Players' union boss Gordon Taylor has called on Portsmouth owner
Ali Al Faraj to be "up front" about the financial problems facing
the club.
Professional Footballers Association chief executive Taylor
has been in contact with Portsmouth this week over the latest delay
in paying the December wages of staff at Fratton Park.
Portsmouth have been kept afloat since October by Saudi owner
Al Faraj, who has still to visit Fratton Park.
Taylor believes Al Faraj needs to make himself more visible
and admits it is a possibility that Portsmouth could suffer the
same fate as Leeds and plummet through the leagues if he cannot
stabilise the club.
Taylor said: "It's always a possibility when you see that
clubs over-reach themselves. But you do like clubs to be in the
ownership of people who are prepared to declare their interests and
be up front about it and you want them to be football lovers
involved for the right reasons.
"Now that may well be the case but there's a lack of evidence
of that, not just at Portsmouth but with other clubs as well, so
that gives you cause for concern."
Portsmouth are challenging the winding-up petition served on
them by HM Revenue and Customs before Christmas and will go to
court on Wednesday to argue the VAT portion of their massive tax
debt is too high by £7.5million.
Portsmouth's executive director Mark Jacob told BBC Radio
Five Live's Sportsweek programme today that claims the club were
between £60million and £100million in debt were "way off
the mark" but refused to give a more realistic figure.
Taylor, speaking on the same programme, responded by saying:
"Not even knowing the amount of money they're in debt pretty well
summed up the situation that is causing a great deal of concern to
the supporters and it's a club with a great past - and having said
that they won the cup not too long ago
"It's in a mess and it's like the Oscar Wilde quote - once is
unfortunate, twice looks like carelessness and we're into the third
time they have been late with wages.
"It's not what you expect of a Premier League club and that's
why the Premier League is so concerned about the situation.
"I didn't think we'd have the danger of a club going into
administration since Leeds hit the skids a few years ago, but of
course it has happened and with this amount of money now it's a
problem, there's no saying otherwise."
