Seizing the Moment

When I last wrote on A United View I looked forward to the season with a degree of optimism. Optimism that, as things stand, seems well placed, notwithstanding the recent run of results.

The football, the odd game aside, remains as expansive and as exciting as that which saw us soar to the League One title. Memorable away victories at Leeds and Hillsborough, an amazing comeback at home to Hull and the bizarrely topsy-turvy defeat to Fulham, each showcase what Wilder's Blades are all about.

The injuries to key players, something we were lucky with last season, and suspensions have hit hard. Yet within that 5 game run without a win, you could argue we were worthy of 3 points against both Birmingham and Bristol City and a point against Fulham. In some ways Wilder's pursuit of 3 points at the expense of 1 has gone against us, but the positives of his approach can be seen in the league table where the other lot across town have lost fewer games than us but still find themselves 10 points behind in the table.

The challenge of losing key players in Coutts and Fleck has yet to be overcome and replacements have either not grabbed their opportunity, or do not fit the system that the Coutts, Fleck, Duffy triumvirate excel in. Yet still we sit 6th. Our start giving us a tremendous platform to push on for a chance at promotion that few people would have thought possible back in early August.

Back at that time I posed the question, if we find ourselves in the Top 6 come January will the board invest? I said yes I believed they would. Opportunities for promotion are not guaranteed in this division. A strong finishing position one season does not necessarily lead to a similar outcome the next. Ask Reading, Derby, Middlesbrough, Norwich or Brentford in recent years, or look across the city this season. Therefore when you are up there with a platform to progress why wouldn't you take that gamble? Who knows when that opportunity presents itself again? When you have caught the division cold, playing with confidence and a successful system, seeing little to fear in the opposition we have faced, it is surely the right time to back the manager with the funds he believes necessary to compete for a Top 6 place to the end of the season.  

The owners' stated aim is Premier League football. That is the only realistic way the McCabe family achieves any sort of recompense for the millions invested and loans written off over a number of years. For the Prince, his money has been thrown at a football club with no real assets and whose losses he is propping up each season. Top tier football offers his only realistic means of financial return.

That's not to say that I am advocating spending big. When I suggested on Twitter that this is the time for the board to step up, some responses suggested that we couldn't go spending £10m on a player and that such statements are easy when it's not your money. The latter is correct, but if you don't give the manager the tools now, when will you? In 2 or 3 years after consolidation, but when the financial trickle-down from the Premier League means the sums required are even more inflated than they are now?

I certainly don't advocate spending silly sums on individual players. Our success is built on a team spirit and work ethic that I have not seen at the club since the back to back promotions under Dave Bassett in the late 80's. Wilder finding players with the hunger to grab the opportunity we have presented them with. The lower league talent needing a bigger platform, or those not gambled on by their clubs after injury or loss of form. The Premier League loanees whose clubs see a way to build their experience playing football the right way in front of a large and demanding fanbase. Why upset the wage structure? Why fracture a whole that is arguably greater than the sum of its parts?

Instead, give the manager enough money to make the signings he wants to make. Signings that enhance the starting XI, provide alternative options from the bench, but also fit a style of play that has been hugely successful but is perhaps lacking the zip of the last 12 months. Whilst there is an argument that you don’t get best value in January, August means starting again. It means hoping we get to December with 35/40 points, it means hoping summer signings gel. Bringing in the players now, gives both impetus to the current season’s objectives and beds those players into the squad to push again next season, if we were to fall short this.

Much is made of Chris Wilder being a Blade. That is great, many fans would love their manager to have the connection with the fans that we enjoy. Yet he is human and will surely be ambitious. Clubs will see his success and he moves on to radars that he was off twelve months ago. If they offer him resources to achieve further success, resources that don't exist at Bramall Lane, then I think it is fair to assume that his Blades bonds aren't unbreakable. Everyone looks for an opportunity to shine; to do the job to the best of their ability at as high a level as is attainable. If there was a time to back Wilder it is now.

