Source: Telegraph
Portsmouth beat Southampton but High-Court date looms
The quarter-finals are scheduled for the weekend of March 6, five days after Portsmouth are back in the High Court to face a winding-up petition from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. [LNB]If a buyer has not emerged by then, the club are believed to be considering going into voluntary administration, despite the attendant nine-point penalty from the Premier League which would virtually condemn them to relegation. [LNB] Related ArticlesFootball regulator considered by ministersUnited fans to make club ownership General Election issueEduardo ready to start making headlines for right reasonsFlamini wants a Champions League medal with MilanTerry: I want to reach 100 England capsSport on television'We will fight until the last moment,' said Avram Grant, the Portsmouth manager. 'I'll fight as long as we have a chance on the pitch. The court is not in my head. I just hope the court take the fans, the players and the staff into account when they make their decision. They do not have an easy decision but for me it is easy: the club needs to continue.'[LNB]The taxman wants £11.5 million from the club, but they could only offer a sum of about £4 million before the last court hearing. The chances of raising enough to satisfy the Revenue are looking slim. Peter Storrie, the club's chief executive, maintains that there are parties interested in a takeover, but it is hard to see who would want to pay a substantial sum for a club that would be available for a token fee if it went into administration. [LNB]He was abused by a group of fans outside St Mary's, who waved money in his face and followed him to his car. [LNB]In a meeting with the supporters' group SOS Pompey, Premier League chairman Richard Scudamore made the case for a consortium of local businesses and supporters taking over the club. In the minutes of the meeting, seen by Telegraph Sport, Scudamore argued that this kind of 'grassroots takeover' is possible because the club actually has very little bank debt left and the wage bill has been reduced to near manageable levels. [LNB]The tricky part would be working out a deal with former owner Sacha Gaydamak, who remains the club's major creditor. [LNB]If a local consortium does not emerge to rescue the club, Portsmouth could go into voluntary administration which, despite the points penalty, would at least speed up possible investment. [LNB]Elsewhere on Saturday, Reading midfielder Jimmy Kebe wrote his name into Cup folklore by scoring against West Bromwich Albion after nine seconds, believed to be the fastest goal in the history of the competition proper. There was more drama to come as both teams were reduced to 10 men before the tie finished 2-2. [LNB]Chelsea shrugged off the shock of seeing Cardiff's Michael Chopra cancel out Didier Drogba's opening goal at Stamford Bridge to cruise to a 4-1 win. Derby looked set to cause an upset against Birmingham after taking the lead through James McEveley, but goals from Scott Dann and Liam Ridgewell secured a quarter-final place for the Premier League club. [LNB]
