Portsmouth Football Club could scarcely end 2009 in more disarray, on-field or off.

In the ten days since a potentially season-turning home win over Liverpool, Pompey crashed to an uninspiring defeat at fellow-strugglers West Ham and capitulated tamely against a half-paced Arsenal.

Manager Avram Grant was waiting to see what freedom he had, if any, to strengthen his struggling squad in the January transfer window, with club officials in intense, on-going negotiations over the lifting of the transfer embargo imposed by the EPL in October.

 

But such concerns have been overtaken by the winding-up petition served on the club last week by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and by the emergent confusion over the true depth of Pompey’s financial crisis, which appears to have left players and staff unpaid at the end of the month again.

News of the petition only came out a week after the December 23^rd court hearing which reportedly started proceedings. And the club this week issued a strongly-worded statement which was a mixture of defiance and pleas of ignorance and innocence.

HMRC presented the petition to London’s High Court before Christmas, a move thought designed to force Portsmouth to sell players during the January transfer window and prioritise repayments from any transfer proceeds to the Revenue and Customs. However, a club statement issued in response read:

“Portsmouth Football Club has not been formally served with a winding-up petition and is shocked and surprised this action has been taken in respect of VAT, PAYE and National Insurance contributions which either have been or are about to be paid, or are disputed.

“The club is disputing the VAT amount outstanding and has formally notified HMRC of this. We expect HMRC to withdraw their demands forthwith. Otherwise we anticipate a hearing being held in early January 2010, during which we will request that the High Court order HMRC to withdraw their demands.”

The statement highlighted the “extreme efforts” current owner, under-wraps Saudi businessman Ali Al-Faraj, has made to “deal with the inherited debt”, thereby placing the blame on previous owners Alexandre Gaydamak, the “Franco-Russian businessman” and Sulaiman Al-Fahim, the UAE-based TV micro-celebrity and self-publicist.

Gaydamak broke his silence on the affair, telling the Guardian newspaper: “I join in the frustration of the supporters and…would like to know if I am to be paid.” Gaydamak claims he is owed up to £30m in loans to the club from his two years as owner up to last summer.

Portsmouth also still owe money to a variety of football clubs, much of which is still likely to come from their slice of the EPL broadcast revenue shared out in January.

Among the creditors are French club Lens, whose president, Gervais Martel, said last week: “We are taking action through the European football tribunals and the civil courts.”

And on New Year’s Eve announcement the club said staff December salaries, including players, would not be paid until January 5^th. A club statement explained: “The problem was due to a file not being loaded at the bank.” But this explanation is widely disbelieved.

Meanwhile Grant claimed, surprisingly “I knew there were problems on the pitch. Off the pitch, I didn’t know about this.” He added: “As far as I know, everybody knows we need to make the team stronger.” This may be true but, in Portsmouth’s current parlous state, it is increasingly irrelevant.