Portsmouth may start Championship season with slimline squad

Portsmouth face the prospect of starting the season with only one experienced goalkeeper and 17 senior outfield players. Under Football League rules all clubs in administration are subject to a transfer embargo and Pompey's hopes of having their sanction lifted appear to be fading . The deadline for HM Revenue & Customs to decide whether to challenge the Company Voluntary Arrangement proposed by the administrator of Portsmouth, Andrew Andronikou, is midnight tomorrow. If, as all indications suggest, HMRC lodges a challenge, Portsmouth will remain in administration and the embargo will continue to apply. "We believe the HMRC are going to appeal, that is the indication we are getting," said Andronikou. "As long as there is an appeal process, the registration embargo will continue to be in force for the foreseeable future. However, we expect any appeal hearing to be held in October or November. Before then, if the squad is below 20 we can still bring in players, regardless of the embargo. That is allowed and is something we are looking at." Football League rules dictate that every club must have 20 players in their first-team squad. David James is Portsmouth's only senior goalkeeper and there are 17 senior outfield players in the squad. However, there are believed to be enough young professionals at Fratton Park to reach 20. This suggests that contrary to Andronikou's expectation, the League is unlikely to relax the transfer embargo. Andronikou's CVA proposes that creditors should receive 20p in the pound on their dues over a five-year period, a figure that is expected to rise to 25p if the club wins promotion back to the Premier League. The taxman's dispute with the CVA surrounds the value of its claim. Portsmouth say HMRC is due £24m. HMRC says it is due £37m. Calculating the precise figure is crucial to the future of the club. If HMRC is proved correct and votes against the CVA, more than 75% of creditors by value will oppose the process. That would lead to the club being placed in administration.