Source: Northern_Echo
Pompey's financial crisis could ring the changes
GARY O'NEIL believes the worrying financial state of his former club offers proof that Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson was right to embark on months of cost-cutting following relegation from the Premier League.[LNB] O'Neil has been saddened to see Portsmouth's crippling debts push them towards administration, with the Bankruptcy Registrar ordering a statement of the club's affairs by February 17 after an appearance in the High Court on Wednesday.[LNB] Portsmouth hope their financial situation will have improved by that time, as they search for a solution in response to the winding-up petition issued by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for unpaid VAT of £7.4m.[LNB] While the period of extra time could have saved the club from going to the wall, O'Neil thinks his old club's plight will have made other clubs take notice.[LNB] But the Middlesbrough captain, pictured above against Cardiff, feels Gibson's actions in the last 12 months prove that the Teessiders have an owner who only has the best interests of the club at heart.[LNB] The chairman has been criticised for the way he has gone about reducing the wage bill and stripping the first team of its prize assets, but O'Neil thinks change was essential to safeguard the future of Middlesbrough.[LNB] A lot of clubs are in debt and it seems they do overspend to try to compete. It has developed without people realising until it has got to a really bad stage as it is now,[LNB] said O'Neil.[LNB] We have a stable owner whose heart is in Middlesbrough, which definitely helps. He will never walk out and leave the club in trouble and it is tough to find owners like that.[LNB] The clubs that get into trouble would not be as sensible as the chairman has been here.[LNB] They might not have cut the wage bill, just tried to ride it out and tried to get more success. He has looked after the club well, cutting the wage bill because he had to.[LNB] Obviously we got relegated and we had to get rid of a lot of top, top players and have struggled to replace them, but at least we are not facing the problems Portsmouth are. We can bounce straight back.[LNB] O'Neil spent seven years at Fratton Park and Portsmouth tried to re-sign him last year, only for Middlesbrough to knock back their advances.[LNB] The 26-year-old has been stunned to see the club fall, having been confident good times were ahead when Harry Redknapp was attracting star names to the south coast.[LNB] But the midfielder now feels Portsmouth's collapse is an indication that the overspending era in football is over, suggesting Gibson will have learned from the past.[LNB] You will not see such big wages at lower clubs anymore, that's for sure,'' he said.[LNB] The top, top boys will still earn really good money but wages will have to come down for players signing for the middle and bottom Premier League clubs, and downwards.[LNB] Clubs will be a lot more careful with how they spend their money from now on.[LNB] Portsmouth's future might be uncertain, but Middlesbrough appear to be turning things around under Gordon Strachan.[LNB] O'Neil, who has a groin problem, has been a prominent figure in the dressing room during Strachan's reign, but there is a doubt about his fitness ahead of tomorrow's match with Peterborough at the Riverside Stadium.[LNB] Boro confirmed yesterday that Rhys Williams has agreed to extend his stay, signing new terms until 2013.[LNB] Williams, an Australian, is due back from a pelvic injury at the end of the month and hopes to play a part in an end of season double.[LNB] This time last year I had just signed loan terms with Burnley for an extended loan.[LNB] I ended up suffering relegation with Boro and celebrating promotion with Burnley in the same weekend, said the 22-year-old.[LNB] Relegation was a blessing in disguise for me because it gave me a chance to break into the first team.[LNB] It wasn't a difficult decision to sign a new contract because I have been in the team and happy.[LNB] Now my aim is to win promotion.[LNB] If I can help Boro win promotion and play at the World Cup that would be the perfect scenario.[LNB]
