Frank's cousin

Thats life... sorry, but we need to decide what we want and recognise you cant have itboth ways... Football at the top has gone twh way it ahs and it wont change - all you can hope for is an owner who is passionate about the club and recognises its value to fans and community and knows his business onions - in ML we seem to have that - he hows real joy in our success and loooks as ****ed off as any fan when we lose.... for me thats the most important part - sure a system like that in Germany which guarrantees fans being part owners is great but we cant chnage that. Thr problem is quite simple really - the SKY money. SKY dont give a **** aout football - only the overhyped Premiership Brand to market globally to folk to dont go to games - which dwarfs the number of fans that do - to make more money for themselves - so football at the top level is NOT and never will be about fans again in this country - it will be about the clubs brand and how selleable it is - the flip side is that the genuine fans do get the success they crave potentially, but at what price? the clubs clulture?. You can not blame NC for this or ML. We as fans have always demanded success, yet the reality is that that comes now at teh price of having a well managed and slick business strategy and marketing that improves our profile - higher profile, more TV, more revenue, better players, succcess blah blah... Global brand? no, but possibly a global cult following, If Beyer Leverkusen can get to a CL final, with (at teh time) a 22000 cpacity stadium, why not another club? - well in Germany the younger playesr tend to stay with their clubs until around 21-22... so they get a few years success.... hear our kids seem to so obsessed with the celebrity and glamour of big moves before they are developed, there is no real chance of holding onto the kids long enough for them to make an impact on the club success - only their own. I dont know what the answer is, but it not NCs fault - he has a mandate to drive the club forward and see us back in the top flight - possibly with a bit of European competition. He is doing what he believes and what I believe is the what has to be done in todyas footballing environment, thats all. For me the worst of it all is that when the leagues talk about the importanace of fans to theeh game, they are no longer talking about those that go to games, but about those that watch on TV and whose aliegence is fickle...

Agreed.. he may have looked out of touch with the brolly, but I think he has also learned a hell of a lot from working abroad - probably helped by players who are hungry, have technical skills on teh ball that ALLOW for more variation in approach and tactics... we are sadly so one dimensional - a failure that is bread into players, through placing too much emphasis on strength and pace, rather than technical abilty and confidence on the ball... our playesr are made to look better than they are in the prem, because of the quality foreign players IMHO... oh and having a media that in effect whould never support teh manager, trusting in a blend of hand experience...

What I find so churlish is the fact that this is always made so personal... it was with Lowe, with Wilde, with Crouch etc the dutch duo, all on the base and frankly immature and ridiculous assumption that these is some way went out of their way to screw up the club... and now some morons are taking teh same tack with NC... FFS. There is no problem in having a debate about the approach being taken, afterall that is what fans do and what a forum is for, but at least keep it in perspective. I get teh impression that there is still a divide amongst fans - not between supporters of a regime or person and those against him (if you scrape away and discount those that seem to always need a hate figure possibly to mask their own inadequacies - life must be so disspointing for them), but between those who still wish to see football clubs run to the oloder more traditional values of yesterday - a desire for the wonderful communities they bread and that were at teh heart of fan culture, and those that have recognised that the game has evolved to teh point where (rightly or wrongly) success is based on a sound business model that will sustain investment, where there is little room for sentiment, and little room for old school ways - now there is no problem in having either view and debating it, but as I said does it have to go to attacking NC personnally? We had enough of that childishness with Lowe et al. and I though we had finally grown up and recognised that if we wanted to grow as a club, we needed to look and support strategies that might not always sit well with teh spo called 'traditional values' - that is not NC's fault, its the way the game has gone... he is merely reflecting that need and driving the club forward with all that in mind - toe will be trodden on and some may not like it, but surely most can see the rational behind it.... then again, many struggled to see the rationale in NOT getting into debt to support the first team.... so maybe thats hoping for to much...

