American billionaire bids to take over Pompey

I have to say he seems to be everything all the previous chancer's have not been. Open and transparent - and his question about ambition hits the nail firmly on the head and he's right....we can only move beyond League 1/2 with money behind us. Really like the scouting and Academy approach he favours. We are not bad with bringing youngsters through but have to admit we are not close to our stripey neighbours at this point in time. I'm cautiously optimistic and only hope that he has a fans rep on the board in a non exec role but is a voice of the people of the city who saved the club when nobody else really gave a s**t.

 

This website: http://the72.co.uk/79095/portsmouth-appoint-southend-united-manager-new-boss/ is running a story that if Eisner takes over he might remove Paul Cook and seek to replace him with Phil Brown with the reason behind the idea being that Eisner might want his own man in charge of the team. It would be very harsh if true because Cook currently has the best win/loss ratio of any manager since Harry Redknapp and is on the verge of getting Pompey promoted back to League One, but this is one of the circumstances that I could actually understand a change in management even if I didn't think it justified - a manager has to have the full backing of the owners/board and be on the same page if they want to be successful, so a change ownership can remove that trust and be detrimental to the club.

 

It's more than likely just an agent trying to get another deal for his client. Can you imagine Michael Eisner has even heard of Phil Brown?

Plus it first appeared in the S*n.

 

I'd give Cook a fair crack at League 1 if we went up. We don't want to be like Southampton.

 

If the takeover does go ahead then there won't be enough time to get in a new manager before pre-season starts. If the takeover goes ahead I couldn't imagine ME wanting his first cost to be paying off the manager and the coaching staff.

 

Actually, Nigel Adkins was given a chance and was beginning to make a decent fist of it. Our then Chairman decided to bring in a chap nobody had heard of called Pochettino and the rest is history. Since then, our problem has been getting them to stay, but it's not like we dropped Adkins as soon as we were promoted.

 

Yeah Cook deserves his crack at League 1 - once we are actually up. Fair shout Channon - I think Adkins was very good for you and so far that is an area you are doing well in....but that is the trouble - any success and Managers and players get nicked....are you the south coast Spurs of a few years ago? May not be the worse thing...look at them now.

 

Yes, Cook deserves a chance. If things don't work out, Nigel is currently between jobs I believe. Top man who knows all about getting promoted from L1. Could the fans be "grown-up" about the Saints history, I wonder?

 

Must admit, that thought did cross my mind earlier... decided to not post it though

 

Well that is a question - who knows - it's happened before. I want PC to get his crack of the whip though - and as much as I'd love to think we'd romp it in Lge 1 the realist in me says mid to upper table should be our aim first time round then go for it in year 2.

 

The information pack sent to shareholders is available online for your perusal. I can't vote (not being a shareholder), but it's interesting nonetheless. I don't like the fact that without investment, there's a suggested £5 increase on match day tickets. £20 seems good value for money (well, depending on how the team play on the day)...

Seems like he's not going to judge on the PST representative on the board... I'm more concerned about what will happen when he chooses to sell, rather than so much under him though. The heritage board is a nice idea, but it's powers are fairly limited (though the fact that it would exist at all is a step up from most clubs).

http://www.pompeytrust.com/userfile.../ProposedSaleInformationPackforPSTMembers.pdf

 

Something to peruse
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39796079

 

A series of articles on the News website interviewing Eisner and his plans: 1 - http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/f...speaks-over-pompey-manager-s-future-1-7944863 2 - http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/f...ty-stupid-to-separate-pompey-s-home-1-7944915 3 - http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/f...uture-income-relies-on-badge-change-1-7945085 4 - http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/f...far-but-i-m-at-pompey-for-long-haul-1-7945098

He's said all the right things for me and made a really good pitch for ownership.

 

If Blackburn come down, I would make Blackburn and Wigan favourites to return to the Championship. Hope Scunthorpe make it to the Championship!!

 

A thought just crossed my mind. Given ME's links to Disney, I do wonder if he has half an eye on Southsea Sea Front and the fairground there. To my mind it really could do with some serious investment. Imagine a giant rollercoaster ride on the front to replace the little one there at the moment? Am I right that you pay for the ride? Wouldn't it be better to pay an overall entrance fee and then go on all the rides thereafter as at Thorpe Park and Chessington.

 

I was going to ask how it went, but Woopert answered that.

There have been a few opinions on our forum, but generally we all wish you well. I certainly do. It all depends on what you want your club to be. At Saints we are somewhere in our own negotiations to taking a 'next step'. Only Katharina is making our choice for us. You are getting to make yours, but from this perspective you are looking at remaining a League One or Two club, in my opinion, under fan ownership [and that's no bad thing, as I can attest to, but wouldn't you rather be in the Chamionship or PL.?], or opting for the outside big investment and ownership. And this guy doesn't look to be a Gaydamak, and he has genuine money behind him. Yes, he will possibly look to sell the club on, in the future, but he'll want to do it with a big profit, so you'll be a bigger, more prominent and competitive club in the end. Just be aware of the dodgy money the next time. And that's a moment we, at Southampton, have managed to circumvent twice. Best of luck.

 

Sounds very positive indeed Woops.

Reckon you should (and will) go for it too. Hope it all works out for you

 

I know he's here for the long haul, but did he say anything about how he would ensure stability after him... i.e. what's to stop him selling to a Chanrai in the future?