derry

HMRC and PFC.

Passed by on the way home about 2230 last night, looked like it was open for business. They put lights on the gateway. I just can't see where the parking complaints come from. There is a bloody great layby opposite that used to be used by lorries to park up but one end has been blocked off. There was only one van there and that was moving out. There is an industrial area about a hundred yards down and apart from the farm behind the layby there is nowhere within a couple of hundred yards. Can't see that they are doing any harm. I've often passed by on my way home on a Friday night at that time and I've never seen any cars around, even when the layby was full of container lorries.

They are meeting on Friday, the last working day prior to the court hearing. Isn't Monday the deadline day for the next tranche of tax that can be added to the WUP, due on December's wages? January's wages haven't been paid but will have to be then the tax is due on about 20th March? If Pompey can't pay the back tax, pay the wages but don't settle the tax I can't see HMRC buying that. This is just ticking the political boxes so that the politicians are sidelined. In other words enough rope being paid out to hang them properly.

We have some new options now, Sharp on the shoulder with Puncheon, a much better footballer after a year of exposure to Premier league players in training. Lee brings incisive running but needs quick ball to put him in. DeRidder getting used to us with Reeves looking like he isn't far from a breakthrough. He could be the attacking playmaker we have lacked.

There are too many superlatives used prematurely for Martin. He is a learner, nothing more, he has done his best, effective at times solid in the air with some disastrous positional misjudgements. His play out from the back is a long way short of competent and he needs to get more competent with his left foot which is just a swinger. Since the two centre backs in front of him were injured we have been short of decent cover which has bitten us in the ********. The passing game starts at the back but invariably with Martin it goes back to the goalkeeper to be punted long.

Up to the Bristol game we were flying with crisp pass and move, high tempo pressing without the ball. We were creating chances and getting in on the end of them. Then Chaplow was injured, it wasn't missing Chaplow but our change to the team dynamics that slowed everything down. Playing the three midfielders together was a disaster and despite getting out of jail v Hull bringing DeRidder on at half time and winning a losing game we continued for about six more games to play that midfield. getting slower and slower and poor results. Then we picked up injuries to both centre backs and Lambert suspended which stifled any recovery. Now we have lost our advantage and practically wasted fifteen games. Luckily for us we now have a full squad plus reinforcements. We now need to get back to that high tempo nut crunching game and as we go get the fast pass and move game going. If we do that we could well accelerate again. Birmingham was significant for me and I could see the seeds of a revival, not from the chances created but the raised tempo. Not only have the midfield been slow. the goalkeeper and the defenders have also been painful in their pedestrian tempo. It is not a case of being found out. it is a case of discontinuing a winning formula with a terrible team selection leading to a loss of momentum then suffering from injuries prolonging the agony. I hope we can put this behind us and get back on track on Saturday by tearing into Burnley, then WH.

Bring him back in for Saturday, Fonte was out longer than him and Martin on the bench. We have missed the back four playing it out since Fonte then Hoiveldt injured. Just DeRidder now to be fit and that makes a full squad. A strong experienced centre back on loan would top it off.

Central midfield playmaker who makes forward runs and doesn't look to play sideways and backwards to the goalkeeper.

Just freeze framed the third goal, Feeney was offside by half a mower cut about two and a half yds. The referee was about three yds away from the ball and looking directly at it when the free kick was taken with the ball still rolling. Having said all that Richardson allowed him to come inside by going too far and should have positioned himself better. He had to give him the outside option only, he allowed him to go either way. It was even worse than I thought with Martin selling himself to be beaten easily for the second goal.

Didn't he get extras for putting out the cones etc at the training ground that were extravagant and didn't Storrie get bonuses for team results?

There is no way we could justify Falque in the match day squad over Reeves. There is terrific competition for a place on the bench now anyway.

That looks like the case. The Yeovil fans forum says this.

If Harding's performance last night is anything to go by the penny may finally have dropped. Lallana preferred Harding but maybe that doesn't wash anymore.

Ryan Dickson has been recalled. SSN

Administration is all very well but it has to be funded. I went to a meeting with Leon Crouch etc about trying to rescue something when Pinnacle were messing about and Mike Osman had told me that Pinnacle were nowhere but the Swiss were big but not in the frame. At that point LC said that the football club couldn't fund administration as it was too late and were close to liquidation. Luckily Markus and Nicola stood by us. If PFC are not to be liquidated there has to be an injection of funds to finance a solvent period of operation and pay the administrator. It will cost a lot of money to service the players contracts and pay the ongoing HMRC taxes plus the operation. So where is that cash injection going to come from. If Chanrai doesn't who in their right mind would.

