22 March ~ There is never a quiet day at Fratton Park. Today Portsmouth fans are being told today that an unnamed UK-based businessman with a "substantial amount of money" could be on the verge of becoming the club's fifth owner this season. The man responsible for breaking the news of his client's potential bid is property tycoon Rob Lloyd. He claims that the mystery buyer "will spend two weeks sifting through the club's finances before deciding whether to bid", before adding: "People need to back off and let us get on with the job."

While Portsmouth fans will be pleased with any mention of new investment coming into the club, they will also feel justifiably cautious at comments from Lloyd that he and his investor are "looking at a club on its knees". While this statement is true, the last thing the supporters want is another owner who doesn't have the long-term interests of the club at heart.

There was also news this morning that the club will be forced to pay a fine of £1 million to the Premier League as a sanction for having broken a number of rules throughout this season, such as the late payment of players' wages and transfer fees. The money will be taken directly by the Premier League from the club's share of TV revenue for this season, a move which echoes the one taken recently to withhold £9m from the club so that Chelsea and Watford could be paid the money owed to them for the sales of Glen Johnson and Tommy Smith respectively. With all this going on it's no surprise that the Pompey Supporters Trust is rapidly increasing its membership. Dan Cook

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