Poor old Portsmouth fc

[Bender]

1.Portsmouth's players have been assured they will be paid the wages they are owed on Friday, says manager Paul Hart.

Some players were not paid earlier in the week because of "a delay in the transfer of funds" following Sulaiman al Fahim's recent takeover.

"I understand the funds have been received and the players will be paid tomorrow (Friday)," Hart said.

"It's one of those glitches that have appeared because of the slowness of the takeover and refunding package."
LINK


2.Portsmouth owner Sulaiman Al Fahim has been admitted to hospital in Dubai, according to his spokesman Ivo Gabara.

Yet neither Gabara nor the club were able to confirm why he was in hospital.

Al Fahim was urged to find a "permanent financing solution" for Pompey in a strongly-worded statement issued by its executive board on Thursday.

The board - Peter Storrie, Tanya Robins and Roberto Avondo - claimed to be in the "final stages" of securing funding to pay the players' wages this week.

Portsmouth's players were due to be paid on Wednesday and the club initially claimed this had not happened because of technical problems.

However, the club later explained that wages were not paid on time because of "a delay in the transfer of funds" after banks demanded TV receipts and profits from the last transfer window, meaning Al Fahim needed to refinance the club.

The Premier League is understood to be monitoring the situation and looking to see if Pompey fulfil the financial criteria set out to its clubs, while the Professional Footballers' Association will deal with any contractual issues if players are not paid.

"It is very disappointing to all of us that the players have for the first time had to wait for their contractual remuneration for reasons entirely outside the club's control," read the statement from Pompey's executive board - chief executive Storrie, finance director Robins and Avondo.

"It is through the joint efforts of the executive directors that we are in the final stages of securing funding that will allow the club to meet these contractual obligations.

"It is clear that in order to ensure that the club is able to secure its longer-term future, a more permanent financing solution needs to be found quickly as the executive directors consider it an obligation to the club's loyal employees and fans, who undoubtedly feel equally disappointed.

"In order to achieve this we will continue to work closely with the owner's lawyers and associates in delivering the finance that is needed over the next 10 to 14 days. Ultimately the responsibility to deliver this remains with the owner."

According to minutes from a meeting on Friday between Al Fahim and the Pompey Virtual Alliance (PVA) - a group of fans' websites - the club's new owner is willing to work with other investors in Portsmouth.

That news was greeted positively by fans, who have seen Paul Hart's men lose their first seven Barclays Premier League matches of the season.

There have been constant doubts about the financial stability of the club since Al Fahim's takeover in August.
LINK

[PTP]

Pay up Pompey, Pompey Pay Up

[dave edwards]

I have family visiting us this weekend for the Wolves - Pompey match and he is bringing some Pompey fans with him.

Although I feel sorry for the club and the players, their situation gives me a great opportunity for mucho piss taking

[SimonNo7]

1.Portsmouth's players have been assured they will be paid the wages they are owed on Friday, says manager Paul Hart.

Some players were not paid earlier in the week because of "a delay in the transfer of funds" following Sulaiman al Fahim's recent takeover.

"I understand the funds have been received and the players will be paid tomorrow (Friday)," Hart said.

"It's one of those glitches that have appeared because of the slowness of the takeover and refunding package."
LINK


2.Portsmouth owner Sulaiman Al Fahim has been admitted to hospital in Dubai, according to his spokesman Ivo Gabara.

Yet neither Gabara nor the club were able to confirm why he was in hospital.

Al Fahim was urged to find a "permanent financing solution" for Pompey in a strongly-worded statement issued by its executive board on Thursday.

The board - Peter Storrie, Tanya Robins and Roberto Avondo - claimed to be in the "final stages" of securing funding to pay the players' wages this week.

Portsmouth's players were due to be paid on Wednesday and the club initially claimed this had not happened because of technical problems.

However, the club later explained that wages were not paid on time because of "a delay in the transfer of funds" after banks demanded TV receipts and profits from the last transfer window, meaning Al Fahim needed to refinance the club.

