Sheaf Saint

No it shouldn't be too much to ask, but consider the circumstances. Our massive rivals come to SMS for the first time, the first time we have played them in any competition for over seven years, in an evening cup-game meaning plenty of drinking time before the match. Did you honestly expect every single one of them to respect the min's silence impeccably? Do you honestly believe that every single one of our fans would have done the same if the situations were reversed? If your answer to both of those questions is no then I think you are a little out of touch. Look, I don't want to come across as a closet skate or anything, but I'm just being realistic. They have some d1ckhead fans, and so do we. They have a large majority of decent fans, and so do we. No matter how much people like to brag about things like years in the top flight, attendances or whatever, the fact is there are a lot more similarities between our two clubs than most people are rationally capable of recognising. I'm truly sorry if my views upset anybody, but I'm just trying to look at it from a neutral point of view, which I appreciate is a very difficult thing to do when it comes to supporting a football club because by very definition, being a football fan requires a certain amount of blind loyalty.

Once again though, you can't blame their entire fanbase on the peurile actions of a handful of their more moronic fans. I was at that game, and yes I was as angry as anyone at the time, though it wasn't entirely unexpected, but I recognise that in fact a lot of the noise was coming from their fans trying to get the idiots to shut up. And plus, can you honestly say that Every Saints fan in the ground would have behaved impeccably had the situation been reversed? I seriously doubt it, because we have our fair share of idiot fans as well, as does every other club in England.

Me neither. I think your opinion is probably representative of a large majority of Saints fans. What I can't undserstand is the attitude amongst some that wanst to see them pop out of existence entirely. Whatever anybody's views on some of their neanderthal fans, most of us are capable of recognising that most of their fans are just like most of ours - decent, hard-working people who enjoy watching their local team - and don't deserve to lose their club due to the greed and unrealistic expectations of the club's current and previous owners.

Actually, where are all the mods? Are they on christmas shut-down or something? They are conspicuous by their absence at the moment.

Only an observation on my part that a handful of internet messageboard users are the ones shouting for liquidation. Out of interest, and I ask this of everyone who wants PFC to go out of business, is the fact that some of them gloated about our situation one of the deciding factors in you forming your opinion, or do you think you would hold the same view if our financial problems and administration had never happened?

What gives any government the right to implement such draconian measures though? When last I checked, our supposedly 'free' country is supposed to be run by a democratically elected body who were voted in to represent the interests of the people, not to control every aspect of our lives from the moment we are born. If what you suggest were to be introduced, I guarantee you that the system would be abused by those in power. As Chapel end Charlie rightly pointed out earlier in the thread, the data gathered would end up being sold off to any and all organisations who could benefit from holding such information. As far as I can see, the benefits of such an idea would be far outweighed by the potential dangers of it. By all means take a DNA sample from somebody who is 'suspected' of any crime to 'eliminate them from police enquirires', but for the police or any other government body to have access to the DNA records of every citizen of this country is one step too far towards a totalitarian state, and something I will never support.

So do you apply this logic to the idea of the identity card then as well?

As Benjamin Franklin said... 'He who trades liberty for security deserves neither'

Not from my experience. From most of the Saints fans I have spoken to and from what I have read over the last 104 pages of this thread, it seems to me that only a handful of cyber-warriors really hold such an extreme view. I seriously doubt more than 10% would vote for liquidation in any poll.

Having come face-to-face with extinction earlier this year, I would not wish that trauma on any football fan. The fans are the very lifeblood of any club - without them clubs could not exist after all - and it is always the fans that are left to suffer the consequences of mismanagement. I would not wish that on you, nor any of your compardres (with the possible exception of Corp Ho, but even he showed the slightest glimmer of humility yesterday so there could be hope for him yet!). Yes there are probably a very tiny minority who would wish liquidation on you, much like there were a small handful of Pompey fans who wished the same on us. But I fail to understand why any football fans would wish their rivals to cease to exist, because then there would be no rivalry to enjoy - because that's what the rivalry should be: light hearted and fun. I have never subscribed to the whole 'hate pompey' thing - in fact I received a lot of criticism on this board in the run up to your 2008 cup final when I stated that I would rather see a team from Hampshire win the cup than a welsh team, who shouldn't really be in the competition in the first place. However, what I and every other Saints fan does want to see is us above you in the leagues. I'm sure that is all you lot wanted all the years you were below us (44 years wasn't it? ). If financial meltdown and near insovency causes you to drop like a stone through the leagues and restores the balance of power in Hampshire then I will happily celebrate that, but I hope that you, the decent fans, still have a club to support when the dust settles.

