rallyboy

easy to get yourself sacked Mr G if you have another job lined up that requires you being a free agent. You just start an argument with the board. Compensation not allowed, but nothing about signing on fees - I'd be surprised if they haven't had to pay him instead of Crawley. Let's not forget January 2010 when several players suddenly gave up their contracts at other clubs and became free agents thus beating the embargo. Tis a well-trodden path.

Not Barker surely? The hot favourite from day one? No, that can't be right because it would suggest that the last week of sham interviews was to disguise the fact that he breached his Crawley contract to save pompey compensation and they needed to go through the motions with the other 99 candidates. Well if it is Barker, it's another Football League rule carefully sidestepped!

If the away teams are scared to play there, the home team is overcome by pressure, all officials wilt at the majesty of the occasion, and the fat in the pipes is the only thing holding the place up, why don't they just bulldoze and start again with something a bit nicer?

If the council hadn't given them a safety certificate, they wouldn't have got their loan back. All this infighting was entirely predictable. Imagine what it would be like if they had some success and there was actually something to fight over. The number of jobs that could be dished out on Premier League money could keep the extended families happy for years. Let's not forget that their kitman was on a higher salary than our manager when we were in the Championship. But that was under very different owners who had little transparency and were more concerned with conning the fans, gambling on elusive promotion, and looking after themselves. Thankfully they left those days behind.

Personally I'd like them to up the ante a bit on the big race to snatch the hot seat. The PR so far has been pretty shoddy. Perhaps link a few more ludicrously-ambitious target names with it, handily glossing over the whole compensation issue. Or suggest that big names have been rejected, turned down by the plucky blue board as they seek a better option. Maybe slag off anyone who declines it, no doubt because the job is too big for them. Yeah, come on on, let's hear more spin about the 100 great applicants clamouring to take on the biggest dream job in football...do they have the experience? Can they match the ambitions of the board? Can they cope with the passion of the fatpipes faithful? Will they turn El Rickety into an arena where teams fear to tread? Do they want to bother prossies at the club's expense? Can they fill in a media template? All these important questions need answering.

Don't mock, when they gave away more cut-price season tickets than expected, the first thing they did was put the extra money into clearing debt and paying off the small creditors. They didn't just offer higher wages to loan players, take a punt of promotion, or sign a keeper that Bury couldn't afford. That would have been an indication that nothing had changed since the nasty criminals ran the old club - the club that gloriously won the cup against all odds (and had a bit of historical debt that was a long time ago and has really got nothing to do with the current regime).

pompey may have been around longer than Crawley and have a bigger fanbase, but there is no structure, a crumbling stadium, no youth development, legacy debt and little sign of quality management in the boardroom. It's a club that needs a squad overhaul midseason, but with no great money to spend. Players will have to be released/sold before many can be brought in. It's a project that was started badly by a cowboy builder and now needs a firefighting rescue job. As in previous years, unless you are being highly paid or have little choice because no one else wants you (Appy, Cotterill, Whittingham), who would want to take the job? They haven't attracted a good quality manager in years, and even though they are technically bigger than Crawley, I don't see the attraction improving now they are in the basement. So it may be career progression, but it could be a long way round as a shortcut to the Championship. If I was a manager I think I'd wait and see who gets fired next in the Championship or League One - there will be better opportunities if you are a good manager. If however you aren't much good, take it!

He breaches his contract to get himself sacked. pompey don't have to pay compensation. Barker agrees a signing on fee, less than the compensation would have been. pompey fans don't get told about the hidden costs. Everyone's a winner. That would be a transparent way to do business - if it came to pass...

That's b0ll0x, they've never had a fricking budget. And everyone was assured at the time that everyone was free, no clubs were being outbid and all finances were in line - it was just the work of jealous Nutjobs pointing out the blatant insolvency. Maybe someone forgot to rewrite that little bit of history... Confucius he say, club near bottom of League Two not really in position to tell any candidate to naff off - and certainly not in strong enough position to pay compensation. Cheap'n'cheerful is the best way forward. Or sideways.

