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Mid-Day Ticker: Portsmouth may not end season, Fowler on Blackpool trial & more

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 Photo by Kieran McManus/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Less than four years after winning the F.A. Cup, Portsmouth is in danger of not completing this Championship season, administrator Trevor Birch said.

The club, which entered administration last month and has dropped to second-to-last because of a concurring 10-point deduction, will not receive parachute payments from the Premier League, Birch said, leaving the club financially strapped. The payments instead will go to former owner Sacha Gaydamak.

"We had previously stated that there was a real danger of the club running out of cash before the end of the season," the club said on its website. "The risk of this happening increases substantially without the money from the football authorities. Unless something significant happens, there is a real possibility that we may not be able to fulfill the season's fixtures."

Here are some more stories to keep your Thursday rolling:

FOWLER SEEKING BLACKPOOL CONTRACT

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler, the fourth-leading scorer in Premier League history, has joined Blackpool for training in hopes of earning a contract for the rest of the season.

Fowler last played in England with Blackburn in 2008 and has since spent time in Australia and Thailand. The Englishman had planned on playing in India this season before the new league was pushed back from its planned March 24 debut.

Blackpool is currently fourth in the Championship, positioned to be in a playoff for promotion to the Premier League.

ENGLAND IN NO RUSH TO NAME MANAGER

The England national team may end up waiting until mere days before the start of Euro 2012 to name its new manager, said Sir Trevor Brooking, one of the FA officials in charge of making the appointment.

"I think you could get somebody parachuted in a few days before it, though I'm sure there are some people in our group who don't want that," Brooking told The Independent. "We will take our time. I don't see anything happening soon."

England U-21 coach Stuart Pearce guided the Three Lions in their friendly against the Netherlands on Wednesday but acknowledged he is not a long-term option for the senior national team. 

AGGER SIDELINED WITH FRACTURED RIB

Liverpool centerback Daniel Agger will be out for "a few weeks" with a fractured rib suffered in the Carling Cup final, manager Kenny Dalglish said Thursday.

Agger was removed late in regulation during Liverpool's penalty kicks triumph over Cardiff City on Sunday. In addition, the club could be without captain Steven Gerrard this weekend after he injured his hamstring during England's friendly loss to the Netherlands on Wednesday.

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Are you disappointed to see Portsmouth's financial struggles? Can Fowler help Blackpool return to the Premier League? Should England delay naming its new manager?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Fowler is a chump. He was “player/coach” of my team here in Thailand. He did next to nothing on the pitch and ruined our season with terrible coaching decisions. His temperment was such that he couldn’t even practice with the rest of the team, and he had fan groups calling for him to quit. One player was recently quoted as saying “We are getting better in training because there aren’t any ‘star players’ in our squad anymore.” Good riddance, and sorry to Blackpool if this goes through.

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  2. Relocate them lock, stock and barrel to either Portsmouth, New Hampshire or Portsmouth, Virgina and put them in a USL developmental league. That way, they have to change their financial ways drastically, but at least the can keep calling themselves Portsmouth.

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  3. I agree @ MemRooj about the salary cap for the MLS. It has worked so far. I would like to see relegation but the may be things like “how many teams get relegated” “parachute payments” and quality of the 2nd tier league teams being promoted?

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  4. I completely agree, the current salary cap and other controls in MLS suck when you want to see teams bringing in big talent but this is a perfect example of why the rules are necessary.

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  5. Not the end per-se, but their doom nevertheless. Many clubs become broke and are allowed to play their way back from the bottom, like Fiorentina or Fortuna Köln.

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  6. If Portsmouth doesn’t play out the season, then they might be done for permanently. No one will buy sponsorships, because they’ll be afraid of not getting their money’s worth. It’s a dangerous cycle. This might be the end of Portsmouth.

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  7. That’s one depressing picture. Hope they can turn it around. Seems doubtful tho. If Euro soccer doesn’t start regulating its finances more strictly, a lot of clubs are gonna be going through this in the future. I am so so so thankful for MLS and it’s salary cap and other financial restriction. People will complain because it might limit talent, but it is what’s right for us. Over time we can loosen things up but we should never lose the basic model.

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