The question is, will he be backed? When Simon and Scott McCabe resigned from both the SUFC board and the Blades Leisure board (the entity in which the football club is held) in September, it was said that they were busy and had their families to focus on, alongside which Prince Abdullah wanted to be more involved. This followed the appointment of the Prnce to the board of directors on the 4th August along with Yusuf Giansiracusa, who replaced Selahattin Baki as one of two representatives of the Prince on the board.

In October, Tareq Hawasli (the other representative of Prince Abdullah) appeared on Alan Biggs’ Sheffield Live show and stated that they “wanted to make a strong push to make the Premier League and that’s the direction we are heading towards”. He then stressed the importance of supporting the development of the academy products, securing the star players in the squad at that “Coach Chris is supported in anything he needs, as long as we can”. Then re-affirming that the board is active and very supportive of “Coach Chris”.

This collegiate working and leadership sounds great and would be happily accepted, but for an unusual amount of activity on both the SUFC and the Blades Leisure boards over the last 4 months. Since the 8^th August there have been 6 terminations and 7 appointments to the SUFC Limited board, but this masks multiple ins and outs.

Following their departure on  7^th September, Simon and Scott McCabe were re-appointed on 13^th December. Football club Chief Executive Stephen Bettis has been doing the hokey-cokey; standing down as a director on 4^th August, re-appointed on 9^th September only to stand down again as the McCabe’s returned on the 13^th December. In addition Jeremy Tutton was appointed a director in this period and Martin Green was in, then out, then back in again. Whilst this might seem like corporate manoeuvring detached from the football club, it seems to conflict with the words used elsewhere. 

What has changed such that Scott and Simon McCabe need to be back on the board and what has happened to the trust Kevin McCabe placed in Martin Green, Stephen Bettis and Jeremy Tutton just three months previously.

“They will be dependable representatives for the McCabe Family as Directors liaising with our now more active partner and his nominated colleagues in order to ensure the Club continues to progress in a stable manner.”

At the recent AGM Kevin McCabe said the intention was for the Prince to play a bigger role at United and that he had more time now he was free of government responsibilities. Yet at the same time he only thought the prince was okay as he hadn’t seen him for two months. To a fan listening in this is concerning and there is little evidence to reassure that things are as rosy as was painted just three months ago.

Nobody really expected us to be where we are and we should absolutely enjoy the ride we have been on in the last fifteen months. To paraphrase what fellow blade @ScholarRob on Twitter said, whatever the result at Villa, celebrate all we have seen, enjoyed and loved following the Blades in 2017.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't expect more and it doesn't mean we should settle for consolidation when a much bigger prize is potentially within our reach. If we were mid-table then this clamour would not be there. Even in the position we are in some may say it is a gamble, but if the board don’t seize the moment now, when will they? We can keep holding on for tomorrow, but what if tomorrow never comes?

Up the Blades!

The Blades Way

 

 

Ask Sheffield United supporters what is "The Blades Way"? They will no doubt give a variety of answers. To some it is losing a Play Off Final. For others it will be the fact that they are always the bridesmaid (cup semi-finalists), but never the bride. In fact matron of honour (Runners-Up) would be nice. To others it would be selling off our best players, over a number of years. Others might agree and suggest that we under sell or under-value those players as well.

If they were asked what it should be, many would say an ethos under-pinning the club, of how we play, our image as a club, to fans, staff players and the outside world and a series of on-pitch objectives that we should be working towards. It would be a coherent message, clear of misconception with everyone singing from the same hymn sheet.

The thing is we have had "The Blades Way" and although it was launched with much fanfare it was never actually defined. When Kevin McCabe sat at table with the banner proclaiming the new marketing drive in 2008, he suggested it was about establishing the Blades in the Premier League on a base of "responsibility, determination, discipline, pride, hard work, honesty and commitment to excellence and the community". It also appeared to be linked to the development of the "Blades family" of clubs across the World; a family now largely divorced and to be honest some members of the family were more like second cousins twice removed to start with.

