17-05-2021, 03:18 PM
As a long time Pompey fan I've always taken interest in the club's finances as a way of measuring if they are going in the right direction. I am not an accountant, but I've read the latest accounts up to 2020 which are available online for any Pompey fan to read.
I would comment that there is some interesting information in the accounts. Pompey have 6 directors, four members of the Eisner family, plus somebody called A. Redman, . Page 23 of the accounts states that each of the directors was paid £171k for the year, plus a contribution to a pension fund. This payment is an increase of £3k on the previous year, and if I am correct it means that over £1,000,000 is being paid to the directors of the club, most of which is going to the Eisner family.
Page 26 has an interesting clause, in that it states that £4,000,000 must be paid to an unnamed group (almost certainly the Eisner's) should Pompey reach the Premier League on or before June 2022 (very unlikely). But £3,000,000 must be paid to the same group if Pompey make it by 2023. Can't understand why the owners want paying for success when they have a long-term commitment to the club. A loss of 3 or 4 million would be critical if they wanted to stay in the Premier League.
My general view of the accounts is that Pompey is really still a selling club and I'm not convinced there is commitment to funding a high-quality squad which will win us League 1 and see us holding on in the Championship.
This Summer will decide because the current squad is desperately short of quality players and only an import of several million will give the Cowleys a fighting chance in 2022.
As I stated earlier the accounts are freely available on the Internet and fans can make their own judgment. I am no financial expert but I've supported Pompey long enough to know that finance is the key to success in the football league.
I would comment that there is some interesting information in the accounts. Pompey have 6 directors, four members of the Eisner family, plus somebody called A. Redman, . Page 23 of the accounts states that each of the directors was paid £171k for the year, plus a contribution to a pension fund. This payment is an increase of £3k on the previous year, and if I am correct it means that over £1,000,000 is being paid to the directors of the club, most of which is going to the Eisner family.
Page 26 has an interesting clause, in that it states that £4,000,000 must be paid to an unnamed group (almost certainly the Eisner's) should Pompey reach the Premier League on or before June 2022 (very unlikely). But £3,000,000 must be paid to the same group if Pompey make it by 2023. Can't understand why the owners want paying for success when they have a long-term commitment to the club. A loss of 3 or 4 million would be critical if they wanted to stay in the Premier League.
My general view of the accounts is that Pompey is really still a selling club and I'm not convinced there is commitment to funding a high-quality squad which will win us League 1 and see us holding on in the Championship.
This Summer will decide because the current squad is desperately short of quality players and only an import of several million will give the Cowleys a fighting chance in 2022.
As I stated earlier the accounts are freely available on the Internet and fans can make their own judgment. I am no financial expert but I've supported Pompey long enough to know that finance is the key to success in the football league.