Jeez... this still going round and round? Ok twopeneth worth - cant resist. We seem to have developed this model chairman that we feel is suiatble for 'our' club. What we seem to forget is a couple of important things. 1. Whatever cliched crap fans like to talk about 'its in my blood' and its OUR club and the 'club is its fans' etc, there may be a few who actually believe this, but for teh vast majority of supporters we CHOSE to follow and support saints for a variety of reasons, but the important point is that its our choice. 2. The game has always evolved: from the old days of working men and players catching the bus with fans and local supporters often supporting ALL local sides, through the invention of the 'strife' by disaffected morons in te late sixties and 70s, to teh hooli in the 80s and to teh corporate machine it is today - advantges are that it cleaned up teh game to soem extent making it more attractive to a wider range of fans (although some dinosaurs obviously despise this) but its also means the costs have sadly closed the door to others. 3. The prem and sky revenues at the top as distorted the wage to revenue standards throughout the leagues - with it being almost impossible to compete in terms of quality players and associated wages within the normal revenue range - in effect without debt or benefactor - for years we never had one, so only saw profits reinvested, yet thought constantly bleeted on like a bunch of crying schoolgirls that teh club should invest more... no one has ever answered rationally about whose sh*t was going to miraculously change into greenback, but thats fans for you.... yet we hated Lowe because of it. Lets be honest, has he splashed cash from whatever source on players we loved, all teh other personality baggae would have been forgotten about - whatever some say now. 4. So we come to the crunch. We EXPECT promotion and investment in the team. We expect success because we are stable and have a rich owner who has stated we need to live within our means - yet how do we pay for that success? through our revenue, yet we moan about the ticket price.... what do we want more, success or cheap seats because you cant have both, not any more. Yes every so often a club does a Beyer Leverkusen and gets success because by soem miracle they have a decent crop of youngsters and a new manager who havae snuck under teh rader and have a good season... only to teh be decimated as tehy are raided by the 'big' (richer or more prepared to be in debt) clubs... and its over for another generation... we need to get used to that as well... 5. So what do we expect of NC FFS, why the need to like him? He is doing a job, from what I can see he is ambitious and wants success but not at any price and is not prepared to compromise his approach because of a minority of displeased fans... sure you can argue that keeping customers happy is part of any successful business strategy, but lets be honest, what eally keeps teh MAJORITY happy? will anyone really give a flying feck about ST dates and payment systems, or rumours and gossip about unhappy staff and the big long list from the whinging few if we win promotion and get some success? NO Yes there will be a few perrenniel 'what have the Roman's ever done for us' typees especially on here, for whom even if the famous Lucy and FOC oral pleasure at half time would still have them complaining if NC had not 'invested' in it personally.... Come on, some of you whinge like a bunch of kids - nothing is ever good enough. Mistakes in our eyes about communication are fair comment, during a quite time footballing wise, but some of the 'mistakes' dragged up are really just approaches we are not familiar with or just dont like and there is a big difference... Bring on teh games, goals, points and the numbers complaining will shrink to a few sad few...

Hi javi I was joking a bit :-) about the crowed with skillful players comment - although I do think that they should be scoring far more goals...

Think Javi might be a little biassed? ;-) Would have to make room for Schweinsteiger and possibly Lahm in there too. Having Busquets, xavi and Iniesta in there is why although very pretty passsing, they tend to go sideways alot ...and not score many goals IMHO, a bit crowded with skillful players ! ;-)

Football culture - that should have read - any everything is made in China these days so thats not surprizing ;-)

