Not only going down but shutting down


HM Revenue and Customs have issued a winding-up petition on Portsmouth football club over unpaid taxes, according to the BBC.

It is understood that the order was presented on December 23 with Pompey set for a court hearing in February.

Bottom of the Premier League, Portsmouth have suffered severe financial problems in the past year, with players receiving wages late twice this season and a transfer embargo ordered after they failed to make payments to other clubs for transfers
This is terrible preparation for their meeting with Arsenal today but it quite literally puts the club's future in jeapordy. If they go down, and only one club bottom at Xmas have survived, they'll be finished. It could even be a worse situation than neighbors Southampton have suffered through. And though they have a run in the top-flight and an FA Cup trophy to show for it, I wonder if their fans think it will be worth it. 'Arry certainly knew when to jump ship, didn't he? 

I'll be interested in Neal's take on this.  The nexus of business and football is his speciality.

In more immediate news, today's match will be the last for their African contingent - Yebda, Belhadj, Kanu, Utaka, Diop, and possibly Dindane. However, they will be missing O'Hara as he picked up his fifth yellow in the West Ham match. 

It all points to severe hiding from the Gunners, even without Fabregas.  I know a lot of us have bet our fantasy week on Arsenal - some more than others - and today could be the big pay off.

21 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:14 PM

    seems to me fans loved it when they were riding high and now it is time to pay - leeds anyone? Of course, the big villain here is the FA, who watched this happen and did nothing to prevent. of course, the best comparison I can think of is American baseball who used to have a real commissioner whose job it was to preserve the integrity of the sport. Now we have an ex-car salesman and former(shadow) owner whose only job is to make money for the other owners and screw the sport if they can make big money. Perhaps the English FA needs a true commissioner?

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  2. Anonymous12:46 PM

    This underscores a bigger problem in world football. The clubs with deep pockets and expansive markets will always succeed while the remaining teams will have their glory run once every 50 years but will spent the rest of the century paying for it. There needs to be some form of revenue sharing because what is in the best interest of the entire league would be to watch a team rise up the ranks get to the premiership and have enough cash so that they can stay up and stay solvent. There neeeds to be a shift on getting the right players at the right price and not the best and any price.

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  3. Bradley2:25 PM

    These are sorry times for Pompey fans, who deserve better.

    The Premier League was founded primarily to minimize revenue sharing. Sadly, though, even some of the most successful clubs are debt-ridden and spending their revenues as fast as they come in. A season or two without any trophies (and, more important, the funds that come with them) can leave them plummeting down the league pyramid.

    The FA's "fit and proper person" test is clearly a sham. More than a few shady characters have been acquiring clubs of late. The days of club ownership being a civic responsibility are long gone. It's all about greed or glory now.

    Or am I just cynical? :)

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  4. not every team can stay up though

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  5. Bradley2:57 PM

    Pompey's plight is well beyond just being relegated. It's teetering on financial meltdown.

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  6. to add another team in a mess thats only gotten worse: Liverpool.
    Glen Johnson possible torn knee ligaments.
    A early fantasy bright spot. Has come back down to earth lately. Can't be good for 'Pool supporters.

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  7. The question is... who will take his place? Degen?

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  8. Sorry if that seems callous.

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  9. Gotta defend my Reds - don't know if 3 wins in the last 4 = "another team in a mess that's only gotten worse." We're back in the hunt for a top 4 finish. I'd say we're on the up.

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  10. liverpool are definitely in the hunt for a top 4 finish. unfortunately, it will have to take place next year after liverpool gets relegated. if they go down to the championship, liverpool can easily finish in the top 4.

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  11. Lennon apparently tore his groin in the WHU game... Out for a month

    http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2788904/Spurs-hit-by-Lennon-KO.html?=&ATTR=Football

    Should be interesting to see who plays on the right considering Bentley's antics earlier this month

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  12. Keane, probably. Unless Modric can play there.

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  13. Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't this situation result in Pompey's elimination from league football entirely? That's worse than even Leeds ever sunk and I doubt any supporters would consider their success over the last 7 years "worth it."
    That being said, at least it would rid football broadcasts of the asinine bell ringer... which would DEFINITELY be worth it.

