History repeating at Portsmouth?

Observers of Al Fahim may have noticed some similarities between events at Hydra and at Portsmouth FC.

At Hydra, Al Fahim quickly built a global reputation based on the apparent success of his property development company. He has a flair for PR and was able to use the media to project an image of success and personal opulence. In the UAE the media will often adopt the establishment position and will not seek to challenge the accepted position.

When the Hydra Village development began to stall, Al Fahim gave very public assurances that all was well. People who had purchased the property were given comfort by the statements. As time progressed, more assurances were given - these included target dates, percentages of completion, and further comforting statements.

The people who had invested in Hydra Village were largely concerned, but not unduly alarmed by events - after all Al Fahim was the CEO Of The Year and was the 'star' of a TV series devoted to Hydra's success. Many purchasers, who were financially and emotionally tied to the Al Fahim vision initially found it difficult to accept the true postion.

Ultimately we all know how this ended at Hydra. Purchasers trusted Al Fahim and relied on his assurances for far longer than they should. Al Fahim remained at CEO of Hydra refusing to acknowledge that there was any fundamental funding issue. He continued to confirm that the development was progressing and that investors should simply bear with him. Ultimately, owners Royalgroup had to remove him from the CEO position and installed a new man. Now, free from Al Fahim, Hydra has faced up to the true position and is beginning to resolve the problems.

When he burst onto the scheme at Portsmouth FC, despite events at Hydra, Al Fahim's image was strong and the media initially was almost entirely positive in respect of Al Fahim personally.

At Portsmouth, the takeover has continued to stall. Emotionally connected to the club, supporters understandably took time to see the position - their emotion and passionate desire for the dream vision to be reality made it understandably difficult to see the flaws. Throughout all this Al Fahim has assured fans that all is progressing on track. Each new statement,like at Hydra, pushes the perception of those emotionally involved away their belief in a negative outcome. However, with the tide of public perception changing, the reality that Al Fahim is not as originally projected is now increasingly being accepted.

Increasingly, it seems like at Hydra, only by ultimately removing Al Fahim from the picture will enable the position to be resolved.

Clearly we are now reaching the end game at Portsmouth. It is not absolutely impossible that Al Fahim will find the funds to complete the takeover (he is well connected after all). Few things are impossible and compromises and additional funding is not completely inconceivable. However, we would recommend that fans of the club view this scenario as an unexpected 'bonus', rather than with any great level of expectation.