By Chris Overthrow 

I have noticed a rise amongst views that the proposed ‘Michael Eisner’ takeover is a bad idea. Some have stated the club should always remain with the fans and others are worried we will get burnt again. 

I am not going to lie. Every single one of us fans is slightly sceptical and very cautious. We all remember from 2008/09 until the fans stopped the rot and took over the club in 2013.

If any of you have ever watched Mark Catlin’s videos every month you will know that Pompey have the potential for; ‘A competitive league 2 budget, mid-table league 1 budget or poor Championship budget’. Although it has never expressly been said, the club have hinted that the board are ambitious and would be looking for some form of investment at a later date.

Yes we are getting a little ahead of ourselves but when is a better investment opportunity going to come around?

– Eisner is a big name in the USA he can prove his wealth had no history or corruption or dodgy dealings that I know of
– Eisner and his sons love football
– Eisner has apparently said a major part of what attracted him to PFC was the fans and what they did to save the club. I don’t think he would dismiss them us if we are a major factor
– It has been reported in ‘The News’ that Eisner’s money would be in equity not loaned against the club. That means in the event of him wanting to leave we wouldn’t be burdened with debt.
– The very fact he wants to buy a league 2 club with no money shows us that the money isn’t a factor. If he wanted to turn a quick profit he would have been better pursuing Reading still.
– When (and if) we eventually get to Championship level. How long do we wait for the right person? I don’t often see many open transparent potential owners around football these days.

In an ideal world all clubs would be fan owned but we don’t live in an ideal world. At least 95% of clubs would have to follow this model for it to work. If we want to be ambitious I think it’s only right we look at this deal.

Now I am not saying we walk blindly into this. I am as cautious as all of you. We need to scrutinise every aspect of this. We need to push for fan involvement and we need to make sure the future of our club is as secure as it can be.

I am afraid some who call for 51% fan ownership and 49% investment are not realists. The guy isn’t going to pump money in if he knows he could be pushed out of the club at any time. You must also remember that the more an owner invests the larger their share becomes. Look at the ‘High net-worth’s’ who had their share increased upon investing in the club.

To address the dodgy owner question. Yes we have been burnt by the likes of; Al Fahim, Al Faraj, Chainrai and the Gaydemak’s but we have just been very unlucky. There are many other clubs where owners have improved them.

Eisner is a 75 year old man. What gain would he get from taking over Pompey and destroying it? Is it not possible that he wants to enjoy his twilight years and invest in something he enjoys, not for profit, but for fun. After all, how many of you would buy our club if you had £1bn in the bank just for the fun and enjoyment.

Everyone, whether you are totally up for this or you’re firmly against it, I ask you keep an open mind. Those fans who put their hands in their pockets and saved the club in it’s hour of need will never be forgotten but this is a chance to return our club to where it deserves to be.

I for one am going into this next chapter full of excitement but understandably very cautious. Who’s with me?