Uhm I actually enjoyed it! They just need to think about the points system during the group phase to encourage side going for wins - possibly no points for draws, but bonus points for 3 goals or more? Italy were abissmal, but I expected that, old tired and playing a style that is so negative, I am glad they went out early. Argentina had a good run and but did not live up to their reputation, Brazil...er played like Germany used to play, solid, and efficient, but lacking a bit in enteratinment value. NO problem with the Vuvuzuelas, its part of their culture and that should be celebrated. What woyuld we get if held in England? chorus after chorus of Great escape theme? far mor bloody annoying IMHO. African sides a bit dissapointing - would like to see 'penalty goals' awarded - for such a blatent goal line hand ball, but maybe the pressure got to them a bit or they are just not that good? seems many have gone for European coaches who seem to have stiffled their creative talents in favour of a more robust approach. Holland - sneaked under the radar unti, teh Brazil game in which they deserved their result, but horrible in the final - rminded me of Argentina in the Italia 90 final trying to kick the Germans off the park... but maybe they had seen that Spain v Germany semi and realised that that was perhaps their best chance, and would we be as complaining had England played that way and won? Spain - interesting - only scored 8 goals and conceded 2 - best players and passing side, but I had to admit not the most exciting - great technical abilty and skill, but why dont they attack more? deserved winners, on a skill level, but not from an entertainment perspective, that has to go to Germany who surprised me and most with their approach - there were signs of a change in 2006, when they were the only team to play with two up front throughout and their semi againts italy was a classic, but this time they seem to have gone a bit mad! yup still a bit dodgy at the back at times, in that had tehir defenders not had a good world cup they would possibly have shipped a few more, but that is inevitable when you attack with 5 or 6 players. Their 4-2-3-1, was a bench mark and although Ozil and Muller were rightly praised as young talent, for me Schweinsteiger and Lahm came of age - what would Schweinsteiger cost you now? That perfect blend btween holding and attacking midfielder - the last one of which was probably another German in Mattheus (in his 1990 prime)... but with younger attacking flair up front the breaks were at times sublime... So its back to the domestic scene, the prem ..... which for me is the problem for England. We coach English players the English way and place the main emphasis on power, strength and pace, and bring in the skill from abroad which makes our boys look better than they are - no surprises that Liverpool dissapointed when Alonso left... Question is, would the English game have been good enough to win had all players performed to at ther best? Thing is I think yes, we could even have made the final, but for me, the question should really be would we want to reach the final playing that way, or look to be more entertaining, skillful? I dont buy this 'cultural difference' ******... its simply down to the way kids are encouraged to play the game and how they are eventually coached - nothing more. Our pampered 16/17 year old talents with their diamond studded earings and the like, do have an attitude problem as success and money come too early... thats also down the the premiership and its emphasis on cash. 2012 Germany and Spain again for me - hopefully on opposite sides of the draw 2014 Brazil as hosts, Argentina and Germany...Spain will have another crop by then as well. England have the opportunity. the U17s just won their Euros, if they are devloped teh right way and we have the courage to play young kids in a blend, as teh Germans did, we could well do well... now thats a thought.

Formation has to be 4-2-3-1 though as the Germans played it...

I dont begrudge Spain their win, but given their attacking flair and midfield passing mastery, I am just a bit puzzeled why they dont score more goals and attack more often... its seems as if they are happy only getting one and even if the football is pretty, well controlled, slick and rapid pass and move which is hugely easy on the eye, its just a bit dull at times... Although this game was better than the final.... yAWN.... Germans played overall in the tournament with pricise contra attacking style that is really entertaining, hense 16 goals to Spains 8 with 8 different goal scorers in 7 games... which suggests they have more to come.

Comments above - yes there IS a sense of extreme schardenfreude shown by many - as yor fans dished out during our own mess, but the fact remaisn looking over your fan forums and message boards, that there is still one hell of a lot of pompey fans that lack the knowledge, self awareness to rationalise this... they still see teh club as an innocent victim and refuse to acknowledge that if you buy players with money you dont have to gain an advantage and then not pay it back it TAINTS any success that came with it.

