Professor Nutmeg
ML Fanatic
- 3 July 2002
This should be interesting over the next few months :mrgreen:
Portsmouth fans are daring to dream that Alexandre Gaydamak's takeover of the club could do for them what Roman Abramovich has done for Chelsea.
The 30-year-old businessman, the son of a Russian billionaire, is to become joint owner of the Premiership outfit alongside chairman Milan Mandaric.
And the Fratton Park faithful are already planning how manager Harry Redknapp will spend the £100m that will reportedly be made available for new signings.
But who is the man who has allegedly promised to make Portsmouth a Premiership giant?
Little is known about the younger Gaydamak, apart from the fact that he is based in London and has Russian and French citizenship.
A Portsmouth statement said: "Harry will have the full backing of Mr Alexandre Gaydamak and will continue to enjoy the full support of Milan Mandaric."
And if the promises of vast amounts of transfer money come to fruition, Redknapp - the famous wheeler and dealer, could have more money at his disposal than he has ever had previously.
When Redknapp left Portsmouth in November 2004, Mandaric revealed that in the previous 30 months the manager had spent just £11.5m on transfer fees, loan fees and appearance payments for 25 players.
He may now be able to spend that sum at once and on just one player.
Some of Gaydamak's cash will also be earmarked for the development of Fratton Park and the contruction of a Chelsea-style 'Pompey village' with apartments, restaurants and shops.
And with Portsmouth struggling at the wrong end of the table, Pompey fans will be hoping the money will be able to keep them in the Premiership.