Should Portsmouth Be Forced To Close By The Football League?

It may seem a harsh question but with every week that passes more players are sent out on loan, ala Liam Lawrence, with Mullins and Henderson the latest to leave this week. If stories are to be believed Portsmouth are contacting Championship clubs on a daily basis trying to move players out to enable the club to have enough cash to survive until the close season. Unless some megarich person arrives then it is likely the club will then fold.

As sad as that would it would be for the Football League to lose such a famous club is it not better for that to happen sooner rather than later. As I see it Portsmouth a becoming a weaker and less competitive team with every minute that passes and right now having a game against them looks like an assured 3 points. In my opinion that makes a joke of the integrity of the competition with both promotion and relegation issues possibly affected by which club is lucky enough to play Portsmouth at this time. That cannot be right on any level and the Football League rather than issue them with their TV monies early should have left it until the same time as all of Championship sides and then that money be used to pay creditors.

With more players likely to leave before the loan transfer window closes on Thursday it does leave me wondering just what type of team will be left to complete the season, I cannot see it being a competitive one and certainly a shadow of the team that was in place until January. Is it fair that their remaining opponents face a team with the remnants of the squad that started the season supported by academy players or will it be better for the Football League to step in and remove their Football League status on the basis that they are unable to compete.

Their record will then be expunged, and we will be big losers in that, but forgetting about the impact on our club and yes whilst feeling saddness for their fans is it better for the integrity, fairness or damage to a level playing field of this seasons Championship that the club be removed from the competition now.

we just dont want them to fold this season, else we lose 4 pts

Gary, I wouldn't like to see any club fold as its unfair on the fans who support their clubs, the owners need to be penalised. But something has to be done.Pompey have now done this more than once and in such a short time.

Gary, I wouldn't like to see any club fold as its unfair on the fans who support their clubs, the owners need to be penalised. But something has to be done.Pompey have now done this more than once and in such a short time.

Annis Southampton, Birmingham, Hull and Palace only have to turn up to claim 3 points now, how is that fair?

Yes we will lose 4 points but West Ham lose 6, Reading lose 4, Brighton lose 6, Birmingham 3, Middlesbrough 4.

For me it's better the club goes now than gift points to clubs at both ends of the table as I believe the integrity of the comptition must come before a business which is clearly insolvent.

Brain Clough was asked the question about footballers wages and will it destroy the game. He was asked this just after he retired and hi sreply was "Lets wait and see". I think he knew the answer but did not want to say it which was yes. These questions are usually answered in time and today I believe we are seeing it.

The possible disappearance of Portsmouth is making most of us realise this could be the calm before the storm. How can a club with Portsmouth history fold and who will be next? However the question should be asked why and it does not take a genius to work it out. I recall when we played them in the cup final they had a player on £80,000 pw. The premiership money paid for that all of us thought in those days but as we are seeing that is not turning out to be the case. A number of clubs in the premeiership have got themselves into huge debt and the attitude is debt is OK providing you can service it. Servicing it being the operative words here but as soon as the club goes through a bad period then its a slippery road downhill until you get to the bottom.

Without doubt in my mind football wages are killing the game. A number of clubs are now paying the penalty for paying high wages, we can be put it that category. The Jacks are a prime example of the opposite here. They have a wage ceiling or did have last season and are looking very comfortable with it. In a way I am glad they are doing well as it shows that the high wage culture can be challenged, just wished it was someone else I could use as an example. Seeing a small size club challenge the mercenaries and coming out on top must be a real kick in the head for these prima donna football players. Personally I put a lot of it down to their attitudes of I'm alright Jack.....funny how its taken a load of Jacks to disjoint these types of Jacks.

Slightly off topic of finances, but I can see Pompey getting anything more than 5 points from the 11 games they have. They've just got rid of 3 of their best players. If they get rid of Kitson now they're truly fucked

What worries me about the Portsmouth situation is that West Ham Utd signed their goalkeeper Stephen Henderson on loan for the rest of the season. The loan fee is £700k which for me is staggering and raises the question why do West Ham Utd need another goalkeeper and why do they need to sign a player on loan when they currently have more than 12 players out on loan.

Could it be that West Ham are looking to protect the 6 points they have taken from Portsmouth Also are the loan deals involving Illunga and Picquionne to Doncaster have anything to do with making Doncaster a more competitive for their games against Reading, Southampton, Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Leicester and Palace all of whom are or hoping to be involved in the promotion / playoff places. How much are West Ham paying towards the wages of these players? given the reaction to our deal involving Craig Bellamy last year why haven't any questions been asked about these deals?

West Ham are a club £100m in debt and have mortaged two season Season Tickets monies so how on earth can they afford to pay a club £700k to loan a player for 5 weeks and that is all that's left of the season.

My guess is that the Portsmouth situation, the insolvent position the club are in has forced West Ham to spend money they can ill afford to protect the 6 points they have gained from Portsmouth this season. The heavily subsidised loans are further protecting their interests with little thought for the fairness our integrity of the Championship competition. For me it stinks of the I'm alright culture that Bakedalska has talked about.

In my opinion the Football League are failing in not dealing with this situation as when a club, so clearly insolvent in the case of Portsmouth, should not be allowed to continue playing. Perhaps they should look at how the Italian league deal with this situation where clubs are relegated to the lowest division where they can reform and try again.

Perhapsin the case of Portsmouth allowing a club, possibly owned by a supporters trust to reform in League Two will at least give it's fans and new owners the chance to re-establish themselves within the Football League.

As for the owners who allowed the club to build up such a high debt well they can take their chances with the administrators, 10p in the £ is probably more than they deserve but Portsmouth will still exist, albiet next season and two divisions down but the club is still there for the most important people thier fans.

