From the Snooze (Friday)

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POMPEY have reduced their season ticket prices ahead of their debut in League One next season.Young fans will see the biggest benefit, with a season ticket price of £75 no matter when they buy or where they want to sit.

Existing adult season ticket holders, renewing before July 6, will pay £13 a match, or £299 for the season.

Early bird tickets go on sale on Wednesday, June 6, with new tickets costing £345.

The general sale will start on July 16, with adults then paying £399, or £17.95 a match.

Trevor Birch, Pompey’s administrator, is keen to reassure fans that their money will be safe no matter what happens to the club next season.

He said: ‘Until we have more clarity on the club’s long-term future, all the money from season tickets will be ring-fenced and released as games are played, so that funds are protected if the club fails to fulfil its fixtures next season.’

Birch sought fans’ views before setting the season ticket prices, and invited them to see them before they were announced to the public this afternoon.

He added: ‘The fans’ support at this crucial stage in the club’s history is vital.

‘We have tried to be fair and reward them for their support over the last few turbulent years.’

But he added: ‘There has to be a compromise – the club has to generate as much income as it can given the financial problems it faces, but we recognise fans don’t have bottomless pockets.’

Tickets can be bought by online or over the phone by credit or debit card, or by cash or cheque payable to ‘Portsmouth Football Club (2010) Ltd in Administration’ at the Frogmore Road ticket office.

Tickets bought online and by phone are subject to a booking fee of £2.40 and £3.60 respectively, which cover the cost of using Ticketmaster’s services.

The cost of postage will be covered by Portsmouth Football Club.

Fans groups have welcomed the new prices.

Barry Dewing, of the Pompey Independent Supporters’ Trust, said: ‘We’re very pleased with the season ticket prices.

‘There was a big consultation with fans and everyone was adamant that it was vital to get the kids more involved in Pompey.

‘It’s been an ongoing issue, and it’s refreshing that the club have listened to us – they deserve praise for that.’

And the Pompey Supporters’ Trust’s Scott Mclachlan said: ‘We’re very, very pleased with the child season ticket prices in particular, that’s definitely a bonus for League One football and we feel the prices are in line with what we would have charged if we had taken over the club.’

Blues boss Michael Appleton said: ‘Last season was obviously a difficult chapter in the proud history of Portsmouth Football Club.

‘But hopefully we can put that behind us as we prepare for a new challenge in League One.’



The prices are as follows:

Early Bird Renewal (June 6-July 6)

Fratton End/South Stand/North Stand

Adult: £299 – £13 per match

Senior/Young Person: £225 – £9.78 per match

Junior: £75 – £3.26 per match


Family Section

Adult: £270 – £11.74 per match

Senior/Young Person: £195 – £8.48 per match

Junior: £75 – £3.26 per match


Early Bird New (June 6-July 6)

Fratton End/South Stand/North Stand

Adult: £345 – £15 per match

Senior/Young Person: £260 – £11.30 per match

Junior: £75 – £3.26 per match


Family Section

Adult: £310 – £13.48 per match

Senior/Young Person: £225 – £9.78 per match

Junior: £75 – £3.26 per match



General Sale (from July 16)

Fratton End/South Stand/North Stand

Adult: £399 – £17.35 per match

Senior/Young Person: £299 – £13 per match

Junior: £75 – £3.26 per match


Family Section

Adult: £360 – £15.65 per match

Senior/Young Person: £260 – £11.30 per match

Junior: £75 – £3.26 per match


Disabled Section

All tickets (with free helper): £99



Please note: Senior is aged 60 or over on or before September 1 2012. Young person is aged 17-22 on or before September 1 2012.

Junior is aged 16 or under on or before September 1 2012.

Adult/senior/young person season ticket holders in the Family Section must be accompanied by an adult.



2012/13 Matchday Ticket Prices

Fratton End/South Stand/Ridgeway Group (North) Stand

Adult: £20

Senior/Young Person: £15

Junior: £10


Family Section

Adult: £18

Senior/Young Person: £13

Junior: £8


KANU has refused to leave Pompey unless he is paid the full amount owed to him for the remainder of his 12-month contract.That is the claim from Blues administrator Trevor Birch, who insists the veteran striker’s agent is demanding the total worth of Kanu’s deal for him to leave Fratton Park early, despite the club still fighting to stay alive.

