The Kraken

Yes that's exactly the same thing. He's only just turned 32 so would be a thoroughly decent short-term signing.

Oh dear. First of all, Pompey did have money. They were bankrolled by Mandaric, then Gaydamak until the money ran out and he stopped funding them, after loading the debt onto the club. I have no exact idea of QPR's funding but to say there are no parallels to Pompey is a bit naive. It'll be nice to have a 45K stadium. Will you actually fill it (apart from the 5 or 6 big games per season)?? I know that Saints wouldn't. 40K would be a push for us even against the top sides, and not much chances against the regular sides (as our 29,604 against Wigan testifies). As CB Fry says, when is it opening? I don't doubt that Saints are spending respectively hugely this summer. I don't deny I have certain worries about it, given our previous history with administartion. That said, I'm fairly sure the wages we are paying our current squad are completely sustainable given the influx of Sky money and the revenues a full stadium will start producing. And the idea of our purchasing strategy is that our players have a re-sale value in excess of what we pay for them. Rodriguez is 21 and will hold a decent value while with us. Cesar is 32, so worth close to zero when done with QPR.

Plus Mayuka and Yoshida.

He doesn't even believe what he says himself, he's just an attention seeking weirdo.

They used to keep a league table according to his predictions (and how wrong they were). BBC have decided it was such a good idea, they're doing it themselves this season.

More likely caught by the rozzers in a DeVere hotel suite in an uncompromising position with Guly, 6 hookers and a suitcase full of Columbia's finest marching powder.

Leaving aside the rest of your post, as I'm sure Captain Pedantic will be w*nking himself silly about picking holes in it.... Your 40K comment is the most worrying one for me. Not necessarily about your survival or anything like that, but how ridiculously beyond your means you are spending. "Only" 40K per week, from a team who have a 20K stadium. How much are you paying your other stars if £40K is a relative bargain? The parallels with Portsmouth are truly shocking, except for the fact that (like us) your owners seem to have turned your debts into equity or paid them off.

Need to get it done tonight so there's time to dot the i's and cross the t's on the contracts of our other centre back and left back signings tomorrow......

I think you'll soon be proved wrong on this one. I wouldn't rule out an announcement tonight.

As I've said above. We've lost 2 from 2. Lawrenson is predicting us to lose 3 from 3. Then Arsenal away, so likely 4 from 4. I read it that he's saying "I have no idea how the owners will react to a start like that, but I hope they don't rush into a bad decision, as Nigel Adkins a very good manager." Lawrenson is a bellend of epic proportions, but i think some are trying to create an anti-Saints agenda yet again.

I think you're wrong. Mayuka already had a work permit, but just needed entry clearance. So obviously the work permit business can be worked on in tandem with the signing.

What are you on about? Where has he said he knows about the people who run the club? He's admitted just the opposite, for crying out loud.

I read it that he's predicting us to lose this weekend (no great shakes there). And then we have Arsenal away, likely another loss. So he says he doesn't know how our owners will react but hope there will be no knee-jerk reaction from them (as predicted by the bookies) and they sack Adkins, as he is a very good manager. F*ck me there's some delicate souls on here.

Did anyone actually read the context of his quotes?! Seems like a bit of an over-reaction of what a pundit said just because he hasn't lavished considerable praise on us and therefore, by that virtue, knows nothing. Here's his quote in full: What on earth is controversial or wrong about that?

You were winning until you got b-anned.

I think it will happen too. I'm just running with the inverse jinx.

Shame we didn't get our act in gear and sign him earlier.

Even the Saints takeover rumours thread only hit 122 pages, so this is in excess of that now.

Pah, what do you know? Are you a qualified football coach? If not then you're in no position to make such a statement.

I'm less worried about the number of keepers we have and more worried by their actual quality. Kelvin is not good enough for this level IMO (distribution poor, doesn't dominate his area one little bit) and Gazza seems to be one foe the future rather than for right now.

Its just another player to add to the list who have turned down deals from other L1 clubs to sign for Pompey, despite the club having "one of the lowest budgets of the entire division". Sometimes I wonder if even Neil Allen actually believes some of the utter sh*te he comes out with. The only person that knows what the current budget is and what the current wage bill is, is Trevor Birch. Un'Appy confirmed the other day that he had no idea what it was, but assumed it was one of the lowest in the division. Yet that gets turned by Pompey's spin doctor into genuine fact, time and again. Lee Williamson turned down Sheffield United offer to him, believed to be around £3.5K per week, Brian Howard had a list of suitors for his signature, God knows what else, yet still we must hear the tired old cliche of ppor old Appy working on a shoestring.

I'm preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. If I tell myself enough times that its never going to happen then it can only result in a positive outcome!

Anything you can involve a lap round the common in is a good one, particularly in summer. Hill Lane is decent to run up, good size pavements either side. From the station, up Hill Lane, right down Archers Road then left into Northlands Road all the way to the Avenue. You can either do a lap of the common itself (part Cowherds and the boating lake) which will bring you back out on Hill Lane or extend it and do The Avenue up to the roundabout, back down Burgess Road to Hill Lane and back down. I used to do similar with a gym running club fairly often.

I'm going for A

Or maybe he wants to formulate an opinion before we sign him? What a novel thought.