Money No Object, Object To No Money

Portsmouth's takeover discussions should lead to a Supporters Trust representative remaining on the Board, according to a survey by the Trust.

The view appears to be at odds to early statements from Michael Eisner, who sees the supporters being part of a 'heritage' board to protect the finer details of the Portsmouth 'brand' rather than the operational running of the club.

More than 2000 supporters largely backed talks with the former Disney chief, and generally thought the club would be able to achieve a higher league placing with a Billionaire behind them than the current ownership setup, although they wanted to retain a supporter voice on the club Board.

However when it came to funding a new stadium and increased investment in the playing budget, supporters voted for new shareholders or owners to be the ones to cover the financial needs, with less than 10% of respondents expecting the current shareholders, including the supporters, to cover the bills.

Nearly half of respondents had 'no reservations' on Eisner buying the club, with an almost equal number not wanting a single person owning the club again.

Meanwhile the single owner model remains badly broken at Leyton Orient. Off-field staff have issued a statement saying they have started a grievance process with the club over unpaid wages, but that the complaint has not been responded to.

Staff still have not received their March wages, with little more than a week until April's sums are due, and have received no communication as to whether they will receive the money either.

Over at National League Barrow, their single owner model has just recorded a £1million debt to their owner over the past trading year. Owner Paul Casson loaned the club £990,754 in the past 12 months to the end of May 2016, with the US based businessman telling the press he had no intention of calling in the debt.

That £1million investment saw the Bluebirds end the 2015/16 season in 9th place, ten points outside the play-offs. This season they are in 7th place, outside the play-offs by four points with just two games remaining.

With a similar debt likely to have been accumulated this season the Bluebirds are likely to be nearly £3million in debt by the time the current financial year is complete, on fairly static average attendances of 1300.