Maybe it was assumed that The Blades Way was easily understandable, visible, permeating every action at the club. I guess we were supposed to just feel it, see it and recognise it. If that is the case it hasn't really worked, on many levels, not least the over-arching objective of establishing the club in the Premier League. Given the virtues stated in that initial description of "The Blades Way" and events in the intervening period, it really makes you question what in reality "The Blades Way" is and has been?   

Is it about short term success and promotion, or a long haul of building from the bottom up? Or are we trying to do a bit of both and succeeding at neither?

Is it to have a lack of football knowledge on the board and to place trust in expensively rewarded chief executives who continue to make decisions that cost the club money. Or employ chief executives  who fail to attract investors, do little to reduce an unmaintainable cost base, but then receive a significant Golden Handshake on their departure?

Is it to have a style of play and a type of player that fits each position at every age group and team level, or is it to have 4 managers in 3 years, each with a different playing ethos and way of working?

Is it to claim to want to build with youth, but offer contracts to players in their 30's contracts on exorbitant wages, or to take on veteran players because they are friends with the owner's son?

Is it to develop the academy, but leave the academy players developing frostbite on a bench when the opportunity to give them 15/20 minutes at the end of a "dead" game is presented?

Is it to publicly state that a continued reliance on loan players would be disastrous, yet to see short term contracts and loans continue remain a way of supplementing the match-day squad at the expense of contracted players with a commitment to the club?

Is it for our manager to tell the media one thing, only to be contradicted 24 hours later by an owner desperate to grab the media's microphone and attention, like a drunk Delia Smith.

Is it for the words of the owner to be found out less than a week later to be mere attention seeking PR puff?

Is it for a manager to be hung out to dry after selling a financially valuable player?

Is it a club that can use the salary cap as an excuse for wider financial problems that they don't explain clearly to the wider and less knowledgeable fan base?

Is it for the manager to completely fail to acknowledge a known weaknesses in his side (a severe lack of width), so a January transfer window can pass without him strengthening in a key area, "because it wasn't necessary"? Again hiding the real financial issues at play.

Is it about a lack of coherent message that leaves fans divided in their views and fighting amongst themselves?

Is it about an inconsistency of words and actions that has led fans to purposely stay away from home games? 

Recently Kevin McCabe said; "The focus going forward will be to develop and grow a high performing player talent base, maintaining a sustainable business where we can see a maximum return on our assets and ensuring we are a true family and community club.”

You can come up with all the marketing gimmicks you like, but what really defines your club is what happens on the pitch. Sadly that statement from Kevin McCabe says little about that. Maybe we can assume that "high performing player talent base" translates to on-field success? Although it could cynically be translated as a self-generated academy production line, providing suitable profit on sale to make the club self-sustainable. Let's be honest, that is the reality of the situation we are in.

It is time for the bluster and about-turns to stop. The club needs to make a clear statement, free of jargon and spin that says this is the state we are in, this is what we are doing about it and this is how long it will take to put right. This statement of intent may not translate into the on-field success we all crave, no-one can guarantee that. However, it may put a stop to the misconceptions and mistrust amongst the supports and stop large proportions of the (until now, extremely loyal) support drift towards being away-day Blades or stay away Blades.

Yet again a January transfer window has passed with controversy. I supported the sale of Nick Blackman on the basis that the squad needed strengthening and this was the best way to go about it. Although it is easy to forget the arrival of Murphy and Higginbotham prior to Blackman's departure, the truth is many expected the funds to be spent and little that was said prior to his departure would have led the club to say otherwise.

Comments to the media blaming the salary cap are misjudged. The sale of Blackman could equate to another £800,000 of base turnover for the cap calculation, plus his salary costs, in effect freeing up £500,000 for wages (nearly 5% in cap terms). The reality is, the sale was used to plug on-going financial losses. Why can it not just be said.

Let's have a bit of honesty, let's have a commitment to doing all we can to get the club promoted (a quick way to arrest a proportion of the losses) and let's have a bit of pride back in our team and the club. Marketing and PR guff like "True Blades are at the Lane" and "the Blades Way" just won't wash anymore. Straight talking, clear and ingenuous statements will.      

