Manager Paul Hart was sacked in November and replaced by Avram Grant, who stayed until the end of the season.

[2] In 2010, Balram Chainrai loaned former owner Ali al-Faraj £17 million, secured through collateral of Fratton Park grounds and the club itself.

He intended to sell the club as soon as possible, and in the meantime he leased Fratton Park back to Portsmouth, with possible future rental yields of nearly a million pounds annually.

Andrew Andronikou, Peter Kubik and Michael Kiely of accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young were appointed by the club as administrators.

Even before the season began Portsmouth saw a net transfer spend in the far negative, with key players such as Glen Johnson, Peter Crouch, Niko Kranjčar, and Sylvain Distin all departing the club.

On 3 October, media outlets started to report that a deal was nearing completion for Ali al-Faraj to take control of the club.

Falcondrone also agreed a deal with Gaydamak the right to buy, for £1, Miland Development (2004) Ltd, which owned various strategic pockets of land around the ground, once refinancing was complete.

An opening run of seven defeats raised fears Hart would be sacked, but at the eighth attempt, at Molineux, Hassan Yebda (another loanee) headed in to secure the first win.

Paul Hart was sacked by the board on 24 November, based on the poor results that left Portsmouth at the bottom of the league.

Despite the financial difficulties, Grant's time as manager was initially successful, having won two of his first four games in charge (against Sunderland and Liverpool) and only narrowly missing out on a point against league leaders Chelsea.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) filed a winding-up petition against Portsmouth at the High Court in London on 23 December.

Meanwhile, it was announced on 5 January that the Premier League were to use Portsmouth's share of the latest installment of television broadcast monies to pay off the club's debts to other top-flight sides.

A Nepalese businessman based in Hong Kong, Chainrai took over Portsmouth as part of a clause in a loan deal he made with the previous owners.

A full court hearing of HMRC's winding-up petition was held on 10 February and the club was given a "stay-of-execution" for a further seven days with a view to securing a new buyer.

After beating Birmingham City 2–0 on 6 March, Portsmouth qualified for the FA Cup semi-final, to face Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on 11 April.

However, Portsmouth was denied entry due to its financial state, with Premier League's 7th-placed team Liverpool taking over its place.