Ken Tone

They're stuffed .. no they're not ..yes they are ..no they're not .... etc. So, much as before your 2 weeks lapse. I believe the episodes you've missed may be on i-player. Try searching under 'comedy' and 'soap operas'.

He is indeed a decent bloke. I suspect there may even be one or two other decent blokes amongst their fans -- you never know!

Yes I realise that. My point was that this 'escape clause' has already been used to allow the current, not yet paid, 'mutually accepted compromise' deals. If they then go on to renege on even those compromises I can't see the league tolerating it

No the points penalty is for reneging on the promises made as they came out of the last administration, nothing to do with football creditors. FL rules insist that football creditors are paid in full. There has already been a major concession made in allowing PFC to agree compromises with their ex-players to pay only a fraction of what their contracts should have given them. If they reneged on those payments s well, I can't see the league giving them another points penalty; it would be expulsion from the league. The trust are deperate however. Either they scrape together every last penny from the back of the sofa and borrow more than they can really afford to re-pay, or the club definitely disappears now. So the have nothing to lose in setting out on a process that risks it maybe disappearing in a few years' time.

Well that brings us back to the old issue of what happens to the parachute payments if they are liquidated. Presumably Taylor must have thoght they'd be lost , or he would not have agreed to the original compromises. he coud ave pushed for the full amount. Of course if and when they are liquidated football creditors have no more clout than any poor old creditor. Legally they've always been the same; it's just the need to meet FL requirements for the golden share that has given them a special priority.

I wonder if O.J. Simpson's lawyer is available?

My understanding of the "busines plan" etc ,based on a mixture of public statements and a couple of chats to acquaintances who are unfortunate enough to be (in one case very) close to the trust insiders: Somehow they have met the council condition "That the council receives an assignment of parachute payments to repay the loan or that an investor guarantee is provided by the trust for the full £1.45m" presumably by the latter bit. Also they have the £1 million from the HNW investors in their escrow account -- another requirement. Stuart Robinson is also lending them some money , but I cannot find out how much ..as well as purchasing the surrounding land of course. So they have a bit less than £1.5 million in genuine fans' pledge cash + £1 million from HNWs + £1.45 million PCC short term loan + £X loan from Robinson = c£4+X million to buy the club and Fratton with and have some cash float to start running the club. Just about enough for now. However, both PCC and Robinson want their money back pretty soon, and this can only be afforded by using some of the parachute money that was promised to the ex-footballers as part of their compromise agreements. The 'business plan' is no more sophisticated than "we'll pay back the two short term loans, then by the time we have to pay the players, (and any other creditors they're currently over-looking) something else will have turned up". Hence Taylor's comments about his members now being third in the queue. When they agreed the compromises, they were going to be first in the queue in effect. It's basically the Billy Bunter "I'm expecting a postal order" school of economics, for the oldies amongst you. Even so, they may succeed in the takeover if the Harris bid is perceived by Taylor to be a front, and/or the FL's position means that Harris won't be able to access the parachute payments. Taylor will play brinkmanship, as he is doing now, but in the end he has more chance of getting some money for his members from a live club than from a liquidated one. Meanwhile PKF just want out ..somehow, anyhow .. because they're effectively working for free now, having reached the £2.5 million cap on their fees.

I think the case is actually to allow PKF to force Portpin to accept £3 million (now) as payment for its (£18 million) charge over Fratton. So the case cannot go ahead if PKF are not in a position to give Portpin that £3 million within a short time of the decision, and of course PKF are relying on the trust to give them the money as part of the overall sale, so if they haven't got the money to hand, PKF cannot force the issue.

Yep. It's a crying shame, isn't it? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... wipes eyes ... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA .... breathes in .... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Quite ,so that must mean that PKF are considering selling to Harris, even though that would lose them the golden share. Did Harris not make retaining the share a condition of his bid? If not, he could end up with a club that has no league to play in! This beats any sopa opera I've ever seen. More twists than a bent corkscrew!

How much longer before everyone realises they are simply stuffed?

I thought that too, but there were some weasel words to the effect that negotiations over minor aspects or details of the conditions could be delegated to officers/council leader. Calling this minor or a detail is ludicrous of course, but not in pompey language.

Interesting comment on the News site: Fratbrat1:35 PM on 13/02/2013 So it seems that the council has been prepared to swap the guarantee of the parachute payments for the guarantee of owning Fratton, if the trust defaults on repayments. Interesting. So if the worst came to the worst in 13 months time, it would be the council that would be evicting the club from Fratton, and the council that would then be selling it for development for retail or housing use. That would be a tricky thing for their p.r. people to handle!

What if you fail?

I too feel sorry for Gasacoigne, but why does he needs money donated to pay for for treatment in a private clinic in Arizona? Why not be treated here on the NHS ? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21427967

Yes, to underwrite the council loan.

Serious answer. Their attedance figures in L2 ought to be enough to comfortably support a L2 club. However , on top of all the normal expenditure, they will have to generate enough gross profit to pay back the loans they are relying on to take over. So if for once they are to be run sustainably, they will have to keep wages low, right down with those paid by the likes of tiny clubs such as Aldershot etc. This should mean they cannot expect to assemble a team that will easily get promotion. So unless they get lucky, apppointing an excellent but cheap manager for example, they will need to make do with being mid-table L2 for several years to come. Once they've paid back the initial loans in say 5 years time, if they've not been tempted to put themselves in hock in some other way by then, they could then start to spend a bit more, and ought to be able to get up to the natural level for a club of their size .... probably yo-yoing between L1 and championship IMO.

How is it undermining their bloody bid this week, to continue to have the same conditions in place that have been in place for months and that she and the trust have known about for months ? ... namely that the parachute payments go to their members as part of the agreement that they made to accept less than they were contractually entitled to, to guarantee they might one day actually get some money God -- that woman is annoying!

Personally I won't be happy if they lose the -10 this season, when they will be relegated anyway without the deduction. I want them to start next season in the 4th divsion, with no money and on -10 points ------- and ideally without Fratton Park, but that would be the icing on the cake.

I see that article says that tomorrow's court case is to try and force the sale. I thought it was just to set a date for the actual hearing? If they haven't got that right, you can't put much faith in the rest of what it says.

and if only the trust actually had the £3 million.

Indeed. Though you have to wonder when he is going to do something similar for the trust's inner circle? ....who also have no money and who also plan to borrow to buy the club, and some of whom also have business records that include financial troubles.

And indeed it was from a rubbish corner that they broke away and scored. Much prefer inswingers myself. But as long as we avoid ones that swing both ways, that's ok with me.

What are the chances of another court case delay? Or might they actually meet to set an actual, real date for the actual, real hearing? ...in about mid-March? I can hardly contain my excitement.

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