Things I have learned about football in 2012 - No. 2

For the second in this end of year round-up of posts, a few thoughts on the Portsmouth FC situation and the response of some of their support.

Pompey Chimes Out of Tune

 

 

 

Portsmouth FC fans ought to deserve some sympathy and, for a while, I have given it to them. But over the course of the year they have started to grate with, rather than ingratiate themselves to, some fellow football fans; me included.

What has happened at Portsmouth could happen to any club. Over time, clubs have been set back or destroyed by the unscrupulous actions of local businessmen or tainted by much vaunted foreign owners. The continued failure of Fit & Proper rules for ownership should be a constant source of embarrassment to the footballing authorities and one can only hope that the financial fair play rules are more adept at preventing the financial meltdown of clubs funded well beyond self-sustainable means.

 

But as the Portsmouth administration lingers on for the second time, I have grown tired of the self-righteous bullshittery mouthed by certain supporters of the club. When questions were raised about the high profile (for League One) short term signings being made by the club at the start of the season; including a player who, prior to signing for Pompey, couldn't negotiate a deal with a club with 18,000 crowds and a salary cap to meet, they couldn't see the problem. Detractors were chided for knowing nothing about the financial state of the club and generally being "clueless". True the administrator should not be running the club so close to the financial precipice, but who really knows?

There was nothing to stop Portsmouth signing professional players to pep up their squad this season, but with many local businesses remaining unpaid or receiving pennies in the pound, the irony of signing Championship and League One players appeared lost on many. You can point the finger at previous owners, but the one constant that remains, for now, is the football club and as one commenter on this excellent post at The Two Unfortunates was quick to point out, the administrator of the football club was sitting on a £6m bank balance.

Whether the amount is a fact or not, the problem remains that yet again a football club hits financial meltdown and leaves a trail of destruction for local businesses in its wake, yet they still have funds to pay players' wages. To creditors offered 20p in the £ in the first CVA (and never saw it) and potentially 2p in the £ now, that £6m that Pompey have burning a hole in their bank account (and are using to fund good League One players) must provide great succour as they struggle to keep their business running and cut jobs.

Accusations of jealousy abounded on social networks;

 

"You were only hoping for an easy three points" - No we are looking for fairness in the way clubs are treated and special cases not being made for others.

"We have a right to sign players to be competitive; it's in the Football League rules" - What rules are these then? The Football League rules state:

"Each club shall play its full strength in all matches played under the auspices of The League unless some satisfactory reasons are given."

That is the strongest available side. If you can only sign League 2 standard players or use your youth players that is tough.

"It's just not fair on Portsmouth" - Who said football, and life for that matter, is fair? If you are dealt a duff hand, then you just have to play it. Cup finals and AC Milan at Fratton Park - shall we disregard those then, given you, in effect, achieved them through financial doping?

"You just don't understand, it is a lot more complicated than a simplistic narrative" - I am sure it is, but the fact remains how certain fans behave now they have got here is causing people to lose any compassion or understanding they might have had for the circumstances.   

I have even heard the "big club" card being played by Pompey fans this year, the joker in the pack that belies a multitude of sins. How are they measured as a big club? Crowds of less than 20,000? An FA Cup in 2008? A Europa League campaign? Two League titles over 60 years ago? The chiding of other club's fans demonstrated an arrogance that saddened me. The use of "tin-pot" to deride fans of other smaller clubs; the last desperate cry of fans who cannot accept their club has found its rightful place, below where they perceive they should be and they refuse to accept it.

Underlying the questions being asked is a belief amongst supporters of other clubs that Pompey are getting opportunities that were not afforded to clubs in similar positions before. Smaller clubs have been to hell in a handcart for less. Pompey's points deductions have been nowhere near those suffered by Luton Town or South coast rivals AFC Bournemouth. To think there was talk of an appeal against the ten point deduction when they eventually exit administration (again) was some sort of sick joke.

The fact that football remains the exception in terms of insolvencies, thanks to the ridiculous football creditor rules, is one thing, but to see varying punishments being doled out by the authorities following CVAs and administrations is quite another. Portsmouth fans should be thankful that they haven't been treated any worse. Other clubs have.