The Premier League is understood to be monitoring the situation and looking to see if Pompey fulfil the financial criteria set out to its clubs, while the Professional Footballers' Association will deal with any contractual issues if players are not paid.

"It is very disappointing to all of us that the players have for the first time had to wait for their contractual remuneration for reasons entirely outside the club's control," read the statement from Pompey's executive board - chief executive Storrie, finance director Robins and Avondo.

"It is through the joint efforts of the executive directors that we are in the final stages of securing funding that will allow the club to meet these contractual obligations.

"It is clear that in order to ensure that the club is able to secure its longer-term future, a more permanent financing solution needs to be found quickly as the executive directors consider it an obligation to the club's loyal employees and fans, who undoubtedly feel equally disappointed.

"In order to achieve this we will continue to work closely with the owner's lawyers and associates in delivering the finance that is needed over the next 10 to 14 days. Ultimately the responsibility to deliver this remains with the owner."

According to minutes from a meeting on Friday between Al Fahim and the Pompey Virtual Alliance (PVA) - a group of fans' websites - the club's new owner is willing to work with other investors in Portsmouth.

That news was greeted positively by fans, who have seen Paul Hart's men lose their first seven Barclays Premier League matches of the season.

There have been constant doubts about the financial stability of the club since Al Fahim's takeover in August.
LINK

I may be wrong here with my understanding of this situation, but how is someone allowed to take control of a club and then still have to go out and find funding to secure the future of said club. Surely the Premiership, FA, football league or whoever should have made sure that the buyer had funds and a business plan in place for the security of the club?
Isn't this what they do when they are looking to make sure a prospective owner is fit and proper to run a football club?

[tommyg]

I may be wrong here with my understanding of this situation, but how is someone allowed to take control of a club and then still have to go out and find funding to secure the future of said club. Surely the Premiership, FA, football league or whoever should have made sure that the buyer had funds and a business plan in place for the security of the club?
Isn't this what they do when they are looking to make sure a prospective owner is fit and proper to run a football club?

There is a test, however i highly doubt he put "i might run out of money" on the form. Could also be unexpected losses, similar to Roman losing however many million pounds that one day on the stock market

[SK]

those players deserve to not be payed for a week or two..

[Bender]

Sulaiman Al Fahim's troubled tenure as owner of Portsmouth could be all but over in less than a fortnight if he fails to find £16.5million that includes a staggering £3m payment to two leading agents.
LINK

[Bender]

Portsmouth's turbulent season has taken another extraordinary twist after owner Sulaiman Al-Fahim revealed he is to sell the majority of his holding to a member of one of Saudi Arabia's richest families.

Fahim, speaking to Observer Sport last night, claimed the deal with a consortium led by Ali al-Faraj will be complete this week – perhaps as soon as tomorrow.

The takeover by Faraj, who is understood to be 50 years old and have a personal holding in billion-dollar petroleum giant Sabic, potentially signals the end of a traumatic period on the south coast which had left the club's future in serious doubt.

On Friday Peter Storrie, the club's chief executive, admitted that at least "30% of the £50m" Fahim promised to raise by the end of the month had to be in place within a fortnight or Portsmouth would face financial meltdown.

The club's inability to pay the players' wages last week was only resolved by a £5m bridging loan from the prospective new owner, while Storrie revealed that there were unpaid transfer fees owed to clubs plus at least £3m due to agents.

Speaking exclusively to Observer Sport from Dubai, Fahim said of Faraj: "I think by Monday or Tuesday he will be on the board. His consortium will be a major shareholder. And I will keep a minority."

[Bender]

Saudi business tycoon Ali Al Faraj has completed his takeover of Portsmouth, acquiring a 90% stake in the club.

Sulaiman Al Fahim retains a 10% share, just six weeks after completing his own buy-out of the Premier League outfit.

[-V-]

Right ok, im going to take a punt at this.

I reckon- and this is the only plausible explanation I can think of about these dodgy dealings.

