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Pompey set for non-league
Portsmouth, 13:28, March 7, 2010 ,
A Portsmouth team could be playing in the Conference next season if the FA Cup semi-finalists are forced to go into liquidation.
A "Plan B" has been drawn up which would see Pompey reformed as a new club in non-league should the Premier League strugglers be wound up.
The possibility of that happening has been created by a challenge by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs over the process by which they went into administration.
It's widely expected a legal ruling will be returned in favour of Portsmouth when they go back to the High Court again on March 15th.
However, it would seem the club's fans are taking no chances on a successful outcome and as a result the Pompey Supporters Trust have set about exploring alternative options to keep a team going in the area.
One of the plans would see the new Portsmouth ground sharing at Westleigh Park - the home of Havant and Waterlooville, if Fratton Park is sold off to service an £80m debt.
"Of course we want to stay at Fratton Park but nobody knows who owns it and whether that would be viable," said Brendon Bone of the Pompey Supporters Trust in an interview with the Guardian.
The organisation is gaining support by the day, with nearly 2,000 members having signed up within the first few weeks of it's existence.
A new club could even go by the name of Portsmouth FC as one of their members, Mark Dugan, owns the company of that name with the Premier League outfit currently trading as Portsmouth City Football Club.
Former Pompey favourite Alan McLoughlin has been asked to manage the Plan B side with another former Fratton hero Guy Whittingham as his assistant.
Bone added: "There is no precedent for a club of our size going out of business, and we think we would be admitted into the Conference [one league higher than their landlords]. With the number of away fans we have, clubs in lower leagues wouldn't be able to cope."