Search: ' Sulaiman Al Fahim'

Sarah Gilmore attempts to understand the basis of the problems at Fratton Park and wonders just what the future might hold

On May 18, 2008, along with an estimated 250,000 people, I walked down to the seafront to celebrate Portsmouth’s FA Cup win. I’ve lived in the city since the mid-1980s and witnessed several pretty major events occurring here such as the commemoration of the D-Day landings and the bicentenary of the victory at Trafalgar. But neither of these events came close to involving virtually every person in the city and beyond.

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Portsmouth appoint yet another new chairman as financial crisis looms

October ended well for Portsmouth with back-to-back 4-0 wins, against Stoke in the Carling Cup and Wigan in the League. They had seemed to be certainties for relegation after losing their first seven matches but on present form may have a good chance of hauling themselves away from the bottom three. While Paul Hart’s team were reviving their season, they acquired a new chairman.

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Manchester City’s owners have divided opinion over the years, but the latest incumbents have been welcomed deliriously. David Conn wonders if the fans’ loyalty is being exploited

The takeover of Manchester City was celebrated uproariously by most of the club’s supporters, but it prompted me instead to question the very basis of fans’ loyalty to their clubs. I am talking not about today’s surreal ownership by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, but a deal that looks positively homely by comparison, the 1994 City takeover by Francis Lee.

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The close of the transfer window has led to more than just exchanges of players as the Abu Dhabi United group arrive in Manchester

So, quite a lively month for Manchester City. Midway through August the club appeared to be in crisis, with owner Thaksin Shinawatra refusing to return home to Thailand to face a corruption trial. If he were convicted in his absence, the Premier League would have faced an unprecedented test of its notoriously obtuse “fit and proper persons” test. There were stories of the club operating on a hand-to-mouth basis with former chairman John Wardle having had to loan Thaksin £2 million on several occasions to pay wages. A shock home defeat to Danish UEFA Cup opponents was followed by a 4-2 mauling at Villa Park.

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