Fowllyd

Maybe he's not - he's put in a claim to the Football League, but that doesn't mean they'll approve it. At a guess, he and the others will be claiming that their employment was in a football capacity so they should be counted as football creditors. Can't see it myself, nor can I see the FL allowing the claim, as it would surely lead to many more from other staff members.

Rallyboy, you've given so much to so many on this thread - I really don't think you should see that as lost time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Gleason He played the role of Minnesota Fats in the Hustler. Good engine on him, plenty of stamina and can play all night. Died in 1987 though, which could be a bit of a deal-breaker.

Generally speaking, there tends to be a limit to how far anyone will get with a mixture of incompetence masked by bluster and bull****. I remember a boss I had years ago who got kicked out (to our department's profound relief); he got another job, lasted a few years, got kicked out, got another job, lasted a few years, got kicked out... He was very good at keeping the right people sweet (generally his immediate boss plus their superiors) but over time this would wear thin as the fact that he was actually useless became clearer and clearer. I think this could be how Lampitt's career has gone; in spite of all the conspiracy rubbish that people spouted about him joining Pompey, it's far more likely that he was getting found out at the FA after seven years (not all of which was in the same job by the sound of it) and jumped before he got pushed. Pompey were desperate at the time and I'd give good odds that Lampitt interviews well. As for getting the Supporters Direct gig, I can only assume that he was able to portray his time at the Skates as a Sisyphean struggle to put things right following the collapse of a spendthrift regime, ruined only by the unfortunate arrest of their nice new owner. But have they really done no research? And how the hell can anyone speak proudly of his role in formulating financial fair play rules, when in his next job he sanctioned the signings of two players who were both paid double the loudly-stated salary limit? All the more so when this took place when the business was still officially in administration (unless my memory of sequence of events has failed me that is). Bizarre with knobs on.

OK, I see what you're saying - and it seems we agree on more than I'd thought. It's difficult to the point of impossible to predict exactly what would happen if the FCR were removed, but I reckon the effect would - over time - be greater than you do. There have been a fair number of insolvencies over the past decade or two (I think MLG quoted something above, but I can't be arsed looking for it right now ). But, as you say, few would expect the bigger clubs to go into administration, so any effect would be felt more keenly at a lower level. And of course it's possible that players and agents would cheerfully accept any risk involved in an over-generous contract, assuming that they'd find another club if theirs went belly up. Still, the FCR remains in place and we are where we were, so it's all hypothetical.

I think you're missing the point somewhat here. It's not really a question of whether the FCR has influenced particular transfer deals or the market place in the way that you suggest (or at least as I think you're suggesting); it's about the effects of its workings at a much deeper level than that. Quite simply, agents and players have never had to pay any attention to the financial well-being of a club making them an offer, so it hasn't occurred to them to do so. They haven't sat and thought that, should the club go bust, they'll get their money anyway - they've simply accepted any offer without the slightest thought about whether the club might go bust or not. And that's down to the FCR, even though the majority of players probably don't even know what it is. Now, if HMRC had won their case yesterday I think you'd see, over time, a different picture emerging. Not immediately, but as soon as a club went into administration and players didn't receive everything owed to them the point would start to hit home. If it happened a few times then agents and players would begin to take into account the possibility that they may sign up for a contract which ends up leaving them unpaid. So they'd start to become aware of an issue which previously had passed them by altogether. It seems to me (though correct me if I'm wrong) that in your view footballers are like tightrope walkers, with the FCR being their safety net - they know that, should they slip and fall, they won't perish. My view, using the same analogy, is that they're walking that rope without the any awareness of the possibility that they might slip and fall. They don't know that the safety net's there - in fact, they don't even know what a safety net is.

Getting rid of Kanu will go a long way towards achieving the first part of that.

In times like this, when the word 'legend' is bandied about so freely, it's worth remembering what it really means. Ron Davies is a truly legendary Saints player, one of the all-time greats. Can anyone imagine us fielding the best centre-forward in Europe? With Ron we did just that. Happy birthday Ron - once a legend, always a legend.

I had to stop reading after a few of Ho's comments - hilarious as they are (all the more so at this remove) they have this cringe-inducing quality which makes me feel uncomfortable somehow. It's almost like mocking the afflicted. That said, the cocksure tone of sneering condescension he always liked to use goes a long towards removing any such feelings; I'll have another read presently... I also find it hard to imagine that he could really have believed all the guff he used to spout. Reading the claims about Chinese billionaires, South African billionaires, Arab billionaires, maybe German billionaires too, I can't help but think - surely he can't really that dim? But if he is, some words from birthday boy Bob Dylan spring to mind: "The idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth, You're an idiot babe, it's a wonder that you still know how to breathe."

Been living in Woolston for four years and I've never been in there! And I'll be moving out at the end of this month as well. If I'm drinking locally (which doesn't happen too often as I'm always at my girlfriend's in Horndean at weekends) I normally go to the Obelisk, on the corner of Obelisk Road and Bedford Avenue. Not a bad local pub, hardly exciting but it's got some good beers (Ringwood, Doombar and Bass) and it's friendly enough. Thinking of it, I've almost always been there after evening games at St Mary's...

