At around 5pm on Saturday things were, momentarily at least, looking a little brighter – we had put in a decent showing, with a lot of effort and commitment shown against Rangers as we secured a win, although it was a little after this that ‘more rumours’ started filtering through that ‘the deal was off’…
For me, in many ways this was not unsurprising at all really – although we of course know that since statements have against been issued by SAF’s people denying this.
Peter Storrie has again moved to try and clam the concerns that people continue to have by telling The News that the deal is not off as well as lashing out at the national media: ‘it’s an absolute load of rubbish. Why do the national papers continue to go on about this?
‘I am sick and tired of their accusations having at go at the club all the time.
‘The national press has it in for Portsmouth Football Club. It’s like some sort of campaign against us, it’s ridiculous. They will not leave us alone and it’s affecting things.
‘We are trying to sort things out and they keep coming up with this rubbish. Why do these people keep having a go at us?’
I think that we have all, just about, learned that we do have to take what the papers say with a pinch of salt – that said at the same time there have been times over the years, and I do not just mean in recent times, that we have not always done as much to help ourselves as we could so can bring something’s upon ourselves…
That is not to say that I feel we deserve the rough treatment that we always get, far from it!
It was being ‘claimed’ that Sacha had set SAF a 7-day deadline to come up with the money to conclude the takeover or the deal was off.
Although SAF’s people continue to maintain that the deal is ‘now in its final stages and the final talks are proceeding on a cordial basis’ as well as saying ‘all parties involved are exercising every effort to complete the sale as soon as possible in the best interest of the club and its supporters who are showing an extraordinary level of loyalty to this great club.’
Storrie has asked us to ‘wait and see’ with regards to the takeover: ‘all I can say to supporters is just wait and see, just wait and see.’
The problem that he has? People will find it hard to believe that this is actually the case? Things that have previously been said have not always panned out as it was claimed they would…
This deal has taken a long, long time so it is only natural that the longer it takes the more you worry about it not happening.
What I can say, which very, very much surprised me with all the talk that ‘the deal was off’ on Saturday evening was the fact that having personally spoken on the phone to someone at the club on Friday lunchtime that although ‘the takeover’ was not really discussed the implication that this was in anyway in doubt was never given, in fact I was told ‘the sooner this deal goes through the better,’ and there was never any implication that they were aware – and I would have suspected they would have some idea – it would not…
For what it is worth – and clearly I am no more in the know than anyone else, I just know what ‘people at the club sometimes tell me’ and what various ‘word on the street’ people come up with – whilst I think it is pretty clear that SAF is not completed minted with funds ready to him, he is a wealthy man. I have always felt that it was his backers that would offer up most funds, but also felt that the majority of ‘the better ones’ would not come on board until January.
Why is this?
Is it because those coming in do not want to be saddled with the debt that the club have built up, as are some of the stories that are doing the rounds says, or is it because these people have been ‘frightened off’ by the fit and proper tests? In which case is this because they are not ‘fit and proper’ or is it just because so many Arabian business types like to keep things ‘private’ that they have opted against wanting to be disclosed, as they would now have to be?
Quite how true this is, again I could not say, but one thing that ‘word on the street’ has seen come up is news that SAF is now ‘the guarantor’ on the loan from the South African Bank? So, ‘if’ he is and ‘if’ he walked away – despite it being suspected that if he walked away he did so having lost nothing – he ‘could’ would walk away having to cough up some £20m-£30m for payment on that loan?
Whatever is happening, if it is haggling over who takes on debt, who gets what land or whatever it is lets just get this matter sorted once and for all – and lets do it before we get into the new season! Good or bad it is now time for both parties to agree to the deal and get what was ‘agreed in principle’ months ago concluded concretely! If SAF seriously does not have the funds needed to at least complete his part of the deal just admit it, although I am still not convinced that he is so lacking in funds that he cannot conclude that ‘principally’ agreed part of the deal, but who knows eh!
I retain my belief, despite admitting that it is not as strong – but remains pretty strong – as it was that the deal will go through, and also retain the thoughts that the early period of this will remain a tough one, but if we get through this the longer-term future will be brighter…
But, as said, lets just finalise what is happening one way or the other now.
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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