Source: Daily_Mail
On the brink! Tax hit Pompey must sell James and Co to stay in business
Portsmouth must sell to survive next month after they were stunned by a £6milliontax bill and the threat of bankruptcy.[LNB]Pompey will launch a desperate fire sale to off-load David James, Younes Kaboul, David Nugent, Kevin-Prince Boateng and John Uutaka in a bid to generate funds to keep them in existence until the end of the season.[LNB]Already suffering with huge debts, a crippling wage bill, a transfer embargo and lack of points, they became the first Barclays Premier League club to be served with a winding-up petition, which was issued by HM Revenue and Customs. [LNB]CLICK HERE FOR PORTSMOUTH V ARSENAL MATCH REPORT Blues: Hassan Yebda helps Portsmouth to victory against Liverpool, but the club's battle is even more pressing off the pitch[LNB]The worst-case scenario is that a club formed in 1898 will beordered to cease trading at a High Court hearing early next year but,after his representatives met Premier League chief executive RichardScudamore on Wednesday, owner Ali Al Faraj is confident this outcomewill be avoided.[LNB]PORTSMOUTH STATEMENT'Portsmouth Football Club have not been formally served with a winding up petition and are shocked and surprised this action has been taken in respect of VAT, PAYE and National Insurance Contributions which either have been, or are about to be paid, or are disputed.[LNB]'The club are disputing the VAT amount outstanding and have formally notified HMRC of this. We expect HMRC to withdraw their demands forthwith.[LNB]'Otherwise we anticipate a hearing being held in early January 2010 during which we will request that the High Court order HMRC to withdraw their demands.[LNB]'Since the takeover by Ali Al Faraj in October 2009, extreme efforts have been made to reach payment arrangements with HMRC to allow the owner time to deal with inherited debt.[LNB]'To date the new owner has injected a total of £9.7m of new funds to HMRC - £5.7m paid and security to the value of £4M.[LNB]'In such a tough economic environment the club finds it hard to understand this action by HMRC.[LNB]'It is well known that the business has been in a difficult position following former owners' decisions and the current owner is committed to resolving this and moving forward.'[LNB]Al Faraj is also determined to keep the club out of administration,a move which may make it easier to restructure the debt but would meanan automatic nine-point deduction under current rules.[LNB]The club issued a statement ahead of their 4-1 home defeat to Arsenal and denied receiving the winding-up petition although this isput down to an administrative mix-up and disputed figures in thehefty VAT section of the £6m bill. [LNB]The statement said: 'Portsmouth FC ... are shocked and surprisedthis action has been taken in respect of VAT, PAYE and NationalInsurance contributions which either have been, or are about to bepaid, or are disputed.[LNB]'The club are disputing the VAT amount outstanding and has formallynotified HMRC of this. We expect HMRC to withdraw their demandsforthwith. Otherwise we anticipate a hearing being held in earlyJanuary 2010 during which we will request that the High Court order towithdraw their demands.'[LNB]Despite such defiance, Portsmouth are in severe financial peril.[LNB] Centre of attention: Avram Grant has a difficult job at cash-strapped Portsmouth[LNB]They are due a payment from the Premier League of almost £10m nextmonth but most of this money will be sent directly to the bank accountsof other clubs, owed money from previous transfer deals.[LNB]Other creditors, including former owner Alexandre Gaydamak, severalagents and foreign clubs, are still waiting for their money and theclub's monthly wage bill far outweighs normal income despite summersales.[LNB]Al Faraj, who took over from Sulaiman Al Fahim in October, hopes toraise enough money from sales in the January transfer window to clearsome of the debts and keep the club running as a going concern.[LNB]It will leave manager Avram Grant short of numbers and quality as hetries to steer the Premier League's bottom team out of the relegationzone.[LNB] Fire sale: Kevin-Prince Boateng and a host of his team-mates will now be sold[LNB][LNB]However, it is a risk judged to be worth taking by the new regime atPompey, who lay the blame for the current plight firmly at Gaydamak'sdoor. [LNB]'It is well known that the business has been in a difficult positionfollowing former owners' decisions and the current owner is committedto resolving this and moving forward,' added the club statement.[LNB] 'Since the takeover by Ali Al Faraj in October 2009, extreme effortshave been made to reach payment arrangements with HMRC to allow theowner time to deal with inherited debt. To date, the new owner hasinjected a total of £9.7m of new funds to HMRC £5.7m paid andsecurity to the value of £4m.'[LNB]Portsmouth, who invested in players before winning the 2008 FA Cup,have had three owners since August and failed to pay their players ontime twice this season.[LNB] Portsmouth 1 Arsenal 4: On-song Gunners smash four past cash-strapped PompeyBoateng happy to focus on Pompey after Africa Cup of Nations dream failsFrench club Lens to sue struggling Portsmouth over unpaid transfer feesGraham Poll: The offside rule explained for Hansen, McCarthy and the rest of usTHE 2009/10 SACK RACE: You're fired! Ousted Bolton boss Gary Megson takes managerial casualty list to 26PORTSMOUTH FC