Try the Olive Tree on Oxford Street; haven't eaten there for a while but it was excellent last time I did.

You don't have to do the first dance thing at all if you don't want to - my ex and I didn't when we got married. This was not, I hasten to add, the reason that she's now my ex! Neither of us liked the idea of getting up and dancing in front of loads of people, so we didn't. We told the chap doing the music that there'd be no first dance and he just got on with it.

I heard they're ploughing it up to plant heather.

Or gasp at their naivety perhaps. While I wouldn't wish to disparage those who are at least making the effort to do something, I cannot but wonder at how they can really think they stand a chance of doing it. And it seems that the great majority of Pompey fans either don't want part with their money, or prefer not to get involved because they can see that a successful (in its loosest possible sense) trust bid would still leave Chainrai holding all the aces. I've always thought that the idea of a trust buy-out could make sense only if the club is liquidated and they buy up what's left, or if they start a completely new club to take the place of the liquidated one. I still do.

Or should we all be getting one in for you, as reigning top poster? All hail MacTrousers, thane of the Pompey Takeover Saga!

Well, with the meeting on your doorstep, who can blame you for going along? Must have been a fine evening's entertainment! The vote from the unsecured debt to CSI, as others have noted, will doubtless be cast in favour of whatever CVA Chainrai is willing to offer; the big question is who casts the CVA1 vote. If it's Baker Tilly (or whoever from that firm is administering the original CVA) then I could easily see that vote going against. And according to the figures kindly quoted above, it's over 25% of the total unsecured debt - and AA's not there to massage those figures this time. As to Chainrai, I find it hard to see just what his plan might be. Yes, there are still some parachute payments to come, but the maximum amount of those is £16M (this assumes that none of it is already spoken for, which it may well be). As things stand, there's a club to be run and players to be paid, not least the great Tal and his £50K per week; there are also football debts which will have to be paid in full and which will eat up £5.5M of the parachute money. So, £10.5M minus running costs for however long it takes to get rid of TBH and others - this won't leave Chainrai with anything like the amount he'd be looking for. He may, of course, be seeking to take the club on and then sell it on, but who the hell would buy it?

I'm not sure how to break this to you, but they're both long gone. The Bay Tree isn't a pub any more either.

True enough that they have no specific rule, but that shouldn't stop them from doing as they wish with Pompey once the dust settles. Any legal challenge by Pompey would be ill advised, as the League is effectively a club that makes its own rules. So, Pompey could be given a choice along the lines of "Take this points penalty and we'll let you start next season, try to get out of it and you won't get the golden share. And if you fancy mounting a legal challenge, see second option." Our experience was a good example of this - the FL applied the spirit of its law rather than the letter. Personally, I have no gripe with that, nor do I consider us to have been unfairly treated (though some did and maybe still do) - I just cite it as an example. Of course, they may not impose further penalties - but they're in a position to do pretty much as they choose.

Excellent shop - as is Henry's Records, come to that. I used to buy Stevens Brothers shirts whenever I could, but they became very hard to find a few years ago. I'd go for TM Lewin - good shirts with sleeve length measured as well as collar size. And they always seem to have offers on too; five shirts for £100 in both West Quay and Gun Wharf at the moment.

Chainrai was the one who pushed the admin button on both occasions. But, as you say, that's not the same as being the one who took the club to (or beyond) the point of bankruptcy in the first place. I'll be interested, though, to see if the League insists on seeing and approving a detailed business plan before handing over the golden share. They require assurances that the club will be able to complete the full season and, given Pompey's recent history, you'd hope that they'll be pretty stringent when it comes to assessing those assurances.

Corporate Ho has, it seems, exercised the release clause in his contract. While I'm sure we all hope and pray that one day we'll see him posting again on this great forum of ours, for the time being we'll just have to get along without him. At one point I (and others, I'm sure) had high hopes that PFC123 would step into Ho's shoes, but unfortunately he's failed to make the grade and is now seen only very rarely. I think he's certain to be released.

That song always brings to my mind the image of Alison Steadman in the opening scene of Abigail's Party, G&T in one hand, ciggie in the other, dancing round her living room. Sets the scene superbly for the theatrical carnage which follows. RIP Donna - you made some terrific records.

Fabulous bass player, and a key part of one of the great bands. RIP Duck.

I'm pretty sure that estate agents are legally obliged to inform a vendor of any offer, regardless of its size or the status of the buyer. Put it this way, if you found out that an agent supposedly working for you hadn't told you of a good offer on such a flimsy pretext you'd be highly displeased. If you see the place and do want to put in an offer, just tell them and see what they then say. If they still try to insist on the appointment, tell them you'll speak directly to the vendor and/or not bother with the offer after all. Should focus their minds somewhat... I must say I do find it astonishing that any estate agent would behave in this way, particularly at a time when properties aren't exactly selling like crazy.

In medieval times, many English towns had streets called Gropec*nt Lane, or a variety thereof; there was one in the City of London somewhere, but I'm not sure if the road is still there or what it's called now if it does survive. There's a Wikipedia entry on this subject, but if I paste a link it won't work for obvious reasons! In the town of Stanley, in County Durham, there's a Lenin Terrace, though it's not surrounded by roads named after Marx, Engels etc.