Dan Brett on the ‘rumours’ that CSI’s Pompey takeover ‘could’ be completed anytime now? Read on for more.
It has been rumoured tonight (Monday) that Portsmouth’s takeover, at the hands of Convers Sports Initiatives, could be completed within the next 48 hours.
The long-drawn saga has left many fans’ disillusioned; with calls that the company are just using Pompey as a way to improve their media reputation, aiding them with the takeover of Saab. A member of the Portsmouth Supporters’ Trust tonight (Monday) tweeted: ‘The Trust understands that an announcement from PFC in 48 hours will say the CSI takeover is completed. We await details.’
The group were first linked with the Pompey deal in February, with talks ongoing since then with current owners Balram Chainrai, Levi Kushnir and Deepak Chainrai – however any concrete deal has yet been finalised.
The CSI takeover will be the club’s fifth in the space of five years, with the likes of Sacha Gaydamak, Sulaiman Al Fahim, Ali Al-Faraj and Balram Chainrai all taking the chance to shape the future of Portsmouth Football Club – all playing their part in its demise, with one of the above reportedly ‘failing to exist’.
Fans of the club will be hoping that this latest takeover will spell new beginnings for the South Coast outfit, who will be looking to have a much more constructive pre-season than that of 12-months ago.
Last year, the club travelled to the USA in search of a games which would prepare the squad for life in the Npower Championship – however were dealt a cruel hand of long-haul flights and delayed luggage, as well as defeats to some of America’s top sides.
This had a strong impact on the start of the season, with Cotterill’s thread-bare squad not managing a win in the league until the 6-1 home win against Leicester, on September 24, 2010. The squad will be hoping to hit the ground running next term, in search for the play-off place that Cotterill hoped they would attain last time around.
Portsmouth manager Steve Cotterill has indicated that he has two signings lined up ready to join Fratton Park, however such deals have yet to be ratified as the club’s future is uncertain while takeover talks stall.
This, coupled with the released contracts of Michael Brown, Richard Hughes, Danny Webber, Darryl Flahavan and a host of youngsters, spells a long summer for the scouting staff at Fratton Park. With just eight players on the books for the start of the season, a busy transfer window is in sight for Cotterill.
Brett’s Babble:
Any buyer that comes in to buy our club has to have a plan – and a long term one at that. We have seen first hand just what can happen if you buy success, something completely short-term unless you have money to burn.
I would much rather see someone come in with a long-term plan, ten years if need be, but completely overhaul the club from the bottom. We need a stadium, and we’ve heard about plans for new sites, structures, sizes and developing the current ground for nearly more years than I’ve been alive – but there’s more that needs to be done first.
Improvement to the training ground is paramount. We need one that will not only help the squad we have, but the one we could have. Players across the world not only weigh up the playing staff at a club, nor the stadium – but more so the facilities that they will be using day in, day out. If we can get such facilities in place, we could see higher calibre footballers in a Portsmouth shirt, aiding our chance for established success, not just what we can afford at the time.
The academy is also in dire straits, with many of our ‘talent’ being let go this month. Paul Hart started a job at the club, before his tenure as manager and then his exit, but getting youngsters through an academy is essential if we are to maintain a high level of playing staff, without having to splash the cash to get them.
First and foremost, however, we need that buyer. That person, or group, that can come to Fratton Park and give us the stability that we need – an individual that wants to take the club over, so we can stop seeing the words ‘reluctant’ in every story we seem to read about Pompey in the media.
Should Convers become that buyer, we can start to rebuild our image and reputation in the footballing world, but any takeover, no matter how wealthy or profound, will be met with caution by the fans’, with more dodgy takeovers against the club recently than playing staff on the books for the 2011/2012 campaign.
Until next time,
Dan Brett.
Twitter: @DanBrett90
Written by Dan Brett.
The views within this article are the views of the individual who wrote and submitted this piece, sometimes solely theirs. They are not necessarily shared by the Vital Pompey Site Journalists.
