From the Snooze (Thursday)

[stefeni]

I think the club came very close to liquidation, on a number of occasions.’For Iain McInnes, the reality of Pompey’s situation can never be over dramatised.

Yesterday, in the Montgomery Lounge at Fratton Park, the Blues’ new set-up was unveiled.

Permanent manager Guy Whittingham was flanked by the majority of the club’s newly-appointed seven-man board.

Heading the board is McInnes, the new Pompey chairman who grew up in Paulsgrove and earned his money in the electronics business.

He is one of four individuals who, between them, put in money to plug losses for five months since October, making them liable for £1.2m and preventing administrator Trevor Birch being forced to liquidate the club.

It kept Pompey afloat long enough to help step up their own bid to seize ownership as Portpin’s efforts began to flail.

Today there are 11 presidents (high net-worth individuals) – including that quartet – who have put in £1.6m between them.

That currently accounts for 45.7 per cent of the ownership, with the Pompey Supporters’ Trust’s £1.9m tallying 54.3 per cent.

The 11 presidents have signed shareholders’ agreements with each other and the club that no dividends will be paid.

The Trust have also penned the same agreement which means nobody can take money out of the club.

And for McInnes, putting money in from the end of last year saved Pompey from death.

He said: ‘There were lots of different times when the club could have gone.

‘In fairness, it was probably the right thing to have done at those points in time.

‘There was a time where the (secured) creditors in general and their money started to become eroded. There were several points that had been reached and if it wasn’t for a top-up, with us putting money in, the liquidator would have had no choice.

‘We would have lost £1.2m between us, the four of us, if it had been liquidated.

‘(Administrator) Trevor Birch couldn’t carry on and once we let him down a little bit with the court case in December, he said “I can’t run this club on and give you a chance of buying it unless I am funded because I can’t run at a loss”.

‘So we had to fund those losses for three or four months.

‘The closest was the first day after the failed first court case.

‘Trevor didn’t want to liquidate because he was still wanting to sell the club as a going concern, so us guys had to put money in to make sure it could survive until such time we could do the deal.

‘We thought we were saving it, we thought it was going out of business and that is why we came in.’

Following acquisition of the club, those who kept it running in its time of need, including McInnes, have received shares in recognition of their investment.

All money donated by fans to the Trust since the end of last year had previously been kept in an Escrow account, unable to be touched until the Escrow condition had been fulfilled.

That condition was met following completion of ownership on Friday night.

Now those full pledges have been used to buy club shares in the name of the Trust, with money continuing to pour in.

Yesterday, lawyers Verisona reported receiving 46 new pledges alone from 9am until 5pm.

There still remain 600 people who have yet to honour their original pledges.

Still, it was a day which earlier saw the board unveiled, with Verisona director Mike Dyer and Trust trio Ashley Brown, Mick Williams and Mark Trapani among them. Chris Moth and John Kirk, who couldn’t be present, make up the line-up which will head the club.

And McInnes was quick to stress nobody will be making money out of the Blues any more.

He added: ‘I would be very happy for someone from The News to go into Mike Dyer’s office and read through the shareholders’ agreement and at least be able to confirm the fact it is the case we can’t take money out. It’s wrong. This club can’t afford to make profit out of it.’

Guy Whittingham became Pompey manager and vowed: We’ll rebuild this club.Whittingham was yesterday unveiled as Blues boss as the Pompey Supporters’ Trust era began in earnest.

The Fratton Park striking legend has still to finalise the details of his one-year rolling contract.

But he is ploughing on with the job of assembling a squad which can start out on the journey back to the top for Pompey next season.

Talks have started with a host of players from the current set-up, including in-form loan hitman Patrick Agyemang.

And he is looking at free agents to boost his squad numbers, and has met with former Pompey hero Svetoslav Todorov over a potential move.

Whittingham spoke of his pride at leading his club’s rebirth.

But he knows it’s crucial to act quickly to tie players down.

