For better or worse, the Premier League has been largely spared by the financial crisis and economic recession in the last two years, what with transfer fees and wages spiralling upwards while austerity measures were frowned upon, but in the fullness of time, one must expect the day of reckoning to arrive when the limit to how much debts a club can rollover or snowball is breached.

Portsmouth is facing its darkest moment currently. Entering administration means the club is virtually certain to be relegated when their 19 point tally is slapped with a 9 point deduction. With only 11 matches left to preserve their Premier League status, Pompey has to win at least 7 games, which is a tall order even in the best of circumstances.

Are they up to the task? Last Saturday, Pompey displayed enough gumption to edge out fellow relegation candidate Burnley in a morale boosting 2-1 victory. Portsmouth struck through Piquionne but a Martin Paterson goal returned the scoreline to parity and it was up to Algerian Hassan Yebda’s penalty to settle the game.

The fans can take heart from this victory; even if the cause is lost, the players are determined to fight for their pride. Manager Avram Grant, who shaked hands with the travelling fans after the game, said: “Despite everything, we were fighting today. You saw the spirit today, you see the real trait of people in difficult days. I still believe, I want to stay positive.”

Let’s hope the troops continue to respond positively to Avram Grant’s rally. However, it will take all of Grant’s abilities to steer the ship when the administration soap opera is underway. Firstly, the ship is now rudderless. Chief executive Peter Storrie has tendered his resignation instead of staying on for a nominal salary to sort out the financial mess which was created during his tenure.

Last year, he took home more than £1 million when the club is already insolvent. I can understand paying good money for top talents but what is the point of having a chief executive if the club is going to be run into the ground? Employing a minimum wage cleaner in that position will suffice. There should be a clawback in Storrie’s bonus or he returns the bonus willingly but that is just wishful thinking.

Instead of feeling remorseful, Peter Storrie looked on “favorably” on his eight years of service. Portsmouth fans will beg to differ. Questions abound over Storrie’s leadership and ethics but at the moment, transparency and accountability are in short order.

While wages at the club are high and the tattered ground is too small to generate sufficient revenue but where did the television money and transfer money from the sales of players like Diarra, Muntari, etc go to? Why wasn’t the money used to pay down mounting debts?

Andrew Andronikou, from Hacker Young, has been installed as chief administrator and he has promised to review all expenses and open up the books, even calling in the police if money laundering is uncovered. Andronikou has a reputation for doing the right thing so Portsmouth fans should not jump the gun on any alleged wrongdoings (on Storrie’s part or the owners).

There is little love lost for Peter Storrie but in the coming weeks, there could be more departures. Avram Grant is unsure if he will stay until the end of the season. England goalkeeper David James, the most experienced member in the squad, has volunteered to take a pay cut than be shown the door. The relegation battle could be made easier if other highly paid footballers in Portsmouth share the same sentiment.

The priority for the administrator is to find a buyer for Portsmouth but this is easier said than done. To make matters worse, the stadium and surrounding land is no longer owned by the club, thanks to financing deals made by “fit and proper” owners.

Balram Chainrai made a £17m loan loan to previous owner Ali Al Faraj in return for mortgages on Fratton Park and the club. Chainrai became Portsmouth’s fourth owner of the season after the club defaulted on repayments due to him.

The inability to find a suitable buyer sparked his controversial move into administration but as a secured creditor, it gave him priority after football creditors (like players, staff, etc) to be repaid. Ironically, Balram Chainrai is likely to emerge again as Portsmouth’s owner. In the absence of new investors/suckers, regaining control of Portsmouth with the debts largely wiped out will allow him to preserve his investment and possibly profit at a later date.

There are other legal disputes awaiting Portsmouth too. It has been sued by former defender Sol Campbell for £1.7m for unpaid image rights. The football club is also involved in a separate dispute with former owner Gaydamak over whether they have missed a deadline in paying a £9m chunk of the £28m they owe him.

Pompey must also enter a Company Voluntary Agreement for unsecured creditors by the end of the season or start next season with another deduction of at least 15 points which could result in another relegation into the Championship and put off any potential buyers.

On the bright side, Portsmouth will be a more stable and financially viable Championship side. Administration is definitely the lesser of two evils compared to a winding up order and there are already four interested parties circling in. The winding-up process, started by HM Revenue and Customs, due before the High Court this week, will be suspended automatically.

