Sulaiman Al-Fahim’s announcement that Portsmouth will not be entering the transfer market until next summer has increased the turmoil still surrounding the club.   The team have started disastrously and, contrary to previous reports, Al-Fahim’s takeover appears neither funded nor yet approved by the Premier League.   Meanwhile, under-fire Portsmouth boss Paul Hart returned some of that fire in defence of his team and their dismal start.   The 2-0 defeat at Villa Park last Saturday was Pompey’s sixth-in-a-row, the worst-ever start to any Premier League club’s campaign.

It was another performance which suggested the team is capable of better results, given the breaks.

And they avoided Carling Cup ignominy on Tuesday, coming from behind to beat League One Carlisle 3-1 and secure a place in the last 16. But sections of Pompey’s support have turned against Hart.

There has been talk of demonstrations after the televised fixture with Everton this Saturday lunchtime. And there will surely be some reaction if Hart’s team lose again.

But Hart reminded supporters of the difficulties he has faced which have been beyond his control. He told Portsmouth Today: “It’s a first that a team has lost their first six Premier League matches – but there are other firsts.

“No other Premier League club came back on July 9 for pre-season with 14 players. No other club did their business in the final two days before transfer deadline.

 

 “There are lots of anomalies associated with this football club.”

Hart’s comments referred to the problems caused by Al-Fahim’s protracted takeover of the club. And even some of Hart’s fiercest critics acknowledge Al-Fahim’s ‘unhelpful’ role in the club’s current predicament.   The UAE businessman has promised to outline his plans for the club’s future at a fans’ forum this week, after it was announced that he had “in principle secured new finance which will come into the club over the next couple of months.”   However, neither the source of this funding, nor the amount, was revealed. And none of it will go towards team-strengthening.   Al-Fahim told Spanish newspapers: “We’re not going to go into the transfer market at the moment,” which, of course, isn’t possible until January, anyway.

Representatives of the numerous Pompey fan web-sites, the self-styled ‘Portsmouth Virtual Alliance’, met with chief executive Peter Storrie on September 12^th.

In response to their pertinent questioning, Storrie admitted that Portsmouth’s financial director, Tanya Robins, was not getting answers from Al-Fahim on how to currently fund the club.

Storrie also expressed dismay at Al-Fahim releasing statements to other media outlets. So Al-Fahim’s foray into the Spanish press will not have improved Storrie’s mood.

And finally…Monday’s Guardian reported that the Premier League “is still waiting for confirmation that Al-Fahim’s Portsmouth deal has been concluded and has not yet received evidence about where his money is coming from.”

They are not alone.