Whittingham said: ‘I’m looking forward to the job.

‘Of course, it’s a proud moment.

‘Negotiations are taking place, and things aren’t finalised yet.

‘There are no major stumbling blocks, though, and it’s a case of dotting i’s and crossing t’s.

‘We have a lot of work ahead of us now. We are speaking to players and in-roads have to be made in that.

‘We’ve been doing it for a few weeks now, especially with the players who are here.

‘That’s also the case with one or two players who are out of contract.

‘The one thing we can’t do is buy players.

‘We have to go for free agents and there’s a possibility of using the loan market as well.

‘We can loan players if we feel we need to go down that route.

‘We’ve had talks with Patrick (Agyemang). He has been excellent since he’s been here and, of course, we’d love to have him around.

‘I talked to Toddy at Hermann Hreidarsson’s game.

‘I haven’t met him before, because our paths hadn’t crossed, but he’s a nice guy.

‘I wouldn’t count on anything and I wouldn’t discount anything.

‘We are trying to assemble and balance a team for next year which is competitive for the budget we’re on.’

Whittingham is keen to keep all of the existing backroom staff in place.

Andy Awford has yet to decide whether he wants to take on the role of Whittingham’s assistant or remain as Academy boss.

Whittingham said: ‘We want everyone to be here.

‘We got to where we are because of the staff. They all deserve to be with us and carry this club forward.

‘Awfs has a lot to think about because he’s stepping into the first-team world.

‘I know he’s enjoyed it and we’ve all enjoyed having him alongside us.

‘It’s a good balance between us and all the staff, in fact.’
Pompey have pledged to attract more fans to the club through ‘affordable’ season-ticket prices.That is the promise from Mark Catlin as the new ownership prepares to deliver its packages for the 2013-14 campaign.

The pricing has been established, although won’t be released for two weeks while everything is finalised.

However, newly-appointed chief executive Catlin believes fans will approve as they seek to build on the existing 8,080 holders.

He said: ‘We have got the prices ready and are in the process of getting the marketing campaign up and running and the structures in place.

‘I would think the prices are going to be announced in two weeks max.

‘We have obviously got to run it as a business, but we want football to be affordable to the public of Portsmouth.

‘A lot of emphasis is going to be on kids.

‘We think that is the way to go. We want to encourage the kids in and also we want to make it that if people want season tickets there are clever ways to pay where maybe they don’t have to pay everything in advance.

‘You can’t get Fratton Park packed out every week, but we want bums on seats, we want the Portsmouth public to support their local team.

‘Our budgets are based around certain income levels.

‘It is about how you arrive at that income, whether you have 8,000 at X money or 18,000 at X money, which is achievable.

‘That debate has been going on in the boardroom.

‘We don’t want empty seats so are looking at students, disadvantaged groups, children, whatever – we are going to do all we can to get people into the Park.’

b]To many, he is an unfamiliar presence on the Pompey board.[/b]Yet, behind the scenes, Mike Dyer has been a crucial component in the successful community bid.

Through his role as director at law firm Verisona, the 61-year-old has spent the past seven months engrossed in legal negotiations on behalf of the Trust.

A former south stand season-ticket holder, Dyer has been the main legal voice when dealing with the Football League, Premier League and PFA during the whole process.

Such has been his invaluable input and the skills he continues to offer, he has been appointed to Pompey’s seven-man board.

And Dyer is delighted to continue to be involved in the club he helped save.

He said: ‘For me, personally, it has been a full-time job for seven months. I have actually dropped all my other work and just been dealing with this.

‘I’m going to find it difficult to break the habit of turning up every morning and wondering what we do today for Portsmouth Football Club!

‘It has been a really long period of negotiation with all of the authorities and bodies involved.

‘We have had to negotiate but also come to an agreement with the PFA, Football League and Premier League to determine how those bodies deal with the parachute payments, the players owed money.

‘Those issues have been quite complex and the deal is unique as far as they are concerned.