Brain Clough was asked the question about footballers wages and will it destroy the game. He was asked this just after he retired and hi sreply was "Lets wait and see". I think he knew the answer but did not want to say it which was yes. These questions are usually answered in time and today I believe we are seeing it.

You're citing Clough as intimating an answer which suits your argument - do you seriously think player wages are more damaging than the backhanders in envelopes Clough received!

Gary, I wouldn't like to see any club fold as its unfair on the fans who support their clubs, the owners need to be penalised. But something has to be done.Pompey have now done this more than once and in such a short time.

Annis Southampton, Birmingham, Hull and Palace only have to turn up to claim 3 points now, how is that fair?

Yes we will lose 4 points but West Ham lose 6, Reading lose 4, Brighton lose 6, Birmingham 3, Middlesbrough 4.

For me it's better the club goes now than gift points to clubs at both ends of the table as I believe the integrity of the comptition must come before a business which is clearly insolvent.

No its def not fair when you put it like that Gary.
It shows how bad Bristol City are, they could only draw with Pompey today.

Perhapsin the case of Portsmouth allowing a club, possibly owned by a supporters trust to reform in League Two will at least give it's fans and new owners the chance to re-establish themselves within the Football League.

So basically a new club set up shouldn't start at the lowest tier like every other new club, but should be parachuted into League Two... because it's Portsmouth? Seriously?

Portsmouth as a club went into admin, stiffing credittors. Emerged with a CVA - which was not paid off. Call me stupid, but I can't recall Pompey fans railing and complaining at the wages being paid out to the likes of Kitson when the club had reneged on the CVA. Christ, even the Jacks ran Petty out of town... Pompey fans sat on their hands, not caring, everything would be wonderful. So the club then again took the piss.

So why then the sentiment that it's unfair on the fans when any punishment / Pompey going out of business happens? The people running the club are at fault, they were allowed to do so by the apathy of the fans. Most of whom couldn't give a shit how a club is run as long as they've got "names" in the squad and doing ok.

Perhapsin the case of Portsmouth allowing a club, possibly owned by a supporters trust to reform in League Two will at least give it's fans and new owners the chance to re-establish themselves within the Football League.

So basically a new club set up shouldn't start at the lowest tier like every other new club, but should be parachuted into League Two... because it's Portsmouth? Seriously?

Portsmouth as a club went into admin, stiffing credittors. Emerged with a CVA - which was not paid off. Call me stupid, but I can't recall Pompey fans railing and complaining at the wages being paid out to the likes of Kitson when the club had reneged on the CVA. Christ, even the Jacks ran Petty out of town... Pompey fans sat on their hands, not caring, everything would be wonderful. So the club then again took the piss.

So why then the sentiment that it's unfair on the fans when any punishment / Pompey going out of business happens? The people running the club are at fault, they were allowed to do so by the apathy of the fans. Most of whom couldn't give a shit how a club is run as long as they've got "names" in the squad and doing ok.

Nerd I'm just offering a possible alternative to the club dropping to the bottom tier of the pyramid like it happens in countries like Italy, I'm not saying it's right just offering an alternative.

Either way I still believe the club is insolvent and should be removed from this seasons competition.

Perhapsin the case of Portsmouth allowing a club, possibly owned by a supporters trust to reform in League Two will at least give it's fans and new owners the chance to re-establish themselves within the Football League.

So basically a new club set up shouldn't start at the lowest tier like every other new club, but should be parachuted into League Two... because it's Portsmouth? Seriously?

Portsmouth as a club went into admin, stiffing credittors. Emerged with a CVA - which was not paid off. Call me stupid, but I can't recall Pompey fans railing and complaining at the wages being paid out to the likes of Kitson when the club had reneged on the CVA. Christ, even the Jacks ran Petty out of town... Pompey fans sat on their hands, not caring, everything would be wonderful. So the club then again took the piss.

So why then the sentiment that it's unfair on the fans when any punishment / Pompey going out of business happens? The people running the club are at fault, they were allowed to do so by the apathy of the fans. Most of whom couldn't give a shit how a club is run as long as they've got "names" in the squad and doing ok.

Nerd I'm just offering a possible alternative to the club dropping to the bottom tier of the pyramid like it happens in countries like Italy, I'm not saying it's right just offering an alternative.

Either way I still believe the club is insolvent and should be removed from this seasons competition.

Agreed, it's an alternative, but it's not a right or fair alternative. The reason I say that is that it's a drop of 2 divs fo them. It'll encourage teams to overspend knowing the end punishment isn't too bad eventually.

The nnatural order of the business world is well run businesses survive, poorly run ones go to the wall. Football can't operate in a vacuum bubble. Personally, I believe there are too many professional teams for all to be sustainable. Prem + Fl with 92 is imo too many.

Gary, I wouldn't like to see any club fold as its unfair on the fans who support their clubs, the owners need to be penalised. But something has to be done.Pompey have now done this more than once and in such a short time.

Annis Southampton, Birmingham, Hull and Palace only have to turn up to claim 3 points now, how is that fair?

Yes we will lose 4 points but West Ham lose 6, Reading lose 4, Brighton lose 6, Birmingham 3, Middlesbrough 4.

For me it's better the club goes now than gift points to clubs at both ends of the table as I believe the integrity of the comptition must come before a business which is clearly insolvent.

i hope so cb.we got em tuesday.annis i agree with you 100%.great club and fans but when they went in to admin in the prem you,d think they would learn a lesson.the eric fellow we,ve loaned is on 17kpw i heard..thats not saying we are paying all of it i don,t know about that.the point is 17k pw AFTER being in admin is reckless.ben hiam is on 30k pw .not a lot they can do about that as he,s been there since the glory days i believe.but to pay 17pw on new contracted players in the championship,that is madness