They're singing 'Where's all our money gone?' now. Hahahahaha

They are completely contradicting themselves in this statement. The very first sentence reads 'Portsmouth Football Club has NOT been formally served with a winding up petition', yet later on they go on to say they can't understand this action by the HMRC. Which is it then? Have they or haven't they served the order?

Well, that's the first time ever that one of Corp's posts has actually resonated with me, instead of making me think 'what an utter pr1ck!' It was quite refreshing really.

In all seriousness, for the first time ever I actually sympathise with you here Corp.

Damn - you beat me to it VFTT!

So what's the latest news on the new 150,000 seater stadium Corp?

Indeed there is. Please elaborate.

Really living up to your username I see

For all their faults, I do not envy the PL's position here. I would imagine that right now they are looking at the situation very carefully trying to work out a way that they can punish PFC for their financial wrongdoings without it reflecting badly on the brand in general. They need to tread a very fine line IMO. But remember, they didn't give Leeds any assistance when they were in a similar situation, so I can't see them bailing Pompey out either. And like you say, they can't show any favouritism towards any one club. They have to make sure that they apply the same laws to every club (Unless said club happens to be called Manchester Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool of course) so as not to leave themselves open to the kind of legal fiasco that ensued with Sheffield Utd and West Ham. That whole episode was a serious embarassment for the PL and they will have learned a big lesson from that I would imagine.

What, you mean they were only joking? Damn!

I think this sums it up nicely. They have been punching above their weight for many years now. In many ways they are a bit like us, in that they now have an entire generation of young fans who have only known the premiership years and do not remember what it was like in the days before Allardyce/The Reebok stadium, and they therefore expect this to be the norm. I think they have outstayed their welcome in the prem and look forward to them returning to the level that their attendances deserve.

Indeed. I'm no expert on these matters but I believe that it all then comes down to a high-court ruling rather than an agreement between the two parties, and voluntary administration is no longer an option. I could be wrong on that though, can anybody clarify?

It is when somebody who is owed some money by a debtor who is unable to pay it within the agreed terms petitions for the business to be wound-up and asset-stripped so they can get what is owed to them.

So 2009 is nearly over. It's been a strange year in many ways, especially for SFC, but a difficult year as well for myself and a lot people I know. Things seem to be slowly looking up for me so I can look forward hopefully to 2010 and all that it brings. So what were the good/bad bits about 2009 for you? And what are you looking forward to in 2010? For me, there wasn't much in the way of highlights this year. I spent many months out of work thanks to the ****ing recession, which in turn has landed me in a whole sh1tload of debt. I went to a couple of good festivals in the summer and my GF moved in with me in August but other than that it has been a forgettable year due to my complete inability to afford to do many of the things I wanted to do. Looking forward though, my GF and me have an invite to go to Kenya in April to stay with the family of her brother-in-law which, finances permitting, I really can't wait for.

Remains to be seen I guess. Maybe he genuinely has learned his lesson. Either way, what he says is true. Premiership footballers don't live in the real world. As Bill Bailey described them 'A bunch of vain, illiterate, borderline rapists whose job it is to shepherd a piece of leather into an outdoor cupboard'. The reality they live in is completely alien to that of the fans who idolise them. The money that they now earn as a result of the ridiculous increases in ticket prices over the last 10-15 years is just obscene. I remember WGS musing on how he is supposed to motivate a dressing-room full of millionaires, and I can see his point.