The sum is believed to be in the region of £300,000 for a player whose current deal has already been lowered by a relegation clause.

That has dealt another blow to Birch’s efforts to drive down the club’s current £9.5m wage bill, which is crucial in finding a new owner.

Kanu, the scorer of Pompey’s FA Cup-winning goal in 2008, is among several players who the Blues are seeking to reach compromise agreements with.

Now aged 35, a back problem contributed to restricting his availability to just 12 matches this season.

Tal Ben Haim is another refusing to lower his sights following talks with Birch last week. That will cost Pompey close to £2m for him to leave this summer.

Both players accepted wage deferrals towards the end of the campaign along with their team-mates to alleviate the club’s financial problems.

Now more money needs to be saved as the administrators strive to slash the club wage bill in half ahead of life in League One.

And Birch is growing ever-frustrated with their stance.

He said: ‘The club is in the players’ hands.

‘On one hand, them agreeing to defer wages gave the club a lifeline – but at the same time they need to take big cuts in the long term to enable it to survive.

‘Draconian wage cuts and deferrals among the players is the only way the club can go forward. That is why it is in everybody’s interests we get compromises or they sign reductions on what they are playing for.

‘The ones we are having problems with are Kanu and Ben Haim. You cannot strike a deal with them.

‘Kanu’s agent wants the full amount and at the moment he is going nowhere.

‘His agent is digging his heels in as well, making demands, and it is very difficult to solve.

‘As for our friend Ben Haim, he just won’t budge. The deal he wants is not achievable. We have not got the means to do it.

‘There are players at this club who are sat there. They are not coming to me and writing it all off saying they will leave straight away.

‘We have to get them off the wage bill and I cannot say any of them are making it easy for me to get them to leave.’

Deferrals agreed by players have meant that, since May, there has been a weekly wage cap of less than £10,000.

This agreement is open-ended and any player leaving will receive the money owed as part of any compromise.

And Birch stressed the players will not lose out.

He added: ‘The deferrals will be paid back.

‘As football creditors, the players have to be paid in full, albeit spread over a period of time. That could be four years but they will get the money back.

‘They are keeping the club afloat at the minute with those deferrals.

‘But when I come to talk to them about their future contract or future entitlements they will have to compromise to help the club going forwards.’

Kanu’s agent – Samuel Okoronkwo – was unavailable for comment when contacted by The News yesterday.


League clubs have voted to return to using seven substitutes next season.Following a motion put forward by Birmingham and Derby, the proposal has been accepted after a League AGM in Portugal.

The decision comes just 12 months after bench sizes for Football League clubs were reduced to five in a bid to reduce costs.

At the time, it was heavily criticised by many managers, including former Blues boss Steve Cotterill.

Current Pompey manager Michael Appleton was also keen to go back to using seven subs so that clubs have more options from the bench on

Michael Appleton believes Pompey’s stalled player fire sale will not kick-start into action again until next month at the earliest.Joel Ward became the third of the Blues boss’ squad to leave since the season ended when he signed for Crystal Palace on Monday.

The £400,000 deal, which also included a 20-per-cent sell-on clause, followed on from the departures of Jason Pearce and Stephen Henderson.

The trio fetched around £1.5m in combined transfer fees to enable Pompey to continue over the summer as they remain in administration.

Of the remaining 11 senior players, all but Marko Futacs are effectively up for sale as Trevor Birch seeks to reduce the current £9.5m wage bill.

Yet at present, no more bids are on the table. And Appleton doesn’t believe there will be further movement for a while yet.

He said: ‘There is nothing happening at the moment with any other players leaving.

‘I have not heard anything, there are no further developments.

‘I don’t expect there to be for a while yet, anyhow. Most stuff gets sorted out by the end of the summer.

‘Obviously, we need players to leave but it is not as simple as that. Someone has to take them first.

