sidthesquid

I don't really care that the -10 didn't carry over. As someone earlier said they are in LEAGUE 2 FFS. They will probably do okay in it, too. But the FL will be all over their finances like a rash. (I think they let them off the -10 because it was a "fans' takeover" which is something they want to encourage in the lower leagues.) There is no way they are going to be allowed to overspend and it will be funny for us and frustrating for the blue increasingly few. And any dodgy takeover will be closely monitored and spending still restricted. League 1 is quite achievable, but getting above that on gate money alone is tough. I think the FL will be happy to nurse them along like some recovering addict, but any hint of back-sliding will be dealt with much more firmly. A lost decade will be the least of their worries imo.

I think Jason Euell was the worst ever value for money - he was on a big, big salary which was why we couldn't shift him for years, and though he tried, he looked like a punch-drunk fighter and seemed scared of the ball. Not a happy time for him or us, but amazingly he dragged another five years out of his career.

I never seem to have time to post - just wasted an hour of work catching up today. But I feel a moment has been reached in our journey. It has been a long, hugely enjoyable ride, but it is coming towards its final destination. At last, justice is slowly starting to be done. League 2 (with or without -10) is probably fair punishment - I am not a vindictive man. They stumble into a chaotic, uncertain future out of the public gaze. Along the way I have come to know more about the world of insolvency & admin than I ever imagined I'd need to know, and more about the Skates than is healthy. I have cheered on teams I know or care nothing of. I have laughed out loud at the endless parade of delusional half-wits that have passed through, along the journey. I have fretted in the cold dark night that they will escape justice, but more often I have had dismal days brightened by their sheer stupidity and this site has never failed to raise a smile. But I feel we are nearing the end of the journey - we will be saying goodbye to old friends on here as the PDT park the old Skatemobile in the layby of irrelevence and they slip from our consciousness. We will keep an eye on the old shambles, rusting in a corner, but the race is largely run. Like the agreement to buy the club - just the i's and t's to be dotted and crossed. It is ceasing to be an unmissable drama and becoming a soap-opera to dip in and out of. But I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

No...

I certainly does when they can't even begin the processs till after a court case on 10th April. Trying to get anything involving lawyers to move at the required pace will be a huge achievement in itself, never mind appeals and all the rest.

One of the most amusing aspects of this season is that finally the Skates are playing a squad full of plucky youngsters and heroic has-beens that they can almost afford, and lo-and-behold they are doing okay. If they'd started the season with a cheap manager and squad, accepting that they wouldn't go up but could consolidate in L1, they would almost certainly be safe now, getting a bit of grudging respect along the way for living within in their means at last. But, oh no, that is not the Skatey way. What they go for is an overrated 'best young manager in the country' with a team of overpaid, underachieving team of mercenaries who the fans applaud as heroes. And what happens - they succeed in screwing the finances even deeper into the ground as they head for oblivion (or admittedly better clubs for the mercenaries) as they go on their record-breaking winless run. And they wonder why we never tire of the laugs they give us.

Nay nay & thrice nay

Keep up at the back...... It has to be this season because if they're not out of admin by the end of it there won't be a next season.

Beautiful

Because quite frankly £12.50 in loose change, 4 Hungarian florints and a past-its-sell-by-date tin of Quality Street isn't going to save the club

They're not - that's why they are playing the quality players they have now....

You clearly have too much time on your hands (but glad to see it wasn't being wasted......)

It's, give or take, 20% of 20% of 1330. Isn't that how they calculate things there?

It is very hard to judge the most recent signings, I fully accept that, and personally I don't think any of the signings have been unjustified or plain bad (even Jonno Quick), which was sort of my point. Whatever we may think of Les Reed and his committee, our signing process looks very good compared to most, especially the 'Arry approach of buying anyone available and worry about it later.

On form over last 10 games carried into next 10, the table wouyld look like this with 2 games to go (bracket figure is points earnt in last 10 games) 11 Sunderland 42 (13) 12 Saints 39 (12) 13 Fulham 38 (9) 14 West Ham 38 ( 15 Newcastle 37 (10) 16 Reading 37 (14) 17 Norwich 36 (7) 18 Aston Villa 33 (9) 19 Wigan 27 (6) 20 QPR 27 (10) I'd take that now if offered

I reckon that all the teams from Wet Sham in 11th down are in a relegation fight now - they Fulham and Norwich are getting dragged in and it's all about momentum from here on in.