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  14. Anonymous1:18 AM

    had edu,nasdri,arsh & alumunia so...

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  15. Anonymous6:38 AM

    @greginho, you can surely hold on to your opinion there. But i would think Liverpool's going to be better not worse. SAF had been cry about his loss of defenders, but hey, look, Liverpool lost men all 3 lines- defence-midfield-forward. And we're not far off the top with Chelsea going to be severely tested during ANC.

    and regarding G Johnson, think carra will play there at times. (skrtel and Agger as CBs)

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  16. Anonymous7:06 AM

    Its greginho, who whines about how MU/Chelsea/Liverpool got games with last minute winning goals and red card advantages. Expect no less.

    It is just sad that we still see this kind of behavior in such civilized blogs like this and AM's. I thought I could stay away from all the thoughtless flame from fans like in soccernet forum in this kind of places, but I guess that was wishful thinking.

    Reds doesnt have a good performance for the first half of the season, but things are looking good for us. Losing Johnson definitely is a disadvantage for our attack options, but might be a boost on defense line, and I actually want Caragher to stay in the middle with Degen to the sideline, would be much more stable than Skrtel and Agger at centre, Skrtel was solid last season, but he doesnt have good form as the same with most of our D Line. Just hope new year will bring us better luck.

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  17. "Tottenham Hotspur defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto pulled out of Cameroon's squad for the African Nations Cup on Thursday with a groin injury that will sideline him for three weeks."
    - So he won't go to ACN, but apparently he's gonna go for surgery so he will be unavailable to Spurs anyways. So pick Bale freely at 2 and change!
    - With Lennon out, Harry was rumoured to sell Bentley. Dunno if he will now. BUT a Mid of Kranj-THudd-Palacios-Modric seems like a fit to me.
    - Agreed Liverpool are on the up. I'll leave it at that.
    - Sad about Pompey. Seem like strong supporters. Any word on a salary cap?! But spending more does NOT means winning championships (Yankees) and the money has got to run out sooner or later from these owners right?! it's more about building team chemistry and knowing each players role than putting an all star XI on the field.

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  18. Happy New Year to Neal, Jeremy, and all of the blog community. May 2010 bring you much success, both in fantasy footy and otherwise!

    G.

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  19. Anonymous4:40 AM

    "Tottenham Hotspur defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto pulled out of Cameroon's squad for the African Nations Cup on Thursday with a groin injury that will sideline him for three weeks."

    i do believe he has a chance to play with pain killing injection. the reason why he was withdrew could also be due to the federation don't want to take chance(paying Spurs compensation if the player is out during/after the tournament. Unless Spurs can confirm BAE has gone under knife, i be very wary.

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  20. First of all, as a die hard Southampton fan, can I just say how disappointed I am in you Jeremy! The tosser who's picture is at the top of the page is non other than Portsmouth's worst fan. He urinated on our seats when we beat them 2-1 in the FA Cup a few season's back, and proceeded to boo (along with 100 other mindless thugs) through a minute's silence for our late great club legend "Mr Southampton" Ted Bates.

    Even though I am glad that Pompey are going down this season, the last thing I want is for them to be put out of business. If that happens then Saints fans will never have a proper derby to enjoy..a game vs Bournemouth just doesn't do it justice!

    Yes, the Saints were in a similar predicament last season and now find themselves battling for mid table mediocrity in League 1 after being given a hefty 10 point deduction at the start of the season. I actually feel sorry for the real Pompey fans..the prospect of having no club to support is a pretty worrying thought, especially as the majority of the Pompey fans are pretty die hard (Portsmouth's a shit hole so PL footie is utopia for them).

    If they do go out of business, which is possible, then it will be a sad day on the south coast and a sad state of affairs for English club footie. I maybe slightly bitter but I think Redknapp's to blame! Too much "wheeling and dealing" with little to no cash.

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  21. Apparently, as long as Cameroon are still playing at ACN, then BAE is ineligible to play for Spurs. That's the rumblings I heard.

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