"They've been suffering" - Yakubu questions Portsmouth's Premier League aspirations under Michael & Eric Eisner | OneFootball

Former Portsmouth striker Yakubu has questioned the club's ownership

Former Portsmouth striker Yakubu has cast doubt over whether the club can achieve promotion to the Premier League in their current state.

Pompey were promoted back to the Championship in 2024 and managed to achieve survival in relatively comfortable style last term.

Their home record throughout that campaign was particularly impressive, with the South Coast outfit picking up points from 18 of the 23 matches they played at Fratton Park.

That hasn’t been the case this time round, with Portsmouth winning just four of their first 19 matches. Only two of those triumphs have come since August and they have lost five times at home, which already matches their tally from the previous season.

Although Pompey look to be more concerned about avoiding relegation at this moment in time, owners Michael & Eric Eisner recently affirmed his ambitions to take the club into the Premier League - but not everyone shares that belief.

The 83-year-old insisted that despite their current troubles, Pompey’s ownership were still only focussing on achieving promotion to the top-flight.

That goal seems fanciful at this moment in time, with Portsmouth currently sitting in the relegation zone after 19 matches.

Yakubu played for the Fratton Park outfit from 2003 until 2005, helping them win the second-tier title during that time. With this experience in his locker, the Nigerian striker doesn’t believe the current Pompey squad are capable of such an achievement.

The 43-year-old took aim at Eisner in particular, highlighting the club's lack of investment when compared to other Championship sides as one of the main reasons why they can’t go to the “next level” at this moment in time.

“It is a nice city, it’s not a big stadium, but they love football,” stated Yakubu to Portsmouth News.

“They’ve been suffering. They’ve been suffering for over 10 years now. So they need to work so hard.

“And then the investment… when you try to get promoted to the Premier League, you have to invest. I don’t think they have that investor who can put in that money for them to take you to the next level.

“But at this point they’ve been doing alright. And I hope that we get a chance to play in the Premier League again.”

Modern football has become a sport influenced heavily by finances, with the likes of Wrexham showing what is capable in recent years once a team has sufficient backing.

A trend has emerged of the teams coming down from the Premier League almost always fighting for promotion the next term, sometimes leaving the rest of the division in their wake.

This is purely down to how much money they can spend on better players, which is an area Pompey will have to improve in to secure a top-flight return.

According to Capology, only Charlton spend less on wages than Portsmouth in the whole of the Championship, which highlights a huge reason why they are fighting to stay in the division.

Yakubu suggested that the Eisner family aren’t investing enough into the South Coast outfit to make them competitive and based on this evidence, he certainly has a point.

If the former Disney CEO wants to take Pompey into the Premier League, he’s going to have to start pumping some more capital into the club.