Spirit in the camp.... I am sure the Terry incident had an effect - but I dont think that alone can account for the difference between qualifying and the tournament - many have said its down to boredom ...etc over a two month period... again probably a factor, but look at it this way - we had players complaining they could not have a beer, relax meanwhile the Sun is taking teh **** out of the Germans because they were 'afraid of three Lions' - because the German side had a few hours off or now a couple of days, and got involved in the local culture, took a trip - together - to appreciate where they were - its not about beers or sex, but about doing something different ... There will eb loads of theories, but at the end of the day, IMH cliched O, we just did not ahev teh players or the technique or fitness, when it mattered - during qualifying, everyone was fit, and we were playing sides against who our strengths (pace, tempo and strength) were always going to get results... In the WC the players were (in Beckenbauers opinion) tired after a long season - something now even Capello admits - no wonder he probably did NOT staple that statement to the door, he knew it was true and so did the players! The other Becknebauer statement about England being stupid... well he did not actually say that, he said (baring in mind the Baverian sayings) that it was unfortunate that England had screwed up so that tehy were playing Germany now, which is such a classic game - and yes he may have said it publically as part of some mind games, byut he was probably aware of teh threat England with its squad SHOULD have been - wining teh group would have meant another game or so to get things right as we are notoriously slow starters... woudkl it ahve made a difference? Unlikely, because of the other factors, but I still think we will not progress in tournaments until we take a long hard look at the way the game is coached and the emphasis we put on power and pace ahead of technical and creative skills - IN the prem our playesr do well because they play with foreign creative players - take them away and we lack that viatl component - its what makes the prem exciting - that combination of English power and pace with continental creativity - if we could do that in teh international arena we would win something... but we simply dont have those type of players - because we coach that out of them at a young age, and buy it in in the prem, meaning only the typical English style is brought forward and given opportunity - and teh clubs dont give a flying feck...

Paul Scholes! Sorry, but if he is considered the height of our creativity, then it really demonstrates teh problem we have. The prem league is exciting,its fast and at teh top teh quality of the football is good... so why is it that the English players who mostly play at thate level simply cant do the job on the international stage? I think its in part down to the clubs and as mentioned before - the coaching at development level - we look for big, strong kids or pacey ones, and ignore th smaller kids - creativty is not encouraged... at te top teh likes of Lamapard and Gerrard and Rooney play well when surround by creative talent from abroad - remove that talent and we are just back to strength, pace and robust Englishness - now that is not a bad thing, It will be successful against smaller less talented sides and will probably be enough to qualify us for tournaments as we hav seen, but against sides that pass with pace , move and create, even in teh middle tier we will struggle, because the game has moved on, yet we are stuck with coaches that are predominently old school in ideas (and we have about 10th of the level of pro coaches that teach in clubs and schools on the continent), who still look for the big kids... We need to encourage greater freedom, we need to develop creative players and skills and value these gifted individuals - yet we tag them luxury (says it all) - and build sides around them. Prem chairman and mangers play their part too - by buying cretaivity from abroad, they overlook the talent we do have at a younger age group - who become dissillusioned or change their game, or they buy it up and stick it on the bench stifling their development Did anyone see that self interested tosser, the Wigan Chairman last night insisting the prem take over the England side and Wembley? Jeez, whats next everything... Is it just me or do more tfans think that since the advent of the selfishness of the prem and the greed its encouraged we have gone backwards in terms of the national side and youth dvelopment as the vast majority of cash in teh game ends up in the pockets of players and agents? They should be taking a long hard look at themselves as well, and not plotting to take over even more of the game when they cant even run tehir own house for the GOOD of the GAME and its fans

