spyinthesky

Don't think any one knows quite how much the loan from Vibrac (based in the British Virgin Islands) amounted to. The £30 odd million is the debt to equity figure arranged by the Liebherr Trust which, presumably means that if the Trust was to sell up this would be the minimum selling price they would look to achieve. Saints are not alone in getting cash in this way. Vibrac have recently loaned £16m to Fulham, £13m to Everton, and £60m to West Ham (who are in shed loads of debt) QPR borrowed £15m from Barclays in Hong Kong and Swansea a mere £3m from Lloyds. It is likely other clubs have taken out 'Pay day' loans (often at 10% Interest rates) set against future TV and Season Ticket earnings. Smaller clubs are also indebted in other ways eg Pompey have to pay back a Council Loan of over a £1m in the near future

Brought back some pleasant memories of the Cardiff Final I thought Saints fans were excellent on the day However for those of us fortunate enough to be at Wembley in 1976 you can times the Millennium experience by a factor of 10 at least, possibly 100. The lead up, the Final, the return home, Channon's testimonial on the Monday followed by the hottest summer of the century, all fabulous and I hope one day it can be replicated especially for the younger fans

Any one know exactly which players were at the awards? Presumably most/all of the First team squad but would that also include Ramirez and Fox who have no further part to play this season. What about the likes of Richard Chaplow and others who are unlikely to be here next year?

Potentially more worries for (Sir) Henry Redknapp and Tony Fernandez especially if M. Remy spends a bit of time at Her Majesties Pleasure

I have heard from a couple of sources that Cortese does not see himself being in Southampton for a lengthy period (one suggested reason is that his wife has not settled too well here) However I have always been reassured by comments he supposedly made about having other investors lined up to take the club forward. I am not particularly keen on the way Cortese treats people in general but have to give him credit for guiding the club to the position it occupies at the moment. Most of us were looking for more progress next year and this may well be prejudiced by uncertainty. A period of stability would be nice but the portents don't seem to be that encouraging. I posted a hypothetical question a week or so back asking whether the owners might now look to sell the club as a decent profit could be realised from the sale. Perhaps the Liebherr family Trustees are, indeed, looking at this scenario. Problem with this we just don't know who is out there looking to buy into a football club. Just look at the chaos at Fratton Park caused by dodgy chancers.

Comment from Sunderland forum 'Desperately hanging on at the end against SOUTHAMPTON!! 'we were outplayed for most of the game by a team with inferior players' Mind you glad that Sunderland were without their 2 main strikers. Lost my chance of £8k in bets (placed against a worse case scenario) but happy that saints are more or less assured of a another season in the top league

This is the man that a significant amount of Pompey fans (including at least one local MP and the Pompey News) were promoting for a knighthood not so long ago (quite a few were also looking for an honour for Peter Storrie!!)

I think you are pretty spot on with your timings and comment on social change I used to travel quite extensively to follow Saints as a teenager and also occasionally used to watch top teams in London and around the country without any hint of trouble. Can remember odd individual fights in the, non segregated, terraces at Cardiff and Plymouth during our promotion year (to the old 1st Div) in 1965/6 but nothing too dramatic. However the first mass violence I recollect was when Chelsea arrived for an early game in our first year in Div 1 and they mob handed took over the Milton Road end. It was a bit of a culture shock for us younger supporters Around about this time Pompey fans came visiting for John Hollowbread's testimonial and there were scuffles then too and I think this may have started reciproical bad feeling by some Saints fans towards Pompey. (Interesting to note that when Jimmy Dickinson, the old Pompey stalwart, played his last game at the Dell he got clapped onto the field by a guard of saints players and a great reaction from the Saints fans. Compare this to the Ted Bates game at St Marys) Culturally terrace aggression was a progression of mob violence started by the Teddy Boys in the 1950's and continued by the Mods and Rockers in the mid 60's and early 70's. Bank Holidays in seaside resorts at this time was carnage with what could be described as mass riots going on

