Premier League chiefs are hoping to push through dramatic
emergency measures to ensure Portsmouth stay afloat and fulfil
their fixtures this season — and their survival could depend on the
19 other teams in England’s top division.
Richard Scudamore, the chief executive, will conduct a ring
round of Portsmouth’s
Barclays Premier League rivals this weekend. He will ask if they
object to the club’s
parachute payment, in the region of £11million, being brought
forward and paid immediately toward a £12.1m bill from the
taxman.
The Premier League has already taken the drastic step of
advancing a payment of
roughly £2m to all of its members, so that Portsmouth will be able
to at least meet
some of the demands of HM Revenue and Customs in the High Court
next week.
The initial payment, part of the Premier League’s standardised
cash flow arrangement that gives some money to the clubs in
instalments through the season, was not due for another two
months.
Rescue mission: Portsmouth could be saved by
dramatic new measures
But the 20 clubs will receive that payment this week as
Scudamore scrambles his
resources in an attempt to keep Portsmouth solvent and avoid a
humiliating hit for the
Premier League brand.
The issue of the parachute payment is more sensitive, however,
as all clubs stand to
gain or lose materially if Portsmouth cease trading and have to
withdraw from the league. In that event, their results for the
season would be wiped out, which would potentially be of benefit to
some teams.
Chelsea, for instance, would lose three points, while Manchester
United would lose
six, meaning the gap at the top would widen from one point to
four.
Liverpool, who lost at Fratton Park earlier in the season, would
not drop a point, while Arsenal and Manchester City, who have
already beaten Portsmouth home and away, would lose six each.
A revised league table without Portsmouth’s results would see
City fall to seventh place, behind Tottenham Hotspur and Aston
Villa.
This is why Scudamore is anxious to conduct a straw poll of
clubs before making a decision, although he will impress on the
chairmen the wider issue of damage to the image of the Premier
League should a club fail to complete their fixture programme.
Giving Portsmouth the parachute payment made to those relegated
to the Championship each season does not make the presumption that
the club will go down.
It is merely the guaranteed minimum amount Portsmouth can expect
to receive from the Premier League on August 1.
Rescue mission: Scudamore
Scudamore will argue that if any club were in Portsmouth’s
position, even Manchester United, this is the most the Premier
League could do.
He will make the case that no extra money is being found to fund
Portsmouth, and that the club are not being favoured in any
way.
They are merely receiving in advance money that is already due
to be paid later in the year, to stave off a unique financial
situation.
He will argue that it is of paramount importance that the league
season continue without disruption. Together, the advance payment
made this week and the advanced parachute payment would more than
meet the total bill owed to HMRC, although Portsmouth dispute a
percentage of it.
Yet there could be objections, particularly from the small group
of clubs with least to lose if Portsmouth go under when the High
Court deadline passes at 4pm on Wednesday.
Liverpool, Wigan Athletic, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley
would stay on the same points total if Portsmouth went bust, while
Sunderland would lose only two points and Hull City one.
These six, plus Chelsea, could be claimed to have a vested
interest in Portsmouth’s demise — although all bar Sunderland still
have Portsmouth to play and may be hopeful of collecting three
points.
Support: Portsmouth fan David Maples outside the
High Court
Scudamore will ask the clubs to put any selfish considerations
aside, however, and focus instead on the harm to the prestige of
the Premier League, particularly abroad, if one of their members
were to fold mid-season.
The ongoing fiasco at Portsmouth, now on their fourth owner this
season — Balram Chainrai, whose first act was to announce the club
are up for sale — is already a source of embarrassment to
Scudamore.
Although the Premier League have never lost a member to
liquidation, it is a myth that
clubs do not go bust in English football.
Aldershot dropped out of the Football League in March 1992 and
all their results were declared null and void, and the following
season Maidstone United failed to start the campaign for financial
reasons.
The demise of these clubs is the reason the top four divisions
still number 92 teams, not 94.