SaintBobby

Saints are favourties to go up as champions following today's results http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/championship/winner

Well, like having an extra 1/2 a point really. But, yep, may be crucially.

Weird substitution.....hope that's not an injury to Rickie and is just to rest him with the game (probably) won...

Get in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this thread. It has set the tone. But here's a request for help. I think there is now a conclusive case that Birch is acting on his own money to keep the skates alive. I think this needs underlining. I am therefore drafting a letter to the FSA in these terms, but am uncertain that thus is the right route?

Very frustrating night. We shld have been out of sight after 30 minutes. Then having finally got the breakthrough, we shld have held on. Annoying. Not a bad display overall, but a disappointing result.

You what? Are we supposed to aim for 7 points from the next two games?

B@llocks

I def want a Cardiff win....they are very unlikley to catch us.

Sorry...odds will have tightened, but it was 4/1 on betfair when I posted.

No chance of an England call up for Rickie. Sadly.

Pretty much our worst performance of the season, yet you give the starting XI an average score of nearly 7 out of 10????

Where are Corp Ho and pfc123 to explain why everything is tickety-boo? Or is Corp PMSLing?

Seems a fair plan to me, overall. I'm a STH, so unaffected (other than when I want to secure extra seats next to our block of three). But, yep, overall I'd say this is a good system, even if it doesn't suit everyone.

I think you may be right. They certainly shouldn't be treated as "nailed on". The 4/1 odds on West Ham NOT being promoted is quite attractive, I'd say. I'd put there promotion chances as pretty good, but not much higher than 60% or so.

If we are promoted, I don't think we need to make substantial changes. I think we would need more cover at centre back and maybe a bit more pace on the wings. But that probably applies if we are in the NPC for another season too. Those who I think are unlikely to figure next season (whichever division we're in) are Jaidi, Seaborne, Dickson, Holmes, Connolly, Falque and - possibly - Hammond and Barnard.

Seems to me that we are pretty much nailed on to make the play-offs, which was the height of my ambitions at the start of the season. The bookies have us at 5/2 to win the division and 4/6 to get promoted by any means. West Ham are about evens to win the division and about 2/9 to get promoted. These odds seem to overstate their chances, I'd say. It seems unlikely to me that the final game against Coventry will be an irrelevance from our point of view. I think the title and/or auto-promotion will probably still be in play on the last day of the season. Am I unsual in much preferring 1st to 2nd? If losing to Coventry means Pompey go down but we miss out on the title and finish 2nd, that's not a price worth paying IMHO. Incidentally, Pompey are about 1/2 to get relegated at the bookies.

In fairness, the second clause of the second sentence in the second article remains true to this very day....

Depressing thread! :-) I'm feeling pretty optimistic at the moment so am more interested in who is going to get relegated from the Premiership - i.e. which teams do we want to play and avoid in the top flight next season? I think I want Wolves and QPR to drop.

To be fair on this issue (which I'm not minded to be!), broadcasters know there's a can of worms here, but need to be careful on legal grounds. There are both issues surrounding defamation and fears of prejudicing a possible criminal investigation. The easy, cautious line to take is "poor Pompey...shrug...sigh...you have to feel for the fans" etc etc. Most editors will therefore take such a line. I have heard (only on a rather non-committal - but reliable - 2nd hand source) that Birch is likely to conclude quite quickly that the club should be liquidated in the interests of creditors. However, there is an issue around player signings and salaries that isn't quite as black and white as some on here suggest. Yes, of course it looks horrid that any new player could be signed or that high earners could be retained, But...to simplify it...if it was the honest view of the administrator that paying Bill Bloggs £X per week would add more than £X per week to revenues, he can and should continue to pay Bloggs. Even if Bloggs is on, say, £10K a week. Certainly, just slashing payroll isn't the obligation. For example, if Varney is on £15k per week and he can be loaned out to another club as long as Pompey pay £12K per week of his wages, then this looks like a saving (cutting spend from £15K to £3K per week). An option that the administrator should take. However, if the administrator were to judge that gates at Fratton would fall substantially if Varney left or that Varney might add a high % chance to the skates staying up then he can retain Varney with a clear conscience. Not saying if this is right and/or fair, just saying there are potentially some grey areas. I still think they will probably be liquidated, though. Most likely at the end of the season following a bottom three finish.

Adam Lallana. F***ing amazing. That is all.

? The Coventry match is on the 28th April.....

Surely, the question of whether they are allowed to enter administration must depend on this: Will they be worth more by continuing than by folding? This seems to me unlikely as their expenditure exceeds income (even when debt is ringfenced). Pompey are worth very little liquidated, but surely worth even less if they continue to trade for another few weeks/months. Current unsecured creditors might only get 0.1p in the £ if they liquidate - but this would surely fall to even less if they continue to rack up more wage bills/police bills/leccy bills etc. Is it also right that HMRC are trying to "send a message" rather than merely recoup as much as possible? i.e. they judge that sending a club to the wall (and getting zilch) will help them secure revenues from other clubs more promptly in the future, rather than accepting a bit more than zilch in a second CVA?

It's wonderful stuff. I do think the end is nigh for them now. They may limp on for a few more weeks, but it is very difficult to see how they can survive beyond that. It seems they might even struggle to sell out Fratton Park tomorrow night - that's astonishingly poor levels of support. It'd be fantastic news for Saints in the long-term, of course, for Portsmouth to disappear (or re-emerge in the Isthmian League or something). Present Skate fans are unlikely to come over to Saints, but give it a few years and "neutrals" will drift towards us and youngsters in the Pompey catchment area will start to support Southampton. Almost whatever happens is going to be fun. But liquidation is still my hope. Not so much because it's Pompey (although the footage of crying Skates will be f***ing hilarious) but to serve as a major wake-up call to English football. It's just delicious :-)

Thanks. V helpful.