by Alexander Litvinenko »
21 Aug 2012 12:03
Who Moved The Goalposts? Firstly, Zingarevich actually didn't spend that much. Roberts was a free - something he let slip on 606 on Sunday evening. We had to cover his wages for 18 months, but a Ben-Haim he aint.
Secondly, he constantly talks of not being the next Abramovic - possibly because he's much more astute or possibly because his wealth is not comparable. Who knows. But regardless, financial fair play rules will state that clubs cannot live beyond their means, and the only places that large amounts can be spent within agreed allowances are infrastructure and youth development. And by some coincidence, two of our biggest plans are expanding the stadium and a whole new training complex.
We have no real idea how his tenure will pan out, but it's started sensibly.
Just playing Devil's Advocate with this posting, the money on Roberts was committed to by RFC before the takeover was confirmed, so that was a big risk.
Yes, he says he's not the next Abramovic , but he would say that, wouldn't he? We really have no ideas of how he'll do or what his intentions really are - or whether his promises are kept. As he's spending Daddy's money, also, there's also a question over how long he'll be allowed to do it.
Financial fair play rules don't actually state that clubs cannot live beyond their means. They state just how much clubs can live beyond their means, but they still allow more than enough leeway to send a club into administration. Also, clubs that don't want to play in Europe are unaffected by them, and they offer no protection against an owner suddenly dying/losing interest/getting prosecuted.
I definitely agree with the premise that all the people who want to see Portsmouth supporters lose their club because they committed the sin of celebrating when their team did well (on the back of promises made by a virtually-unknown foreign owner) who could end up with egg of their faces if the Anton & Boris thing goes horribly wrong. And all we really do have so far are promises - we'll probably never get to know the actual situation any more, as TSI is registered in Gibraltar.