Portsmouth to be given £800,000 cash boost by Football League to help complete Championship season Earlier yesterday, Balram Chainrai, the former Portsmouth owner, had said that he should be the "last choice" in the search for a new owner. Chainrai, who is owed around £17 million as a secured creditor, met Birch on Sunday, when the sheer scale of Portsmouth's difficulties became clear. The key problem is the club's annual wage bill, which is still estimated at £12.5 million.