Wiltshires black humour aside, Alps, I dont think the squad lacked pride or determination TBH. They lacked skill and fitness - I dont want to make excuses, but we looked jaded throughout - now whether this is because of a longer season or because as individuals or as coaches the fitness program was simply not good enough I dont know. But there is nothing that can hide the simple fact that we seem to lack teh skills necessary to play against sides that can pass the ball... sounds ridiculous I know, but these prem playesr without their club foreign creative and playmakers simply dont have it in them... coached out from a too early age IMHO. EG look how backwards Liverpool went when Alonso (the creative playmaker left) - that for me is an example of what I am talking about. We simply plave too much emphasis during teh kids development on size, power, and pace, the skinny, squanny little kids who ight be teh next Messi or Ozil, are discouraged and probably give up the game before they are 12, as the local coach picks teh bigger kids for 11 a side on full pitches... just wrong. If you watched brazil, Argentina, Spain, Germany, they pass to marked players who are comfortable on teh ball, which makes it easier for players to move off the ball and create space... English players when not surrounded by foreign playesr at their clubs, seem to struggle to pass or accept a ball to feet when marked, which just makes for a very static habit... HOw often whne watching English prem or league football, and they bring on a slight youngster, do you hear the moan that they 'need to fill out a bit'? why? NO they need to develop their creative and ball control MORE so that their size is not an issue....

...and another thing. Much was made e in teh emdia that England wer man for man better than Germany? Better in what way? Strength? possibly, Paec.. no, technique...no, creativity? no, experience , yes.... salary at club, yup.... and again we like to call the Germans arogant -0 we need some fecking self awareness before we can put thi right. Well said Chris Waddle, decent rant.

Two penneth worth.... The flaw IMHO is in the the way we bring players up - its all about Power and Pace... as the Germans used to. After tehir crap showing in Euro 2000, they went back to the drawing board fearing a humiliation on home soil in 2006 (2002 they got a lucky route to the final but just because of that it did NOT stop their planned change) they started the 'Team 2006' program that pulled the best talent in the country together including more playesr of diverse ethinic mix and reoprganised their youth development - did not quite work fro 2006, where home advantage and the spirit Klinsman broaught to the side (parallels with what Maradonna has done for Argentina) saw they do OK, but nothing spectatular - but now you see 4 starters who played in the U21 side last year and beat England 4-0... We still place two much emphasis on Pace and Strength in English players becauseis the top club sides combine those strengths with foreign technical skill and creativity - we simply do not coach creative skills - the ability to be comfortable on teh ball even when tightly marked is what seperates us from the GeErmans, Argentinians, Spanish, Dutch, even CHilli, and Uraguay and naturally Brazil - players happy to receive the ball when marked, and hold up or pass quickly means couple with the movement off the ball frees up space for others... not rocket science, but in teh Prem, the playesr who do that and are bought on big wages for foreign, leaving the English players to fullfil the 'spine' role - something that when up against teams that pass and move, simply falls apart. NOw dont get me wrong, 7 ot of 10 time that England side would have beat that German side - more experience and pace and strength should beat that youthful inexperience - we saw signs of the German's inexperience when we clawe back to 2-1, yes it hould have been 2-2, but had we got through and won the game, we would ahve gone out to the Argies who play the same, but with more experience than the Germans and it woudl have masked teh cracks... in a way I wish that ball had NOT crossedthe line because it may stop us recognising that we ned to fundementally change the way we run teh national side... 1. NO such thing as friendlies - these are preparation games, anyone suddenly unfit or only prepared to play45 min should f**k off back to their clubs they obviously love more. 2. The Prem needs to accept the FA as the TRUE governing body, or go feck itself because they have contrbuted to this mess... young players bought from other clubs too early to sit on benches or tehn loaned out to clubs with which they have no affiliation, or play at a level where the coaching again does not encourage individual skills, or creativity. 3. Players need to take a long hard loo at themselves and decide what is more imporatnt, England or Club, if not prepared to put country first, they should feck off too - also why teh feck do we insiste on players players not fit - Rooney is simply not fit, ankle, or whatever, yet we play him having built him up as the talisman - the Germans were without 'theirs' in Ballack and even Rolfes - just get on with it and play fit players.... 4. Lets feckin learn from the continentals and South Americans in there coaching and appraoch - but no we have the prem the most exciting league in the world - because it throws stupid money at players from around the world, some even picked to sit on the bench as a marketing excercise because they come from a lucrative froreign TV market... FFS 5. FIFA - Blatter should be ashamed, but goal line technology may have meant a different result yesterday and as young passing side succumbed to more experience - but it would have masked over all that is wrong 6. Let kids enjoy 7 a side ion small pitches - putting 10 year olds on full size pitches and 11 aside means many kids dont get a kick and need to hoof, let them run, pass and dribble and ENJOY it without coaches adn parents screaming rants on teh touch line... too much lat blossoming talent is lost through this stupid crap 7. Have to say, well done Germany, played as a TEAM. They looked at the drawing baord several years back and realised that the traddditional German style was no longer going to cut it in the modern game, where creativity and flair was highly valued and changed tehir cfootballing culture - yet we have the cheek to call them arogant!!! We think we have the best players, the best league, the best history, blah blah blah - our own arrogance and the premiership greed means we simply dont chnage or develop players who are a TEAM and ENJOY the experience of playing in the World Cup. 8. The Germans will probably go out to Argentina - no disgrace - and will have learned from teh experience and be a real force come Euro 2012 and Brazil 2014 - we now have the opportunity to look at what they did in 2000 and learn from it if we are not too arogant and build a side capable of winning the World Cup in 2018 on home soil (Blatter owes us) - If the FA accept that, the prem recognises the marketing potential of England actually winning something (its the only way those tw*ts will be supportive) we can do this - but the will has to to be their, rather than looking for excuses... 9. Oh and a winter break would be a good start

