Kingsland Nick

That probably just means that the clubs haven't agreed a date yet.

Portsmouth admit controversial Ali al-Faraj interview was not a fake• Portsmouth withdraw denial over interview with Saudi paper • Paper did not hear from club following controversial interview Portsmouth have admitted Ali al-Faraj did give a controversial interview to a Saudi Arabian paper. Photograph: Portsmouth FC via Getty Images Portsmouth last night admitted that the club's new owner, Ali al-Faraj, did talk to a respected Saudi newspaper – 24 hours after claiming the interview had been faked. In the interview, given by Faraj and his brother Ahmed to the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat last week, the businessman admitted to being "no billionaire", said that he had bought Portsmouth for profit and knew nothing about sport. "Our plan is to stay for a period of not less than six months, until the club stands again," he said. "This is based on the fact that purchasing the club was purely an investment ... It's not a secret to hide: we are investors and we have no relation to sports." Portsmouth subsequently denied the interview had taken place, threatening legal action against any media outlets that published details from the article, and issued the following statement on their website on Friday morning: "Portsmouth FC owner Ali al-Faraj would like to assure fans that quotes attributed to him in a Saudi Arabian newspaper and subsequently published in some of today's tabloid press, are completely false and untrue. The club believes this is the work of a third party who will also face legal action." But Portsmouth have since removed that statement from their site, and told Observer Sport they now accept Ali al‑Faraj spoke to the newspaper, though they did not comment on the content of the interview and claimed he believed the conversation was not for publication. However, that suggestion was denied by the newspaper, a spokesman issuing the following firm response: "The statement of Portsmouth football club alleging the interview was a fake ... is a very serious matter and a very serious allegation. "We stand by our story. We have the documents and the tapes to support it. No third party was involved. We spoke with Ali and Ahmed al-Faraj. We also spoke with officials at Portsmouth. We have Mr Ali al-Faraj on tape saying to our reporter that his brother Ahmed was authorised to speak [for him]. The story was published on Tuesday, and Ahmed al‑Faraj later contacted our reporter to say they were happy with the interview." Despite Portsmouth's initial threat of legal action, Asharq Al-Awsat has still not heard from the club, and it is not clear whether Portsmouth accept that Faraj made all the comments attributed to him. "No one else from Portsmouth contacted us since the publication," the newspaper's spokesman added. The latest developments will do little to convince supporters that Faraj can finally bring stability to the club, following a chaotic few months. The level of finance available to the manager, Paul Hart, in the next transfer window remains unknown after the Faraj brothers admitted they had borrowed £5m to pay players' salaries earlier this month from financial institutions. Sulaiman al-Fahim, the Portsmouth chairman who sold his controlling interest to Faraj, told Observer Sport he had called on the club's board to hold a meeting as soon as possible to bring "unity" to the various parties. The board have not met since Fahim sold to Faraj. "Now is the time for us to be all together, to be united, so that we can move forward," he said. "I asked for a meeting and they told me to give them some dates." Fahim also said he was content with his 43-day ownership of the club. "It's a profitable investment for me with the result I got after selling 90% of the club." He added that he still has the right to buy land around Fratton Park that may be pivotal in any proposed redevelopment of the stadium for the city's 2018 World Cup bid.

http://http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/24/portsmouth-ali-al-faraj-interview

League One clearly isn't too low for him and Wolves, as he has joined Leeds.

I suspect that the ticket money gets split between the two clubs. If so, blame Torquay.

Can't see why a neutral would get so worked up over a reasonable declaration. If you don't care whether you win or not, there is little point playing professional sport.

If you had beaten Essex the previous round you would have been promoted. Derbyshire wanted to win, so they had to declare unless Essex bowled them out. In the context of the match 359 off 65 (which could easily have been reduced by bad light) was a tough target, which was only achieved thanks to attacking batting by ten Doeschate. If he had been out cheaply, which was quite possible the way he was batting, Derbys would probably have won. If your main bowlers can't take a wicket, it is only natural to try a part-timer. Bowling spinners on the fourth day at the end of the season makes sense.

I specifically requested an Ajax ticket when I renewed last Friday, but my season ticket arrived today without one. Would have expected them to send the tickets together, or to send the Ajax one first...

Grow up.

How badly damaged is the pitch? Wouldn't want to lose the money we're getting for hiring it out before it gets relaid.

And how did he get a seat in the Itchen? And why did he throw it at the Burnley fans?

If a company is liquidated, it is in a sense coming out of administration, so you can guarantee that the Coca Cola League would give us a 15 point penalty.

If we start on -10 in League 1, we will do well to avoid relegation to League 2

Does anybody have a link to the Football League rules? The rumour seems to be that the Club will not go into administration, but that the owner of the Club will. Have the Football League covered this scenario? They only changed the rule to defer the 10 point deduction until the following season if you would have been relegated anyway after Leeds used that loophole.

If they don't count, why should clubs in the south east, such as Brighton?

Hansie Cronje did the same a few years ago.

The courts were tough after Maze Hill, but that doesn't seem to have acted as a deterrent.

Do we know that they were Saints "fans"? Perhaps it was an England - Wales fight.

The other club is Manchester United, who have a similar reputation.

Needs to be earlier than June 30. In the recession, most fans who want to renew will want to pay early bird prices.

The Swansea fans took the "no anti-Lowe songs" rule too far, with several chants of "There's only one Rupert Lowe".

But they didn't stop the war. I hope this protest is more successful.

or even a Christian?

When did he become a Christain? The last time I heard about his religion was when he believed in reincarnation and said that the disabled were being punished for their former lives.

One league game