rallyboy

you can't blame Ken Bates, its a mystery to him who even owns the club let alone who sets the prices, he's just as much a victim as the rest of us. Poor bloke. And to get back on topic, he's possibly only the worse man to have at your club than the last four or five pompey owners, in fact for all we and the league know of his complex, evasive and sinister business dealings, he might well have been one of their owners.

people are right about Lambert struggling yesterday. He was marked so tightly and physically that they kept him out of the game. And gave away two penalties as a result. Yes teams may have sussed us out - but as people have said there is one thing asking someone to mark Lallana out of the game, another doing it. Ditto the short passing - if we resort to the long ball because they have closed down our back four, a whole world of space and opportunity opens up for our midfield. We are a multi-dimensional team - or is it as Poyet suggests, no more than Dagenham playing hoof ball to a big front man?... Gus who?

went in weeks ago and was underwhelmed - didn't really take it too seriously after I saw that their nickname is apparently 'the Skaters'... Not much about their theft from charities either so it's a re-written version of history.

one of them said there that they are fast becoming the laughing stock of the south coast. No, they already ticked that box a couple of years back. If we hear no gobby claims from the even fewer I'm prepared to take it easy on them for a fortnight. I kind of feel sorry for them now, and I'm a bit worried they might sack the tactical genius Cotterill - we need to campaign for him to stay. He's doing a tremendous job with that small squad that he and Lampitt chose to have, brilliant coach....

he comes across so well, unless he turns into a lunatic in the dugout I can't see how the likes of Poyet can fall out with him, he's too likable. Top bloke, let's hope he can continue to deliver and we all move forward. As one. In the same direction. As a team. On the bus.

Whoops! That's another deal that could come back to bite them on the ars3. Can they check back through his earnings and images rights for the last five years.... Then again the russian says they are clean and have no tax issues, so I guess he knows best. Cue different company, different owners, nothing to do with our football club defence - though the present club seems to have a very similar name, history, ground, and is entered in the same league system as the one that was implicated in criminality. Ho hum.

it is standard to pay off contracts. The club decided it was worth paying off staff to get a new manager in. That new manager delivered, justifying the expenditure. The End No need for anyone to retweet it unless they wanted to score cheap points. So I hope it's a fake.

fortress fratton indeed! Welcome to hell!! Yes, we are all really scared - of both of you. And I could sense that Peterborough were overawed by the big arena experience with a massive crowd making up that 12th man - quite daunting, just need Avram shuffling around with his pants round his ankles bellowing into a microphone and then we'd be scared. And just returning to the Harbour Superdome for a mo, you must remember it, the ground that would be financed by world cup games? - if that wasn't a genuine attempt at producing a new stadium why did they spend more on architects plans than we spent on Rickie Lambert?

so the best opportunity on the south coast was actually the only opportunity as Brighton and Saints weren't for sale and Bmouth told them where to get off? And the 'no tax issues' claim? I think ongoing forensic investigations and club-related tax evasion charges might be considered issues worth mentioning.... So no, sorry Ho, the russian was talking cr+p. And don't get taken in by the Portsea pub myths - Cortese desperate to sell... Scummers heading for administration... They don't even own St Marys.... All the stuff that makes us laugh and makes many of the few look quite feebly-minded and easily taken in - see previous owners claims. File them with the hilarious dock strike myth stolen from West Ham/Millwall, the shirt under the pitch that is claimed at every new ground without fail, Lambert to sign for pompey last summer, etc, etc, etc. Our accounts look quite healthy from what I've seen, set up costs and the intitial squad rebuild post admin was expensive and would be a problem were we in League One. Our five year plan is on course and might even be a year ahead of schedule at the mo. So don't fret about our finances, concentrate on the car crash at your end of the M27. Its between a Saab and a Spyker, and both have rolled their caravans.

a last gasp own goal by their great new signing in front of the entire population of Dale Farm is funny, but it does seem cruel to mock. We might be on the wrong end of one of them soon (without the poor crowd) so I'm always reluctant to get too smug. That said, I did hear the russian proclaiming that they bought pompey because they are the best football opportunity on the south coast. This was at the same time as saying they are debt free with no tax issues......??? He must be mentally ill, only Gary Barlow and Louis Walsh would slag him off in that state. But it's deluded stuff like that which makes last night's game extra funny. They really should follow Ho's example, keep their heads down, quit bragging and take it on the chin.

respect to the Crab man. Tis nothing more than a slightly windy day in a thimble.

call me old school but they are criminals and deserve punishment - so they should be forced outside and made to live in Bridgend. If that isn't bad enough they should be married off to tubby alcoholic welsh slappers with annoyingly shrill voices and no fashion sense or dignity.

The general feeling seems to be in favour of all three for their contributions to our history. I think there's just a handful of people trying to make mischief and they have failed. Most people I've come across can see beyond the tabloid stuff and realise that if you support NC that doesn't mean you are against anyone else. Though I'm staggered that anyone if asked the ridiculous question would seriously chose the past over the present and the future.

not only the new loanees but the pivotal resigning of O'Hara who had already been sent back. The false statement of accounts featuring Storrie's fantasy trading summary opened the door to all of that and no action was taken. Anyway, I go away for a week and return to see Ho labelling everyone effing retards and morons - nice. Apart from those inspired postings has there been any proper debate?

