Portsmouth's home, Fratton Park
Portsmouth's home, Fratton Park

Finance Expert hits back at Portsmouth board blame after Championship start

Dan Plumley

Dr Dan Plumley is a senior lecturer and researcher at Sheffield Hallam University. He's a Chartered Global Management Accountant and spends his time researching football finance for our website. He's also a member The Football Collective, who are dubbed as the 'academic voice of football'.

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Dan Plumley insists it is really harsh to blame the Portsmouth owners for the poor start to the Championship season.

The Tornante Company, operated by the Eisners, have pumped over £15million of improvements into Fratton Park, but Alex Crook recently suggested they haven't given John Mousinho a chance on the pitch.

Plumley, a football finance expert, believes it was a huge achievement to get back in the Championship after some rotten years, which need to be put into perspective during the struggles this season.

"I think it's really harsh to look at blaming the board at this moment in time," he exclusively told Pompey News.

"If you look at where that club has been over the years and getting back to the Championship was a huge achievement.

"We talked about, at the time, it can add an additional £6-7million on the revenue line linked to the broadcasting deal in that league, but that's not a huge amount of money in relative terms and can get swallowed up in the transfer market quickly.

Portsmouth blame game begins at Fratton Park

"We have seen them put other plans in place for infrastructure improvements and long-term developments, the backing of the manager.

"I always thought they were going to be up against it, being towards the bottom of the table doesn't help with that and the performances, but I think given where that club has been in recent years and the journey they're on, it's really harsh to start blaming the board."

John Mousinho
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho [Credit: Imago]

It was a dream return for Colby Bishop on 9 November, as he scored to pick up a vital three points in the 3-1 win against Preston at Fratton Park.

That leaves Pompey 23rd going into the final international break of the year, only three points separating them and safety, as it stands.

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