How did they manage that?? And another 1,000 off the attendance - I don't want to set alarm bells ringing in the plucky boardroom but it's creeping down to that break-even target they quoted. The park is far from packed - only about 3,500 paying customers. And any sensible potential manager would look at that team and run for the hills. They need wholesale changes but they have a squad that has taken root like the previous ones, you can't offload the crap even on one year deals. In footballing terms, I think they have got themselves in a little bit of a pickle, on and off the park. Again. But to cheer them up, I can't see them managing to plummet into the bottom two.

sing it after three years, that's probably how long he'll have to wait to get paid.

nice one GWC - and always good to see the mobility scooter woman as well. Glad she made it through last winter. Connolly at same odds as Hoddle and Shearer?? He's been eyeing this job since he arrived, now he has the chance to grab it. But what do I know? Presumably the bookies know that Barker or Allen are in talks so they can suck a few quid out of people for a wasted Connolly bet. I think that's how they operate...

wow that was close, he had nearly dropped off the herometer into villainy, but Guy can now be gently coaxed back from the red zone into hero status, as the last year will be quietly airbrushed from history. In the defence of the Trust, I'm not sure they had much choice on this decision, it made itself. For our own comedic purposes it would be nice if Guy went on a PR offensive now and lifted the lid on some of the stuff we know is going on but they gloss over.

Making stuff up?? I think you are mistaken, there is no history of that. Just to address the latest portsmyth to be regurgitated as a distraction from a League Two relegation battle, let's look at some facts in the cold light of day. Ronaldhino played for Barcelona against Real Madrid. He played in Milan derbies. He played for Brazil against Argentina. But when he looks back on his career of cut-throat derbies, World Cup finals and Champion's League games, it will be the night that he visited El Rickety - the shed of fat, which will stand out as the greatest atmosphere in world football. And it must be true because there is an elusive quote that is meant to be out there somewhere. Laughable! But it is these little nostalgic embers of myth that will warm them through the forthcoming winter of much discontent. And if they survive the ravages of League Two and make it to the Spring, they can then celebrate as our season unravels and we freefall to 9th, while they secure safety along with their equals Burton and Morecambe. But they will always be the bestest, and that's why green-eyed Nutjobs still pound their fists at the league tables, their bitter hearts bursting with jealousy.

I would want a foul for all shirtpulling but referees have relaxed their view on it - that looked like a one man crusade to reintroduce it, and normally I would be all for that - if consistent. But I suspect that his decision will stand alone, because I give it three minutes in the next match before we see a similar offence unpunished. If one shirtpull is a penalty then Lambert should have about eight in the next home game. In most games we've had defenders not even looking at the ball from a corner and with both arms wrestling Rickie, Lovren, Fonte - but nothing given. Inconsistency.

When struggling visitors with no manager outplay you at home, even the most ardent Whittingham fan must be wondering about the future. I was expecting a 3-0 home win that would have kept him in work until Feb, but things look dismal. How long before Connolly and the keeping coach take control? I see the packed fortress of fat is starting to show gaps as well. For those people who are disappointed that Saints didn't go top today, there's always someone worse off. And then there is pompey. It feels cruel to mock. Anyone still feel that despite lack of official sanctions and leniency by both courts and the FL, they haven't been punished yet? Look at that league table. Another couple of defeats and they are set for another year in the basement.

Couldn't sleep, had a listen. Been up 50 mins and we have scored 5 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Ouch. Could be a long series.

The return of a former hero. In his last stint he must have been the highest paid goalkeeping coach in Premier League history, and did he bring in Niemi to drag the last few quid out of their bank? Oh well, all forgotten now.

That's odd because I'm sure Avram Grant claimed that West Ham had the bestest fans when he left fatpipes following his excellent stint guiding the plucky blue troops faraway from bigboy football. Presumably the gates at Upton Park must have dropped off a bit since Potts was ripping up the Premier League and Avram was working his magic. He wouldn't have let pompey sink like they have. Rather than wasting money on journeymen, I'm sure Avram would have splashed out on youth.