I used to go to school in Fareham and there was no animosity between Saints and Pompey fans then My Dad used to regularly watch Saints but would occasionally go to Fratton or Dean Court as did many others My first recollection of ill feeling was the 1960/1 game at Fratton when our young mascot (he was about 14 and used to run round the pitch in club colours with an ols Aitre raid rattle) had running track dirt thrown in his face by some Pompey fans. I think their 'Sailor Boy' mascot didn't cover himself in glory either. After this time the crowd violence thing started to take shape in English football but most Saints fans were slow to dislike Pompey, as there had been a generally good disposition towards the team from Saints fans whereas the Pompey lot seemed be upset that their team's predominance (since the late 1920's) had been lost to the emerging Saints from the 1960's onwards it is noticeable that since 1960 Pompey have only finished higher in the League in 7 of the 53 seasons and have only had a higher average league attendance in 3 of the 53 seasons!! That has intensified the bad feeling down the eastern end of the M27

I thought there was a professional restriction If Costco apply this to the letter surely this will restrict their membership numbers

Presume any one can join? There appears to be certain occupation limitations for non trade members

Another pessimist here!! Got 150/1 with Betfair a few weeks back (subject to maximum bet limit) Also got money on elsewhere at 80/1 and most recently 66/1 with Ladbookes Another one who wishes not to be paid out but if the worst happens I have my season ticket paid financed for the next 10 years or so!!

I wish I wasn't a card carrying pessimist but it is a burden I have faced all my life I did a predictor after the West Ham game and had us a point from safety so thought the margin of error was tight enough to risk a gamble when the odds were 150/1 against I have now nearly £8k awaiting me if Saints go down, a bet I sincerely hope I don't benefit from

Hopefully Luke Shaw will be back asap but according to recent reports his ankle is in a cast and unlikely to return until last game of season, at best. So how will the Manager seek to deal with this?. Possible options: 1. Move Yoshida to RB and Clyne to LB and bring in Fonte (presume favoured option) 2. Play Fraser Richardson at RB and move Clyne across (FR is OK at Championship level but perhaps a bit out of his depth/rusty at Prem level?) 3. Play Jack Cork at RB etc (Cork is a vital ingredient in midfield and has struggled at RB, Chelsea cup Tie etc) 4. Keep Clyne at RB and recall Dickson (don't think for one this will happen, and dependent on loan terms etc but Dickson possibly no worse than Fox, has a left foot and is reasonably pacey) 5. Play Forren at LB (likely not quick enough as would be the case with Hooivelt)

Lambert £1m Boruc Free Schneiderlin £1m Cork £750k Clyne £1m Davis £500k = £4.25m versus Ramirez £12m Mayuka £3m Fox £1.8m Forren £3m = £18.8m Possibility that three of the latter four may one day prove their worth but cant help thinking we may have seen the last of Ramirez and possibly Fox after yesterday

I noticed this and assumed the person referred to wasn't the 'real' Cas Pennant who is supposed to be a Hammers fan Perhaps the Pompey Trust are looking to revisit their 'history' a la 657 style

Got to say one or two good ideas in amongst all this. If they can keep up the momentum then fair play to them and assuming a successful season in Div 2 then this is likely. However I have been involved in a few organisations run by enthusiastic individuals and there are always fall outs which sap energy and enthusiasm of even the most committed people. The Trust may well be a good blue print for other clubs but it is just as likely to fall apart at the seams especially if next season does not live up to expectation

For us 'oldies' what about Bob Charles, Southampton's answer to Fatty Foulkes the famous keeper at the turn of the 20th century

The interesting thing here is that Pompey did not actually come top of the South East Alliance Youth League (comprising teams from Divs 1 & 2 plus Luton - Watford were the only Championship team) They actually came 4th or 5th but 'won' the league on a average points per game basis as not all teams played the same amount of games. Odd way to operate a League!!

