Source: Daily_Mail
'Don't blame me for Portsmouth cash crisis,' says former owner Alexandre Gaydamak
Former Portsmouth owner Alexandre Gaydamak insists he is not to blame for the financial crisis at the club which has led to yet another delay in the players being paid. The current owners have tried to shift the responsibility on to the previous regime but Gaydamak, who sold the club to Sulaiman al-Fahim in August before he sold it on again to Ali Al Faraj, said he left it in good shape. Gaydamak claims he is owed £28million by Pompey and the club is almost the subject of a winding up petition from HM Revenue and Customs. Crisis club: Portsmouth are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table Gaydamak told fansonline.net: 'It is my opinion that they [thedebts] were fully serviceable and no worse or better than any otherclub in the context of the Premier League. In fact, the debt ratio atPortsmouth was probably one of the lowest.'The people who tried to buy the club were very persistent. Theytried to buy it in the summer and I decided not to sell to them becauseI could not be sure who was behind them and I could not be sure of thesource of their money. Former owner: Alexandre Gaydamak sold Portsmouth in the summer 'These chaps knew what they were getting. They must have realisedthere is a wage bill and the tax bill to meet every month. There are nosurprises.'Gaydamak says he has written off a further £20million. He added: 'I made around £50million in shareholder and directors loans to the club during my time. New owner: Ali Al Faraj'After Sulaiman had completed the due diligence, we sat down withhis advisors and it was agreed to sell the club for £1 with mecontinuing to guarantee the now famous £2.5million debt to Barclays andleaving loans totalling £28million of which £9million is due forrepayment this month and the rest in 2012. This was our contractualagreement, but in effect I had written off around £20million of theloans I made.' Club officials stated on Monday that the wages for December -believed to be £1.8million - would be paid yesterday but have told theProfessional Footballers' Association (PFA) a further delay has nowarisen. PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor said the club were hopeful of paying the players today. Taylor told Press Association Sport: 'We were expecting the playersto be paid but that has not happened. We have been told by the clubthat they are hopeful of paying them on Wednesday.'The club told the PFA the latest delay was due to paperwork needingto be completed after a short-term loan was negotiated to cover theshortfall.It is the third time this season the club have missed a payment date. Portsmouth protest: Fans gathered outside Fratton Park following Pompey's FA Cup draw with Coventry on SaturdayIn a further blow for the club, the Premier League have toldPortsmouth they will not be able to re-register Jamie O'Hara as a loansigning unless the transfer embargo is lifted, and there is virtuallyno chance of that happening during this transfer window. The Tottenham midfielder's deal runs out on January 15 but Spurs had indicated they were happy to let him stay at Pompey. A Premier League spokesman said: 'If the registration embargo isstill in place Portsmouth will not be able to re-register him.' Players union wants Portsmouth and Crystal Palace talks over unpaid wagesPompey crisis deepens as strugglers fail to pay players' wages once againSorry, no refunds: Lens won't take players back from PortsmouthPORTSMOUTH FC NEWS ACROSS THE WEB