rallyboy

Indeed they are, Awford's pledge to get them out of League Two this season and back where they belong is right on track.

Something constructive for the few to ponder - a quick business analysis of the problems encountered since the Trust launched this great new company... The board appointed a poor manager. The poor manager performed poorly, the board blamed him and sacked him. That mistake cost money. They appointed another poor manager, this time after he has already failed at his previous club. That appointment of a poor manager upset their only quality player, he stopped playing. That mistake cost money. The new poor manager performed poorly and eventually needed replacing. That mistake cost money. The board appointed yet another poor manager, he performed poorly, so they learned from previous errors...and sacked his assistant. That mistake cost money. That gave the current poor manager free rein to perform even more poorly - and results got even worse. Likely outcome - the board will appoint yet another poor manager shortly. The mistake will cost money. The common factor in every poor decision? The board. Things we have learned? 1. If you appoint someone who isn't very good don't be surprised if they aren't very good, their appointment is your fault not theirs. 2. When we said on day one that there didn't seem to be much quality in that boardroom we weren't just jealous bitter scummahs.

He didn't cost us the game, but what a shocking ref! Mr Moss is welcome to make mistakes, we all do, and he certainly does, but to be blatantly inconsistent is a sin. 1st half - Palace player chops down winger, not even a word from the ref. 2nd half - Targett chops down winger on same spot in identical manner, his first foul - yellow card. I know people on here like to defend refs for a laugh - good luck with this bloke! He had an inconsistent shocker, as demonstrated by the loudest cheer of the afternoon when he finally gave a free kick.

Just to put the massive crowds into perspective, take out the cheap season tickets and Cambridge will earn more from one game than pompey's matchday income for a year. It makes you wonder how the whole cashflow thing is going....

She seems to have a lazy eye - and she needs a hairbrush, other than that, what a great bit of journalism. If The Sun wanted to make a big statement they perhaps could have spent a bit more time on it.

I guess the real problem they will have is when the current young fans get to an age where they see their mates supporting Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal or even Saints, and wonder why they have been forced to follow some club that is never on the telly and has no relevance to the game. They now have ten-year-olds with no memory of anything other than relegation, and no matter how the older few kid themselves about glorious history, they won't keep a child happy just with stories of the olden days. Their hardcore of support is the dinosaur element, of a certain age, but without a massive change in fortunes they will lose their next generation of supporters, in much the same way as we lost a few in the last decade and have gained a few since. So I reckon the fatty streets of Fratton will soon be awash with the blue shirts - of Chelsea and Man City.

Gave it large, robbed people, got relegated, gave it large again, robbed people again, got relegated again, went quiet, got relegated again.

There's nothing wrong. With splitting sentences. Awford makes a valid point - it's the fans' fault, they don't believe enough. The fans are letting down the brave troops who give their all for the plucky shirt. Come on fans, get your act together, your poor belief will get Awford sacked at this rate. I see the Trust is going on 5Live tomorrow to explain the joys of fan-ownership to Adrian Chiles. I do hope some people bring the dull Baggie up to speed on percentages, shares, ownership, property development and debt prior to their chat. It might prevent it turning into a love-in of spin based around portsmyths.

Yeah, this is about Soccerball here, let's keep it that way. I see the Sailors drew a blank when they went up against the Burton Brewers, one score each after the Brewers went level in the final quarter and held out beyond regular time despite some great kicking action. Awesome.

gaptoothiest is a gumtastic word, in the true spirit of nutjobbery! You could also describe some within the club for local people as overfingered or just fans of sisterbothery. The PTS thread - twisting language like a children's entertainer making surprised-looking dogs out of balloons.

I have no idea if this story is true or not but recent experience suggests that if it does happen Koeman will already have a replacement up his sleeve. The Firesale Meltdown days are over. Those of a nervous disposition should remember that we seamlessly survived the biggest summer exodus in history.

I do hope he walks straight into another League Two side and starts banging in goals. Or even funnier, a player/coach role!

If I was that rich and someone had betrayed my daughter in that manner I'd be tempted to use far less than £2M to have him executed.

