The Pompey Supporters' Trust remain in pole position to take over the club, despite the High Court accepting a 28-day adjournment. Administrators PKF, led by Trevor Birch, applied for the month-long delay in the case, in order to overcome contractual issues with prospective Fratton Park purchaser Stuart Robinson.
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However, the adjournment was not something the Trust were planning, as they set for court; hoping to see a 'reasonable valuation' placed on Fratton Park – far cry from Balram Chainrai's £11million valuation.
The fan group offered Chainrai's company Portpin around £2.75million for the famous ground, however a fee could not be agreed – hence the need for the High Court of Justice to intervene.
Pompey fans will rightly be frustrated with the delay in proceedings, as they were hoping to have supporters running the South Coast club by the New Year.
However, it must also be realised that any delay will also work in Pompey's favour – allowing an extra 28 days for pledges to be sent in, and allow PKF and Robinson to iron out any disputes before reconvening in court on January 15.
Portpin were hoping to appoint former Plymouth administrator Brendan Guilfoyle alongside Birch; Guilfoyle himself stating his belief he could find a better, long-term owner for Pompey.
The former owners also stated that they would be willing to fund the club's administration until the end of the season, should their chosen man be allowed to join Birch – adding to Chainrai's stranglehold over the club.
Thankfully, Mr Justice Sales disagreed with this appointment – allowing the current administrators time to finally tie up the Trust bid.
Good news for all Pompey fans, too, as any new appointment could have seen the Trust wiped of their preferred bidder status – effectively putting the fan bid back to square one.
This decision leaves the Trust in first place regarding any takeover, and keeps the efforts of those involved within the bid team well intact – an important intervention by the court, and one that keeps fans' dreams of an ethically-run football club in the future well alive.
Since the side's relegation from the Premier League – docked nine points on that occasion, the club have been faced with a further 10-point deduction last season, as well as a further ten points to be chalked off once the club exits its current administration.
Add this to the statistic that the club's long-term signing was the return of Zimbabwean striker Benjani back on August 13, 2011, as well as 39 new players representing Pompey since that date – it makes grim reading.
However, a re-birth is just around the corner for fans, under the careful stewardship of the fan movement who are bidding to become British football's highest profile takeover by supporters.
Prospective chairman Iain McInnes has been helping fund he club's ongoing costs since October 21, alongside other Presidents.
None of these wealthy investors will be seeking a return on what they have given the club to date; much unlike the club's former owners – a move that will allow the club to continue to grow, and repair itself from the neglect of seasons past.
It is important to note that the court applied a flexibility to this pencilled in date – should PKF and Robinson come to an agreement beforehand, the case can be moved up the court's list, and be heard sooner than anticipated.
It has been a long time coming for the Trust – with the club placed into administration and docked ten points back in February – with the bid launched one month later.
Relegation to League One followed shortly after, before the before-mentioned Presidents joined the Trust bid – taking it forward as a joint community bid to restore pride and passion back into Portsmouth.
Then in August, came the announcement to make all Pompey fans celebrate – 'Portpin withdraw bid to buy Portsmouth Football Club'.
Many would've been forgiven for thinking that the light was firmly at the end of the tunnel for the club, following Balram Chainrai's firm announcing their decision to abstain from bidding.
However, just one month later, Portpin were back – claiming that they had now changed from 'reluctant' to 'willing to take on the club for the preservation of its long-term future'.
It was all talk, though, as the Football League's board admitted that they were unable to endorse Portpin's membership of the league, under their own rules – opening the door for the Trust to gain preferred bidder status.
Earlier this month, the Football League offered endorsement to the fan bid, dependant on three conditions – a successful outcome to the PKF-Portpin High Court battle, as well as providing a good amount of fan pledges – and accepting yet another ten-point deduction.
For now, though, it's pivotal that those who have been committed to the Trust bid for the past ten months stay faithful – the bid is still progressing, and still have the best chance of taking the club out of the gloom and back into bloom.
Important too, to preserve not only the future of the club, but to preserve the bloodline of future supporters.
Clubs across Britain focus heavily on keeping a long-running trend of young fans attending games, looking to secure the supporters of tomorrow – through methods like 'kid for a quid' schemes, and competitions.
But what better way to make sure the children growing up on the streets around the stadium – and further afield- turn out to be Pompey fans, than knowing that they could own a share in their club, and be fully immersed with decisions it takes going forward.
'By the fans, for the fans' – a statement that certainly does still ring true.
The views of Dan Brett are his own and don't necessarily reflect the editorial view of pompey-fans.com. Any proceeds of this column are donated to Action Aid.
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