Storrie wants to end 'innuendos'

Storrie wants to end 'innuendos'

Published Feb. 27, 2010 3:40 a.m. ET

Peter Storrie hopes Portsmouth's administrators publish the club's accounts to put an end to "innuendos" surrounding his role in their demise.

Chief executive Storrie has been angered by reporting of the clubs transfer dealings, claiming that transfer fees are exaggerated and that people focus solely on income, not profit.

Taking the sale of Niko Kranjcar to Tottenham as an example, he said: "I've seen on TV tonight apparently we got £15million for Kranjcar.

"I'm sure (Spurs chairman) Daniel Levy would be quite upset to think he'd paid that for a person in the last year of his contract.

"Kranjcar went for about £2.5 or £3.75million to my knowledge - a slight discrepancy in the numbers.

"I've looked at these numbers and I've gone through it all. People forget that, yes, you get all this income in, but what about the cost of all these players to buy them?

"They don't come for free, they come with transfer fees, they come with sell-ons when you sell them on.

"The actual number is about £87-90million depending on what exchange rate you use, but the actual cost of that is over £70million - the profit is the only thing the club makes.

"You can't just look at the income without looking at what it's cost you. It's unbelievable."

Storrie, who will tender his resignation when Pompey is sold, added on Sky Sports News: "I'm absolutely certain the administrator will go through the numbers and show everybody the figures, and I hope he does.

"I would encourage him to show every single person the numbers of what we got for players and what they cost us, because I'm sick and tired of these ridiculous comments.

"The national news was running these crazy figures tonight; unbelievable, quite unbelievable."

Storrie rejected suggestions the numbers could vindicate him, saying: "I don't think there's anything to be vindicated about.

"They're all there, they're factual numbers, the Premier League can show you the numbers, the Football Association can show you the numbers.

"It all goes through their accounts, it all goes through their books, they are written in stone.

"By all means, anyone look at them. I'm sick and tired of all these innuendos." Portsmouth were finally put into administration today by owner Balram Chainrai to prevent the club being wound up.

Chainrai is the fourth owner the club have had this season, but Storrie traced the club's problems back to the rein of Sacha Gaydamak.

Gaydamak pumped money into the club after buying it from Milan Mandaric, but when his funds started to dry up, the club struggled to cope with increased overheads.

"If you have a scenario when your owner wants to run the business this way and he is supporting that financially, then that's the way the club goes forward," said Storrie.

"The issue is when suddenly, unfortunately for circumstances out of his control, the finances dry up and he hasn't got any more money to put in, you have existing commitments to pay for and they have to be paid for with no income.

"It was something that was outside of the control of Sacha, who tried very, very much to put a lot into this club but unfortunately his finances dried up through things in the world economy."

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