Andrew Andronikou has requested for a meeting of the Premier League board to ratify the nine-point deduction. He will also try to overturn rulings that prevent them from selling players outside the transfer window. This rule is too cumbersome for the administrator. If players have not contributed enough to justify their high wages and refuse to take pay cuts, the direct way to reduce the debt burden is to sell them, rather than waiting for several months to take action.

With Portsmouth going into administration, it is set to receive outstanding payments from the Premier League – including parachute payments paid to relegated clubs – totalling £36 million.

The Premier League has also given Portsmouth written permission to raise £20m against the promise of the future funds. However, the League will retain about £16m to pay off football debts. Besides the advance payments and raising of fresh capital, negotiations forcing creditors to take a haircut and offloading of redundant players will make the £70 million debt less daunting.

Tighter Regulations For A Sustainable Premier League

Two years ago, Portsmouth fans were on cloud nine after winning the FA Cup. This is hardly surprising, considering Portsmouth’s last taste of major success was a double-championship in 1949-1950. Unfortunately, the joy evaporated all too quickly in a humiliating administration.

How did a football club dig itself into such a ruthole? The assets have been milked dry, leaving little incentives for new investors to take over. The best chance is to find a sugar daddy like Roman Abramovich who can sustain a club without borrowing.

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan believes Portsmouth troubles are far from over, despite going into administration. In fact, the club could be six months away from going out of business completely.

Sullivan learnt about the difficulties the hard way when he decided to save West Ham – season ticket sales and TV revenues had already been securitized, sold for years in advance.

He said: “The big problem is finding a buyer. Can anyone tell me why anyone would want to buy a club with so many problems? Not just the debt, but both clubs no longer own their own ground or the car park, and without the land the clubs might very well be worthless if those debts exceeds its value.”

To be sure, many parties are at fault. The owners who turned out to be less wealthy or scrupulous than thought. The greedy but incompetent chief executive, manager and players are culpable too. And let’s not forget the responsibility of the Premier League too.

In their rush to rake in the millions that TV brings, they have turned a blind eye to what has been happening at the club. Portsmouth are not alone in following the accepted Premier League model for a club – overspending, beyond the club’s means, financed by loans from an owner and banks.

The Premier League’s “fit and proper persons test” is designed to assess whether prospective buyers have the finances to run a club, yet Portsmouth have had four owners in seven months – all of whom are far from capable of financing or running the show.

UEFA, displaying a rare foresight and leadership, have acted to implement “financial fair play,” which will require clubs to break even from 2012-13. The Premier League still allows budget overruns so long as owners pour in money to fund spending.

However, such an approach is dangerous and unsustainable. Chelsea have an owner, Roman Abramovich, who willingly dumps money and the club operates without caring about deficits or answering to creditors. The situation becomes dire when the owner grows tired of the club and does not commit fresh funds.

Manchester United and Liverpool are also up to their eyeballs with debt. If earnings becomes insufficient to make interest payments, the death knell will sound on the two most decorated clubs in England.

The FA chairman, Lord Triesman, has identified reliance on owners as a key vulnerability in his speech at the Leaders in Football conference of October 2008. He said: “Debt is at high risk levels. The clubs are owned by either financial institutions, some of which are in terrible health, or very rich owners who are not bound to stay, or not very rich owners who are also not bound to stay.”

In fairness, the Premier League has not been turning a blind eye to financial indiscipline entirely. Last summer, it introduced new rules, including a “going concern” test by which accountants will examine future financial projections for a club. The problem is that future projections are notoriously fuzzy concepts.

If Portsmouth are winning domestic trophies and qualifying for European competitions, Gaydamak’s finances appear impeccable, and banks are making loans with abandon, you could make ridiculously rosy assumptions without considering any downside.

Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe stepped into the fray by reminding that Portsmouth’s plunge into administration serve as “a massive wake up call” to ensure football get its financial house in order. Sutcliffe has been a strong advocate of tightening the rules on prospective buyers of football clubs and Pompey’s misfortune should prompt football authorities into action.

Sutcliffe is also concerned about the number of top-flight sides currently saddled with debt though he treaded carefully on government intervention in football expenditure. He has also proposed having more supporters’ voices on the board of directors.

I concur with Gerry Sutcliffe. The Premier League must examine itself and weed out bad practices to protect its own reputation. Even as broadcasters fall over themselves to pay obscene amount of money for TV rights and football fans thrill over the action served up by the world’s richest league, this season’s Premier League will be remembered “fondly” for having a football club which fell into financial ruin.