Sorry, I know what you are saying and I do find it funny, as you say , a reply like that made me laugh, when a Germancollegue of mine mentioned it - and yes he has a sense of humour - the issue he does have though is not the war per sae, but when it crosses over into the unique history that involves the Nazi issues - because of that shameful history - as mentioned 99% of German fans were not even born then which is why they are rightly sensitive being atrred with that brush from their past, yet given our own history in of all places Africa/slavery etc, how would we feel if the Africans reminded us of that at football matches, would this still be acceptable banter and what would the consequences be in our response? So I agree we dont want to 'sanitise' the game, the banter and rivaly is part of that culture, I hjust think we need to be better at self policing how far we gfo, and at the moment I still think we overstep the mark, driven by a garbage media. I was at the game in Munich when we beat them 5-1 ...having paid hideous amounts for a 12 DM ticket in the Sud Kurve German end - we had ****ed up english fans giving Nazi salutes to the German police as they queued to get in - needless to say they missed the match as they were arrested, but to be tarnished with that brush as an England fan is not something I welcome... far from it.... sure maybe I am being over sensitive, but it did takle abit of the shine of the night in Munich.

Thing is its not about being PC or otherwise (although 'PC gone mad' is the last war cry of the Daily Mail reader IMHO), its about what we want its says about football fans in this country - and what we WANT it to say about us... we are reknowned for our humour, the terrace songs at club level are full of it, yet we also at club level tend to be self regulating in what is and what is not acceptable - eg remember the outcry with the Villans over Longbridge... and that was jobs, not world wars etc... yes, our humour tends to be full ranging which I like, very black and it is funny when we do it amongst ourselves, but when this war nonsense is brought into everything, especially in public, it makes us look stupid - sorry it does, because when we sing '2 world wars and one world cup' the reply is simple 'and feck all since' or as the Germans mights say, 3 world cups (7 finals), 3 European championships (loads of finals) and you seem to be forgetting that millions died so we COULD enjoy this kind of competition... How many more years will we still be going on about it? Can you really not see how moronic it makes us look ?

