Whitey Grandad

FA rules, I'm afraid. The away club get 15% of the available seats.

They overemphasize the serious of the problem so that they can get more funding. A lot of scaremongering goes on.

It makes no difference to the taxman. You either have more money in the bank or more valuable assets. You can't hide the profit!

They are not preferential creditors so they join the queue with all the others.

Correct, a net £6.5m. Should keep them going for 2 or 3 weeks.

They owe so much money that any income is just a drop in the ocean. The prize money for later rounds is worth having: http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/FACompetitions/TheFACup/FACupPages/FACupPrizeFund20082009.aspx Semi-final winners get £900,000, losers get half that.

All Cup rules are on the FA site: http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/FACompetitions/TheFACup/Rules.aspx Basically, they can decide to do whatever they like. You can download all the rules here: http://www.thefa.com/~/media/776FDC2C663A48568FC3688FA667463A.ashx/01%20FAC%20rules%202009-2010%20_blue_.pdf

There must be something in this lot: http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?SearchText=inflatable+Fish&Country=&CatId=0&IndexArea=product_en&ssk=y&sq=y

Well, Tottenham are interested in him at £10m, if only to get back some of what they are owed.

Nehru was the best Pandit. As for football, none of them seem to know anyting about the Laws of the Game and yet they are paid millions (especially in Andy Gray's case) to talk a load of billhooks. Any one of us could do it for half the price!

Hypothetically, the court could make a winding-up order before the match, Pompey could appeal to the court, the match could then go ahead, we could possibly lose, then the appeal could be refused at a subsequent date. In that case we would have been knocked out of the competition by a club that did not exist at the time of the match.

I personally think that the action by HMRC is too close to the game to have any effect on it. The FA Cup rules state that if any club has a winding-up or administration order made against it then that club must immediately notify the FA Professional Game Board who have absolute discretion as to whether the club will be allowed to continue to compete in the competition. Whatever the outcome of the court proceedings I would expect it to take sometime to come into effect so I fully expect this game to go ahead. What happens after could get interesting though.

mmm., '...agreeing with the claim that a three match ban was excessive...'

Good point, I hadn't thought of that.

Of course, if the appeal is held to be 'frivolous' it could be extended to 4 games...

A whale shark is a fish...

Good point. Cetaceans out!

And these: http://www.thetrainingshop.co.uk/toy_add.asp?id=1321&category=new&page=1

Plenty to choose from: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190317933825 http://www.hktdc.com/sourcing/company_product_detail.htm?companyid=1X000Z4Z&productid=153643&query=Inflatable+Toy&entryPoint=2&locale=en http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0017FHQ8Q?ie=UTF8&tag=shopwiki-uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738

The last time that I had some done it was around £20 per square metre for the labour. Tiles were extra but cement & grout was included.

I initially thought that but then I started trying to think of precedents. Wasn't there a case where one team who won their tie had played an ineligible player and so the losing team was re-instated? I suppose that this case would be different because Sunderland were beaten fair and square under the rules which applied at the time, so a bye would probably be the answer. Whatever happens, it will be a discretionary decision by the FA.

'fraid not. FA rules are minumm of £15.00 per ticket (except concessions) and the prices have to be mutually agreed. Sorry.

This is from the competition rules: e) If a Club is removed from the League in which it is playing, once it has been accepted into the Competition, The Professional Game Board has the power to remove the Club from the Competition. (f) If any Club when applying to enter the Competition, or at any time during the course of the Competition becomes subject to any of the following insolvency events: (i) a manager, receiver or administrative receiver appointed in respect of that Club or any part of its undertaking or assets; (ii) an administration order made in respect of that Club; (iii) a winding up order made in respect of that Club; or (iv) entering into any arrangement with its creditors or some part of them in respect of the payment of its debts or part of them as a company voluntary arrangement under the Insolvency Act 1986 or Scheme of Arrangement under the Companies Act 1985. that Club must notify the Professional Game Board immediately in writing. The Professional Game Board will (at its absolute discretion) then decide whether to accept the application and/or allow that Club to continue to compete in the Competition.

Fair comment, but let's not forget that in the early rounds the 'big boys' tend to play fewer of their first-team regulars and by the time we get to the sixth round there are only 4 games and they can begin to smell Wembley. With a favourable draw we could certainly be in there with them.

This tie is our 'Cup Final'. Just look at the Premiership teams left: Fulham / Wigan Chelsea Bolton / Tottenham Man City / Stoke Wolves / Villa Any one of those could tear us apart. Let's enjoy it while we can.