Yes, they released the full accounts before Christmas. The figures showed that they are running at a considerable profit, the debts have been cleared, plans to expand the ground have been given the green light, cashflow is healthy, the property developers have all been bought out and the Trust has managed to claw back ownership and now holds a majority of shares thus giving a financial return to the fans who donated. I recall reading them the very same night that a young Linda Lusardi came round with her twin sister and we had a game of hide the sausage, in a bath of warm custard - a game that only came to a premature end when a passing razorback clipped one of its wings on a chimney pot and crashlanded on our shed.

I've just seen the goal that beat them on Saturday. It did look unjust, the bloke was clearly in the eyeline of the keeper, it should have been disallowed. Very unfair. I feel quite bad for them. It's okay, I've got over it now. Swings and roundabouts and all that! On the same programme it was also good to be treated to pompey legend Steve Claridge's strong opinions on rape convictions. It was certainly one in the eye for those people who think he is just a thick journeyman, former strawberry picker and failed manager with a gambling addiction - it become clear very quickly that he is in fact an expert on all matters legal, specialising in sex offences and the complications of the resultant appeal process. A great bit of punditry. Next week Andy Townsend explains the relationship between UK house prices and the Scottish oil industry in the 1980s, in both economic and social terms.

It was nice to see every single attempt on goal by United, good balanced highlights again boys! And would like to have seen more analysis about how our improved performances this season are down to the manager of Spurs.

Go on BBC, try to edit that to make it look like United dominated! They'll need to use shots from the warm-up. Great day - and Dave Merrington is kicking Van Gaal while he's down. Nice.

Why do they care about their rivals a few divisions lower, says the man still celebrating his team's old victory over rivals who were two divisions lower! Though it seems quite convenient to offload rivals if they become too superior and just adopt new more realistic ones like Aldershot and Eastleigh - is that how it works? Knowing how good they are at figures, at what point is the rivalry null and void? I recall from Ho and his learned friends that it was still very much alive and kicking when we were 50 places adrift, is the rivalry over when the gap gets to 80 league places? I 4-1 think that it's a pity. Rivalry tends to be about geography rather than maths, though I understand why a fanbase that still believes that it owns shares doesn't want to debate anything too complex. But if as claimed they would rather be in the fourth tier with a year and a half of history that's cool. They are finally where they belong, and everyone is happy.

I'm not sure they've released any books since Storrie's great fictional fantasy trilogy Our Accounts, The value of our Squad, and Return to the Harbourdome. Though his big hit comedy farce Are You Avin a Larf Mush? is still doing good business in the West End with Bobby Davro playing a manager obsessed with prostitutes, Sue Pollard as Buttons and Orville as the evil QC representing HMRC. There's something for all the family - Spit the Dog makes a guest appearance as a a right wing extremist woman in a sailor outfit, Vanessa Feltz plays the local MP. Tickets available for all shows from liamlawrence.com

Sensible decision. As is the one to release Matt......Smith.....with....his....appallingly....delayed....delivery....style. The next cull should be on MotD, half of them can go, save me putting it on mute.

Has he filled in a template yet? Sleeping giant, massive potential, only place he wanted to go, get back where they belong, fantastic fans that deserve success, honest bunch of lads, no mystery about the ripping up of the contract, on the up, biggest club outside the Premier League, great facilities, fortress fratton, other team's cup final, he and his Wimbledon colleagues were petrified to play in the bearpit, lifting the troops, no cashflow problems at all, in a much better position than Bournemouth, it's not about the money or the contract that is twice the length that anyone else offers at that level, rallying cry, promotion warchest, looking forward to playing alongside David Connolly, the lads are right behind the gaffer, whoever it is, looking forward to firing the plucky blues to glory.

Robinson just announced that his Tesco is still go, go, go....

I spy with my little eye a final gamble on getting out of League Two this season...chuck some money at one problem, and hope that the defence solves itself. If they are breaking their own wagecap I suspect Connolly won't be happy. He'll demand a rise, or he might even refuse to play.

I just tell them immediately, 'I believe that someone in your office has had an accident in the last three years' - it tends to confuse matters. If that fails I tell them that I am doing a survey and start asking them questions about green energy. I can't compete with Lord T, my record for keeping them online for a very confused conversation is ten minutes. When you are busy they are effing annoying but when you have the time they can be very entertaining - all the time they are on the wrong end of your pointless chat they aren't bothering other people.

and when they were up they were up....