Much reference is made to the wonderful support of the South Coast club and whilst the Pompey Trust deserve enormous credit for their efforts to salvage their club, the tribal and aggressive rhetoric of a number of their supporters in defending their club and its current undertakings, leaves me cold.

I don't wish ill on Portsmouth FC, I really do hope they find a long-term solution to the club's woes, but forgive me if I cock a deaf 'un to the sanctimony. If Kevin McCabe ever properly pulled the plug on the Blades' funding, or sold out to a miscreant businessman, I'd like to think I'd accept our situation and deal with it with a greater deal of maturity and lesser degree of arrogance than that demonstrated by some of the Portsmouth support in the last twelve months.

Uptight? Everything's Alright....For Now

 

 

Monday's announcement of the fixtures, as ever, sent alittle ripple of excitement through me. Like the announcement of pre-seasonfixtures (anyone for a trip to New York………..Stadium?) the fixture announcementis a chance to plot a route through another football season and decide whichaway trips might be a possibility. A weekend in Bournemouth for my birthday?Even the prospect of another, and probably more difficult, season in League Onedid not diminish the excitement.

For as many who shared my tingle of anticipation, there arejust as many naysayers, those for whom the prospect of a first day visit ofShrewsbury only arouses the stale whiff of another end of season failure lessthan a month ago. Or those who point to the distraction of an exciting EuropeanChampionship where there is plenty of on pitch excitement, rather than onscreen lists.

One other reason for the despondency appears to be thesilence emanating from Bramall Lane since the retained lists were announcedfollowing the Play-Off final defeat. With other clubs already making changes toplaying squads, making the signings that might make the required  difference, there has been little to reportat Bramall Lane. For many this is not a good thing, however I think we need toreign in a bit of this rampant negativity.

When the silence was broken, with Danny Wilson's interviewson Wednesday the murmurings were hardly positive, but realistically can weexpect anything different?

The Play-OffFinalists' delay

As with any team reaching a play-off final there is a delayin issuing your retained lists and being able to move for targets; in some waysplacing both winners and losers at a slight disadvantage. Whilst I don't doubtUnited had two plans in place, dependent upon outcome, there is still a lag incommencing both negotiations with those out of contract and those that theymight be able to attract. Dilatory responses from the players just exacerbatesthe delay.

If you look at transfers since 24th May, 12 League One teamshave signed players, half of the division. In some cases the transfers havebeen intra-League One so there has been a little merry-go-round between clubsas players move round. Of those clubs signing players, three were promoted fromLeague Two in May and five finished outside the Top 8 last season so may beseen to have a need to change things around. Of the other 4, Doncaster arere-building after a side disrupted by the Willie Mackay experiment last seasonand Notts County and Stevenage are replacing players that have moved on. OnlyCarlisle have made a net addition, excluding the impact of released players.

Of those players that have moved so far, I would have saidthe main one that would have interested me is Scott Laird of Stevenage, butwould we have had the additional pull to tempt him away from his reunion withWestley at Preston? You could argue the three Swindon signings have all hadpotential to be successful, but are they any better than what we have atBramall Lane?

Financial Fair Play

As has been well publicised, the Salary Cost ManagementProtocol means that any League One club spending over 65% of their turnover inthe 2012-13 season, or 60% of their turnover in the 2013-14 season will be hitwith a transfer embargo. Clubs have to provide budgetary information at thestart of the season to the league and this is to be updated as the seasonprogresses.

In the accounts for the year ending 30th June 2011 SheffieldUnited plc paid out total staff costs of £17m on Turnover of £16m. This is not just player salaries; £1mrelates to directors and further amounts will relate to staff costs at theclub, hotel and academy, but it will form a large proportion. Turnover fromongoing activities totalled £14.4m and so,even assuming no fall in turnover (unlikely as the £4.8m of TV revenues will be significantly reduced) thatleaves a wage bill of £9.4m. Realistically, turnover with reduced gates and tv monies will be around £10-11m and a wage bill of around £7m. 