‘I wonder whether it will ever be done again in some respects – it has been absolutely ground breaking.

‘But it has been an absolute privilege to have been involved.’

Verisona, who are based at Lakeside, number six Pompey season-ticket holders among their ranks – including Ian Peach and David Oliver.

Now Dyer will help steer the club from his position on the board.

He added: ‘I am not a member of the Trust board, I am not a member of the Trust, I am not a president, so I think my role is as a referee!

‘I bring a skill set and from the last seven months a pretty good knowledge.’

Guy Whittingham spoke of his desire to have Andy Awford as his right-hand man as he decides his future.Awford is weighing up whether to become Whittingham’s number two on a permanent basis after the former caretaker boss was named as Pompey’s full-time manager.

The man who made 361 appearances for his only league club is deciding whether to take that role or remain in charge of the club’s Academy.

Whittingham does not want to put Awford under any pressure in making the decision which is best for him.

He wants his former Blues team-mate in that position, however, with the pair striking up an understanding during their caretaker tenure with the first team.

Whittingham believes keeping the backroom staff at the club in place is key to moving forward.

That means maintaining roles for the likes Awford, Paul Hardyman, Alan McLoughlin, Alan Knight, Mark Kelly and head of sports performance Steve Allen.

Whittingham said: ‘We’re not putting Awfs under pressure and giving him a timescale.

‘But we have to make sure we’re in a position where we can go forward.

‘If Andy takes the job, there’s the Academy to think of. There’s has to be an Academy manager.

‘There are things to think about if he does or doesn’t go with the first team.

‘Macca’s (Alan McLoughlin) got great experience. For people like him, Paul Hardyman and Mark Kelly the opinions are open. You can never have too many of them.

‘You want people who will give their opinion and will argue about it. We have to have that.

‘Alan Knight will be important and will be here.

‘Steve Allen’s a big part of what we want to do here, too.

‘After a couple of years here this club has really bitten him. We very much count him as one of us.

‘You are only as good as your backroom staff and you have to have a good working relationship with them. I think we have that here.’

Whittingham has underlined the importance of moving quickly when it comes to assembling a squad to start out on the road back to the top for Pompey.

He explained Allen is going to prove a key member of his team in that recruitment drive, as he leans on his knowledge and contacts in the game.

Whittingham said: ‘Our priority is to get a decent sized squad that can compete well in League Two. We’ve got some hard work over the next few weeks to do.

‘Myself and Steve Allen have been working together for a few weeks now.

‘The process has started of recruiting and keeping the players we’ve got.

‘I want to be able to relax in June knowing we’ve got a squad coming back at the end of June that will give us a chance of getting off to good start in League Two.’
How fitting that the PST’s first major appointment – aka the worst-kept secret in Portsmouth – should be Guy Whittingham.If ever we needed continuity - people running Fratton Park who know the club inside out - it’s now.

Whittingham has done a remarkable job since taking over Michael Appleton in November. He did a pretty good one before that, too.

Since he came back to Fratton in a coaching role, he has performed a wide variety of roles, all to a very high standard.

He’s never sought praise, he’s never sought the limelight. But nor has he shied away from the need to work at the sharp end.

It seems a lifetime ago that he and Stuart Gray temporarily took over following Steve Cotterill’s move to Nottingham Forest.

They did pretty well then, if you recall, and when Appleton moved on, Whittingham was the obvious choice to plug the gap again. And can you think of one other club, at any level of football, where a 23-game winless run didn’t see any significant fall in the level of backing for the manager?

With Lance Corporal Awford at his side, Corporal Punishment, as those of us who witnessed him bursting on to the Pompey scene 23 seasons ago still think of him, guided the team through some of the darkest days we fans have known.

There was always going to be a turning point and it came, as Neil Allen pointed out in his column last Saturday, not in the form of the joyous win at Crewe, but in the 0-0 draw at Hartlepool that ended a run of nine straight defeats.

