On the back of the "fans" asking him to walk away from the millions he is/will be owed Ben Haim has challenged the administrator to write off their fees in the same manner they are asking him to write down his. Got to say that he has an incredibly valid point - it is wrong to be asked to do something by someone that they are not prepared to do themselves. The players have done absolutely nothing wrong - Tal would you like a long contract at 36k per week with £1m image rights (!)? Oh go on then you've twisted my arm. F***wits is the only way to describe the people running that place. (apologies if this has been covered elsewhere)
I'd expect him to run out the string until August 9th, at which point he'll become a Pompey hero by taking a fraction of his owed salary to walk away. Of course, he won't be doing it to be a Pompey hero -- but rather because a bit is better than nothing at all -- but the advantage of a player in it for a money is that they'll eventually take the money. Not that I hold it against him that he doesn't want to get stiffed on twelve or more months' salary, but such it is.
It seems there are three options for Pompey: 1. They don't reach a compromise agreement with the players and therefore the club goes to the wall; 2. They reach a compromise agreement with the players and Chanrai buys the club who then assett strips it to recover all of the money he believes he is owed and then closes the club; 3. They reach a compromise agreement with the players and the trust buy the club and as they have only the interest of the club at heart finally Pompey get responsible ownership even if quite austere times lie ahead. If I was a Pompey fan (heaven forbid) I would encourage the players not to reach a compromise agreement if there was a near certainty Chanrai would get the club. I don't believe he is a bad man but he does not care about the club he just wants his money and it is people taking money out of the club that has brought it to this sad situation. With Chanrai it is a case of putting off closure for a couple of years untill there are no more parachute payments he can cream off. All Pompey fans must do everything they can to help the trust to gain ownership of the club. Perhaps the players sitting down with the PST and discussing how this might be achieved with them working to together is the way forward. Having said all of that if I was the agent representing Ben Haim, or any of the other players for that matter, I would be telling him not to sign a compromise agreement under any circumstances.
The agent who represents Ben Haim is just has crooked and has string links(other than nationality) to Gaydamak. Ben Haim's time at the club on high wages is very suspicious.
I find it terrible how certain players are seemingly being hounded and blamed for the problems pompey are in. Past owners dont even get mentioned these days, its all the players fault the club will fail. If my boss hadnt been paying taxes, bills and even wages effectively for years and then came to me saying I'd have to take a massive pay cut or its my fault the company fails, well, you can guess what i'd say Its entirely wrong using the press the way that Trevor Birch seems to be doing to bully these players and if it were me, i'd be tempted to say no, just out of principle.
I do feel a little sorry for the players. The administrators have already come out and said its the wages that are the problem in the past, but now they are litterally emotionally blackmailing players in the press. Not sure how I'd feel if i was one of those players - guilty or angry?
Exactly the point Ben Haim has made. In my opinion it is morally wrong (and possibly ethically wrong) to be going public about the players like this.
When I raised this issue the other day I was heavily criticised by several people. see: http://www.not606.com/showthread.php/158093-It-really-stinks
As Godders suggested, I do hope for Pompey's sake that they reach a compromise and then the Trust gets control. That is on the assumption, though, that they stop playing at Fratton Park as they can't afford to fund it, for purely selfish reasons! I know that Ben Haim is getting a lot of abuse but you do have to give him credit for his stance to TB on his own fees.
Clearly you don't actually pay attention to what's being said. That would be fine however it seems Trevor Birch (who's conduct has been questioned by Portsmouth fans) doesn't seem to take the PST remotely seriously and seems to be just humouring them. It's almost as if he's another one of those people working directly for Chanrai. And for what it's worth, I agree with Ben Haim on this.
Let me try to explain my thoughts on this matter in as clear a terms as I can. I know the club has been abismally run for the past ten or so years, I know the players are not to blame for this and are entitled to recieve money their owed, but at this current point in time the biggest threat to Pompey going out of business is the old first team squad and their demands. Sure, you cannot blame them for wanting what their legally owed but it is painfully obvious to all and sundy that Portsmouth cannot give them their damands in full and the likes of Kanu and Ben Haim wanting millions to walk away is simply unreasonable. This wrangling between the players and administrators in the clubs hour of need is unpalatable to the fans of the club who have no say in the matter can only sit by as bystanders as the very survival of the club is decided. It therefore strikes me as unrealistic to expect the likes of Ben Haim and Kanu to be absolved by the fans for their wishes. You cannot expect Portsmouth to shrug off their self-serving attitude and say "well, they're owed the money so we cant complain" while the very club itself could go out of business due to their refusal to negotiate. The fact that Ben Haim has never been a fan-favorite nor has he ever performed to any high standard or shown any real commitment to Pompey, added to the fact that it is public knowledge that he's been on stupid money for years, makes him an easy target, while Kanu's attitude strikes more as a betrayal since he was a fan-favorite, he did perform well for the club and did show some commitment to it. I would welcome the administrators waving some of their fees but not being familiar with the work that actually goes into administration of a football club I do not know what spending is essential and what isn't so I cannot say whether that's viable of not. Ben Haim may indeed have a point when he says that asking or the players to wave some of their fees when the administrators dont do likewise is hypocritical but coming from him it just seems to be a diversionary tactic to his own refusal to even consider waving some of his fees.
But the player dispute would be all over if Chanrai allowed the PP to pay of creditors. But he refused, so who is the real villain ?.
Certainly Chainrai is the real villain of the piece but you still cannot expect absolution for the players from the fans. The difference in emotion attatched to the club between the fans and the players is made clear in these circumstances, and the mercenary and self-serving behaviour of some of the playing staff is simply unacceptable to fans who see their club flirting with oblivion. So undoubtedly Chainrai should, and does, recieve recrimination for his role in this fiasco but that does nothing to lessen the effect this player dispute has in turning the fans against the players.
If both parties cared about Pompey they would both take hits, but neither really do. As for Chanrai taking over, you'd be basically dead anyway.
Not sure anyone was saying the fans should absolve the players of blame but frankly the fans views on this are irrelevant. It's a business transaction the fans are now ex-customers (satisfied debtors) unless any are actually owed money by the club. The players (employees) have a right to have their notice paid which for a footballer is significant due to the nature of their contracts. The clubs are very quick to hold them to this the other way round. I don't want them to go out of business over this but frankly if they do it serves them right. I know this is a bit of a cold post and it actually isn't because I'm a saints fan, a lot of my family are part of the blue few, I just think an example needs to be made to football in general that the guide of gross mismanagement that has taken place can have the very worst consequences.
there's nothing in it for TBH to wave his wages, and in the end there will be nothing in it for PFC. I Blame Harry Redknapp.
@pn_jordan_cross: In The News tomorrow, Kanu lets fly at Trevor Birch and the #Pompey administrator responds with a fascinating proposition.
