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Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Portsmouth players still waiting for December wages


Troubled Premier League club Portsmouth have again failed to pay players their December wages, but hope to do so on Wednesday.

Portsmouth have lurched from one financial crisis to another in a troubled season, in which they lie bottom of the league.

Club officials had promised to clear the debt on Tuesday, but a further delay has arisen. The club have now secured a short-term bank loan to pay the players - but they are still completing the necessary paperwork to release the funds

It is the third time the players' wages have been delayed, although the club did pay non-playing staff their December wages on Monday.

On Monday, it was revealed that the Premier League is set to use Portsmouth's share of the latest television monies to pay off the club's debts to other top-flight sides. Chelsea, Tottenham and Watford are all owed money by Pompey and the Premier League will split £7m between them.

The action is allowed within league rules to protect clubs who are owed money from transfers.

And in another blow, the club have been told they will not be able to extend Jamie O'Hara's loan deal from Spurs. The midfielder is due to return to White Hart Lane on 15 January, and with an embargo in place, Pompey cannot re-register him with the Premier League.

Unless another sugar daddy owner appears on the horizon it appears that Portsmouth's stay in the Premier League will end in May, and that this season could have a severe long-term impact on the football club's finances.

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