rallyboy

it doesn't help when many commentators and ex-player pundits are still living under 1970s laws of the game. 'That was a late flag'...no it wasn't, he wasn't offside until he went for the ball. 'It was ball to hand'....yes, the hand he was holding out to block the path of a raised cross. And my favourite - 'but he got the ball'....sort of, he came in studs first at knee height from behind, and after crippling the player the ball happened to make contact with his foot. I thought Norwich were hard done by at the weekend, possibly by a linesman or two - There was a blatant dive for the penalty, then up the other end the defender looked round to see where the forward was and swung his arm to block his run at the ball, making contact with his face. The pundit opinion? - 'it wasn't intentional'. Yeah right. Its decisions like that which can lead to players thinking they have to ref the game, because the ref isn't. I always assumed that half the time the abuse heaped on refs at St Marys is about pressure. A ref has never changed his decision when pressured by players or the crowd. But you can be sure it's in his mind for the next one... Imagine if Darbyshire went down a second time and the ref thought he had been clipped, but six Saints players ran over remonstrating about diving, and the crowd started booing...suddenly a simple decison has enormous pressure. And thats the fun of reffing I guess.

it was the same at the Millwall game, we had the ball, they couldn't get it. As far as holding out goes I did enjoy the MK Dons injury time last year. Kelv punched one cross into Hythe, Lallana gave it evrrything to block crosses, then Lee Barnard ran the ball from halfway to the corner and won a foul. That was a battle - this team has shown it can be clever and it also has steel. For me the late nightmares of Boro and Everton have been banished.

made me chuckle - that should make the final cut when someone edits the thread into a handy pocketguide.

we've been spoilt for a year or two, regularly whacking five past a few weak teams who have tried in vain to outplay us. It's tougher this year for all the players and one or two are still finding their feet - as far as Fonte goes the disruption at the back has been the major factor, and I thought Jos did well going out wide to cover a couple of times. That said, we are doing pretty well for a team that has suffered injuries and hasn't hit top form - there are a lot more positives than negatives to dwell on. One of the things I do like is that we are no longer the one team that everyone wants to beat and they save themselves for it and give everything. We had the madness of Rochdale admitting that they all but sacrificed their next home game just to put up a massive physical show against us. In this division I don't see any small club regarding us as their cup final, except maybe one little minnow.

if I were Ho I would be more worried about the current league table than coming up with lame excuses for the behaviour of club staff and owners. Even though we haven't fired on all cylinders we do appear to have taken the initiative in what was meant to be a battle for local bragging rights. In fact it's been a non-event so far - despite the money spent on their squad and the excellent job being done by future England coach Steve Cotterill, the massive and bestest sleeping giant does seem to have found it difficult to wake up, and one might observe that were it a boxing match the ref would have stepped in already. What happened to us being two divisions adrift? Seems a long time ago now. I'm sure Brighton and ourselves have just been lucky. Most weeks, for two seasons.

does Cotterill not realise we get to see the highlights? Who is he trying to kid because I can't believe that the few are thick enough to buy his spin. Why say Lawrence was innocent when he could have had two straight reds? The man is an idiot - I do hope they don't sack him. One trip to Horton Heath and he'll be as funny as tactical genius and serial relegation specialist good old uncle Avram. Go on, give Cotterill a microphone, let him do a speech on the pitch....

He's done a remarkable job - we are playing the attractive football Markus wanted, Nige plays the game the right way (see Poyet) and we are winning more than we are losing, which is always nice. Tis a great time to be a Saints fan - and to emphasise that I can currently hear Cotterill ranting like a deluded looney on Solent - apparently they were better than West Ham by a million miles and the ref got every decision wrong. Happy days. The future is red and white - as is the present!

though ownership can be a complex and murky business, the paper trail for income recieved shouldn't be too difficult to follow - Liverpool pay £xxM for Johnson - easy question, according to Liverpool's accounts, who did they pay what to? If they paid it to PFC, it's either in the account or it has been paid out of PFC to a third party - if so, who, why and how? You can't put a note in the cashbox - taken £10M for stamps. So you cannot 'lose' tens of millions between clubs without leaving some sort of trail, or breaching most UK tax and FA rules. An individual lone business perhaps, but not when all clubs involved are monitored. The forensic investigation should throw up some answers.....