But I doubt Richard Scudamore considers Portsmouth’s administration a major embarrassment to the Premier League. It is solely down to bad management rather than oversight and so long as he continues to sign lucrative contracts, everything is fine. In that respect, he is successful for securing yet another bumper round of international TV deals for the Premier League from 2010-13.

No doubt, the Premier League is a very marketable product for all its entertainment and glam, but there is a point when fans no longer enjoy the farce as football clubs enter administration in unison. If that happens, the Premier League becomes a mockery for losing control of errant football clubs, dealing with administrators, following up on unpaid salaries to footballers and staff, and checking on buyers when they pick up clubs’ carcasses.

Indeed money, while indispensable, should not be the deciding factor of a successful league. A football club cannot be about achieving glory at the expense of its survival. Even in its mediocre ways, a club provides entertainment and unites the passions of fans, some of which grew up watching the games and treat it as family. Some fans are now screaming their hearts out “Portsmouth till I die!”

It is not worth the trouble to buy great players, pay them lots of money, win some silverware and then go into administration. Portsmouth’s owners have gambled away the club’s future and its proud 112 year heritage, all in the hope of hitting the jackpot. They walk away none the worse for wear when the pipe dreams were dashed.

Pompey will be ‘cut to the bone’ after entering administration and there is no guarantee of its survival. For a club starting all over, they may have to recruit players from Football League or academy cast-offs, and probably only a local manager. Top class football may have to wait for years. Haven’t we seen such debacles in Leeds United, Southampton FC or Crystal Palace before?

Will football fans still show the same interest in the Premier League if Manchester United and Liverpool go into administration and slipped into oblivion? Portsmouth is only the tip of the iceberg and there are more club failures over the horizon.

It is time football fans make a clear statement they do not want to be exploited by greedy owners who act more like corporate raiders. There is little purpose served in leveraged buyouts except to benefit the owners and enslaving the football club with debts.

Arsene Wenger has shown that he can provide quality and entertaining football at Arsenal through talent spotting and development at the youth level instead of buying accomplished stars at exorbitant prices. We need more football clubs to adopt his philosophy if the Premier League is to sustain itself for the next decade.

Premier League club Portsmouth have been accused of damaging the game by one of the leading football authorities as problems mount for the south coast side.

The club failed to pay their players’ wages from December on time and seem to be mired in financial turmoil. They are reported to have debts of £60 million and last week the Premier League used Portsmouth’s share of TV money to pay transfer fees owed to other clubs.

The threat of a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs also hangs over Fratton Park. Furthermore, despite earlier assurances, it has now been revealed that Portsmouth paid their non-playing staff before their footballers.

This has angered the Professional Footballers Association, which claimed that Portsmouth’s players are “entitled” to be angry and ask questions of the club as this is the third month in a row that their pay has been late.

Nick Cusack, senior executive of the association, told the Daily Express that the situation at Portsmouth “questions the very integrity” of the Premier League and his organisation plans to speak to the players affected.

He said: “When two teams take the field, it’s 11 versus 11 and you would expect all 22 players to have been paid.

“If one set of 11 has not [been paid] then that can call into question the commitment of that team and therefore the integrity of the game itself.”

With many people in football betting that things at the club will only get worse, a players’ revolt could be on the cards.

The chief executive of the Premier League club has admitted that the financial situation is a massive problem and the owner Ali al-Faraj cannot help Portsmouth’s cash flow problems.

A number of players may have to leave Fratton Park in order generate much-needed cash at the club. The likes of David James, Younes Kaboul, Nadir Belhadj and Kevin-Prince Boateng have all been linked with moves away from Portsmouth.

“If the way to keep this club alive is to sell a couple of players again, we will have to do that – but it will be an owner’s decision,” said Peter Storrie.

“It will look doom and gloom but what is the other side of that? The other side of that is if you do not sell, then you could well be going into administration.”

Portsmouth’s owners and board are currently working to solve the situation at Fratton Park by raising a short-term loan to meet the sums owed to both the players and HM Revenue and Customs.

It is a worrying time for the club and there is a real possibility that they could be the first Premier League club to go into administration, so the next few weeks will be vital.

Players are highly likely to leave Fratton Park during the January window, and with a transfer embargo currently placed on the club there will be no new faces coming in.

This will do nothing to aid the side’s ambitions to avoid relegation from the Premier League and Portsmouth really need to start winning games as they are currently five points from safety.