I was talking to a 'reasonable' Pompey fan yesterday who was banging on about how impressed he was with the new set up at PFC One person he had spoken to directly was a Mark Trapani who, I think is one of the HNW sponsors I pointed out to him that, as far as I was aware, the gentleman in question runs the Snows BMW garage in Pompey. Snows Group, is in fact, based in Soton (starting with Office Supplies many years ago and moving into Car Delearships etc) So, on this basis, any money Mr Trapani has invested in PFC has been directly obtained from working for a Soton based company. Sensed a slight tinge of exasperation with this info. Also does anyone remember (possibly back in the Deacon days when Pompey were in the usual state of financial disarray) a group of well meaning Saints fans offered to help with fund raising to ensure the survival of a local rival (similar to the Bournemouth effort) but were told where to shove their well meaning efforts by some of the more vocal Pompey supporters? I am pretty sure this happened but don't want to run with this if my memory is playing tricks with me

Turks When I am in 'Day Dream' mode and I am contemplating how I would deal with the record £150m Euro Lottery windfall, helping fund a stadium expansion is a consideration but I have other plans, relating to the football club and the community, which would take precedence. My initial thought would be how best to preserve anonymity so I could get on with selected projects generally without having to deal with all the pressures a big fortune will undoubtedly bring. I have most of the details worked out. All it needs is for the numbers to come out I can assure you now that people around and about the football club and the area will benefit. Nothing will be left for the Govt to grab back in Inheritance Tax and the like I know you like looking good I promise to buy you a hand made suit from a tailor of your choice, possibly with a subtle red and white striped silk lining!!

FF Please don't read anything into this. Had just finished reading the Sunday Rich List and saw the piece on old Mo and Fulham and presumed (rightly or wrongly) that our own transfer of debt to equity could be a positive and was worthy of some debate. However if I won a substantial amount of money on the Euromillions, a bid for the club could be in the offing. That said it all seems to be moving along relatively smoothly at the moment and perhaps my future Lottery win might better be invested in maximising the fans enjoyment of games.

Was the figure £25m for the Liebherr family? If so this seems quite reasonable compared to Mohammed al- Fayed at Fulham who, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, converted £212m of loans to equity. Bit of a difference. The Sunday Times reckons Fulham are in a 'healthy position'

Looking back at the overall Saints v Pompey games, it may explain their fans hostility towards Saints. From the Saints/Pompey joint entry into the Football League in 1920/1 all was generally well until Pompey's relegation from Div 1 in season 1960/1 which coincided with our promotion from Div 3 the same year. In the 7 subsequent meetings between the two sides between 1960/1 and 1975/6 Saints won 8, drew 4 and lost 2, scoring 34 and conceding 18. Of these games Saints won 4 out of 4 at Fratton Park by 3-0 (1964/5), 5-2 (1965/6), 2-1 (1974/5) and 1-0 (1975/6) In fact Pompey have only won once in the last 9 meetings on their home turf. Pompey's win at the Dell in 1987/8 was so important to some Pompey fans that a Fanzine was named in its honour. It was in the 70's that the SCUM Myth was started (ironically during the time when Pompey Dockers had taken work from Plymouth Docks against a Trade Union agreement they had signed up to thereby leading Soton Dockers to picket Pompey Commercial Docks) Prior to 1960 it appears that many Saints fans used to go and watch Pompey play and when Jimmy Dickinson played his last derby game at the Dell, he was given a warm and supportive appreciation. Pompey may have more trophies but Saints have the historically higher League average attendance, higher League position, better stadium, better reputation for developing young talent, less admins, more European campaigns and, of course, a higher current position

To be fair we have only beaten them 5-1 twice in Ist Class games ie Season 1960/1 in Div 2 and by the same score in 1905/6 in the FA Cup We did also win 5-2 at Fratton in season 1965/6