Remember that song by Ultravox? Dancing with tears in my eyes Weeping for the memory of a life gone by Dancing with tears in my eyes Living out a memory of a love that died If you do, ignore the meaning behind the lyrics, just look at the title but imagine instead tears of joy. Now it describes perfectly what I was doing on my last visit to Fratton Park. And I really do mean last visit. At least thats the way it looks today. Monday 2nd May 2011 saw Portsmouth become the scene of one of Norwich City's greatest ever achievements as they celebrated an astonishing back-to-back promotion success, but as I write this, the club we beat on that wonderful night may well cease to exist by the end of this month. So much has been written about Pompey and their plight; so constant this plight that they have snowballed from one 'alledged' millionaire owner disaster to another over the past three years or so. They chased the dream and kept on chasing and chasing and chasing... This article however is not about Portsmouth - it is about Norwich City. Two and a half years ago we found ourselves heading into League One, rudderless and on the verge of meltdown both on and off the pitch. The fact that we are in the Premier League today shouldn't mean we forget how close we ourselves came to extinction. Indeed what has happened to Pompey could happen to pretty much any other club in Britain. Our possible non-existence on that occasion may well have been down to differing factors than those at Portsmouth but we still nearly lost our club. Portsmouth are not a 'special case'. You only need to see how few clubs trade in profit to realise that. Living beyond your means has become the way of football but it can't and won't last. I don't know the figures but I'd guess 80%+ of clubs in the Championship spend more on wages than they can afford through their income. And many don't have benefactors either - not that a benefactor should make any difference! They should still run the club responsibly - they are protecting a vital asset; a city or a town's prized football club. City's owner Delia Smith is a benefactor. She may not be in the same 'financial league' as your Sheiks or ticket touts but without her Norwich City Football Club wouldn't exist today. Chilling. However, what she has done is make sure that the club comes first. She's protected it and never tried to make a dollar out of it for herself. She's made mistakes - some truly massive gaffs - but she's not sold out and she's had chances to. We are all aware of how she and McNally told Tony Fernandes, now owner of QPR to walk on. At the time, there were some fans wondering 'why?'. The reason was because they didn't feel he would look after the club with the same love that she has always done. He couldn't be trusted to do things sensibly and with the best interests of the club at heart. Others too have tried and failed: Peter Cullum, a billionaire, a Norwich City fan, wanting to invest millions into the team... it seemed too good to be true to many and that's because it was! He was shown the door. Many fans complained but you have to wonder what kind of mess we would now be in had that happened. Many would have fallen for his proposal. And who can forget the 'charming' Italian Giovanni di Stefano? He eventually took over Dundee. I believe I'm right in saying that things didn't go particularly well. He messed them about, paying big money on wages that couldn't then be sustained before dumping them in a mess - Dundee were deducted 25 points just last season as they attempt to recover from his regime. Its easy to be suckered in by the idea of your club splashing the cash on millions and millions of pounds worth of talent on the pitch but if its not viable or sustainable, it will end in disaster. It's inevitable. I bet fans of Portsmouth were not moaning when they spent a fortune on top players and big wagesand lifted the FA Cup. But I bet they'd swap it all just to have their club back now. They are not the first and certainly won't be the last club who get thrashed and then smashed. Thankfully for our club, the CEO has drafted a plan for stability and self-sufficiency. They will stick to that plan. They will stick to their beliefs and will stick with their wage cap. Fans can't start moaning when we don't break it. They should appreciate that we are extremely fortunate to have responsible people running our club. Sadly, there might be no more dancing through the stands and through the streets of Portsmouth for any football fan anymore, especially their own fans, although the tears will still be there no doubt. And the lyrics are more than a little appropriate in their case.
Dave/Maestro, how do you get an article listed on Newsnow, please? I've seen it done before from here, but no idea of the mechanics of doing so. I think this warrants it, as it can or could apply to any of 91 football clubs
Not sure how to do that, but definately deserves 'article' status on the front page of not606 for all to read. Makes me cherish Delia all the more (in a purely platonic way, you understand!) The QPR fans, for instance, are still harping on about their new investor without a second thought as to why we gave him the elbow. I think we all know how that's going to end! Very sad for Pompey fans, and they won't be the last if things don't change.
Great read supers! was only thinking the other day when it was announced about pompey that how the fortunes differ for our 2 clubs considering we were there only 10 months ago celebrating promotion. To think that pompey are on the brink is very sad especially as I have huge memories of going there last season myself!
Fantastic article. Sad to think that a place that is full of great memories for many fans could no longer exist. Many Norwich fans will not be able to relive that amazing night.
Superb Superman, I think most of us, especially us with a few years behind us, realise how lucky we are, but it never hurts to reiterate it. Very, very sad for Pompey, great club with a long and proud history, sad sign of the times.
maybe they can be saved rbf. the big question is, should they be saved again? maybe its time they started again with a clean slate. they need a new stadium and their infrastructure as a whole is massively outdated. any new owner will not be building from a sound base unless they can build a new stadium quickly, get themselves operating properly, and this means they are going to need a very, very wealthy backer. they are only going to go backwards and could well find themselves in the conference sooner rather than later. maybe its for the best that they fold - it might be the best thing they can do now. desperate for the fans if so but they can re-start the club. difficult situation, thats for sure. i'm just glad its not us!
That´s a really, really tough one Super, and impossible to answer. Naturally your heart is pulling one way while your head is pulling the other, I certainly wouldn´t want to have to make the choice.
Great article, well written and very true. I have fond memories of Fratton Park over the past 15 years or more. Living on the Isle of Wight and having many friends in Portsmouth, Pompey became my 'adopted' South coast team and i have probably watched them play more than City during that time. As others have said it is the fans we have to really feel for. Having been to several away games I can honestly say that their fans are way up there with city fans in the number that travel all over the country, the amount of noise they make and their sheer passion for their team. I really hope that a buyer and a solution is found to save this great club. OTBC
something has to give and it's looks like Pompey might go to the wall. Leicester have just announced a £15m loss for the last set of accounts . How can this by allowed to continue?? and superman, thanks for the ultravox reference, i now have that song in my head and i can't get rid!
Fantastic article supers, well done. I have only been to Fratton Park once, on the occasion mentioned ten months ago (it still feels like yesterday), but it gave me my greatest memory in football. To see Portsmouth go bust after that night would be truly gut wrenching and I truly hope they find themselves an owner. Something has to give though - teams simply cannot keep going into administration without expecting darker consequences further down the line. Maybe it will take a club being liquidated for careless owners to buck their ideas up. Otherwise this could all continue for a long time yet.
