ooh it's a corner

Wowzers, that's a question and a half. Almost by default you'll work north to south (just down to the logic that says you dont want to go hurlting past/through Paris, only to come back at a later stage). There's two big questions for me (subject to how long you are going for). Question one is how much to you want to see Spain/Portugal versus Holland/Denmark/Baltic states, versus France/Italy/Austria/Switzerland or Eastern Europe? And question two is what's the budget? If the budget is tight, it can force the issue of always trying to use night trains, and avoid capital city stopovers, coz the accommodation is more expensive. Make yourself (each) a list of things that you've always wanted to see (Mona Lisa, Leaning Tower of Pisa etc), then put them into an A list, B list and possibly C list. Ultimately if you have a time schedule, you will lose something off the list because you enjoy somewhere, or want to stay and watch the parade tomorrow, etc. If I were doing on a train, it would only be cities for me - the network and frequency slows you down if you want to see the scenery, imagine trying to get a train to Lulworth Cove in this country. But in terms of itinerary, howsabout Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, Cologne, Copenhagen, Berlin, Prague, Ostrava, Katowice, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Munich, Milan, Venice, Rome, Florence, Nice, Perpignan, Barcelona, Biaritz, Paris, home. That's 23 targets, if I assume you're going for 4 weeks, that's almost a new place every day. Some of them, Katowice for example, might just be to witness the camp, and therefore not an entire day, but equally, if you only have 1 day for Paris, what are going to see? Mona Lisa, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Moulin Rouge, shopping, cafe culture? There's one thing I've always enjoyed when travelling, and that's the idea that says - I can go there, because I will never have the opportunity or desire to go there again. So if you find youself wondering what all the fuss is about the 13th century vineyard, go and have a look, you'll probably never get a second chance. By the same token, going somewhere for the first time is an experience. If you've already been to Rome, do you want to take 2 days out to go there again? To say I'm envious is a little understated, but the kids will keep me entertained by the pool this summer, wherever the pool may be....

I agree with you, but I don't think the FL will end up doing nothing. They are just keeping their powder dry until all of the dirty laundry has been aired. If Mssrs Storrie, Mandaric and Redknapp feel the force of the law, and Portsmouth go into administration, prior to the 20th Feb, (if they last to 20th Feb, I do not believe there is a court in the land that would let them off this time), then watch a hefty points penalty coming from the FL. Irregular payments to agents is one thing, irregular payments from Owner to Manager is worth a heap of points on its own.

So, let me get this right. They have a WUP for £800k. There will be a further £1.6m due to HMRC to bring them up to date. There is a further £200K due to HMRC for VAT. They can't sell any assets without HMRC say so, and HMRC's debt being paid. They have a frozen bank account, presumably in overdraft, or else they would have paid off HMRC to prevent their assets being frozen. They can't pay their players (or other staff presumably) this month. They have waited all until the last day of the month to start to try to sell players, which we have speculated could end up costing them money, to pay off the contracts of higher earners as they move to more realistic salaries elsewhere. If somebody takes them into adminstration, this is going to cost millions, just to get them through to the end of February; HMRC debt - £2.6m January wages - £1.2m ? Feb wages - £1.2m ? Other creditors? So, they need £5m+ now to last another month. The parachute payments are all ear-marked for CVA creditors.... It will be a brave person who pays for their administration (at several million a month this looks like an easy way to lose money). Shut the business down. Start again. It's what any sensible person should do.

on toast, presumably?

Celtic game is on sportscene on BBC website if anyone wants to watch our next signing in action. (he says with tongue firmly in cheek)

I want to be 13 again, just so I can have one of those....

no it isn't. "there faults" should be "their faults". normal service resumed.

One day, I am going to grow wings...

They would be in year 6. School children start in year R (R for Reception), then the next year is year 1. Only in the wonderful world of education would somebody devise an aging mechanism that didnt match the child's age. Genius.

He's a former banker, he probably expects it :-)

made me smirk :-)

There's no law to say who you pay first. There is however a legal requirement to admit when you cant pay the bills and if you have been deemed to be trading whilst insolvent, which from the outside looks like a pretty freeeking obvious truth, then the Directors of the company can be held personally liable for all debts incurred after the company started trading whilst insolvent. So Lumpitt, start selling the furniture, coz you wont fit it into your bedsit next month.......

Even with the 50,000th post, the sense of irony is never lost on this site :-) beaten to it, sorry DM

It's like a "where's wally" cartoon........ oh.........

I'm no lawyer either, but I do have to deal with HMRC periodically. They will have given Redknapp every opportunity to put his hand in the air and say "actually you're right, I should have paid tax on that money. Who do I make the cheque payable to?". He presumably hasn't, or else we wouldnt be watching a court case unfold.