Yeah I get the album bit, the interest in football and the nostalgic quest to complete it - it's just the odd finale. Presumably he'll spend a year writing the book, get them all printed and then chuck them in The Solent too?

pompey stars pledge to put an end to hollow promises spun through local media to satisfy the easily-led. player A has issued a rallying call to the faithful saying 'we need to cut out these tired old quotes spun through templates'. The former ---- hitman is predictably standing firm behind underfire manager ----- claiming that the players will turn it round. 'The lads were gutted with the defeat at -----, especially after we had dominated the first -- minutes, so we had strong words to make sure it never happens again, there are characters in the dressing room, and we all know we need to stand up' player A went on to praise the travelling blue army for backing the team in testing circumstances. Despite the weather and distance and the clash with a one hour Emmerdale special, -- fans made the journey. 'Even though we lost and played appallingly, the fans never gave up, even after ---- was sent off, and with a bit of luck we might have nicked something for them at the death'. Despite the X-0 defeat, there is still a lively spirit in the dressing room, as demonstrated by the recent arrest of out-of-favour utility player ----- on suspicion of ----- in Southsea. That won't stop the mighty blue army packing the park to the rafters for the upcoming visit of minnows ----. But skipper ---- issued a warning to those fans who think the game against ---- will be a pushover. 'Even though they are a tiny club compared with us, ---- will be organised, and playing in such a great arena will bring out the best in them.' 'I'm not saying it is their cup final, but it is the sort of game they would expect after seven or eight ties drawn out of a velvet bag and immediately preceded by a semi-final'. While visitors ---- are on a good run compared with pompey, captain fantastic is also keen to utilise the best 12th man in world football. 'The support at ---- was amazing, and we want to repay that faith with a win against ---- on ----'. When asked about the calls for change, the plucky journeyman said 'it is up to us to show that we won't be cajoled into dull and pointless quotes anymore', adding 'the gaffer will be looking for a response, we just need belief, we need to turn fatpipes into a fortress!' Manager ----'s battling troops did have a boost this week when it was confirmed that the tactical change from machine gun paragraphs had been an overwhelming success. 'Indeed it has been'. Said a spokesman. Reflecting on the changes. With a big home test to come.

Something odd is going on... They bang three goals past someone, then the same team goes out the next week and looks like they have never heard of football let alone played it before. Is that inconsistent players or poor tactics and management? Who cares! It's bloody funny after all the gobbing off about how crap we were and how they would dominate us for a thousand generations.

Guy Whittingham admitted he and his players had let Pompey fans down and vowed: It will never happen again. That's from September. How's that plucky promise going? I see even Claridge is getting bored with the spin, he's had a little pop on Twitter about which player wil be wheeled out next to tell the easily-led what they want to hear. 'We'll bounce back, let's turn fatpipes into a fortress, I'll fire the goals, he'll cut out the mistakes, we'll put together and fight, blah, blah, yawn.'

Torres is right, I tend to ask the few that I see if the club is still trading. And those accounts just support that theory.

11 Portsmouth men were killed on the first day of Third Ypres. Seven of them were fighting with the 1st Portsmouth Pals, more properly known as the 14th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment There were at least a further 13 battalions? I thought portsmouth fought all alone out there? Though I feel dirty even addressing this latest myth about all Southampton men being cowards during wartime - it is the work of the most bitter, deluded and mentally ill, and shames the club that these few but vocal social misfits attach themselves to. Right up there with the SS tank commander tripe. God knows what they teach as history down there. As for Twitter. Could I politely suggest that a senior club official abusing rival supporters on social media is unprofessional in the extreme. Mr McInnes may be a bit of a character but I haven't seen him slagging off other clubs so I tend to take it easy on him. Ditto the likes of Farmery. But as Mr Hall has climbed into the ring and fired the first salvo it is now open season. Perhaps he's already forgotten the last time that he got all gobby online. How's the begging going? Managing to fit it in with the cosy role as a little puppet for the Trust? Dance little puppet boy dance.