Their next league game is at home to Birmingham, and Portsmouth have a tricky run of fixtures on the horizon during which they face title-chasing Manchester United and their neighbors City in the space of seven days.

Given the state of Portsmouth, there wouldn’t be many willing to bet on the Premier League side avoiding the drop.

It could be a long season for Portsmouth fans and many won’t care if their team is in the Premier League or Championship next term as long as it still exists in some form.

The slender 1-0 victory averted the possibility of this year’s final being an all-Championship showpiece. Absence of the Big Four in the FA Cup may have taken away the shine and some international audience but there is no worry about declining gate receipts – 83000 fans (a record for a FA Cup Semi-Final) were there to create a vibrant atmosphere.

Portsmouth heroics also salvaged some Premier League pride. The FA Cup has never been contested by two teams from outside the top flight since professional football started in England in 1888-89. That record was in danger of falling but Portsmouth, as the sole representative of the Premier League, put paid to the notion.

Understandably, the stakes are high as both teams rarely ventured so far in the FA Cup. The tension was palpable and neither team was cool enough to take their chances and posed any real threat in attack. It was only in the second half that the match came to life.

In the first half, five time FA Cup winner West Brom looked more lively. The partnership of Morrison and Gera along the flanks and Kevin Phillips in a deep central position caused turmoil in Portsmouth defense. A quick, inter-passing strategy gave West Brom better shape moving forward while Portsmouth were content only to absorb pressure.

Kevin Phillips’s first attempt at goal from the edge of the box drifted past keeper David James but the latter had to be alert when Zoltan Gera fired from a central position. James had only time to parry but Sol Campbell dispatched the ball to safety.

David James nearly fumbled again when he presented Phillips with a chance when preventing the ball from going out for a corner. Phillips was a shade too slow and James managed to extinguish the danger in the nick of time. If the goal has been scored first, West Brom will get the chance to add to their last FA Cup in 1968.

Portsmouth, going strong in the top half of the Premier League, didn’t have a shot at goal until Sulley Muntari’s 35-meter free kick in the 29th minute and the midfielder fired a dipping shot just too high just before halftime. They began to impose themselves early in the second half, and dominated the midfield to stop West Brom’s attacks.

Within ten minutes of the restart, they had taken the lead. Glen Johnson delivered a long ball towards Baros and his chested control was excellent before firing across keeper Dean Kiely. The keeper could only push the ball along the goal line and in the scramble, former Baggies hero, Kanu, was on hand to roll the ball into the unguarded net in front of the ecstatic Pompey faithful.

Portsmouth could have killed the game ten minutes later. A threaded ball from Niko Kranjcar split the Baggies defence. But Baros took one touch too many and Kiely smothered. It wasn’t a surprise when Baros was replaced by David Nugent shortly after.

West Brom also made a couple of changes, bringing Ishmael Miller and Chris Brunt into the action as they sought an equaliser. Gera did well to carve an opening from from 20-yards, only for it to go over the bar, and Koren had a fine shot from a similar distance which struck the bar.

Miller also came close, connecting well with a low cross, but the man whose hat-trick in the last round helped West Brom reached the semi-final was unlucky to see his effort, the Baggies’ last of the afternoon, skid wide of the post.

Harry Redknapp said: “It’s great for Portsmouth to be getting to a cup final. Where we were two years ago and five years ago it’s amazing,” referring to the club’s annual struggles to avoid relegation. “Now we’re sixth in the league and in a cup final.

“We are rightly favorites but we all know that on the day anything can happen. We will be favorites and, if we play as we can play, we have got a fantastic chance of winning it.”

West Brom manager Tony Mowbray now has the task of recharging his team for the challenge of gaining promotion. Going into this game, the Baggies were fourth in the League Championship and only the top two are guaranteed promotion.

“The message coming out of the dressing room is, let’s go and earn the right to go and play teams like Portsmouth week in and week out,” Mowbray said.

West Brom striker Kevin Phillips said Baros used his arm to control the ball and the referee should have ruled the goal out. He said: “You know what these officials are like, they tend to bottle it a little bit in these big games. Portsmouth have been very lucky today. If (only) we found that goal when we dominated in the first half. I don’t think we deserved to lose.”

I feel it is sour grapes to pin the blame on the referee. West Brom displayed some classy touches but they let themselves down with a lack of killer instinct. The consolation is they can now focus all their attention on promotion hopes and on the back of this performance, they deserve it.