There is no hype about the German side - they are avarage age 24, Ballack, Rolfes the experienced mid field both out of cup and Schweinsteiger also doubtful. They are a developing side with 5 players who won the U21s last year - Against Australia, they played with that youthful freedom and it showed... against Serbioa, a more up and at you side they struggled, although they could have won that and probably would had Klose stayed on teh pitch, but when he went they looked teh lack of experience showed. Against Ghana who are a lot better than we like to think, the at least went for it despite the space and attacking for teh Ghanians - could have gone either way but the touch of the promising class of Ozil won the day. England should win the mid field battle - far greater experience, defensively the Germans lack pace and could be exposed if Rooney and Defoe hit form. I expect us to win, possibly 2-0 or so, but they do have danger going forward of which we nee dto be careful. HOwever we ont need to worry because according to the SUN yesterday we have already won this game....

...Read the artical, its not an insult - firstly saying That England Germany should be a semi final - eg its a biog game fior two giants of European football, but that England have looked tired because 'stupidly' our league season is so bloody long with no break... which is not far from the truth... but hey if we can twist it so it sound like one... If any player needs jingoistic xenophobic ****** to get 'motivated' for a word cup game, they dont deserve the shirt.. this is about the pinical of your playing career, personal ambition and pride in playing for your country and that should be all the motivation you need, not world wars and a media hell bent on firing up misguided nationalism....

I cont even hate pompey...I have many a good frind who is on that dark side... ST holders who care about their club... but you have to acknowledge a few things too. 1. The vast majority of your fans dont actually believe the club have done anything wrong. They refuse to accept that the financial management of the club and approach taken DIRECTLY led to a vast competitive advantage. Now had that been sustainable and serviceable as say Chelski or Man U, then its no story, becasue as some have pointed out that is the state of the Engliash game right or wrong, however, because its was NOT sustainable it is in effect a policy that makes the advantage UNFAIR at ebst and Cheating at worst. Its the failure of many of your fans to recognise this that has hit a nerve. 2. Saints did follow a similar path in the CCC. We spent money that was not borrowed, butthat should have been put aside to cover the contractual obligations if we failed to get promoted back to the Prem... on a push to do just that. It was not debt at that time though but cash assets that we should have 'saved for the rainy day' - we got beaten on pens in teh playoffs, failed in promotion and then struggled - contracts we could not really afford and no one wanting the players - but we are talking about small amounts in comparison - however we went into admin, and took our punishment. 3. Many pompey fans are rightly astounded at the shear size of th debt but seem to be blaming anyone but the club for this - eg its the prems fault for allowing it happen, or allowing those owners who made promises to take on the club.. what is not seemingly understood is that the fit and proper test does not demand someone has cash to DONATE to the to cover the debt and invest further in the business... no owner is under any obligation to do this, but they are under obligation to manage the finance well. 4. The fans are not at fault - that is true, but fans cannot on the one hand celebrate success without acknowledgeing teh advantage that the borrowings and thus debt has enabled, yet complain afterwards that. Fans new the debts were rising, some 30 mil Plus during your cup win season, but no one was complaining when further spending occured to reinforce Harry's team... it was ignored. 5. Since Admin, when teh size of teh debt seemed to grow almost daily, there have been many inconsistencies between what is published as requirements by the regulatory authorities when a business is in admin and what AA says and acts publically. Now it may be that we dont fully understand the subtlties of the regulations of Admin, but one thing is clear, AA does not seem to be acting like a true administrator - but more like a new chairman. Yes its truethat the administrator has to find a balance between what is acceptable to creditors and looking to see if there are ways to keep the business afloat and back on the track to financial health. So how on earth can he commit to 10 mil PA wage bills, when offering such a poor CVA return to both the HMRC and the other creditors? It may well be within the rules legally, but ethically it stinks and those friends of mine I speak to know it does. It taints the successes of recent years and should Pompey by some miracle manage to scrape back up (because they have ironically been saved by the prems increase in parachute payments - - which had those levels been avaiable to us would have meant we would never had had our problems), after having wirtten off some 80 mil of debt, and only had -9 points in penalty that had no impact anyway, you have to admit you would have benefitted from a system that changed at the right time. Clubs that have not had that luck would be right to feel agreived... surely? Its this potential for 'having got away with it' that causes the most bitterness, and is it wrong to feel it, given the ethicas of the situation? Especially as the fundementals of sport are about fairness and the smae rules for all? 6. We now have a wealthy owner, who is ambitious, but he is also demanding we live within our means - something that for me is a good thing, because any success we do eventually have will taste so much sweeter because of it. 7. I dont want any club to fail. Clubs are at the communities' hearts. BUt I also want to see fans accept when their club has been wrong and accept it for what it is...