Since then, results have spoken for themselves and Whittingham has increasingly become the choice of the people to lead Pompey into this exciting new era.

I hope Awford’s influence continues to be a major one, too, and there are some other ex-Pompey types that could come back as players or backroom staff.

There’s a lot of love for PFC among ex-players – you only need to look at how many come back for a second spell to realise that.

I can remember Guy’s first Pompey goal as if it were yesterday: six minutes after coming on at home to Hull in September 1989 for his second appearance as a sub.

My dad, not always the best judge of a player, said there’d be a reason this new striker had only cost £450 to buy out of the Army and wouldn’t ‘make it’. Others had more confidence in him and were delighted to be proved right.

No-one who was at Fratton for the back-from-the-dead 3-3 draw against Leeds a few weeks after his debut – when he scored two late, late goals, one by chasing a seemingly-lost cause – will ever forget it.

But would any of the 10,260 present that night have imagined that a generation later, that same never-say-die attitude would be leading a fan-owned club as manager?

It’s a Fratton fairytale for the Corporal that still has a few chapters to run

Three different tales. Three different insights into Pompey’s we-will-never-die spirit.And three rousing examples which are echoed across the club’s fan base, telling us why the Blues are today the biggest supporter-owned club in the United Kingdom.

Saturday was one of those special occasions which will live long in Fratton folklore.

And it wouldn’t have arrived if it wasn’t for people like Ryan Hicken.

Hicken’s story is one which is rousing and heart-warming in equal measure, as he fought to raise the money to keep his club alive.

The 15-year-old from Clanfield wasn’t prepared to see the team he loves go to the wall – so he did something about it.

The community shares – which have been a lifeline for Pompey – were, surprise, surprise, out of reach for the teenager.

So he set about raising the funds a different route – a sponsored bike ride.

Along with friends and family, Hicken jumped on his BMX and pedalled out 31 miles which saw him collect £1,150 to purchase a share. Awe-inspiring stuff.

Then there’s Josh Nunn, at 87 years young, an all-together different type of star-and-crescent follower to Hicken. But, then again, exactly the same.

Nunn remembers the day in 1939 when Jimmy Guthrie held the FA Cup aloft at Wembley and Jack Tinn’s men sent Wolves’ legion of stars packing.

He can recall tales of Harris, Scoular, Flewin, Froggatt, Reid, Phillips and Dickinson conquering the English game in successive seasons.

The Gosport fan hadn’t been to Fratton Park since 1963 but, when the club’s hour of need arrived, his £1,000 was there waiting.

The same can be said for Steve Pearse and Steve McLenaghan. And then some.

The pair set about raising their share money with the help of Pompey’s thriving online community.

Using Pearse’s PayPal account they utilised the likes of truebluearmy.com and Facebook to raise funds for a share.

What happened next summed up the passion and far-reaching impact of the club’s plight, as money poured in from across the planet.

Crucial funds arrived from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Spain, France, Switzerland and Japan.

After laying down the target of purchasing a single share last August, the group are now on the brink of collecting their 20th as they near £20,000 in funds raised.

All of the dedicated Blues were among the 18,433 who rejoiced in the fans’ victory on Saturday, capped off by a 3-0 win over Sheffield United.

They were guests of the Trust at the game, as they looked on from a directors’ box jam-packed with Pompey lovers at the break of a new dawn.

Their stories are special examples of the drive which is underpinning this brave era.

But the beauty is there could have been others there. So many others.

There are literally scores of tales which stir the emotions like Hicken, Nunn, Pearse and McLenaghan’s.

They symbolise the fans who have now converted their pledges and raised £1.85m to keep this proud club breathing after 115 years.

And the good news is that figure is rising, with those who waited for the outcome in the High Court now acting – to the tune of £250,000.

There may have been a few very special invited guests in the directors’ box against Sheffield United.

But there were thousands of very special people sat proudly backing their club knowing they had made a difference.