Al-Fahim Takes Control

Last updated : 21 July 2009 By Jim Bonner
Doctor Sulaiman Al-Fahim has been named as the new chairman of Portsmouth Football Club after agreeing the sale of the club in principle. Al-Fahim Asia Associates, a company owned solely by Al-Fahim, are the company that will now officially own the club.

The Premier League announced that it gave the green light for Al-Fahim to complete the takeover after the UAE businessman passed the new fit-and-proper-person test.

In addition to this historic announcement, Paul Hart has been confirmed as the new Portsmouth manager on a two year contract after the Doctor revealed that stability was the key to his appointment after he guided the club to safety last season.

This is obviously excellent news for every Pompey fan as it ends constant speculation over the deal and should now bring in some steady investment and a long-term plan to develop the club.

The news that Hart is the permanent manager was greeted with lukewarm reception at best, but he must be given a chance to prove his worth and we all need to get behind him, rather than on his back.

Peter Storrie has also announced in an interview with PFC TV that there are around 7 transfer targets that Pompey are looking to sign in the near future and that around three or four deals would be concluded in the next few days.

He said it will be a "busy few weeks" now that Pompey are clear to bring players in, although he said that Hart may also sell a couple of players for "tactical reasons".

Now that the takeover is finally complete we can all look forward to some fresh new faces coming in rather than constantly read about players wanting out. On that front, Sunderland have pulled out of the race to sign Peter Crouch as he would prefer to settle in the South, meaning Fulham and Spurs are going to battle it out for him.

On a final note, we shouldn't forget all the good the Sacha Gaydamak has done for us. We many not like what he has done to the club in the last nine months or so but he delivered two fantastic seasons as well as a memorable FA Cup triumph.

But you can sense the huge amount of relief in the Portsmouth air tonight now that the takeover is complete and now fans can focus on who we're going to sign in the near future and how the club is going to progress.

A new era is upon us, welcome to Portsmouth. Dr. Al-Fahim.