Portsmouth are thriving under the stewardship of Harry Redknapp and his bunch of ex Arsenal players Lauren, Diarra, Campbell and Kanu. I don’t know what Wenger is thinking when he sees all his former charges doing well at other clubs. David Bentley at Blackburn is another case in point. Will Wenger feel the pinch or he believes he has done the right thing?

His policy on youngsters is right for the long-term benefit of the club but when push comes to shove, the youth can be unpredictable and inconsistent. A good mix of seniors, with their experience, is needed to helm the squad to provide stability and consistency.

Cardiff City will meet up with Portsmouth in the FA Cup final after a stunning goal from midfielder Joe Ledley gave them a 1-0 win over Barnsley in the other semi-final, ending the latter’s giant-killing run. In such a match-up, the smart money is on Portsmouth to stand up on the podium, unless Cardiff City can prove us wrong.

The 1-0 scoreline between Manchester United and Portsmouth tells part of the story. The minnows were not on the ropes but instead stunned their classy counterparts with purposeful, resilient football and an immense desire to win.

In the case of Manchester United, the referee is to blame, according to Alex Ferguson. He said: “The game was decided by the decision not to give us a penalty. Pompey had great confidence to hang on knowing the referee was on their side.”

United deserved to get at least a draw for their enterprising play. They were off the blocks in a flash and they laid siege on the visitors for long periods. For all the chances they created, unfortunately, the players provided a variety of lessons on how not to score.

In the first half, Portsmouth held firm as Carlos Tevez and Rooney tested the reflexes of the keeper. Manchester United rue an unheeded penalty appeal as Sylvain Distin barged into Cristiano Ronaldo. After the interval, Portsmouth continued their frantic defense, with Sol Campbell outstanding at the heart of their resistance. However, a 78th minute penalty by Ghanaian Sulley Muntari, after United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak had been sent off for fouling Milan Baros, settled the match.

Certainly, it was a jubilant night for Portsmouth as they have not won at Old Trafford for 51 years and their last semi-final in the FA Cup dated back to the loss against Liverpool in 1992. Portsmounth manager Harry Redknappp said: “It was the worst draw we could have got but it was a great performance and a great result. We deserved our luck.”

Redknapp enjoyed a personal triumph as he never got past the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, even as he amassed a remarkable record against Manchester United, knocking them out thrice in this competition, with three different clubs – Bournemouth in 1984, West Ham seven years later, and now at Portsmouth.

However, the hard-fought victory was marred by questions on fairness and competence of the referee. Alex Ferguson’s anger extended beyond the abysmal decisions of the referee, Martin Atkinson; referees’ chief Keith Hackett was also accused of not doing his job.

He said: “Diarra had eight fouls in the match, it is incredible. Someone is going to get a serious injury in our game. I agree with Sepp Blatter, the standards in our game as opposed to the Continent – the tolerance level – is behind Europe.”

But was the penalty appeal as decisive a factor as what Ferguson claimed? The replays show that Diarra’s shoulder charge was a tactical foul, intended to destroy and not to win the ball. In a 1-to-1 situation, he did the best thing he could by sending Ronaldo sprawling to the floor, knowing well that he is no match for the trickery and pace of the Portuguese. Letting him through to face the keeper, having already scored 30 goals, is tantamount to disaster.

I am sure it is a yellow card offense, even if it happened in the first minute and the referee was not in the mood to reach into his shirt pocket. Of course, Ronaldo’s reputation for playacting doesn’t help and it was regrettable that payback has come at this inopportune time.

Cristiano Ronaldo expressed concern about the lack of protection from referees. He said: “Refs don’t protect skilful players. I think about Eduardo and I am scared sometimes to do skills because some players do unbelievable fouls.”

“It is very disappointing and I am thinking a lot about changing my game. When referees don’t give penalties, yellow or red cards, it is difficult to play.”

I don’t think Cristiano Ronaldo will be changing his game much, the fear factor is being overplayed. Scoring 30 goals for a midfielder is sure to attract attention of defenders who has to stop him at all cost. Ronaldo should already be accustomed to the English game after a few years in the Premier League and the tackles he has experienced are heavy, even bone-crunching in extreme cases. When a defender is constantly embarrassed, the only way to prevent further humiliation is to go for the tormentor himself and turn the tackles malicious.

It is not acceptable but the English game is deep-rooted in its acceptance of physicality and such behavior has some way to go before it is eradicated. The faster route is of course to leave England if he fears for his legs, but the fact remains that injury is part and parcel of the game, in any league, and whether you are skillful or not.

