Portsmouth braced for another League One battle off the pitch - but the stakes are higher than ever

An understatement if ever there was one given recent events.

The Fratton Park chief has been in the ring, battling for the Blues, ever since the coronavirus pandemic brought football to a standstill in March.

He was up against the ropes as clubs in League One fought about whether the division should be completed.

A scrap then ensued over who should be in the play-offs.

Meanwhile, there was a bruising encounter as the fight turned to which points-per-game formula should be utilised to determine final league placings.

To his credit, Catlin stood firm throughout – going toe-to-toe with his adversaries in the best interests of Pompey.

And while he didn’t succeed in delivering his main objective of the 2020-21 season ending under natural circumstances, with all games completed on the pitch, he remained standing.

Battle-wary, no doubt, with the scars to show, but with the majority of Blues fans firmly in his corner.

Yet with such wounds now almost fully healed – despite the sucker-punch of that play-off penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Oxford – a rematch with now familiar League One opponents looks on the cards.

Only this time, the stakes are higher. The impact could have longer-lasting effects. There’ll be no climbing up off the canvass on this occasion if a body blow is suffered.

The EFL’s determination to enforce a wage ceiling on its divisions is not surprising given the impact that Covid-19 has had on clubs, particularly those at the lower end of the pryamid.

For the record, Pompey are all for sustainability in the game and ensuring clubs operate within their means.

After all, the Blues know all about the dangers that lie in wait if finances are stretched.

However, the league’s proposals appear a step too far in that general direction and will effectively punish clubs like Pompey who have the means to conduct their business at a certain level despite their League One status.

The £2.5m yearly salary cap falls way short of the estimated £4m budget the Fratton Park outfit utilised for the 2020-21 season.

And while some might argue it was hardly money well spent given the Blues’ failure to achieve promotion to the Championship at the third time of asking, surely it a club’s prerogative to spend their cash as they see fit, especially if it’s within their operational means.

Pompey announced a profit of £2.05m back in March, with a turnover of £11.57m.

Their £4m playing budget was clearly affordable.

So why impose stringent ceilings on a key aspect of a club’s make-up?

Why not introduce a wage cap indexed to turnover?

That’s what Pompey, and the likes of Sunderland and Ipswich have proposed.

And surely it makes for a better argument than that presently favoured by the EFL and some of the so-called smaller clubs.

Some of these outfits, don’t forget, don’t currently have a budget that comes close to the proposed £2.5m.

So, in theory, while the powers that be advocate sensible levels of spending and clubs operating at an appropriate standard, there's nothing stopping owners ploughing extra money, which is often their own, into their clubs to get them up to the level suggested.

Where’s the fairness in that?

An owner can overspend in one instance, while Pompey, with potentially money to burn in their pockets, are prevented from doing so in another.