surely the CVA proposal was a legally binding document upon which the creditors made their decisions, including the one to vote HMRC out of the picture? By including club owner Chanrai's personal offer in the CVA proposal, AA made the committment to pay the small creditors in full a requirement for a penalty-free exit from administration. Any experts wish to throw some light on that? And even if they have found a legal loophole to further rape the local community, we all know that legal things have never bothered the FL who have their own rules and will take action against any club trying to get their golden share in a manner they don't approve of. I'd like to think that any attempt by the club to distance themselves from the club's debts just because of ownership change will be robustly dealt with by the authorities. The league can't make them pay anything - but they can stop them from playing.

smacks of poor due diligence by the mafia. Everyone knew about the small creditors problem, it was in the public domain. Any sensible company buying the club would have had Chanrai sign paperwork agreeing to sort the payments himself, or would have taken on the debt themselves and knocked a bit off the purchase price - either way it would be sorted. Ignoring it and not realising it would be horrific PR for the club is an odd way of going about things. And this is a U turn and a new stance, pompey previously were 'working to pay it', now they claim it isn't their problem? As for Chanrai, the few must be confused. Is he the man who financed the 2nd illegal cup run and the win at St Marys and saved the club when no one else would, or is he a crook who has ripped off locals, and the man responsible for any problem the current regime has? I 4-1 think that will be another juggling act as they endeavour to be selective about their view of his role. Either way the small creditors money is absolutely nothing to a big company - the damage done everyday by it hanging around is enormous. It gives the impression that they haven't got two cocaine-scented rubles to rub together.

trouble is she's such a looker that you'd just have to wouldn't you....they do make a lovely couple, wonder what the kids will look like...

that can't be right, the likes of Claridge and Merson keep telling me they have fantastic support - the cartoon image the media likes to have of them. Having just got round to watching the How to Buy a Football Club documentary I think I can see why Lampitt was moved on. These sort of things all went on under his nose, and while its difficult to get to the bottom of ownership and dodgy dealings, it was his only task. I don't recall too many successes for his department... But on the positive side, to stand out as incapable among footballing authority figures is quite an achievement, so he should get credit for that. At least he's getting hands on training in how it's done, which may stand him in good stead should the old boys network return him to his former role. And the other message that came out of that programme - boy were we lucky to find Markus and Nicola! We must have been touted about, though £15M to buy the rights to pick up Sheffield Utd's £57M debt plus agency fees doesn't look that attractive to me. Football is in trouble - I'm hoping we have avoided the worst of it.

the last world cup was the final straw for me. Every two/four years I would have my shirt on in front of the telly, national anthem etc - we would have 'a golden generation' or 'a great chance of winning'.......and then it all turns to sh)t. There are only so many times that it turns to sh)t before it dawns on you that it is never going to happen because we aren't good enough. I won't be fooled into thinking we can compete again. Describing the international set up as a load of lazy overpaid sex offenders going through the motions might be considered a bit harsh - but I would rather watch a Hollyoaks boxed set than England v Wales, in fact I would rather chuck £55 out of the front window.

listening to his horrendous display on Solent I noticed his self-proclaimed position as a sensible financial man was questioned by the guy who pointed out that the state of the accounts had got worse on his watch. If that is so, he's had it. He'll have to fall back on his people skills and earn a living training people in customer care. With his financial acumen and attitude he's starting to sound like a common version of Rupert - he's a ruddy-faced 2nd hand car dealer. Sounds like an ideal future business partner for one of Sandbanks' finest, perhaps when Spurs start flirting with administration.

we are there this month, mainly for several gigs, also things like the Sopranos tour, Guggenheim - and I believe Mrs R who has been before thinks we are shopping as well....

I think you'll find the few are still doing the arrogantembrace the cup win, ignore how it was financed thang. And with respect Ho, please don't pretend this isn't the case, we don't need another rewrite of history - just because you keep typing it doesn't mean you have altered the past. The club was in legal trouble as soon as Mandaric's sale misled the football authorities - the child-maimer's deception that was later acknowledged by Storrie himself, was a deliberate act to pump money into a club for gain on the pitch. Why pretend you weren't the owner if it was all above board? The cup wasn't about a lucky draw, it was about overspending by an owner who pretended he wasn't the real owner to get around FaPP tests. The eventual and completely predictable collapse wasn't about a sudden withdrawal of funding, it was about longterm massive overspending and incredibly poor and potentially criminal management. The financial planning was that of a retarded five year old - paying Champions League wages on League One income from a League Two 'arena'?? Is it about rivalry? Yep. Would we highlight it if we weren't Saints fans? Oh yes, it's flicking the Vs at football and that annoys fans of all persuasions and if you think no one else cares you need to get out more and hear what is said all over the country about a club that is still to address debts. It just makes it funnier that it is our rivals with their bestest fans, massive support base, sleeping giant, biggest team on the south coast claims with their Fortress Fratton, and their siege mentality that mighty Barnet found so petrifying. We take the mick out of Chelsea, Utd, Arsenal - any club that thinks it is bigger than it really is gets stick - and pompey sit very nicely in that role. Perhaps a little more humility might be in order? I said on here before that I got sense out of W******d when I ran into him (sober) - he just wants his club back, in whatever division - he didn't come up with any of the fantasy pompey stuff that appears on here. So it is the gobby fans and the club attitude that annoys ALL football fans - some things are not worth defending - that is why you are often the only pompey fan on here trying. We have to delay the CVA because we have no money - oh, and how much for your striker? The facts clearly suggest the club is still being run in a shabby manner, and is still trying to pretend there are no creditors or debt - any pompey fans who follow that spin are VERY dim or not football fans. And those parachute payments are being frittered away every day - the next search for a rich new owner will have to start soon.

