As for a salary cap…this is the least likely thing ever to happen. Some of the proposals being put forward from time to time could succeed if the Clubs agreed….that in itself is a big ask, especially from the ‘big’ clubs.

However, even they can’t get a salary cap under the wire as the players (who now have huge power) won’t accept it and everything in Eurpean employment legislation will back them up.

I sincerely hope Pompey stay up as I have a lot of family that support them and it’s a fantastic club with terrific supporters. I worry about the future if they do go down though.

As for how we’ll fair – lets wait til May!

PUP

When it comes to regulation of ownership, the fit and proper person test is only applied proactively and is nearly impossible to fail. Full ownership disclosure is definitely a must (see also David Conn’s work into Leeds in recent weeks). Not sure how you’d get regulations into ensuring clubs can repay their debts – that would probably hit a fair few of the bigger clubs as well.

To me, though, a wage cap is a priority as well, as this is where a lot of the problems at Pompey come from. I’m going from memory here, so feel free to correct me, but wasn’t something like 90% of Pompey’s turnover spent on wages at one point. That said, Notts County have found novel ways to get around this…

Again, I’m sure Pompey fans might correct me on this, but I don’t think they spent irresponsibly in a quest for European football per se – Mandaric seemed happy to fund them up until they sold. It was rather Redknapp was spending a lot on players and wages and Gaydamark was happy to sign them without must thought as to the future.

Again, it shows the perils of putting your future in the hands of one rich person – if their money runs out, or they get bored, your club is screwed.

That said, why they ever considered al-Fahim, I have no idea.

[Point of pedantry here, I don't think al-Fahim ever claimed to be the owner of Man City, rather this was a assumption that didn't really get corrected until he started waffling on about signing Ronaldo. Again, I may be wrong, but I don't recall him ever being described an an owner - I could Google but I'm literally shooting out the door here.]

“although the look of the squad suggests it’s primed for the Championship.”

I’d say our squad is comparable or better than about 5 others in the premiership.

“Portsmouth’s current plight is a direct result of the club over-spending for several years in a bid to achieve European football”

This is a quite incorrect. At no times were we competing for a Champions League spot, and there would have been no great financial motive to enter the Uefa Cup. Prior to our financial troubles our football income and position was as good as anyone could predict.

Our situation was some combination of the following factors:
- Gaydamak’s long term plan interrupted by his personal losses due to the credit crunch.
- Gaydamak, Storrie and Redknapp incorrectly assuming that they would make money on player turnover.