Gaydamak, the russian who owned Pompey till last season wanted to sell the club but for whatever reason refused to sell to Al-Faraj. Gaydamak could not come to an agreement with Al-Faraj for the sale.

So Al-Faraj goes and gets the man with no money, Al-Fahim! Now As 'Dr' Al-Fahim had already endeared himself to english football through his embarrassing attempts to takeover city he must have seemed like the perfect puppet. So Al-Faraj buys Pompey but does it through his puppet Al-Fahim (the joker with no cash)

Then once Gaydamak is completely out the way, Al-Faraj comes forward to 'takeover' from Al-Fahim and hey presto Pompey have a new owner.

What does Al-Fahim get from this whole deal for being a puppet? He gets a minority shareholding

[Ben_Itez]

The whole takeover seems a bit dodgy to me, how can these people who seemingly dont have any money keep buying football clubs? Im sure the Dr has made a fair wad out of this for basically investing nowt!

Avram Grant has been appointed Director of Football today, looks like Paul Hart is on borrowed time then and Grant will become manager by Christmas at the latest.

[-V-]

Its like putting down a deposit on a new build house but selling it on for a quick profit before you pay the house builder

But in this instance I think that Dr Al-Fahim was just a puppet used as a frontman for Al-Faraj's takeover

[Ben_Itez]

Interesting blog from the beeb:

Plenty still to ponder at Portsmouth

Matt Slater | 20:12 UK time, Tuesday, 6 October 2009

A decade or so ago I spent a year writing about cars for a motoring website. I enjoyed it for a bit - a new car to drive most weekends and foreign trips to warm countries with photogenic roads are reasonable perks - but realised it wasn't for me when I had to update my own reviews of cars that were only "new" in the sense that they had a different stereo and metallic paint was now standard.

This came back to me on Monday when I found myself reporting on a second takeover at Portsmouth Football Club in two months - they've had as many owners as they have points this season - and like the car reviews there are plenty of similarities between the two.

It is still a case of hard chimes for Pompey on and off the pitch. The new owner is a Middle Eastern businessman of whom we know little; the previous owner, Sacha Gaydamak, still has a say on matters; and the only person providing real commentary is the long-standing/suffering chief executive Peter Storrie.

Thankfully, for Pompey fans, there are also differences between the two deals. Let's explore those before returning to the far bigger pile of unanswered questions:

First, Ali Al Faraj, the new new owner of Portsmouth, is a very private person from Saudi Arabia. Sulaiman Al Fahim, the old new owner of Portsmouth, is a publicity addict from Dubai. In regard to their desire for media attention, they are as alike as Greta Garbo and Kerry Katona.

Second, Storrie, the guardian of Fratton Park's secrets for the last seven-and-a-half years, seems much happier about the prospect of working for Al Faraj than he ever was about working for Al Fahim.

And third, erm...have I mentioned the metallic paint?

I would love to be able to tell Portsmouth's supporters that Al Faraj is definitely, as Storrie has described him, the "real deal" and a man capable of taking them "to another level", but we've heard similar stuff before and the Championship is another level.

If we just stick to what we know for sure, Al Faraj is a middle-aged (Monday's reports had him at 50 but he had lost 10 years by Tuesday) tycoon who controls a British Virgin Islands-listed company called Falcondrone. It's that company which has bought 90% of Portsmouth from Al Fahim.

His British lawyer, Mark Jacob (video below), who seems like a good guy, fleshed out this meagre CV a little when I spoke to him outside his office in London on Tuesday.

He described Al Faraj as a commodity broker who heads his family's private investment trust. That trust invests in property and has a stake in Saudi petrochemicals giant Sabic (although the company and the Saudi stock exchange declined to answer my requests to confirm this).

Jacob, who will be representing his client on Portsmouth's board, also assured me Al Faraj is a football nut who has been looking to get into the English game for some time. He added they will both be attending Pompey's next match, which is at home to Spurs on 17 October.

