Fowllyd

I doubt that the £7M figure is particularly significant, other than that it's the apparent value of Fratton Park. The Land Registry entry mentions that sum having been paid (or stated to have been paid, in the actual wording) in December 2010, some months before the register shows CSI as owners. My assumption is that, having taken out a debenture on Fratton Park in September 2009, Chainrai then sold it back to PFC, meaning that he was then owed the £7M. Hence the charge in the register, which is clearly still in force. In other words, to buy Fratton you need to pay Chainrai first, and his price is £7M or more. In your general argument I'm sure you're right though - buyers with serious money would simply have paid for the club and stadium outright, removing the charge in favour of Portpin. That hasn't happened, so it appears that even if CSI do have vast quantities of wonga stashed away somewhere, very little of it is finding its way to PFC.

Two correct apostrophes, two totally unnecessary quote marks - or did you think they're apostrophes too? No matter, of graver concern is your unhealthy obsession with Ed Balls' wife; all those derogatory comments are such a transparent attempt to hide very different feelings. You really need to be more honest with yourself.

Really. I'd say you do more of that with your three posts a day than any other individual poster. Occasionally quotes (or near-quotes) are incorrectly attributed to you, but a great deal of what's quoted is accurate, in particular the most damning stuff (new owner several times richer than Abramovich? That was one of yours, I believe - please correct me if I'm wrong). And I can't think of any time you've made an effort to talk about football; you only ever post on this thread as far as I can see, and the last thing this thread's about is football. I see that in another post you've quoted the Land Registry entry at greater length. Care to comment on the bit that mentions "the charge dated 6 October 2009 in favour of Portpin"? Or how about the information posted by Katalinic, showing a debenture held over Fratton Park by Portpin? Your silence on these is deafening. Finally, if you think the nasty rough posters on here are being unkind to you, maybe you should check the name of the site. That's right, it's a Saints forum. If I went on a Pompey forum and came across in the way that you do on here, do you think I'd be met with reasoned and civilised responses?

That Corp gets abuse on here is down pretty much entirely to the style and manner of his posts. When things appear to be going well, or when he thinks he's got one up on us in some way, you'll see posts of sneering condescension and triumphalist braying. When things aren't so great, we either get narky petulance or, far more often, silence. I've only rarely see him attempt to debate without flinging out a few insults - and even then he's not actually much cop at debating anything, simply repeating the same point ad nauseam. Yes, there are those on here who'll hurl out abuse regardless, but in Corp's case the great majority of it is earned. And if he spends a lot of time researching, then he certainly doesn't do that very well. Yesterday he produced a Land Registry entry, claiming it showed clearly that Portpin are no longer remotely involved in PFC or Fratton Park; unfortunately, one of the excerpts he posted shows quite clearly that Portpin hold a charge over Fratton Park. To add spice, Katalinic did a quick bit of online research which indicated a debenture held by Portpin over Fratton Park - the very thing Corp said he'd proved didn't exist. If I needed any serious research done, I'd ask my parents' dog before I asked Corp.

If so, it's taking one hell of a time to update. The land registry entry that Corp quoted is current; I got a copy yesterday and it says exactly the same. It said the same back in June too, when I downloaded a copy and posted bits on here. At that time I thought that maybe some changes had not yet reached the register. However, the two documents are identical, indicating no change since June. I'd say that the "proprietor for the time being of the charge dated 6 October 2009 in favour of Portpin Limited" is in fact Portpin Limited. Naturally, this could change (Chainrai could sell on the debt if he wishes), but if the Russians had simply bought the whole lot I'd expect that entry to disappear, as the charge would no longer be current.

I'm not so sure at all that this indicates a total absence of Chainrai. If it does, why the restriction (which I've emboldened)? To me that suggests that the proprietor can't do anything without the say-so of Portpin. If that restriction were no longer in force it wouldn't be there at all, as historical information is only given if it concerns charges or covenants on the property. CSI are shown as the proprietor, certainly, but I can't see anything that removes the registered charge dated 6th October 2009. And that charge is, as clearly stated, in favour of Portpin. The register also raises another question - who paid this £7M or so in December last year? Surely that was some time before the current owners were around, or have I got my dates mixed up? Edit - I see Katalinic has beaten me to it, and posted something considerably more conclusive to boot!

