The Joker Returns

Last updated : 11 September 2012 By Jim Bonner

As suspected, former Portsmouth owner Sulaiman Al-Fahim is interested in purchasing the club once again.

It is still unclear if Al-Fahim is bidding for the club on his own or as part of a consortium, as the man himself has claimed both. All that is known is that he (or his group) have placed over £12 million in an escrow account as proof of funds to take over the club.

We all remember how badly Al-Fahim's first tenure at Portsmouth was back in 2009 before selling to Ali Al-Faraj.

I personally remember his biggest claim of building a 40,000-seater "ecostadium" that would "guarantee us a top six finish every season." - Sham he didn't mention what division that was in.

Other fans will remember suggestions that he was going to bring Diego Maradona into the club as a director of football and allow him to sign players such as David Villa.

He also liked to double up as a talent scout in the UAE, more-than-hinting at one point that he was attempting to bring "top Arabian talent" to Portsmouth, whilst fully acknowledging that signing players was the job of the manager, of course.

A part of me wonders if he has come back to try and recoup the reported £5 million he lost when he owned the club the first time round. Perhaps his £50 million loan application has finally been approved?

At least he won't have to worry about asking authorities to extend the transfer window deadline as there will be plenty of players available to sign on loan until January.

Pompey fans have struggled to take anything Al-Fahim says seriously and so it is difficult to treat this "bid" as anything but hyperbole at the moment.

Yes, the proof of funds might be there but that doesn't mean anything. That money will surely be removed from that account and who knows where it has come from? It's not as if Al-Fahim had the cash last time.

It'll be interesting to see how this develops. I'm not even sure how I'd feel about Al-Fahim taking over again. The man is deluded but he does genuinely care about the club and has got to be a better alternative than Portpin.