Pompey bow to inevitable over debts

Premier League club hope entering administration today makes takeover more likely

Avram Grant said he is 'very sad and very angry' at Portsmouth's predicament (GETTY IMAGES)

Portsmouth last night began the proceedings that will this morning make them the first Premier League club to enter administration. A spokesman for the club's owner, Balram Chainrai, said last night: "We have started the process of putting the club into administration and this is due to be completed at the High Court in London first thing [on Friday]."

Administration has been inevitable for days, if not weeks, but preparations only got underway after talks with four groups of potential buyers failed to make material progress ahead of a 3.30pm deadline yesterday.

Pompey had faced a winding-up order at the High Court on Monday over £12m of unpaid taxes owed to HM Revenue & Customs, part of total debts of around £70m. By entering administration the club effectively have bankruptcy protection. They will continue to exist and can rebuild under new owners, albeit almost inevitably in the Championship.

Administration will bring a nine-point deduction. A board meeting of the League will ratify that shortly. Portsmouth's tally of points will thus be reduced from 16 to seven, leaving them 17 points from safety as things stand.

If there is any solace for Portsmouth's long-suffering fans, who have endured a soap opera season of four owners, serial financial crises and few wins, it is that they now look likely to survive. They also remain one home FA Cup quarter-final win away from a place in this year's last four. They should now definitely still be in existence to face Birmingham in that quarter-final a week tomorrow.

An exodus of players is inevitable, likely to be overseen by the administrator Andrew Andronikou, an insolvency practitioner from accountants UHY Hacker Young. Andronikou's background is in "turnaround and recovery" and according to his firm's website, "he is particularly interested in undertaking corporate reconstruction work."

Chainrai's spokesman said talks had not broken down with the four interested groups but the club had not been attractive enough in its current financial state. "Once the club is in a more viable state it may become more attractive to them in terms of a takeover," he said.

Portsmouth's manager, Avram Grant, said he was "very sad" and "very angry" at the situation. "But I want to understand more about the situation before I tell you my opinion," he added.

No Premier League club has ever entered administration, although many clubs have done so after leaving. Most of these "meltdowns" have been partly or wholly because of the financial damage of the drop from the top flight to the relatively poor second tier.