Not quite. What actually happened was that, many years ago, some of the brighter (a relative term here, of course) ones among the P*mpey faithful noticed that the hands of the clock magically moved - they knew not why, but they noted the differing positions at the start and end of matches. Naturally enough, this phenomenon caused the clock to become a talismanic idol to the blue-clad faithful huddled together on the terraces; as the years passed, they began to worship it as a deity, even using the sound of its hourly striking as a hymn. As a special act of reverence, their high priest carries a bell to every match and rings it incessantly. Now, though, there is consternation, as the faithful have witnessed the apparent demise of their god. Many, it seems, have deserted their faith for good, preferring to prostrate themselves in front of the vast liners heading out past their island; others await the clock's resurrection, certain that when it happens they will return in their droves to Nottarf, and their high priest will lead them in the glorious journey to their ultimate destination, a place of legend known to the faithful as Blue Square South.

After several poor results on the trot, Sky are reporting that the dearth of goals has left Celtic fans wondering when they'll next yell 'It's in!'

I think that's a bit unfair - it's rare to see proper dancing at football matches, and doing that many minuets takes some staying power. Maybe he should vary things with a polka, or perhaps a gentle waltz if the tempo of the game slows down a little.

They're Russian. Five-year plans are second nature to them. I'm sure theirs will be every bit as successful as all those Soviet ones were...

Saw the second half on the stream kindly provided. F*ck me we look good.

This is my favourite bit about the whole story, taken from the BBC web site. Yes, really.

Gobbler's pie?

I saw it at the time as well. Prior to the bit that's on Saints Player, Baldock did an odd, flitting run across Rickie's line of sight - this was what got him booked. I was just thinking that it was one of the stupidest bookings I'd ever seen, and then he did his mimic act, as if he were desperate to get booked a second time. It was all clearly intended to distract Rickie, and the view on Saints Player shows that even more clearly. The ref had an angry word with Baldock after the free kick had been taken - hardly surprising really. I'd have píssed myself if he'd got sent off.

Given that I've bought a ticket in block 3 this morning, I reckon it's the former. I had to use a mate's customer number to get said ticket, as they're only on restricted general sale. Sell-out or near as dammit.

That is, without doubt, an absolute stonker of an article. Supposedly all about how well Cotterill's doing, but what does it actually tell the reader? One thing and one thing only - just how shíte Pompey have been, and for how long. Look at some of the quoted points per game and win ratios, and remember that the majority of them were achieved (if that's the right word!) in the second, third and maybe even fourth tiers of English football. Yep, that's how bad they've been. Whatever way you look at it, the cheerleading slogan for Cotterill - that he's not quite as bad as Avram Grant, pretty much on a par with Graham Rix, and way better than Paul Hart, Alain Perrin and Tony Adams - lacks a certain inspirational quality. Read it and weep - with laughter.

Kitson: "Christ on a bike, boss, where did you just put that carrot?" Cotterill: "Shut the f*ck up and pass me another one!"

Stop Harpic on about it please.

I didn't think Weights were made by Players, and to be honest I feel a little concerned that our squad should be smoking such low-grade cigarettes. What next - Woodbines? Capstan Full Strength? I'd like to think they'd show a little class by going for St Moritz, or maybe Sobranie Black Russians. Sort it out Adkins FFS.

Can I just advise you not to give up the day job? Unless, of course, being a comedian is your day job.

Fair enough. I remembered discussion about the use of baton rounds during and after the riots, but not of batons. As you say, policing often seems overly heavy at football matches.

Indeed. Even for wingers or wide players, change of pace is often more important than out-and-out pace. Those of us old enough to remember John Robertson will vouch for that.

That's pretty impressive actually. It must be far harder to hit a post which is less than a foot wide than a goal which is eight yards wide. But are the posts in the Premier League harder to hit than Championship ones?

Top gag!

I think you're confusing batons (long sticks) with baton rounds (plastic bullets).