Pack Up Pompey?

Well, according to the club itself in a statement issued this morning, “The club is not going into administration. If that were the case it would have happened at the end of September or early October. This week alone, HM Revenue and Customs were paid £2m and other historical arrears are being dealt with on an ongoing basis” (see 1 for full statement).  The qualification after the blunt denial at least confirms that what we all knew is true – these are deeply troubling times for the club.

Also in the statement we find “Much is happening behind the scenes but constant malicious rumours and speculation do not assist with the proposed major long-term funding that is currently being put in place“. Far be it from me then, a Pompey fan, to add to that speculation.

However, it is interesting to note that a denial from the club of impending Administration does not always mean that Administration is not so far away.  The denial is certainly not a classic contra-indicator, as in “The Board has complete faith in the manager”, but a cull through my records turned up the following denials, although to be fair it turned up a much larger number of denials that turned out to be correct predictions:

• 1 October 2008 [Salisbury] chairman Neville Beal insists they are not on the verge of going bust – into Administration on 3 September 2009

• From Scotland a particular gem, 25 November 2008 Owner insists Livingstone is not in financial danger – insolvent in August 2009

• 8 December 2008 Lowe suspects that talk of Southampton moving into administration was likely concocted by rival clubs, which he views as a good thing – parent company into Administration on 2 April 2009

• 14 January 2009 Stockport County’s managing director has scotched rumours that the club is about to go into administration – into Administration on 30 April 2009

Pompey is not alone among Premier League clubs to deny, at various times, rumours of impending Administration.  These include West Ham, and last season Newcastle United were moved to deny that relegation would lead to Administration.

Certainly Pompey fans do not need to panic, but they should perhaps treat the reassurance with just the merest dash of caution.

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