Pompey boss Danny Cowley issues worrying prediction for Championship clubs

Pompey boss Danny Cowley issues a worrying prediction for Championship clubs and backs a model being used at the Fratton Park outfit.

Every season, it seems to be that at least one second tier team find themselves handed a points deduction which has gone on to then spell relegation.

With that in mind, Danny Cowley believes many Championship clubs could follow Derby’s footsteps into financial meltdown as he has backed the self-sustainability approach owners at Portsmouth champion.

Many of the Pompey supporters looked on enviously during the summer as League One rivals splashed the cash in pursuit of Championship football – something which frustrated numerous managers.

That saw Cowley miss out on some vital signings as the Blues were blown out of the water by clubs with apparently greater financial muscle.

Danny Cowley did manage to stretch out slightly bringing in the likes of Joe Morrell and Mahlon Romeo within the 14 new players that overhauled the squad inherited from previous boss Kenny Jackett.

However, he was still limited in what he could do and now he’s admitted he’s right behind the long-term vision Blues chairman Michael Eisner has shown during his stewardship.

A policy of investing in the club’s infrastructure has been evident in his four year term as the owner of the club, with stadium currently undergoing a £11.5m face lift and the recent purchase of their Roko training base.

He believes that approach will mean further rewards in the future – something that can’t be said of some the short-term strategies in place at Championship level.

Speaking in the latest episode of Pompey Talk: The Podcast, Cowley said: ‘They (the Eisners) have always promised they will run it (the club) in a sustainable way and you have to respect that.

‘And the fact that they are constantly investing in the club’s infrastructure is so positive for the long-term future of the football club.

‘You see so many owners just investing in the team and, yeah, that can create short-term success – but it can create long-term problems as we are witnessing and observing in the Championship.

‘You look at a number of clubs in the Championship at the moment who are in dire straits financially.

‘And I think there’ll be more clubs at that level that will join them in the coming months.

‘Look, I’m a football supporter, I understand that everyone wants success tomorrow. We get that.

‘But I think everybody should know we are a club that has outstanding owners with real business acumen and who really care about the long-term future of the club.

‘I genuinely believe that and feel really comfortable saying that.’

Cowley adds that he and the club’s board have a good relationship due to everything being laid out on the day he joined.

He approved of Eisner and his fellow staff members’ honesty when it came to budgets and affordability in the summer transfer window.

‘For us, I believe it’s always the club’s responsibility to tell us what’s affordable and then it’s our responsibility to tell them what’s good value,’ Cowley goes on.

‘And that’s how we see the relationship.

‘You know, they’ve given us clarity from the beginning, we know exactly what we got to work with this season, and we are working and trying to do our very, very best within the constraints that we’ve been set.

‘We’ve had clarity from day dot, which is so important for us as a management team – to know exactly what we’ve got because then we can then look at it and try to identify the very, very best value moving forward.’

Meanwhile, his side currently sit 12th in the League One table, and on Tuesday, his side lost to Sutton United in the EFL Trophy, see is how fans reacted after the game…

@pompey9219: We’re league one for a reason & the Papa Johns Trophy is the closest we’ll be getting to silverware. Pathetic that a Club of our size can’t compete with a stronger, bigger squad.. 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎

@jamiefox83: Jeez that was poor! Play the kids next time Cowley! Can only do better surely

@BrookJason: Poor management from DC I’m afraid. Don’t normally knock the guy but KJ would always start with a sprinkling of youth. Change them later as the game goes on. You won’t know what they are capable of until you put them in that situation!

@furniss_alex: You know that was one of the worst experiences ever when I was glad full time whistle went. Only positive was I got a wave off Danny Cowley. Embarrassing night

@monolocoUK: Fortress Fratton curse

@Aaron25650310: No shots on target at home sorry not good enough!

@vowedblue70: Brilliant just the moral boosting display we needed. Useless the lot of em.

@Courtsjuddx: Wank.

@CanadaPompey: Not sad to be out of the pizza box pot but for the team to perform so utterly underwhelming and without even a whimper is utterly embarrassing. #FreezeTheirPay and #RefundTheFans. #UtterGarbageFromMinute1 @ExpressFM

@jezzurps: 🥴 breaks done them wonders then