Q: OK then, how did that happen?
A: How long have you got? The short answer is a shocking disregard for basic housekeeping: do not spend more money than you actually have. Portsmouth have been ignoring this one for at least four years.
The slightly longer answer is appalling mismanagement, combined with an arrogant belief that the usual rules do not apply, naked greed and a failure on the part of the authorities to regulate the industry properly.
Some will want to add corruption to this ****tail (and I may, one day, be able to say something about this), but if we are going to go down that road we should also remember our own guilt as co-conspirators: we have all demanded more "ambition" from our clubs but have rarely cared about the cost.