March 24 – Portsmouth have received a much-needed boost with the news the Premier League will allow the club to sell players immediately to ease their £60 million debts.
Pompey appealed to the League last month to be allowed to sell players outside the transfer window in a bid to ease their financial troubles but that was rejected.
However, following a Board meeting last week where Portsmouth’s nine-point penalty for going into administration was confirmed, the Premier League have decided to grant them permission to make sales in certain circumstances.
A Premier League statement read: “The Premier League Board meeting that convened last week to consider the administration of Portsmouth FC dealt with a number of matters beyond just the application of the sporting sanction (deduction of nine points).
“In accordance with Premier League rules, postponement of the suspension of Portsmouth FC as a member club was conditional on a number of undertakings being given by the administrators.
“These have now been received to the satisfaction of the board and therefore it has decided to allow Portsmouth FC to make player sales under the following circumstances:
“1. Players may be sold to other Premier League clubs but may not play first-team football for the new club before the end of the season.
“2. Players may be sold to a Football League or foreign club, subject to FIFA’s approval.
“3. Portsmouth FC may enter into an agreement with another Premier League, Football League or foreign club that a player will be transferred to that other club in the summer.”
Andrew Andronikou, the club’s administrator, said: “This has effectively given us an option if we need it, but at this moment I want to emphasise we’re not necessarily going to sell players.
“We’re in [an FA Cup] semi-final, which we’re looking forward to, and that’s obviously given us working capital to play with.”
Andronikou has already cut non-playing staff “to the bone” at Portsmouth by making 85 staff redundant.
But manager Avram Grant (pictured), his coaching staff and players have stepped in to save the jobs of four staff at the training ground, including groundsman Tug Wilson, who earns about £1,500 a month.
Grant said: “Tug has done a lot of years here and works from the morning until the night on very low wages.
“The players, me, the staff and everybody contributed, and I must say we were happy to do it.
“I think the moment the club loses its human side is the first step towards it being finished.
“I can say that most of these people were here before me and the players, and they will be here after.
“We need to keep them.”
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February 2010: Portsmouth plunged into administration
January 2010: Portsmouth TV money to go directly to pay off debts
January 2010: Crisis talks after Portsmouth fail to pay players’ wages again
December 2009: Portsmouth facing threat of bankruptcy after winding up petition