Mark Jacob has today told The News that he, and the owners were hurt by the recent protests from Pompey fans.
To be honest I do agree with elements, as they were not really very productive, although at the same time with him having previously been in the position of those protesting, when doing so as a Spurs fan, he should have some idea of why this is being done and cannot really complain too much can he. He SHOULD be able to see it from our point of view as well, which to be fair he did later on say to a degree…
His following thoughts, for me, pretty much sum up WHY there are protests: ‘at the Arsenal game, there were chants which left Ahmed Al Faraj (the brother of Ali Al Faraj) – who watched the game on the Internet – most upset.
‘Mr Al Faraj feels supporters do not see – or haven’t been told perhaps – what has happened since October and it was like a pressure cooker that had suddenly exploded. Then there was the protest after the Coventry game.
‘Quite clearly that is the supporters’ prerogative, but I was most upset and disappointed.
‘I sincerely hope that does not happen again given the strides this club has achieved over the last few months.’
That is exactly the issue Mark we HAVE NOT, until now to be fair, really been told ANYTHING about what is/was going on so!
So, if you are told little, or nothing, and it does not look like much, if anything is happening the obvious assumption is that nothing is actually happening…Which ‘might’ not have been the case?
With the talking to fans now starting, and lets hope that we continue to hear this, we now need to also see some actions to follow…
I agree that the chats of ‘you can stick you Arabs up your arse’, ‘sack the board’ and basically – and not very politely – asking them to ‘leave’ was probably uncalled for and, for me, was not very productive. Asking for answers to questions is what was needed but my worry is that more outbursts like that and anything that actually is being done could be undone as what happens if they do think ‘sod it, we are off?’
Jacob did go on to add that he can ‘sympathise with the supporters’ but assures us that things are progressing: ‘I can sympathise with supporters and I can understand their frustrations, but they have to realise the perilous state the club was in October 2009.
‘They have got to appreciate the huge strides we have made since to stabilise the club, to get us into the position now where we have a fighting chance to survive in the Premier League and to move on.
‘Quite clearly, had Mr Al Faraj not taken over when he did, the club would have suffered a points reduction because administration would have been on the cards.
‘With a points deduction – given the points we have got at the moment – I defy anyone to believe the club would then have survived.’
He claims that around £40m has been generated into PFC since the takeover and ‘positive’ moves for the ‘long-term future’ are happening with him ‘very, very’ sure that we will be out of our ‘predicament very, very shortly’: ‘altogether, if you look at the funds that have been generated into the club since October, you are looking at approximately £40million.
‘What we are doing now at the club is something positive and for the long-term future.
‘We are very, very positive that we will be out of this predicament very, very shortly.’
People have called for communication, we are now getting plenty of this and to be fair the more than comes the more positive it becomes, right?
Yep actions speak louder than words of course, and we DO need actions to follow, but do we not now owe these guys the chance to prove that they can show the actions to follow these words now that they have started to come?
I wonder if this latest protest march will go ahead – and would actually question if it should as if it does what would the repercussions of this be?
So, perhaps it would be wise to have a rethink on this and perhaps for those planning this to at put it on the back burner, until a later date at least, although all being well we can soon get back to purely footballing reasons to talk about and it will not be something that people feel is needed anyway…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
Share this article
