saintbletch

Well wasn't Abromovic rumoured to have bought Chelsea and flashed the cash for similar personal interests? It's alleged that he wanted to raise his profile and live in London so that the Russian mafia and/or government agencies couldn't just quietly bump him off with a pointy umbrella at a bus stop. OK it appears that that is where the Ambramovic comparison ends.

EDIT. Just found the message on Betfair. I'm not sure if signifies anything specifically other than some punters could get an unfair advantage via inside information.

Could be. But there is still liquidity in the back market for Pompey who are at 1.12 to back 1.13 to lay. Do we have a link to the announcement?

Hmm. Betfair is an exchange which means the punters make the market with each other. It'll be the punters that take the risk not Betfair. Betfair makes money on the commission on the bets, they don't make payouts to the punters. If it was certain that Pompey would be relegated they would remove Pompey from the market, but only as a duty of care to the punters. They wouldn't lose anything. Sounds like an odd story to me.

On the principle that things are very bleak for the major creditors if they are insolvent, I wonder what manipulation of the figures they could carry out. Perhaps the debt charge holders could produce documentation that shows delayed or re-scheduled repayment of the loans. After all if Chainrai and Gaydamak's debts are shown as falling due and can't be cleared then they're insolvent. So if your Chainrai or Gaydamal you'd probably say that they debts have been renegotiated or you get nothing. (unless your objective was the land all along). Chainrai may even state that he is committed to loaning the company more operating cash to meet wages for the rest of the season. Perhaps for the purposes of the audit he may even arrange a line of additional credit for them. Of course the one debt they can't manipulate is the HMRC, and if they can't show that they can clear that, then that's what will surely kill them.

Billy Bragg - Life's a Riot With Spy vs Spy

Whilst I'd agree that two cups may have taken our eye off the ball in the League, you are ignoring the 2 x 30K crowds we've just had at SMS. The feeling of support at SMS in the last two games has been stunning. I think our average attendance will increase this season and hopefully into the next few too. These two runs have set us up for the next 2-3 years far better than a slow creep towards an almost always unlikely play-off position ever could. But I do take your point that it was a choice, and that we may have prioritised in a way that you think was wrong. Don't take this in the way that on the surface it might come across, but living away from the city you've probably got a different perspective to people who've attended the last two cup games. And for Markus Liebherr, the ability to fly all his friends and family into the UK and host them in a box at Wembley is probably the sort of thing that a) made him invest in the first place and b) will keep him investing in years to come. No regrets for me.

We couldn't afford to beat Portsmouth. But in a couple of weeks I think we'll find that they actually couldn't afford to beat us. Unlike you I think I've changed my position. I really didn't want Portsmouth to go under. But right now I can't reconcile the pride I felt in our team with the frustration I felt at the skill and pace they were able to assemble without the means to pay for it. I can't imagine the fuss that would be being made by other Prem teams if they had, or were able to go on a winning run. It simply isn't just. It would be great to play them again some day but right now I'm not phased about their future.

Someone should explain to Mr. Tosic what being paid "monthly in arrears" really means at Pompey.

That's a thought.

Surely IF the PL was seriously considering advancing PFC some money, they would have done it way ahead of PFC's toss of a coin gamble in the court the other day. If this needs unanimity amongst Premier League Chairman it won't fly. If the PL takes this decision in isolation then they can expect to be sued by the two/three relegated clubs come the end of season. I can't see it being a flyer.

But that is.

The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia.

I had a brief look round last night for the Roboteering E.P. but couldn't see it in physical form - only downloads. Looks like it might be out of stock. I love having my music downloadable, but only once I've bought the CD. Ah well I might have buy the download version. Re the tour, I'm forever doing that. Bloody frustrating. I know exactly what you mean. I think it's the sort of song that you really don't want to listen to too many times anyway. It's appeal is its directness and its impact relies on it being fresh.

Wow. OK you got me with that second one. A beautiful song. I'm going to have to invest in a CD. Although I'm not sure whether it's the song or the poem "within" the song. Incredibly moving and personally very poignant right now. I was moved to look up the words. I can also see the Nick Drake comparison and also a bit of Tom Baxter. And in speaking that poem over the top reminded me of that other great Canadian poet 'Laughing' Leonard Cohen. Stunning.

A. C. Newman - The Slow Wonder.

That's certainly what I thought but the Telegraph piece says that she was forced off the board. Odd. And in this article pointed out below. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1249103/Duke-Westminster-pushing-Portsmouth-edge.html?ITO=1490 It says that she was also on the board of a failed company that didn't pay it's lease to Grovesnor Properties Basingstoke and that PCFC Ltd underwrote the lease. GPB is one of the other companies originally on the winding-up petition. Can Finance Directors be imprisoned for knowingly trading while insolvent? Or can they be banned from holding further directorships because she appears to be in a spot of bother. I hope someone's stuffing a few quid somewhere "off-shore" for her, to make it all worthwhile.

Could we sing "We've got a fit and proper chairman" ?

Interesting to hear the likely motivation spelled out. Many have speculated about setting an example, that HMRC has had enough of football or even vengeance. Mitigating future losses makes the most sense.

Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want to see the Bright Lights Tonight.

An ex-landlord of mine used to put Trout Mask Replica on loud every Sunday morning forcing me out of my pit. Re The Shins if you haven't already got it then Wincing the Night Away is pretty good but their earlier stuff is better IMO. Also if you like them then Band of Horses are worth a shout. Very similar to my ear.

Following that logic literally, doesn't that mean that every team Pompey has beaten in the FA Cup this year has a claim to still be in the draw? Chaos.

The Shins - Chutes too Narrow.

Now you mention, it I too have a recollection of crowd control being handled badly at a Pompey game. I've got a feeling that we may have been let out marginally later than Pompey and that the Saints fans were all herded down Belvidere Road while the Pompey fans were herded down Britania Road.

Interesting. So she didn't resign but was forced off the board. And far from maybe being a whistle-blower as I had mused, she appears to be at the centre of the insolvency shenanigans.