We knew that means certain players would be released andplayers still under contract may have to be sold. Bringing players in with suchrestrictions was always going to be difficult. The sale of a squad player likeNick Montgomery will not only bring in a fee, but also release at least £0.5mof the wage bill. Others may have to go to give us room for manoeuvre. To thosesuggesting McCabe should be funding signings and throwing more money at theclub, the SCMP means that this just isn't feasible. It isn't so much the fees that it may cost, although that is no doubt an issue, but the wages cannot feasibly increased.

The only way round it wouldbe some sort of commercial sponsorship deal on overly generous terms,sponsoring a stand or two, or the academy? Increasing turnover and thus allowing monies to be spent on wages. However, given the significant amounts loaned to the club by McCabe and Scarborough companies (a large proportion subsequently converted to equity) and the deterioration of the construction/property industries, this has to be unlikely. People urge him to put money in that would get us out of League One, such gambles have been taken before and that is one of the reasons we are where we are.

The need for change

Of the players released by United, only Steve Simonsen was aregular in the first team last season and we clearly signed Mark Howard fromBlackpool with one eye on Simonsen's contract expiration. Of the elevenreleased, three others have taken a place in the first team squad, but much oftheir contribution has been marred by fitness concerns, long term injury and alack of quality. Obviously, the loss of Ched Evans has left a gaping deficiencyupfront that needs to be filled and this has to be Wilson's priority.

Other moves become dependent upon other player movement.Last season was noticeable for a lack of defensive cover, particularly in themiddle, a lack of proper width and the need for adequate back-up for Evans,which has now become the need for a replacement. We have young players thatJohn Pemberton has already said will be making the step-up into the first teamsquad, but we still need experience in each of those positions. Before addingin these players the squad size is 20, so again I see a few outs to facilitatethe recruits in the key areas.

Wilson's Way

One noticeable change in United's operations under DannyWilson is a lack of bluster about what we are doing and how we are going aboutit; features that have characterised some of the other managers in our recenthistory. Things are reported or discussed when there is something worthmentioning. We quietly go about our business until there is something concreteto report. What will incessant questioning of whether Lee Williamson or KevinMcDonald have signed actually achieve? It will certainly not influence orhasten their signing.

When I first wrote this I assumed that United and Wilsonmust have a deadline in mind and that we will know the outcome in the fullnessof time. His comments in interviews this week suggests we are awaiting ananswer from them, that our ability to move in the market is in their hands?Some have said they cannot believe Wilson doesn't have a budget. The fact is hehas, but that budget might increase and his priorities change if players leave,or those with offers don't accept. Thus he may have more to spend in certainareas pending other moves. It is a difficult situation for him to be in.

Elements of the Blades support may think that the club arebeing too lax. Having reflected on Wilson's statement I would like us to put adeadline in place so that there is some certainty in terms of requirements andspending power, but we need to believe that whatever the manager and board dois in the best interests of the club.

Two of the three players were key to our season; McDonaldthe midfield fulcrum around which our passing style was fixed, Williamson thesecond top scorer and midfield threat. Of course Wilson would rather haveplayers he knows and trusts rather than having to replace them. There will beinterest from other clubs, maybe their injury records and past misdemeanourswill count against them? We will have to wait and see.

The need forinformation

In today's modern media, where fans crave any brief mentionon Sky Sports News, where they scour the internet for reports linking theirclub to players, where those reportedly "In the know", or who justseek attention, post idle comments about who they have heard is signing, fansare becoming more demanding. Idle gossip, becomes fact, leading to someoneclaiming their best mate's dad has seen player X's car in the Cherry Street carpark, or a petrol station near East Bank Road.

In the mind of many supporters, other clubs signing playerswhen we are not means we are missing out on potential targets. They panic,they're vocal about it, the panic becomes contagious. "We always leave itlate……We never get players in for pre-season….." Yet the true level oftransfer activity set out earlier in this post shows the perception and realityare two separate things.