I think that Adkins will sort it out. Now we have options in wide midfield and can ditch the playing of the three static midfielders together. For the first half of the season any two out of the three did a good job so stick with it and if we need an attacking option then Puncheon could step in. Wide we have Lallana, Chaplow, Guly, DeRidder and Puncheon so we now just need Hoiveldt back and fit and we can go for it. Reeves looks like he is looking to break into the team and was a revelation last night for the short time he was on.

The first thing we have to do is get back to high tempo, pressing hard high up the pitch and let the passing game come back and the confidence with it. Scrappy wins are still scrappy wins.

It was the collar and the badge especially I noticed. I don't remember that badge.

Reeves looked the part, not a JC but played head up and passed forward, what's more didn't give the ball away except for an attempted chip that a defender headed away. In my opinion the Chaplow injury was the catalyst not the reason for the slump. Playing the three central midfielders together changed the dynamics for the worst and should have been ditched after the Hull game. Once we got into the slow sideways game lacking movement we have gone backwards and what was a mistake was compounded and turned into a slump by continuing to play that way. The first half of the season we played high tempo pass and move now we have to get back to that. Start with the high tempo and get back to playing quick pass and move.

Thanks Colin, I'm wondering now whether they have to consider putting Reeves in more often to bring him on. Lee is obviously trying to impress and doesn't know yet that he isn't going to get the ball, if we are to get the best out of him and get back on track we have to pass forward quicker and move better. Playing 150 sideways and backward passes just doesn't do it. The teamwork and confidence is not better than the sum of the parts at the moment. While the ball is being played sideways and backwards nobody in front is moving around because they know they are going to get a bomb from our keeper sometime soon. They have to stop trying to just pass the ball around and nobody moving and get on with pass and move otherwise it isn't going to happen. Is that an old schoolboys shirt or a team shirt you nicked, on your avatar:lol:

How important was that match to the club and the fans. The stadium just a quarter filled, six unenforced changes to the team. The first half hour set the pace. It looked like a team forced to play a friendly against opposition that were giving it a go. Bialkowski despite some brilliant reaction shotstopping looks like he has major confidence issues and is absolutely petrified of making errors when he has time to spare. Both full backs were poor, Richardson's overhit crossing gave us nothing and both were positionally poor. Harding's ball watching is a problem and he made one thirty yard run with the ball and never looked up once, needless to say he was caught with his head down in the corner and he didn't even get a cross in. Fonte had a poorish game putting unnecessary pressure on Martin whose lack of left foot was exposed especially when trying to close down the cross for the equaliser. In Fonte's case he has just come back from injury and two games in four days may be a little too soon. The lack of a cohesive central midfield was a major problem. Chaplow is a long way from being ready to play at the level he was at before injury, he needs at least two or three weeks at least. Hammond was poor in that he had to take up some of the slack but was very static and negative with his passing. We seemed to play so many passes across the back four and from the midfield to the back four. Possession in the back four is nonsense if it just allows the opponents to consolidate and form up in front of the ball. Inevitably it ends up with a lump forward from the goalkeeper or a defender closed down. DeRidder broke through with his pace and directness several times. unfortunately two good crosses weren't converted and a pass instead of a shot was perfect except it was just behind the two forwards who both went for the goal line rather than the cut back. Lallana looked bright but his goal was hit going away from the goal and went in, there looked to be a bit of good fortune and the keeper got it wrong. I would take issue with him though, on at least three occasions Lee made terrific runs in behind the defenders and needed the ball in early before offside loomed but Lallana took three or four more touches instead of putting him in and the run was wasted. He needs to work out when to pass quickly and when to run with the ball not just running every time. Also his crass flick in the second half that gave the ball away on the edge of our area was just stupid. Guly tries hard, does the difficult things well but drops us in it with messing up the easy things like giving simple passes to the opposition. Good header from DeRidders cross but Forde made a blinding save. Lee is acclimatising. His off the ball runs were incisive, none were picked up until Reeves put him in wide late in the game. He had one good shot that just missed but he should have scored from close in late in the game but snatched at it and ballooned it over as Lallana did in the first half. We need to pass to his runs which are first class and get up quickly in support not just ignore them. Reeves looked like the proper playmaker that we have lacked for years. We need to bring him on as quickly as possible. Early days but Barnard looks like he has a long way to go yet. I'm glad we are out of the cup and can get on with trying to win promotion without re-arranging games. The Birmingham game was more of an indicator for me than last night. We need to get Hoiveldt back asap because Martin despite his defensive solidity just slows the play down too much in possession.

That would work:lol:

Has the Monaco bank got accounts Rosie 1 - 12?

Sky have just had a specialist from Ernst & Young on commenting on the Hearts WUP. He says that if it isn't paid there will be a WUO and a liquidator will be appointed and the only way to avoid that is either pay the bill or the main creditor put them into administration. I know the issue is different at Hearts as the owner will probably pay but unless PFC find a buyer or somebody to cover the costs of administration it may now be the end for PFC.

Has AA found anyone to fund administration yet?