Ken Tone

So allowing for a bit of hype, they probably have about £80,000 or £90,000 in their escrow account , equating to £800,000 or £900,000 pledged, and this apparently from fewer than 8/900 people, since some have pledged much more than £1000. The '250,000' on southsea common for the cup parade have really come through for them haven't they? What is more, some of those 8/900 people will be timewasters who will not actually find £1000 if it comes to it, and are just spending £2.50 (the admin fee) to make a gesture. So even if more pledge now, they will never raise more than a million or two --absolute tops -- not enough to give the creditors more than liquidation would, and so not enough to let Birch sell to them rather than liquidate. In short there is absolutely no chance of a fans buy-out, except maybe for buying/setting up a phoenix club after liquidation.

If it weren't for the football creditors rule, they could offload the high wage earner now, as Rangers have done because the SPL does not have the football creditors rule. The players' contracts are just contracts of employment, so legally they can be made redundant, sacked, etc, in exactly the same way as any other employee. The threat of the FL witholding its golden share is all that makes the players any safer than any of the other poor sods who Birch got rid of when he first arrived. The absurdity of the football creditors rule means that the people who are crippling the club financially are safer than the ones who work for relative peanuts.

Ah. Saw this just after I posted. If parachute payments are part of turnover, that gives them a much higher wage ceiling. So their only problem will be not being able to afford to pay them.... which has never botherd them before!

Blimey! IF they survive into L1 they're going to be in big trouble. Ben Haim's wages alone equate to about the whole first team's wages of many L1 sides. What will be their turnover in L1? Maybe £7 million? Ben Haim (£1.8 million a year), plus a few of the expensive 'stars' such as Halford or Mullins returning from loan (another £2million between them?) and they'll only have about £700k (ie about £12k a week) left for the whole of the rest of the squad. Add in a 15 point deduction for exiting admin without a cva, and life next year will not be 'Rosey'.

Is that con-TROV-er-sy or con-trov-Er-sy, or con-trover-sy? It's always controversial.

Well if the 'cap' fits .......

(derby; also local derby) British a sports match between two rival teams from the same area This is the definition in the Oxford on-line dictionary. Some dictionaries even omit the word 'rival'. Reading and Southampton are clearly in the same area, with grounds only 45 miles and just over an hour's drive apart according to google maps. The 2 teams compete for the same fan base in the towns in between, such as Basingtoke and Newbury, and are covered by the same local TV news show. So it's a derby game. But do we care ? No, not really, because it's not Portsmouth !

This is as likely as the story that Elvis piloted the ship to the moon, where Hitler is still living, apart from returning briefly to Earth to murder Princess Di, aided by the Roswell aliens.

Surely by betting on so many horses in one race, and each way what is more, you are pretty much guaranteed to lose overall even if one of them actually wins? Why not cut out the middle man and just give the cash away?

This the sort of thread I pay my £5 for. Can we move on to how to pronounce 'controversy' next?

Well just to add another slant to this fascinating but controversial topic --- To me a ruler is, and always has been, the correct term for a rigid meauring stick , be it a foot , 30 cm or a metre long. however a 'rule' is the correct term for a flexible measuring device, typically a metal rule of 2 metres upwards in length, that rolls up into a holder, eg

Well come on then, tell ......

Don't forget that in gaining those 6 points our goal difference would have improved by a MINIMUM of 2 more goals, leaving us at least 13 above west hamss gd, with them having to beat that in 4 wins and 2 defeats for us. So we'd need to lose quite badly , AND them win by quite large margins. If we win 2 more by better than the odd goals, then our position gets even stronger

Thanks pedg. Bumping this again. Why it is not a sticky I can't understand.

Personally I'm not even going to cross the road till the chicken does.

Think how it's been for Rickie! And I expect he's been thinking about the game too.

The problem of course is that all the weight is at the front , but the drive wheels are at the back. So the best thing would be to put her in the boot! I've had pretty good service from Jaguar by the way, and this is my second Jag.

I have a 3 litre XF, so not quite the same as the 2.2, but I've heard good things about it. Really like mine. Goes like a rocket but stil gives 40+ to the gallon a long run -- much less economical on short trips though. Only down sides are: big boot but small boot lid so difficult to get in any large objects. and poor rear view for parking ,so do get the parking camera and bleepers. Oh ,and as for all big heavy rear wheel drive cars , presumably including the BMW and the Merc, it is rubbish in the snow. Doesn't bother me either way, but if it does you, I've noticed that the name Jaguar seems to have more cachet than Mercedes or BMW if you want to impress clients etc.

Bugger! Look what that did for Samson.

Putting aside your 20,000 miles exaggeration, (it's 8000) the Islands would be completely self-sufficient economically if it weren't for the defence costs, which wouldn't be needed if Argentina weren't continually threatening them. It's really the morality of the playground. Big brother (UK) sees little brother (FI) being bullied by big boy (Argentina),and steps in to protect little brother. It really isn't the same as that hypocrite Connery, who chose to move away from Scotland whilst bleating on about independence. The Islanders were born there, and simply want to continue their way of life without being threatened. As to independence, well I suspect the UK would bite their hand off if they asked for it, and it meant we could save the defence costs, but the reality is we'd probably still end up protecting them anyway, via the UN. But even if they did feel safe, it is highly unlikely the Islanders would want independence. They really do feel culturally part of the UKp; they feel loyalty to the crown, and as I've said before even follow English football, with many having a soft spot for Saints in particular, since many of them come from families who originated from the Hampshire area, and have distant relatives here. Of course I'm not suggesting that is a basis for a foreign poicy ,but it does illustrate just how British they are. Oh and btw if the oil fields ever start producing properly, they may even be able to pay their own defence costs one day.

At the rate they're going, you'll need portsmouth (2013a) and (2013b) football club ltd !

There was some research publsihed a few years back that showed that kids with a strong accent lose it, unconsciously, when they are trying to get on in life/career, but that the accent returns as people grow older and retire.

No problem -- accepted

Alpine I've never had a problem with you. There is simply no need to be so ill-tempered and intemperate in a response to what I thought was a civil post...it was certainly intended to be. You really do seem to have anger management issues. Oh and btw I too think it was inappropriate to have a minute's silence for Gary Speed.

You don't have to put in £1k. All that is required is to put £100in an escrow account, so that when this half-hearted attempt fails ,you can get your £100 back, less an estimated £2.50 admin fee. Any MP chasing votes would be mad not to do this. £2.50 is a lot cheaper than a meal with the PM !