Fowllyd

If I were to hazard a guess, it would be that the PL's rules refer to football debts being under control and nothing more. A few weeks back, as others have pointed out, the PL seemed to be suggesting that they'd want certainty that Pompey were running on a sound financial footing as well. That, it appears, has now gone - perhaps Pompey's lawyers had a word with the PL about the letter of their law, rather than its spirit, following which the PL backed down. We'll see what their statement says. I agree with you though - a disgrace it most certainly is. And, as you say, I doubt any club will sell them any players unless it's on a cash up front basis - and what player will be keen on moving to a club where his pay is far from guaranteed?

This is today's Guardian bit on Pompey: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/25/portsmouth-transfer-embargo-sulley-muntari In brief, the club claim to have reached an agreement with Udinese; PL lawyers are looking at it to see if it means the embargo can finally be lifted. PFA rep met Pompey players yesterday to discuss the club's instability. PFC yet to decide whether to appeal against High Court ruling on the winding-up petition (I think today's the last day they can appeal, but I'm not totally sure of that). Mention of players they may try to get if the embargo goes. And that's about it, though there's a lot more detail in the full article. One name conspicuous by its absence is Gaddafi junior.

We'll wait with bated breath.

So that's a couple of months' worth of wages, then. Or, looking at it another way, less than two thirds of what they owe to HMRC. Or roughly a quarter of what they owe Portpin (a moving target that, as I'm sure the interest rate on Mr Chainrai's loans won't be low). On the bright side, they'd be able to pay off Udinese in full... :D:D

Oh yeah - I'd forgotten that! So, if they get £10M for him, they'll lose £2M of it because Spurs are owed it, then they'll also lose whatever sell-on money is due. Not quite up there with the Williamson transfer fiasco (I'm still laughing at that one now), but pretty good nonetheless.

Could be a smart move on Tottenham's part. After all, if they get Kaboul for £10M minus what they're owed by Pompey, then they'll have a player they want for less than they would have paid. Granted, they'll effectively be writing off the money they're owed, but they probably wouldn't have got it anyway. From Pompey's point of view I suppose it would be better to sell him to some other club, as that way they'd get the whole sale price (minus the obvious bits like fees to agent(s), sell-on fees and so on). It's all an exercise in deckchair arrangement when it comes down to it though.

I hope you read the crossword clues more carefully than you read that post you quoted, or you'll never finish it!

A view from the Grauniad - seems to me that the stuff about the embargo being lifted is just more bluster from Pompey. After all, if Udinese are going to the Court for Arbitration in Sport to get their money, it's not all that likely that they'll be fobbed off with a promise to pay later. Elsewhere in the article, it seems that Chainrai is after some payment on his short-term loans... http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/23/portsmouth-transfer-embargo-premier-league

I hadn't thought of that, but it's damned plausible. Damned funny, too.

There's no window for out of contract players - they're free agents so can sign for any team, any time. That's how we got Connolly when we did.

Good post and spot on. Hart deserves respect for his efforts as manager and the way he behaved. Grant, on the other hand...

And they're in a barbed-wire canoe!

On my way home from Alton a little earlier, I stopped for petrol and noticed the headline on some copies of The News in the filling station. It was: FANS DEMAND: TIME TO PAY UP OR SELL UP Well yes, I'm sure they might well think that a very reasonable demand. But has any of them given a thought to just how or where they'll find a buyer? Looking at Crab's excellent breakdown of money owed etc above, you can only conclude that a potential buyer would have to be a massively wealthy, hugely passionate Pompey fan, with no qualms at all about p1ssing a hundred million or so away on his beloved club. Not sure there's too many of those around...

Don't think it had been, so thanks for that - interesting reading indeed, and quite well written too. The level of self-contradiction now coming out of PFC is frankly astonishing. What was in the leaked accounts is pretty much what plenty of people on here reckoned must be the case (and was grudgingly acknowledged by Jacob too), to wit that Al Faraj has not put a penny of his own money into the club. All income has been loans, payments from other clubs and regular income (tickets etc). When does Chainrai want his money back? It's been referred to as a short-term loan, so I can only assume that the answer must be soon. And what will he do if he doesn't get it - which he certainly won't do unless a new source of funding is magically found? At least one of his loans is secured against Fratton Park...

I think the word you're looking for is 'better'. But I'll let that pass. The best thing in the article you've linked to is the quote from Mark Jacob (who's fast becoming a legend in these parts, if perhaps rather less so further east): So, Udinese agree that they're taking Pompey to court, Pompey agree that they are indeed being taken to court. One hell of an agreement, that.

For Williamson, no. I'm pretty sure he hasn't actually played for Pompey, so he can play for any other club if they care to sign him. Mind you, I wouldn't like to think about how it will affect his potential value that he joined PFC last summer but never made it into their team...

For the Pompey saga - "On Thin Ice". Suggests the word we all love to use for them (and the fish they love the best), without actually saying it. For Duncan's latest, how about "Violinists and Road-diggers" - utilises a comment from Lawrie which I always liked.

The truly priceless thing here is that it's this very debt (to Udinese) which Pompey's representatives had tried to persuade the Premier League was all sorted and agreed. And, just as they're still smarting at the apparent nastiness of the PL in maintaining the embargo, along comes this piece of news. It just keeps on getting better - and funnier.

Another little snippet from the press... http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/Grant-Where39s-the-respect.5996282.jp Any news on the embargo, by the way?

Gaydamak owns all of the land around Fratton Park. He claims to be owed a large sum of money by PFC, and is expecting a £9M instalment of that debt this month. I'm pretty sure that nobody on here is claiming that he's given (or indeed lent) PFC any money; however, he is a major creditor of the club. And, unless he gets the money he wants, PFC won't get a square inch of any of the land around Fratton Park. I'm not sure about your assertion that PFC has somehow become a pawn in a fight between the Gaydamaks and their adversaries - after all, it's very difficult to see exactly what any of them stands to gain from it all. Plus, of course, there's the fact (apparently!) that Gaydamak senior never had anything to do with Pompey anyway - so are you now suggesting that he did do after all? Because if he didn't, why would Chainrai et al use PFC as a pawn in the first place?

Interesting reading - I see the last paragraph mentions the current position on the transfer embargo too. Apparently, if the PL sees clear proof of the deal that PFC claim to have done with Udinense over the Muntari transfer, they may well lift the embargo. But so what if they do? How will Pompey pay for any new players? Even frees and loans have cost implications. Then there's the taxman (subject to an appeal), Gaydamak, umpteen short-term loans (some secured against their ground)... I still reckon they're royally screwed and, unless some mug with tens of millions to spare comes to their rescue, it's more likely to be a case of liquidation than administration.

Ah yes - I thought there was a condor in there somewhere!

I think you're right. Certainly, it's clear that PFC don't own any of the ground which surrounds Fratton Park - it's pretty much all owned by Gaydamak one way or another, with interests held by a variety of lenders. There was a link to an article detailing all of this a few pages back. So anyone looking to buy PFC out of administration would potentially get club and ground (and the latter only if Chainrai wants to play ball), but nothing else - unless, of course, they're willing to negotiate for the rest of the land.

It's by Simon and Garfunkel, but I can't remember its title. Think it may be something in Spanish, with the subtitle "I'd rather be". I'd look it up, but sadly I just can't be arsed.

How very, very sad... http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/Pompey39s-High-Court-bid-fails.5994150.jp :D:D