Prince of Pompey

The role of the owner of a English Premier League club has taken a greater significance in recent years.

A decade ago it would have been difficult for even the most ardent football supporter to name half of the owners of England's top-flight clubs. However, today it's a different story with the super-rich foreign businessmen becoming just as famous as the players of Europe's most lucrative domestic competition.

It seems these entrepreneurs want a far greater say in the running of the team; after all, they are the ones ploughing in the millions. Naturally, that brings conflict, and the relationship between manager and owner quickly becomes unsettled.

When Thaksin Shinawatra and Roman Abramovich – billionaire owners of Manchester City and Chelsea – found results falling beneath their [lofty] expectations, managers Sven Goran-Eriksson and Avram Grant were promptly dismissed. When the Glazer family bought Manchester United there was vociferous outcry at Old Trafford, and the constant bickering between Liverpool's American owners threatens to derail their quest to return to the summit of English football.

How refreshing then, that down on the south coast, the tycoon in charge of Portsmouth is taking an altogether different approach.

Alexandre Gaydamak is the French businessman of Russian descent who took control at Fratton Park two-and-a-half years ago. Happy to take a back seat when it comes to running his football club, Gaydamak believes that it is the job of his manager – Harry Redknapp – to deal with team affairs, and that owners should have no involvement in picking the team they help assemble.

There's a mutual respect between manager and owner; the kind of relationship that football clubs thrive on. Redknapp describes Gaydamak as "the perfect gentleman" and, when Newcastle headhunted the former West Ham boss to succeed Sam Allardyce last January, the owner known affectionately as 'Sacha' moved swiftly to retain Redknapp's services.

It's a partnership that has worked well. Allied with the expert managerial skills of Redknapp, Gaydamak has transformed Portsmouth to take them from the verge of relegation to a FA Cup triumph – Pompey defeated Cardiff at Wembley in May – and into European competition for the first time in their history.

As hugely ambitious as he is wealthy, Gaydamak, at 32, is the youngest owner of a Premier League club. He grew up watching a Marseille team with Chris Waddle performing at his peak, a childhood that perhaps served as a catalyst for his love of English football and that would later entice the businessman to get directly involved.

He aims to turn Portsmouth into a club regularly challenging for a place in the top six. Plans are under way for a new 36,000-seater stadium to be built in nearby Port Solent by the same architects who designed Beijing's Olympic Stadium, and a state-of-the-art training ground is to be in place in the near future.

The club has not rested in last season's achievements either, as the Frenchman has further strengthened the FA Cup holders. Peter Crouch has joined from Liverpool for £11 million (Dh80.7m) and will form a formidable attacking partnership with Jermain Defoe, who signed from Tottenham in January.

Glen Little and Ben Sahar – the latter on a six-month loan from Chelsea – will add strength in depth for the long season ahead as the club fights on four fronts. More are expected to follow to lead the south-coast revolution.

Certainly Gaydamak seems to be in it for the long haul, with a vision for Portsmouth beyond the immediate future. With a willingness to let football people get on with footballing matters, his fellow counterparts should take note – this is the way to do business..


Aliens in EPL

Aston Villa: Randy Lerner
Chelsea: Roman Abramovich
Fulham: Mohamed Al Fayed
Liverpool: Tom Hicks & George Gillett
Man City: Thaksin Shinawatra
Man United: Malcolm Glazer
Portsmouth: Alexandre
Gaydamak
West Ham: Bjorgolfur
Gudmundsson