After having time to think about the recent revised bid made by the “popular” Keith Harris, I’ve come to a conclusion. One of the main reasons why we, the Pompey fans decided to safeguard the beloved club’s future was not wholly down to the fact that there was a lack of credible bidders available but because of the un-fulfilled promises, unforgivable actions and un-just behaviour made by mercenaries who have no concrete attachment to the club which we love so much.
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However, Keith Harris’ arrival on the potential ownership scene has just put a “cat amongst the pigeons”. His initial bid was thrown out by the Football League and their decision attracted praise from the Trust and resulted in rallying calls from David Cameron and Penny Mordaunt. Our court case was later adjourned and re-scheduled for next Thursday. Since his first attempt was rebuffed unconditionally, he has once again tested the resilience of the war-hardened Pompey fans. Already some have begun to lean towards his bid. Why? Well, he’s sold us the dream like many others have.
He has phrased it as if we get everything for nothing. In his bid, we get 15% of the club, discounts on tickets and most importantly, we have a club! “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t” is a motto I abide by all too much now in regards to Pompey. Understandably after the few years of absolute torture we have been subject to by these mercenaries. We have fought tooth and nail for a long time now to keep these types of people out of the club and have succeeded, Chanrai has been stopped from ever directly having ownership of the club and we are now in the position where we can own our club, the only rightful owners on this planet. Yet some are willing to dismantle all the hard work we have all put in because “it might be our only option”, something quite a few have said already. Quite simply, it is not, we have cried for months calling “trust or bust” and let’s not go and become hypocrites ourselves by contradicting that.
Yes, the setup at Swansea has worked wonders and has catapulted them up the leagues extraordinarily and has they prepare for a huge day at Wembley; they are financially solid unlike us when we experienced a similar situation in 2008. My problem with that theory though is that although it worked for them, does not mean that it will work for us. Arabian owners has done wonders for Manchester City, didn’t really do much for us. Russian owners has been amazing for Chelsea, once again, wouldn’t say it worked out great for us.
Let’s not add another example to that list by just thinking “it worked for them”, it’s no guarantee of survival and prosperity! The Trust bid is in its final stages and needs the continuing support from every Pompey supporter on this planet. Just because it’s nearly complete does not mean it’s getting easier. The possibility of extinction is still a real possibility but my honest opinion is under the likes of Harris another man who has very little emotional attachment to our club, we will be back in this situation at some point. We’ve worked hard to get here, lets continue to work just as hard to finish it!
The views of Tom Young are his own and don't necessarily reflect the editorial view of pompey-fans.com.
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The Pompey Supporters' Trust is still seeking pledges from Pompey fans to back their bid. Information can be found here