Ronaldo can choose to go to Italy where the game is more tactical and defense-minded. After given a license to roam for the Red Devils, he will find the efficient Italian system too restrictive for his talents. The Italians also do not take too kindly to showmanship and losing face, considering where Marco van Basten ended his career prematurely, it is not a wise career move. In Spain, the tackles may not be less intimidating than the Premier League too but it is a likely destination in future.

Currently, Manchester United is the best club for him. It is lucrative (many foreign players see it as their retirement nest), there are lots of local and international media attention, and Alex Ferguson is like a father figure to him (a unique quality which not every club can furnish).

Ronaldo’s comments are intended to create more protection for himself in later matches. He is frustrated that his usual flowing game is interrupted unfairly. I can’t see the midfield wizard making his game staid, it will be unbearable for him, but some change like passing the ball quickly, instead of dribbling all the way to the heart of the opponent’s defense, may happen.

The Big Four cannot survive the FA Cup, I believe it is not a drop in standard, but more that they are jaded and distracted by the European competition, and of course, luck. If Manchester United want to take a positive from this match, they can now focus more on the Premier League and Champions League, eking out a draw may make them suffer even more with their jammed schedule.

Campbell must have been so pissed off that he rang the BBC up to raise a ruckus. In the BBC Radio 4 Today program, he said: “We can all take the booing or light banter, but when it gets to the realms of verbal abuse, it’s a bridge too far. If this happened on the street, you would be arrested.”

“This is the 21st century and this is a human rights situation where sportsmen and managers are trying to do their job professionally and people are abusing them verbally.”

And Campbell has likened such abuse to racist chanting. He said: “There is no difference for me, it’s harmful. They are trying to belittle you and it is downright out of order.”

The abuse which boiled over was during last week Premiere League fixture against Tottenham at Fratton Park. The Portsmouth captain, still a hate figure among some Spurs fans over his 2001 departure to their bitter rivals Arsenal, was barracked as usual. But this time round, the insults may have rubbed him the wrong way or Campbell had grown more sensitive with age.

According to the Campbell, the FA had “buried its head in the sand” on the issue. He said: “People are letting it go by, not saying anything in the papers, clubs are doing nothing about it.”

The FA has responded promptly that it is actively working to prevent abuse from supporters in the stands. “There is legislation in place to deal with abusive, threatening and racist behavior by ejecting and arresting offending individuals. Put simply, it is against the law,” an FA spokesman said.

What does Campbell expect? At the age of 33, he should already be immune to such treatments. It means nothing to opposing fans that you are an international player (on the decline) who has given his career to club and country.

Moreover, when you are being viewed as traitor, the fans are not going to give you gentle nudges and winks. Compared to the reception meted out to “traitors” in other soccer leagues, the situation in England is not an aberration, but that is not saying that it should be encouraged either.

To eradicate bad practices on all fronts, the professional footballers should set the right examples first. Campbell is no angel when his rants against match officials is taken into consideration. I am not sure what are the exact words exchanged but judging from some of the photos, it will certainly not be light banter. One wonders what are the feelings of these match officials too?

And god knows what the Premiere League clubs are going to do when half the population in the stadium are as boisterous as those who got on the nerves of Sol Campbell. Do the clubs throw all of them out, fine them, bar them, or worse, send them to jail?

Soccer is a passionate game; if the fans sit back in the stands munching on prawn sandwiches and behave daintily under the watchful eyes of a battalion of police, something is not right with the atmosphere. I will be staying in the comfort of my home to watch the live telecast in this case.

Soccer fans are the life blood of the players, clubs, English Premiere League and the telecasters. Without the fans spending crazy amounts of money to watch 22 over-paid egos kicking a ball around for 90 minutes, any soccer league is as good as dead and the players will be relieved of such treatment since they will be seeking employment elsewhere.

As professional footballers, they are ultimately entertainers, and they are paid as such, so they can be judged by the audience for good or bad performances. If it is bad or unpopular, the fans will let them know, so long as the unruly mood doesn’t turn violent.

There was predictable delight on some Tottenham fan websites that a raw nerve had been touched. And you can’t stop their abuse in this manner. The next time Campbell step into Spurs territory, nothing is going to change unless the fans are barred from their home ground.

After seeing how Sol Campbell orchestrated the campaign against crowd abuse, I believe he has a promising future as a public spokesman after retiring from football. By the way, what do you guys think of the verbal abuse?