Just two promotions should do it...

The News’s multi-page Portsmouth Football Club coverage added detail, comment and raised interesting questions.

Tornante the Investment company owning PFC, is a media and entertainment vehicle and CEO Michael Eisner is reputed to hold a $2bn-plus fortune. We must assume then that financing PFC is not a sleepdepriving problem.

It’s still difficult to process that one day in ‘liddle old US of A’, a very rich man awakes and decides to invest in a rundown soccer club, poorly managed and owned and unsuccessful sportswise - thousands of miles distant. One assumes not with charitable thoughts but as a money-making proposition.

Not a problem, unusual but welcome news for PFC’s huge support. Now revealed ( I missed it before), the bottom line.

The huge North Stand rebuild now depends on the very hit or miss premise that Pompey obtain Premier League status!

Could be years, could be never and the financial pot of gold at the end of the PFC rainbow and very much Mr Eisner’s too is a hotel, conference centre plus 500 homes. All is revealed!

Nevertheless if PFC fail to reach the Premier, and chances of even the Championship look remote currently, then Tornante could have a long wait. Fair to add Eric Eisner and board members issued a very resident-friendly and welcome statement on future intentions and large sums already spent and still being spent on renovating our ageing stadium.

One comment was puzzling... that ‘bringing 29,000 fans to the area was irresponsible and Goldsmith Ave was a problem’.

As a former Milton resident in Pompey’s heyday and recalling two 50,000 gates, the majority arriving without cars, – it coped! OK, it’s not ideal in 2022 but leaving a huge sports stadium in a tightly congested residential area in one of Europe’s most congested cities is the real issue and I suspect one not factored into the original purchase. Nevertheless Tornante’s financial prudence is to be applauded. But

I suspect the ‘big profitable deal’ anticipated rests purely on two promotions and may never occur.

Jon Cole BlountRoad Portsmouth