Confidence should be high - England have the experience on their side, Germans young side that will be better in 2-4 years time so England should be hopeful of a good win...if they play well. Possibly Schwiensteiger out + Ozil limped off at end of game, no Ballack and Rollfes so no better time to play em and win. No doubt all the crap cliches will be out in force, ****** about the 'war' that finsihed 65 years ago, that is frankly embarrassing... but until thta crappy England band learn a new tune or two, its all we will bloody hear....

I think its also about how the players REALLY see playing for England - As we know it SHOULD be the pinnacle of their careers - something which is aspirational and although some will disagree take priority of everything else including their club. MOst no longer see it that way and its not helped by the way players and clubs treat 'friendlies'. FFS these are not exhibition games, but valuable prepartion games, yet we constantly have: Club managers influencing selection decisions Players told they cant play, and mysterious injuries the media saying these games are meaningless... yawn.... All contributes to undemining the national side. They meet up, cant handle the dicipline (whether right or wrong) and the top players seem to feel they have a god given right to make the starting eleven - because they know that if they are dropped because of off the field antics or attitude, the media backlash is against the manager and not the players. They just take it all for granted - cant handle being in 'normal' hotels for 5 weeks, without the lavish lifestyle etc.... Sorry, but if theyu dont like the set up, tehy should **** off home and give their place to someone who WANTS to be their and is willing to make the sacrifices needed to acheive tournament success. Sure squads need to relax, see families and etc, but for me the most telling aspect is that none of them seem to be enjoying the experience - Why the feck is that? and anothering, its not just about enjoying it, but about working their backsides off to be fit, committed and mentally up for the challenge... what we have is a bunch for which since getting a riduiculous £25,000 a week contract at 21/22 have had things come way too easy. I just hope that this mess will lead to a bit of a siege mentality, and they ae shamed into going for it to prove us and teh media all wrong... afterall one good win on Wednesday and it we are through... and as is typiocal, all this stuff will be forgotten if we progress to the Quarters and semis - and thats teh problem, we and the media have short memories as well and a heroic defeat in semis and they will again be treated like feckin heroes again .. cementing the attitude.

Have to agree... but hey the war only finished 65 years ago so its still fresh in the memory of the imbecille. No worries about good banter as they have done for us a few times on the football pitch and as one of Europes leading nations we should be seeing them as proper rivals, but when it comes to watching other teams, I just want to see good football, attacking play, no feck wit refs and the French loose... ;-) No seriously, the germans lost group games in 82 to Algeria and 86 to Denmark I think and on both occasions still amde the final, so would discount them yet - thing is this time they are a young side and that showed when their heads dropped after the penalty miss.... Euros 2012 will be interesting for them. Ref was crap and spoilt it... Serbs were their usual dogged self, but hardly entertained.

Argentina looked alright with it... The Germans... seems to be the lsides not playing well taht are adding the equation... more likely the altitude is effecting things more in terms of how over hit crosses are etc. As for changing it every world cup... its not like its just been introduced... thes ethings take years to develop and test and then they are made available to ALL countries at the same time. Its then that countries choice how its used when in what leagues etc ... sure there are contracts in place but if you know the next world cup ball is due in 2013 for Brazil 2014, then there is time... its not like its the first time.. Cant believe this is being made out to be such an issue