Hold on. Tottenham? Honestly, you couldn't make this stuff up. The north London club is the greatest beneficiary of the Pompey fire sale - Fratton Park favourites Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Niko Krancjar all now reside at White Hart Lane - which is hardly surprising when you remember that Harry Redknapp, the man who led Portsmouth to FA Cup glory only 17 months ago, now manages Spurs.

In fact, you could argue it was Redknapp's policy of signing players of such quality as Crouch, Defoe, Krancjar and co - plus Gaydamak and Storrie's willingness to pay them top-whack wages - that got Portsmouth into this mess.

I've already written about the financial implications of building a dependable Premier League team capable of cup success and basing it at a ground more suited to League One, so I won't do it again. Suffice it to say the money will run out in the end.

And that is what happened in December 2007. It was then that Gaydamak told Storrie to start balancing the books. It was a nice idea but at least a year too late, particularly for a man whose own finances had been credit-crunched.

Al Fahim (remember him?) was supposed to be the solution - a major player from Dubai with the cash and energy to drive through the redevelopment of Fratton Park, create an Arsenal-style academy/scouting network, refinance the bank loans that had been keeping the show on the road and give manager Paul Hart the money he needs to maintain Pompey's Premier League status.

Sadly, for all involved, it didn't work out like that. Just as it didn't work out for him during his brief but amusing spell as Abu Dhabi front man at Manchester City, just as it hasn't been working out for him in the Dubai property market, and just as he isn't a doctor of anything.

He's packed a lot in to his 32 years - he's also enjoyed a spell as a reality TV Sir Alan Sugar/Donald Trump - but his attempts to break into English football have been embarrassing. If he tries to make it third time lucky at my club, I will padlock myself to the stadium gates.

Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie and Sulaiman Al FahimIn happier times - Pete Storrie and Sulaiman Al Fahim

Which brings me to this remarkable saga's list of still unanswered questions.

If Al Fahim has no money (he was unable to even pay the wages at Fratton Park last week) and brings so little to the table, why does he still have a 10% stake and an honorary role at the club?

How could a recently successful club that plays in the world's richest football league get so close to administration?

Why aren't the league's officials means-testing prospective owners to make sure they can service existing debts and keep the club in business? Is the new "fit and proper person test" already unfit for purpose?

How much, if anything, did Al Fahim actually pay Gaydamak for 100% of the club in August? How much did Al Faraj pay Al Fahim for 90% in October?

Why didn't Gaydamak sell the club to the seemingly more solvent Al Faraj in August - Storrie said at the time the French-Russian-Israeli investor would rather put the club into administration than sell to Al Faraj - but then sanction the deal this week?

And why did Gaydamak, a man who has been looking for a way out for months but remains a creditor at the club, retain veto status after his sale to Al Fahim? What was the rationale for holding on to vital redevelopment land around the ground if he intended to sell it eventually to the next Pompey owner, whoever he may be, for £1?

I could go on but I won't. We've all had enough and it is only fair to give Al Faraj, Hart, Storrie, the squad and fans (especially them) a fair crack at a fresh start. Now that somebody has finally paid up, it is time for Pompey to play up.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mattslater/2009/10/a_decade_or_so_ago.html

A few interesting posts from the discussion board:

- I live in Abu Dhabai and Al Fahim was the Head of one the biggest construction companies in the UAE, until he was removed form his post. His track record in construction is dismal and the company he fronted has one of the worst track records in customer service and delivery of its products. Why he is considered in such high esteem by the Football Authority in the UK is a joke.

Other than showing a bank balance that is dubious, the guy's track record, in any business environment, should have him banned from coming anywhere near a business for the rest of his life!

- It appears that fans and the media ask more searching questions of potential new owners of football clubs than the Premier League or FA do.

- Its not rocket science.
The original Deal wouldnt go through as the owner didnt want to sell to the guy who actually wanted to buy the club.
So another (Middle man) buys the club doesnt put any money in and doesnt pay the wages scares the heck out of the original owner who then agrees to let him (The middleman) now sell to the original buyer rather than see the club Nose dive into administration.
Middle man gets 10% for his help. Job done