league after his previous failed attempts to buy a football club. I know I had my doubts, and I'm sure a lot of you guys did as well.

Time for the league to abandon the FPPT and just consult Mrs STandard, she swears she can tell if someone is dodgy just by the look in their eyes

 

I'm sure Chainrai feels like a hot potato salesman! He aquired PFC on a default and has no affiliation with football or the area. All he wants is his money that he is owed albeit dodgy dealings in Israel with Gaydamak Snr. I wonder, could Milan Mandaric have ever guessed that he would be the trigger to initiate all this chaos in the first place a decade or so ago?

 

I would like to offer myself as the saviour, the only draw back I can see at this stage is that I have to confess to be relying on my numbers coming up in this evenings Euro millions lottery.

There must be someone else out there surely? Fingers crossed guys.

 

Surely Chanrai is just another creditor of CSI a reminder perhaps as others have said the Football side is not in trouble, at least for now. Remember his deal was with CSI there was no asset in the club that could be used for collateral surely?

 

Hhhmmm - the day before the arrest warrant arrived in London Chanrai had put a charge over CSI, making him a preferred creditor.