Danny Wilson says he has already missed out on targets dueto the delays, yet his list of targets could be 20/30 players. Is this reallyreason to panic?

I don't doubt that this will be a much changed United teamcome the 11th August and Burton Albion's first visit to Bramall Lane in theCapital One Cup, but I see little to fear in other teams in League One. We willbe weaker in squad terms than last season and a good League One striker is a priority but,that aside, the three teams coming down are financially restricted in theirability to recruit. Of those that remain in the division I think MK Dons,Brentford, Notts County, Carlisle are those most likely to challenge. Swindonmight well be the team with the momentum coming up.

Where we benefited from dampened expectations last year, relativesuccess is creating a demand for more of the same. Albeit with a slightly moresuccessful outcome required. No-one can say right now that we will not achieveit.

Let's enjoy the Euros and see where we are at as pre-seasoncommences. We came out of a torrid period this time last year, playing goodfootball, winning matches and with a manager who won the fans over. No-onewould have predicted how close we would come to promotion. Let's not be undulynegative this time and wait for something to be properly uptight about. Younever know, it might not arise.

Charting The Week In Football 7

This week; a relegated team puts up a fight at the wrong place and far too late, Blackpool potentially facing weakened Champions, Blackburn still at risk, the state of Scottish Football, the FA and the FIFA vote and the perilous financial state of one of the most poorly run industries in the UK.

Previous weeks:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Pompey's chimes hit a bum note

This morning the BBC reported Portsmouth's disgust at the failure of Genoa to pay over an instalment due to them following the £5m transfer of Kevin Prince Boateng last month. Although he was signed by Genoa, he hasn't actually played for them as he was subsequently loaned to AC Milan. The financial details of the Milan deal are not known, but what is apparent is that Genoa have yet to pay any monies to Portsmouth for the player who isn't actually playing for them.

According to Portsmouth's Administrator, Andrew Andronikou, the first instalment of the fee was due two weeks ago and when chased the overdue payment they were told 'sorry, we mistook your bank details'. "A week later, it doesn't look like the cheque has even hit the post." He went on to say that Pompey have had enough of Genoa's excuses.

Had enough of their excuses? I wonder what excuses Portsmouth were using to suppliers, players and other clubs, as their financial difficulties so publicly unravelled over the last 12 months? Now I am not condoning Genoa's behaviour. In any business you have a right to expect to be paid for your services in line with any written contractual agreement, however there will always be those who stretch their relationship with their creditors to their absolute limit. There can be no greater example of this than Portsmouth. Pot…kettle…black.

This is Portsmouth who, when the full extent of their debt was revealed to be double initial estimates, were found to owe other clubs £17.1m in transfer fees. A small portion of the £135m debt, but as much as they also owed HMRC, who will be collecting just a fifth of that in instalments over the next 5 years.

You could well say well, that was under the old management and that under Mr Andronikou's administration he has every right to chase monies rightfully owed to the football club, which will go some way to easing their ongoing difficulties. However, there are courses of action that should be taken to recover this money. Bleating to the press about it isn't one of them. Aside from Lens' claims regarding monies due for Dindane and Belhadj I don't recall many of the other clubs owed money by Portsmouth going public with their claims and in doing so now they are doing a dis-service to the club and their fans.

Football is an industry that seems to attract figures who are fond of the media attention, free with their quotes yet often end up with egg on their faces. I am reminded of former Sheffield Wednesday chairman Lee Strafford who, prior to their all-or nothing relegation decider against Crystal Palace, saw fit to criticise Palace for their financial mismanagement and the fact they had taken the easy option of administration. Yet it has since emerged that Wednesday are an insolvent trading business themselves, most probably at the time of the Palace match. Day to day operations have been funded from tax deductions that should have been paid over to HMRC and only a last minute bail-out by their (very) Co-Operative bankers staved off potential administration. He has since claimed that he was misled by fellow directors of the true state of the club's finances. This may be the case, but it does little for his credentials as a business leader if he couldn’t see what was actually happening.