Since the start of the new era we have signed 34 players (excluding a few short term loans) and the vast majority of them have at the very least served a valuable short-term purpose in the context of where we were at the time, and some have been bargains beyond your wildest dreams. So, my take... Graeme Murty - FAILURE, but only because of injury Dan Harding - SUCCESS, excellent in L1, if not above Rickie Lambert - SUCCESS X 100 Dean Hammond - SUCCESS, if not quite Prem standard Rahdi Jaidi - SUCCESS, excellent in L1, if not above Papa Wigo N'Diaye - SUCCESS, if only just Michail Antonio - SUCCESS , did a job in L1 David Connolly - SUCCESS, came for nothing & scored some vital goals in L1 and the Champ Jon Otsemobor -FAILURE, very average & all but forgotten (but better than Lloyd James at fb) Jose Fonte - SUCCESS, a L1 signing cutting it in the Prem Dan Seaborne - FAILURE, never quite lived up to expectations Lee Barnard - SUCCESS, another that was excellent in L1, if not above Jason Puncheon - SUCCESS, eventually! Aaron Martin - FAILURE, if it's fair to judge a signing from Eastleigh in those terms Danny Butterfield - SUCCESS, in as much that he was only ever signed as cover and has never let us down Ryan Dickson - FAILURE, he never quite cracked it with us Guly do Prado - SUCCESS, he's playing in the Prem... Richard Chaplow - SUCCESS, just, but had some good moments for us Frazer Richardson - SUCCESS, good in L1 & the Champ Jonathan Forte - FAILURE, apart from that one game was possibly the worst signing of all Jack Cork - SUCCESS, what an absolute bargain he was Steve de Ridder - FAILURE, but only just. Scored some valuable goals, but never quite lived up to our hopes Danny Fox - SUCCESS, not everyone will agree, but excellent last season and still a good back-up in the Prem Jos Hooiveld - SUCCESS, came from Celtic reserves to having a MoM against the English champs Tadanari Lee - FAILURE, so far because of injury, but still has time to come good Billy Sharp - SUCCESS, because his goals were crucial last season Nathaniel Clyne - SUCCESS, a future England player bought for a snip Jay Rodriguez - SUCCESS, starting to look worth every penny Steve Davis - SUCCESS, again what a bargain Emmanuel Mayuka - FAILURE, but only because he hasn't yet had a chance to prove otherwise Maya Yoshida - SUCCESS, looks every bit a Prem player Gaston Ramirez - SUCCESS already with the potential for so much more Paolo Gazzaniga - SUCCESS, just so far, but with the promise of much more Artur Boruc - SUCCESS, and starting to look like another bargain By my reckoning only 8 of 34 were poor signings, and only 3 or 4 really failed to live up to hopes ( I bet Harry's ratio wouldn't stand comparison) and at least a dozen absolute steals amongst the above. So, I would say hats off to Les Reed and all his backroom boys

We did that with a young French lad once, and that worked out okay. It takes players time to adapt to the country as wll as the club. Ramirez is clearly hugely talented, but it could easily be another twelve months before we see the best of him. At the moment Davis and Rodriguez are ahead of him.

It sounded to me that the FL were pretty convinced the Orville bid was another Chinny stitch-up, and that they know that no other genuine AND sound bidder can possibly do a deal because of all the issues surrounding it. I seriously wonder if the bid today was anything other than a ploy - I mean, a fully funded bid out of no-where at the 11th hour was a bit convenient, wasn't it?

This particular quote in very plain - I see no room for manoeuvre - it is trust or bust (It's just such a difficult choice from our perspective) This means that in the event that the PST bid does not succeed and Portsmouth do not exit administration before the end of the current playing season, the club will lose its membership of The Football League.’

So many possibilities here - 1. Chinny is almost certain to take PKF to court over valuation and has nothing to lose, so he might as well play hardball now 2. How does Birchy's need to give the best deal to creditors square with the best deal being unacceptable to the FL? 3. Could he sell it to them anyway and call the FL's bluff over the golden share? 4. Could the PDT still get the club, but not the ground - plenty of precedence, BHA & Wimbledon both had their ground swiped from beneath them? 5. Would Harris & Co challenge the FL in court? The fun just really never ends, does it?

One last check in the FL boxers and suddenly they find a pair. I think they saw straight through this one and that Balram's hand was right up Keith's duck-shaped behind

It's a bad time to be in that division, because the 'financial fair-play' rules mean that they can't buy their way out with other people's money.

From the Snooze comments - quite interesting nagoyablue 7:36 AM on 07/02/2013 Okay - remember back in December when the original 2-day hearing to determine the value of Fratton Park was adjourned? Remember Portpin mentioning the floating element of the charge over PFC 2010 Ltd had been forgotten by PKF? This is important. You also have to take into account the litigious nature of those that make up Portpin. They spend lot of time in court having arguments, its a second home for them. So PKF and the Trust have a deal agreed to purchase Portsmouth Football Club & Fratton Park. There's a fixed price that the PST will pay. So they go to the court to have the charge lifted from Fratton Park enabling the Trust to own the club and ground without any attachment from Portpin. Unfortunately, while the court case would enable the Trust to be free of Portpin, the floating charge still applies to PFC 2010 Ltd that PKF are responsible for. Now the fixed price the PST will pay will cover the CVA, PKF's fees and Portpin's compensation for the ground sale. What it won't necessarily do is cover the value of the floating charge as well (this is dependant on there not being a significant difference between what the PST have agreed to pay for Fratton Park and what the Judge decides the valuation should be in fairness to Portpin) so you have potentially around £1.5m that needs to be found out of the fixed price that been agreed. The only obvious point in order to maintain a CVA is PKF fees (capped at £2.5m). PKF have spent a lot of money on specialist legal advice and other items from equally expensive London firms so a long drawn out legal battle with Portpin over the floating charge element could leave them significantly out of pocket. Portpin, being the litigious creatures that they are, have been placing all sorts of pressure on PKF making their underwriters run away and hide in darken rooms. If PKF bite the bullet and sell to the Trust, they still have to deal with Portpin afterwards and accept the risks involved in that. If the business goes into liquidation, there is significant reputation damage caused and potential legal action from the HNWI of the Trust. Nobody else but a Portpin Trojan horse would touch PFC because of the problems involved (i.e. Portpin). Portpin have agreed to wave all action against PKF if the Harris bid is successful Suzie MacAggnan (sp) works for Keith Harris. Funnily enough she used to work for Portpin. Apparently she likes to also talk on the phone to the fan in the stand. Who leaked the story to Sky.