It could very well be the key to Crouch sticking around; it also could bring players from far and near to the south coast to play for Portsmouth. It could be the key to success or at the very least staying in the Premier League for the next little while.
Yes, finally, Portsmouth have a new owner. Sulaiman al-Fahim has completed the takeover of Pompey and upon reading the news I actually gave a yell, pumped my fists and high five'd everyone in the room.
And all of this on the day of our first friendly, hopefully the good news will be a boost to the team. Speaking of which, our first match is against Havant & Waterlooville at 7:45 PM.
Back to the topic at hand however, now that the £60 million takeover is approved Paul Hart is likely out of a job, so today's post will be about the likely replacements.
Paul Hart- I know what your thinking, "He just said he was out of a job!" I did, but there is a chance that the current caretaker manager could become the permanent one.
Pros- Hart made 567 appearances and scored 39 goals as a defender between 1970 and 1988 so football experience is clearly a non-issue. As for managerial skills he has managed Chesterfield, Forrest, Rushden and Diamonds, and now Portsmouth. He also headed the Youth department at Leeds where he won 2 Youth FA cups. The bulk of these players would eventually go on to take Leeds to the Semis of the 2000-2001 Champion's League.
Cons- He has lost two of his jobs in high profile fallouts with chairmen. And seeing as a new chairman is what we're getting this may be a problem. He lost 22 consecutive games and went two months without a goal. This may be a case of wrong place, wrong time. But it's hard to ignore.
Roberto Mancini- Tagged as "One of the most talented players of his time" Mancini was last seen as the manager of Inter Milan. Could we see him at Fratton soon?
Pros- With Inter Milan Mancini won two Coppa Italia, two Supercoppa Italiana, and won the league three times. These honours made him the most successful Inter manager in 30 years. When he left he had an astounding win percentage of 61.94%, a number that betters Rafa Benitez and Alex Ferguson with Liverpool and United respectively.
Cons- It's hard to find a con, he seems a perfect fit, except for the fact that English isn't his first language. However, he has said that he would be open to a move back to England.
Avram Grant- Before managing Chelsea Avram Grant was the Technical Director at Portsmouth, he might favour a return.
Pros- Avram Grant has been managing for a long, long time. Since 1972 in fact. The Israeli also boasts a higher career win percentage than Mancini, he also led Chelsea past Liverpool in the CL semi-final, something that former manager José Mourinho could not do. I quite like Avram Grant and think that he would fit in with the club.
Cons- Grant is a tad old fashion and is set in his ways, that could turn out to be a good thing, but it also might cause discontent between the new owners. The other con could also go both ways, he likes to invest in the youth players and that could be good, but also could turn out badly if attention is taken from the first team.
My favourite out of the three is Avram Grant. He knows what he's doing and he's been with Pompey before. I'd love to see him back at the club.
Hopefully the next time I write Pompey will in a better spot than they are now. The future looks bright and with any luck this takeover will do wonders for Pompey.
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