FA far from blameless

SO, Portsmouth fans have had to accept the lesser of two evils: certain relegation – it’s doubtful the win at Turf Moor will make any significant difference – as opposed to extinction at the hands of the High Court this morning.

At least, they still have a club to support.

But the Premier League and all those that are alleged to govern the game in England – that’s the FA – should hide their heads in shame. Never before has a top flight club gone to the wall, something that’s supposedly anathema to the all-mighty, all-powerful division in the Sky era for whom football before 1992 never really existed. How embarrassing. Their mismanagement of affairs in general – try thinking about the ‘fit and proper person’ rules without bursting out laughing – is as culpable as the club’s.

I don’t feel remotely sorry for Portsmouth. They’ve already had four owners this season and none has shown the slightest aptitude for basic economics. You or I spend only what we can afford or else we face the worst. Pompey and, bluntly, English football in general thinks it’s immune to such common sense.

And the fans aren’t wholly undeserving of criticism either. When the club won the FA Cup in 2008 supporters were only too eager to bask in the resultant glory and be carried away with thoughts of what might be possible: deluded dreams that provoked excessive spending and ludicrous player salaries.

Well, only the future will tell us if a collective lesson has been learnt. Before that, it seems UEFA will take action to remind all clubs, English and otherwise, of their financial duties.

Somewhat smothered by the Pompey news last week was a quite damning report from Europe’s governing body.

English Premier League clubs, even excluding the mess represented by Portsmouth and West Ham, owe more money than all the clubs in Europe’s top divisions put together.

The figures, in regard to season 2007-08, show that 18 Premier League clubs had debts four times higher than the next most indebted top division, Spain’s La Liga. You wouldn’t bet against it being even worse now.

The worst culprits are Manchester United and Liverpool who, between them, owe more than £1 billion. Why? Because their owners became ‘owners’ by borrowing money to buy the clubs and then loading that debt onto the clubs. It really beggars belief.

And the Premier League appears to be complacent in the face of the evidence. They defend the debt carried by its clubs on the basis that, since they make the most money anywhere in Europe, mostly because of revenue from television, they can afford to borrow more.

Well, not from 2012-13 if UEFA has its way. Proposals, if adopted, will force clubs to ‘break even financially’ if they’re to participate in European competition. You can imagine how United’s debts would be viewed if they didn’t have the Champions League riches to rely on.

As for Portsmouth, their troubles are only just beginning. As they bid farewell to the Premier League, they could, within 15 months, be saying hello to League One because, almost certainly, the Football League will be doling out punishment of its own.

Unless the club can reach a voluntary agreement with its creditors i.e. persuade them to accept far less than what they’re owed – highly unlikely in the case of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs which is claiming £22 million (€24.5m) – there’ll be a further points deduction next season. On past evidence, that’ll be between 15 and 20 points: enough to make relegation from the Championship more than likely.

The lessons of Leeds United were never learnt, were they?