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Pompey enter administration

Image: Pompey: Into administration

Portsmouth have become the first Premier League club to enter administration and are facing a nine-point penalty.

Stricken club facing nine-point penalty

Portsmouth have become the first club in the history of the Premier League to enter administration and are now facing a nine-point deduction. The financially-stricken South Coast club have limped through the majority of the season and have seen four owners at the helm this term. Current incumbent Balram Chainrai admitted earlier this week that administration would be their only choice if a new buyer was not found by Friday. And with a saviour failing to emerge despite last-ditch talks between chief executive Peter Storrie and a number of interested parties, the inevitable occurred at 10.20am on Friday morning. Pompey felt they were left with no option but to enter administration with the club facing a High Court winding-up order over a significant unpaid tax bill amid reported debts of £70million.

Viable

The immediate future of the South Coast outfit has now been assured but they look certain to be playing in the Championship next season. Avram Grant's side are already adrift at the foot of the table and their nine-point penalty, which will be confirmed by the Premier League board in the coming days, will see them 17 points from safety. The club's administrator Andrew Andronikou will hold a press conference at Fratton Park at 3pm to outline plans for the future. Andronikou, of insolvency experts UHY Hacker Young, has started the process of cutting costs at the club to try to keep it as a viable entity. A major sell-off of players and the prospect of a long period of rebuilding in the Championship now looms.
False promises
Chainrai's spokesman, Phil Hall, said: "He hasn't made a penny out of the club. He was asked in October to put in £17million as a loan, for six weeks, and he agreed to do that. "At the end of six weeks he expected his money to be returned and that didn't happen. He gave them a bit of a grace period but the loan wasn't repaid so in January he took over the shares of the club. "He put another £2million in this week to make sure the staff were paid." Asked how Pompey ended up in administration, Hall continued: "The club's debt is too great. He (Chainrai) was also given false promises when he came in. He was told the club had certain debts but didn't know that Premier League rules say football debts become a priority, that money owed on transfers must be paid first. "He asked the questions and was given answers and assurances that turned out not to be true. Having put £17million of his own money in unfortunately he found the club facing a winding-up order on Monday. "He had a choice of allowing the club to go into administration, for someone to go in and try to bring it back into a stronger financial position. He feels he's a victim - the club have been overwhelmed by these debts and he is a reluctant owner." However, Hall believes there could be a satisfactory outcome for Chainrai and the club, adding on Sky Sports News: "He's been left holding the baby but he wants to do what's right... he feels this is the right solution. "Buying a business with a huge debt around its neck is not an attractive proposition - but there are parties who say they are interested. Some of them may be interested if they are on a stronger financial footing." Portsmouth Win Coca Cola Championship 2010/11 20/1

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