Pompey's financial crisis sparks calls for answers

Pompey were put into the hands of administrators yesterday morning to deal with their ongoing financial problems, including debts of approximately 70m.

A nine-point penalty is expected to be confirmed next week which will virtually condemn Pompey to relegation to the Championship as they attempt to find new owners.

It will leave Hull City fighting it out amongst eight other clubs to avoid the other two relegation places.

Portsmouth's situation has seemingly served as a wake-up call to English football with the likes of former chairman Milan Mandaric, Stoke manager Tony Pulis and Government figures questioning practices within the game.

Current Leicester chairman Mandaric, who bought Portsmouth in 1998 and relinquished control in 2006, said of his old club: "Whoever comes in must be a proper owner. They've got to have enough money to spend and not to spend money they don't have. They're the basic things – if that happens you shouldn't have a problem."

Former Portsmouth chief Pulis called for action to be taken after Pompey's problems.

"This is a family club, run for the fans, and by local people," said Pulis, who had a stint at Fratton Park in 2000.

"There should be an inquiry into how Portsmouth has been run."

A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "It is a sad day for a great club and it is deeply regrettable if they go into administration.

"It is a matter for individual clubs and the HMRC, but this issue of sensible rules and governance has been raised by (Cabinet minister) Andy Burnham, when he was at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

"We remain concerned that fans and communities of football clubs like Portsmouth shouldn't suffer because of the inability of clubs to manage their finances properly."

Former Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, who guided the club to their 2008 FA Cup triumph, urged the club's supporters to look on the bright side. "Going into administration is the better of two evils. For the last few weeks they have been talking about going out of business, which is the last thing anybody wants.

"They have accepted they were going to get relegated anyway so they can go down and come back strong again.

"They can come straight back up again with that parachute money and the crowd behind them at home."

Football Supporters' Federation chairman Malcolm Clarke says more needs to be done to regulate clubs and their owners. "Portsmouth's case yet again shows the inadequacy of the 'Fit and Proper Person' test and is a failure by the Premier League and FA to ensure owners have real and sustainable funds," he said.

"We welcome the Premier League's new, tighter regulations around finance and ownership but they simply don't go far enough and, in Pompey's case, it's locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.

"Top-flight clubs receive billions via TV deals alone, how do they end up in administration? Which other industry has such passionate 'customers' willing to part with fortunes so easily and yet gets itself into this predicament?

"If you ran your household budget like this, it wouldn't be long before you didn't have a roof over your head. The financial mismanagement of some our clubs is astounding."

Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock claimed: "This is a football issue and an issue where the Premier League owes it to the football community here in Portsmouth to do a little bit more than they have done.

"All they have done at the present time is run the touchline and they haven't run very fast in helping us."

The administrators of Crystal Palace, meanwhile, say that they have had interest from 36 separate buyers for the Championship club after extending the deadline for bids by a fortnight.

They were placed into administration last month and deducted 10 points, and have dropped into the relegation zone.

Bournemouth chairman Eddie Mitchell is confident the club can avoid being wound up.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have issued the League Two club with a winding-up petition relating to an unpaid tax bill of 314,000 – with a hearing set for March 31.