Over the past few weeks many articles revealing details about how the club has been run by its "dodgy" owners have arguably given the Supporters Trust the chance to take over the club.
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Many have raised doubts over what finances the trust will have and those who doubt the trust's financial clout have argued that under that regime we'll languish in League One while rarely challenging for promotion. My response? What is the alternative? Quite simply, the only likely alternative is Mr Chanrai. Under his regime we'll just experience repetitive cases of deja-vu and will see very little club growth whilst slowly drifting towards the Conference and below. That would be a distinct possibility if not a simple inevitability.
Unlike Portpin, the Supporters’ Trust would and is run by people who are more than willing to put in the extra effort in order to see Portsmouth FC return to its former grace and prevent its exploitation by those who merely see the club as a chance to make a mockery not only of the beautiful game but everyone who has been involved with the club in the past six years or even longer.
I'm only of a tender age of 17 but have rarely experienced an atmosphere as positive as the one against Bournemouth on the opening day of the season and the one reason for such positivity was down to the fact that many had realised that the Supporters’ Trust were now being treated as a credible bidder and not just a “fall back option”.
Yet since then, Mr Chanrai has returned and just as he has returned, the positivity has departed. Coincidence I think not. This has made me realise that Portsmouth FC’s life expectancy will be much shorter under Chanrai but under the Trust the club will experience more atmospheres and attendances just like the one against Bournemouth.
Even better, we could then find ourselves with a squad on longer term contracts whilst local lads and youth players are gradually integrated and a combination of honesty, commitment and passion amongst the boardroom and coaching staff. Why do I think this will be a successful combination? Just look at how under-estimated the Trust were initially and look at them now and that is enough evidence to show that under their regime we can prosper and experience success that is sustainable and for those of Portsmouth.
My belief is that a future run by the Supporters Trust is a much better one compared to any other possibility and if successful for once we may finally see stability, something that I haven’t experienced for a long time while supporting Pompey.
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