Not Andy Naylor
Well-known member
I wouldn't want to see any clubs wound up for the reasons expressed above, namely the loyal and dedicated fans. But I make an exception in Portsmouth's case.
The fans bought completely into the succession of dodgy owners from Mandaric onward, and whenever anyone in the media (including myself) pointed out that it was all built on sand and bound to end in tears, all we got was abuse and accusations of an anti-Portsmouth agenda. NOT ONE of the self-styled best fans in England wondered whether the fact that every single national paper was asking the same questions might mean they were onto something - despite the fact that everyone in the Portsmouth area seemed to know someone who was owed money by that despicable outfit.
None of the fans demanded answers to the media's questions from Gaydamak, al-Fahim, al-Faraj and the rest. All we got was "You don't know what you're talking about, [fill in name of owner] loves the club, my mate met him in the pub and told me so." Of course, that would have been tricky in the case of al-Faraj, who didn't actually exist.
Okay, they didn't have an Attila, a Paul Samrah, a Lenny Rider to hold them up to scrutiny, just a set of head-in-the-sand cheerleaders. But that doesn't mean I have any sympathy for them. Especially when I remember posters on their local paper website when the fire-sale of players began, asking how this was going to get them back into Europe 'where a club of our size needs to be.' Hilarious, but not as funny as what's happened to them since.
The fans bought completely into the succession of dodgy owners from Mandaric onward, and whenever anyone in the media (including myself) pointed out that it was all built on sand and bound to end in tears, all we got was abuse and accusations of an anti-Portsmouth agenda. NOT ONE of the self-styled best fans in England wondered whether the fact that every single national paper was asking the same questions might mean they were onto something - despite the fact that everyone in the Portsmouth area seemed to know someone who was owed money by that despicable outfit.
None of the fans demanded answers to the media's questions from Gaydamak, al-Fahim, al-Faraj and the rest. All we got was "You don't know what you're talking about, [fill in name of owner] loves the club, my mate met him in the pub and told me so." Of course, that would have been tricky in the case of al-Faraj, who didn't actually exist.
Okay, they didn't have an Attila, a Paul Samrah, a Lenny Rider to hold them up to scrutiny, just a set of head-in-the-sand cheerleaders. But that doesn't mean I have any sympathy for them. Especially when I remember posters on their local paper website when the fire-sale of players began, asking how this was going to get them back into Europe 'where a club of our size needs to be.' Hilarious, but not as funny as what's happened to them since.
Just this part, made me laugh out loud.