I can't read and I can't write, but that don't really matter. Coz I come down from Sandbanks town and I can drive a roller. I don't pay tax or V.A.T. coz that's a load of crap, I leave my bills to my best friend, Rosie Rosie Redknapp. oh ah, oh ah, oh to be a defraudster

lol

Milan Mandaric owns shares in the Daily Mail? Obvious question, but, source?

He might have a good brief, but I think this looks a pretty simple case; 1. Is the jury satisfied that money came from Mandaric and ended up with Redknapp? 2. Is the jury satisfied that said monies were not part of a personal arrangement between Mssrs Mandaric and Redknapp? 3. Is the jury satisfied that no UK income tax has been paid on said monies. Three yesses and both gentlemen are guilty of tax evasion. Full stop. End of. Ignorance is no defence. You havent paid the tax, so here comes the punishment. As posted a few pages back, the punishments for tax evasion are pretty severe and dealt with on a sliding scale of evaded amount versus premeditation. First offence or not, if guilty both gentleman have had a long time to come clean (personally, I have had an argument with HMRC over £450 for the last 6 months, letters went backwards and forwards, and ultimately I lost. (the final proof from HMRC meant I was wrong and they were right). So, I paid the outstanding tax, plus interest, and we're squared off. HMRC doesn't sneak up behind people and summonds them to court to recover monies. These loonies would have had plenty of opportunity to admit they are wrong and pay the tax. They have chosen to fight it, and I think they will lose and lose handsomly). Given the amount of tax involved ($295,000 transfered, at 1.5 exchange = best part of £200k, tax and NI call it 50%, a round £100k tax due), then they have moved into second place in the seriousness table. On the premeditation stakes, I would suggest that the length of time that HMRC has been investigating, coupled with the lack of transparency from the pair of them, would be dimly viewed by a court. Whilst a custodial sentence would appear harsh for a first offence, you have to understand that this an extremely serious offence (the charge is defrauding the public purse, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment). A 15 month custodial is small beer compared to life..... only a week to go and we'll find out :-)

roll on the 3rd feb then, when HMRC issues the next wup

The WUP won't count as an insolvency event, because it is only a petition. Otherwise I could create a ficticious invoice, not get it paid by PFC, then apply for a WUP, only for the court to throw out my petition. Actually, come to think about it......

This should be the case, the only questions are when will the FL deduct the points and how many will they deduct. My guess would be Feb 1st or Feb 19th (the day Portpin will press the administration button), and somewhere between 18 and 22 points.

you are insolvent if you are unable to make payment to your creditors when the payment is due. They have an asset (the parachute payment) which is due to be received in the future, but they have liabilities (notably £1.8m due to HMRC) which are due now. The parachute payments may well cover the current debt, but it doesn't stop someone (HMRC) asking for their cash now.

don't do Eastleigh, you'll take forever to get there. Parkway is easier to get to, particularly if Eastleigh is an option, but the parking is expensive. I live in Highfield and frequently head to London. For me, its a taxi to Central and get the 7.30 which arrives Waterloo about 8.45 generally very reliable. If you do get on at Central you guarantee getting a seat, the same cannot be said of getting on at Parkway, and if you get on at Winchester (which the Eastleigh train would route you to) you'll probably get a seat 50% of the time. I hate the trains back, always busy from 3pm onwards. If you have the joy of running onto a train 20 seconds before it departs Waterloo, praising your own athleticism with your final bound, the joy is immediately cut short with the realisation that you will standing up until Winchester. I appreciate everyone is in a different boat, I have friends and relatives that commute every day, some on mega bucks (£150k +) which they would never earn in Southampton, others on £50-60k which you could earn in Southampton. Not sure what the season ticket is these days - £4.5K ? - which means you need to be paid £7k ish to break even. Add a big wedge to that for the buggerance factor. For me, I've been happier earning 10k less in Southampton rather than face the commute. But each to his/her own.... :-)

I'm with you young fella. We weren't very good tonight, but look at the chances we created. Conolly was gifted a beat the keeper from 25 yards and fluffed it. Hammond nodded wide with the keeper nowhere. Cork blazed over from 8 yards, even if Spiderman should have hit it himself. Schmiecal made an excellent save second half from under his own bar. Guly shot wide with the keeper beaten Holmes shot wide with the keeper beaten On another day we could have had a few. We didnt deserve them today, but I get the impression that NA is looking purely at the goals for column, and challenging the team to say, go and get me two goals every game and we will get promoted. Which I think is a pretty sound bet, if we can achieve it. We didnt get two goals today, but I bet the manager feels like we should have done. Lambert coming back, Chaplow back sooner rather than later, Lee on his way, I fancy our chances of getting another 38 goals in this season's campaign. keep the faith and stop going home in your droves if we're losing. Stay until the end, it makes such a difference...