Ball Cuts Off Nose Trying To Save Face

Friday 29th January, 1999

Portsmouth fought off a winding up petition, gaining a grace until Monday. As a long standing league member, recent top division club and one of the few football teams on the South Coast having this dirty linen aired in public is ignominious and embarrassing.

While most followers of football have no desire to see Pompey wound up as a company and subsequently thrown out of the league, one has to say that this stay of execution would not have been granted to a company outside of football. Portsmouth’s appearance in court came from an unpaid bill of £500,000, the precise amount that manager Alan Ball petulantly spurned when City bid for Midfielder Sammy Igoe. Any other company would have had court appointed executives in place on the grounds that the club is being mismanaged.

In principal no club should be forced to sell players but on the other hand why should another organisation owed such a large amount of money by a football club have to do without while that club has assets that could be liquidated? The law can not put one organisation above another nor should it. While football clubs have been called the heart of communities, what about the jobs of people working for companies owed should they go to the wall for want of money available through sale of assets?

All of which points to the mismanagement of Portsmouth, a club living beyond there means and they are not alone. Oxford and Crystal Palace have suffered similar problems mainly of their own making while Wolves Chief Executive John Richards described his club’s business as "suicidal". When Alan Ball triumphantly announces that none of his players will be sold he may be charming the locals but the club can not then expect to be bailed out because they can not budget as well as Grimsby, Watford or Bradford.

World Cup winner Ball (A hero of '66, right) seems like a saviour for the South Coast crowd, fighting back against the oppressors. Ironic then that to perpetuate his reputation as the saviour of the club he disregards a chance to make a sale that would prevent bankruptcy. Pompey are back in court on Monday how do they explain turning down the chance to clear their debts? Unless they can find the money over the weekend there is a chance that the Official Receiver will be put in charge of the club. He can, should he want, liquidize the club, getting what he can for the assets to pay creditors. How hollow Ball’s rejection will seem then.

Do Pompey deserve what they get? Your opinions to MichaelWood@Iname.com