what have we learned today? ...they think they bought a club that is 'clean, with no debt and no tax issues'!! This was the golden opportunity for the interviewers to ask about CVA, football debts, small creditors - only the BBC probed a little. And they don't want to talk about their Bournemouth bid. Fratton Park? - fantastic atmosphere, fantastic supporters. Apparently. Cotterill agreed to the budget before they started the season....he and Lampitt are responsible for the running of the club. Loads about the academy plan, it just sounds like the standard already well established by everyone else. They have a plan for the land that they are confident they can buy, they just don't seem sure what that plan is yet. Commercial side relies on having more space, they are at Fratton for 3/4/5 years.... They want to work with the community - perhaps paying them might be a nice start? They weren't asked about any of the important stuff. Not a lot there really, surprised the interview took three months to plan, it was the sort of thing Al Fahim came up with off the top of his head while selling Cornettos in Frogmore Road. And as a note, I see from the picture in the News they obviously invited Dave Richards from Prodrive down to a game. DR has been a key man in world rallying hence the connection, he's loaded and is used to the finer things in life - having been invited as guest of the owner he must have been horrified at the state of the ground. Are they perhaps trying to drag investment in from motorsport contacts? Pity, HMS Ecclestone has sailed. I'm off on my travels for a week so feel free to prod the few on my behalf - would like to say I'm just going to Butlins but me and Phil have a series of prestigious launch event parties on glamorous yachts with supermodels and a few 'A listers' from the golfing world. So if you are near Bognor do call in.

joking aside, South Today will now have loads of pompey fans contacting them with questions to put to the owners so if it does turn into a fluffy little PR event that is well out of order. They should be asking serious questions about the small creditors, the CVA, the state of the team, the ground etc. These guys have had months to come up with solutions, they should now properly update their customers, even if there are only a handful of them. Vague promises about being confident of 'trying to buy' a bit of land and the standard stuff about an academy would make the interview a little like a Cotterill league campaign - mostly pointless.

well I look forward to a Paxman-style probing interview from the ruthless Sally Taylor, firstly getting to the bottom of their business reputation, then their plans - which seem to mainly involve saying they are going to try and buy some land off a bloke who has them by the short and curlies. The child-maimer has waited for this day - its name any price you fancy time! Hopefully we can also expect a full committment to retaining Cotterill as long as possible.

I have deluded skate mates who tell me we are winning because no one has seen us play and we will fade away when we get found out - presumably they don't see highlights in Nottingham or Birmingham.... If the few knew that we haven't even been in top gear yet they would be even more worried. None of them seem ready to accept we have built a better side than them, on less money, better coached, and are tonight top of the table on merit. Is it to much to expect a reality check to the east and some acceptance that we are the only team in Hampshire at the moment? Sometimes you just have to accept reality - don't you? I think it's seven months too early to get excited about the whole season, but we have made a decent start towards a top ten finish - and that 12 point gap could take 10 games and a massive change in fortunes to turnaround. I see no way back for pompey, but we should campaign to keep Cotterill in charge as long as possible - unless the prossie-bothering relegation specialist is about. We still owe him - he keeps getting sacked before we can get at him.

I'm not so sure that the ruthless banker will be that ready to move on when he delivers the next promotion. He was quite emotional when we went up in May, this project is the last link to his old mate, I don't think he will let it go easily nor lightly - however much profit there is to bank. And we know what he's like in the transfer market, he'll be a nightmare handling any sale, he'll want to know exactly what you have planned and is likely to chase away a few billionaires just because he doesn't like the look of them. So I suspect Nicola is in it for the long haul, even if that means finding alternative funding at some point should the family stance alter. He's not perfect but he is absolutely loyal to the Markus dream - that's the club run as a proper business, winning games, playing football the right way. I look around the leagues and personally feel we are currently in good hands from the boardroom to the dressing room, and you don't get to say that very often, so enjoy!

no they're not, they refuse to accept it, they consider they are technically 3-0 up. Or the ref has it in for them. Or Cotterill is doing a tremendous job against the odds, the dark horse, the sleeping giant, plucky little whatever etc. Or some other drivel.

thats the thing with the Spurs case, it could end up at £1M plus £1M in costs - quite a figure if most of your season ticket money has already gone to one player. Ditto the small creditors issue - how many hundreds of thousands of pounds have they already spent in management time plus accountancy and legal fees, calculating, checking, and distancing themselves from £120K of debt....

the irony of football thinking it has great business principles to share!..... This is little more than 'an evening with' dressed up by PR - there may well be some man management skills worth hearing about but let's not pretend football can teach us by example much else about running a normal business in the real world. And I notice that the star attraction is listed as 'currently the manager of' which gives the distinct impression that in the thriving world of football even this great innovator's fragile status could change at any moment.

How about the club just pays its debts and lives within its very small income - most of the rest is irrelevant. If they did either, this thread would naturally fade away, Ho wouldn't have to bore it to death. And Lampitt and Cotterill stop bleating about how life is tough and the whole world is against the sleeping giant. Their jobs are exactly the same as they were the day they enthusiastically bounded up Frogmore Road for interviews, they knew the score then - so get on with it and shut up.

Chelsea and Man City are happy because Man Utd may have started well but they will fizzle out. Tis the number one plan for coaches worldwide and always has been. Hungary waited before they came to Wembley and it worked, it was the Liverpool ethos in the 70s. Shankly, Paisley and even now Ferguson is renowned for it - rather than recognising areas you can improve on yourself you just hope someone else fizzles out.

I've always imagined him as a Jason King sort of character, perhaps mixed with a bit of Leslie Phillips - a sort of moustached, cigarette holder brandishing, lovable throwback to the empire - our own desert playboy... As a brother in arms from the thread that tells skates what we think about their activities his very existence is a thing of legend. There will be folk songs about him in years to come, if someone can get Gdansk or Tiger to rhyme with anything.