Tony Adams issues Alexandre Gaydamak a warning

Fearful that the Portsmouth board will sell some of his top performers in the January transfer window, Tony Adams has threatened to pick his ball up and leave the playground if things don’t go his way:

“Jermain [Defoe]’s a threat and I’m sure there will be some big clubs trying to get him but hands off because he’s mine,” Adams said.

“The owner has been very supportive and although I’ve not made an issue of it I’ve told him that everyone stays who I want to stay or I don’t do the job.

“I told him that at the very start. He was very supportive of Harry and now he’s being very supportive of me.

Adams is quite right to take such a stance on Jermain Defoe - just imagine the dire consequences for Portsmouth if he were to leave. With his propensity to visit nightclub at least seven days a week, the striker keeps the south coast’s economy afloat, while his contributions to the region’s WAG wannabes is immeasurable…

Forty per cent of the top flight now owned by overseas investors

For a team like Chelsea, foreign investment has proven the difference between success and slightly more success, but not every club benefits. Now that Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim (pictured above with a Hollywood star and her grandson) has waded in with daddy’s oil cash, eight current Premier League clubs are owned by out-of-towners. Accordingly, The Spoiler has looked at the fortunes of each of foreign-owned club to find out if overseas money has helped or hindered the league…

Aston Villa
Owner: Randy Lerner

So far everything seems great. Martin O’Neill and Lerner get on well, money is readily being made available to sign players and Lerner was willing to support whatever action his manager chose to take in the Gareth Barry saga. Other factors that make Aston Villa an attractive model to follow are that they target English talent and although they occasionally pay over the odds, there isn’t the “we must finish in the top four or else sack the manager” mentality.

Chelsea
Owner: Roman Abramovich

Abramovich had an advantage over the likes of Lerner in that the club he bought were already a top four team, however, he still delivered a title in his second season. Wikipedia claim that “as of May 2008, Abramovich has spent approximately £600 million on the club since arriving in 2003.” Things have taken a turn