In the circumstances Portsmouth might do well to keep their counsel and do things privately, via the English and Italian FAs and potentially UEFA. If that does not lead to the required outcome then they can bleat, because at that stage the system is broken, not their individual agreement. Until then………………..*silence*

On a level playing field?

Yesterday, Championship football teams and their fans must have been casting an eye towards South Wales with a touch of envy and a great deal of frustration as Cardiff unveiled their new signing, Craig Bellamy.

That is Craig Bellamy, reportedly on £90,000 per week when he joined Manchester City in January 2009, joining Cardiff, reportedly anywhere between £15-30m in debt, who since December have had 6 winding up orders, have allegedly failed to settle football debts and only 2 days before the start of the season managed to get a Football League transfer embargo lifted.

One factor that must rankle is that Manchester City and their money can seemingly play God not only over other Premiership clubs, but over the Championship as well. A player such as Bellamy should be playing Premiership football, but as soon as relations between Roberto Mancini and him were irrevocably soured, his club were more willing to subsidise his substantial wages than sell him to one of their rivals. The fact that Bellamy was eager to join his hometown club must have helped smooth the move (but let's not forget his claims of being a boyhood supporter of both Liverpool and Celtic when he joined them). How other chairmen and fans must wish that he had been born in Sheffield, Nottingham, Leeds or 20 other towns/cities. However, wherever he went, does it make it right and fair?

The other issue is the continuing financial situation at Cardiff. There is no doubt that football finances in general are not in rude health. It must be a matter of when, not if, a significant club goes to the wall. Cardiff survived the winding up orders over a period of 7 months, during which promises of imminent investment from a Malaysian investor repeatedly staved off HMRC advances, until the investment finally took place. It was of course in HMRC's interest to await investment rather than push through any winding up order, but with a hardening stance from HMRC, other clubs might not be so lucky in the future. Somebody might be made an example of and it will not be a Chester City or Farsley Celtic this time.

The original petition was discharged in June and a transfer embargo lifted, only for a further petition and embargo to be put in place over the Summer. That was then lifted following settlement of outstanding obligations just prior to the season starting. This allowed them to register 4 new signings, Jason Koumas from Wigan and two younger players from Manchester United, Tom Heaton and Danny Drinkwater and Seyi Olofinjana from Hull. Even then, their Chief Executive Gethin Jenkins told the BBC that  they faced "further challenges" and wouldn't rule out a further embargo.  The signing of Bellamy, less than 2 weeks later, has suddenly highlighted this as a possibility.

As the transfer was announced, Leeann Dempster Chief Executive of Motherwell went public with a claim that they were owed (what to them were significant) monies from the sale of Paul Quinn more than a year ago. Now it is common place in modern day football for transfer fees to be spread over the length of players contracts and with numerous additional clauses built in, tracking monies owed and due dates will not be straight forward. I don't suppose that is something that will ever change. However, Dempster claims that the debt is the full transfer fee of £175,000 and it is now 13 months old.  If that is found to be correct, then football needs to take a look at itself. Why was the embargo lifted, allowing players to be signed, when this money was owing? Should there not be rules for settling football debts, given the precedence they somehow still gain in administrations? If it is down to the selling club to lodge a claim, why have Motherwell waited until now?

In the last month we have already seen football teams playing the taxman at a dangerous game, with Sheffield Wednesday quickly building a strong League 1 squad prior to the taxman coming knocking for overdue tax. Wednesday somehow took the moral high ground in apparent disbelief at HMRC's actions yet I think I am right in saying that the debt has yet to be discharged in full. If the taxman is looking at toughening up their stance, then so should the footballing authorities. Tonight, Football League Chairman Greg Clarke has warned that the registration of Bellamy may not be accepted until Cardiff have provided certain assurances to the Football League. He also referred to "an abiding principle that people in business and their personal lives should always pay their debts."  BBC website article Now it is time for him to be a man of actions not words and abide by his principles. Not just with Cardiff (assuming they are found to have defaulted), but on all clubs who think being a football club allows them to operate in a manner which any other business in this country is unable to do and gives them a right to gain advantage over those who abide by more prudent principles.