‘After Joel, it has all gone quiet and it seems like it will remain that way for a month at least.

‘I have to say that this might be a long, drawn-out affair.’

Birch has also voiced his expectations that player departures will now occur towards the end of the summer.

However, Pompey are eager to clear out their squad as soon as possible, adding a more youthful look in preparation for life in League One next season.


Doncaster Rovers have already cleared the decks, the anticipated annual payroll has been slashed, purged and reduced to below £2m ahead of the new season.It’s a scenario Trevor Birch can only envy.

Pompey may share the same division as Rovers next season – following the relegation of both clubs – yet their £9.5m wage bill is leagues apart.

That is the alarming situation the Blues are faced with as administrators desperately attempt to drive down their bloated player costs.

The club presently employ 11 senior professionals – players who collectively earn almost five times the budgets of many League One clubs like Doncaster.

Of course, Tal Ben Haim alone picks up a pay packet which eclipses Dean Saunders’ entire squad.

The summer exodus has been a trickle so far – with Jason Pearce, Joel Ward and Stephen Henderson sold.

While it has brought in around £1.5m in transfer fees, the exit of three of Pompey’s four lowest earners has done little to ease the huge wage bill.

At least the departures of out-of-contract trio Jamie Ashdown, Ricardo Rocha and Benjani dropped the salary by around £1.6m.

Benjani alone earned in the region of a staggering £15,000-a-week for his ill-fated return.

That has left 11 seniors remaining, in addition to the academy graduates and development squad.

At present, wage deferrals are in place indefinitely – believed to be under £10,000-a-week per player – thereby ensuring the club remains trading.

Birch well knows, however, such short-term fixes need to be followed up by a merciless onslaught on that £9.5m wage bill.

He said: ‘Doncaster Rovers, who have also come down from the Championship, will have a payroll less than £2m.

‘The average in the division is probably not as much as that.

‘At the moment this club’s is around £9.5m, which is massive.

‘Obviously it is all distorted by Ben Haim’s wages. While I expect others to leave over the summer, it remains the biggest concern – especially for prospective owners.

‘It is the key to Portpin coming in. They do not want to take it on board in its current state because, potentially, they will lose money next year.

‘I would say that is what is holding up the process at the moment.

‘The Trust are in the same boat and share the same views on the wage bill. There is no doubt about it – it is a big, big problem.

‘By agreeing to deferrals, the players are keeping the club afloat at the minute.

‘And that is what has enabled me to keep the club going until, perhaps, the end of the transfer window in August.

‘The deferrals are extremely substantial and have been in place since April.

‘That is funded out of the £200,000-a-month distribution money from the Football League.

‘However, this stops at the end of June and we revert to the League One level, which is £65,000-a-month.

‘This is the conundrum. Effectively they are keeping the club alive but then they also have a role to play in the future, in terms of compromise agreements.’

Of the current squad of 11 senior players, only Marko Futacs has been offered a new deal.

However, the Hungarian striker must accept lower terms should he sign his 12-month contract.

His existing deal would have seen him earn more than Ward next season, if the Emsworth youngster had stayed. The majority of those still at the club have contracts worth between £15,000 and £20,000 a week, a hindrance in attempts to move them on.

The wage burdens of Kanu and Ben Haim are frustrating, while not a single bid has been tabled for any of their team-mates.

Yet Birch is confident players will depart this summer. Eventually.

He added: ‘If you are a player, you are going to sit there and see how things pan out. So it is going to go right to the 11th hour.

‘Some of them will leave, no doubt about that. It is resolvable but it will take time.

‘For example, I’m not going to seek a compromise deal with the likes of Luke Varney as he is probably one of five players we are looking to sell.

‘The others are Greg Halford, Erik Huseklepp, Liam Lawrence, David Norris – and, maybe, Aaron Mokoena.

‘We might get money for them but it will take time.

‘Nine months ago Erik Huseklepp was worth 2.37m euros. Now they tell me we cannot give him away. How can that be?

‘Whether it be sales or compromises, this is going to be a long process. But one we have to be successful in.’