HMRC has confirmed it has issued a winding-up order against Portsmouth Football Club following an unpaid tax bill of around £1.8 million.
In an official statement from Pompey, it has been confirmed that the hearing for the winding-up petition will take place on Monday, February 20th. The statement was released today to clarify certain aspects of the club's current situation now that the information is in the public domain.
It has been revealed, to no great surprise, that PFC has failed to pay its last two tax bills due to CSI being unable to fund the club due to going into administration.
It is worth noting that when CSI went into administration that the officials at Portpin Ltd assured the people at Pompey that they would fund the club until a new owner was found.
However, because Andrew Andronikou has not been able to sell CSI's other assets, he has not been able to generate income for Pompey. Therefore, it comes has no surprise that the statement claims that we may have to sell players to keep the club going.
So unless the unlikely event of someone buying Portsmouth FC in the very near future, us fans can expect the likes of Ward, Pearce and Henderson amongst others to be sold as the vultures circle.
Another piece of news to come from the statement is that the Football League were in the process of finalising a decision about the impending ten point penalty.
That may take longer now because of the unpaid tax bill and should David Lampitt convince the secured creditors such as Balram Chainrai and Sacha Gaydamak to fund the club to protect their investment, then that is surely gaining a financial advantage which would then certainly see Pompey hit with a points penalty.
More tough times ahead for us, then. Still, more and more fans are coming round to the idea of starting again should the worst happen.
If it disposes of the parasites who have leeched from this club and gives us a fresh start, albeit in a lower division, would that really be such a bad thing?