I'll chase a ball around the park all afternoon like a dog but I can't do gyms, pointlessly plodding on a machine that goes nowhere and stinks of other people's sweat? No thanks. Rather someone threw a stick for me to fetch. Maybe I am a retriever...

today is not the day for knee jerk reactions - we have very few facts. All we know for sure is that one of our players is seriously ill and if initial medical reports are accurate his immediate battle is firstly about survival, and then he could face a very lengthy recovery to everyday life - football is a long way down the list of priorities, where it should be. Wishing him and his family well.

in fairness to Lampitt he's been doing pioneering work in the area of salary-capping. If you can't afford the contract the club agreed just pretend Tal Ben Haim isn't yours for six months - ignore him, don't answer his calls. This is basically the player loaning the club his ludicrous wages, but the short term saving is enough to give potential new owners the impression that the club is trading solvently. Win-win! Which is another term you don't hear too often down that way. You'll have to pay up eventually but this simple action will reinforce the impression that you are either insane or a bunch of crooks who refuse to address your own wagebill, let alone debt. But don't let the owners see the next set of accounts, they'll have a fit. Or they'll shoot you.

recently saw a copy of The News from 91. There was a big piece about pompey needing fratton developed, blaming the council for lack of support, and the backpage was 'Saints say no to groundshare' - mainly because we had our own plans for near the airport.... So a serious question - Is there a club other than pompey that can demonstrate such a consistently poor financial history right back through four decades? That's more than bad luck - its several generations of 'mismanagement' - the place is a magnet for dodgy businessmen.

oh no, pompey have beaten us in the transfer window, what a disappointment! Sob, sob. If only Nige had been watching Lewes we could have scooped the non-league youngster who is coming in to replace the professional youngsters that Cotterill shipped out as he doesn't rate yoof. Damn that Cotterill, he beats us everytime - first Benjani who has bigger and saggier t!ts than Sam Fox, now this nobody! How annoying. How was that money-making friendly at Betis? Now they've managed to make a few quid out of the original idea they can give Havant back their £2K... Or has Ben Haim already spent it on tacky chrome wheel trims and cheap-looking tats? Back of the queue Havant, and it stretches from here to Aberdeen - yeah, get behind the taxpayers, the hospitals, small businesses and that cancer charity - as Ho proudly points out, pompey have spent your money on sh(t players instead. Nice.

belated april fool, or just a nutter who thinks 'IRA rapist' is an acceptable fancy dress look? While its admirable to tackle crime when you see it, creeping around impersonating the black panther could be regarded as a step too far - to do it for the benefit of the tv is most bizarre. Methinks someone read too many comics when younger. Either way, let's hope the mean streets of downtown Yeovil are a safer place tonight.....

only one thing worse than losing - hearing Dave Merrington explain why it has happened. Support sounded great on the radio - well done to those that travelled. Seen the highlights, blatant foul on Lambert. Magic moment? Lallana making their defender fall over just by looking at him as he set up Harding. Good recovery effort, and many results went our way so little damage to the season - too many people drawing games.

cue Claridge cliche - fratton is a terrifying place for teams to go, really intimidating - and professional sportsmen are renowned for becoming withdrawn in the face of aggression... Teams like ourselves, Leeds, Forest, Cardiff, West Ham and Millwall have never experienced a hostile atmosphere, well not in a shanty town stadium with so many empty seats. Though I think the players are mainly terrified of catching scurvy or the plague in the ramshackle 17th century dressing rooms. They will create quite an atmosphere when we go there, though they'll have to hand out songsheets with small words to the people going to their only game of the season. Those 12,000 regulars must generate quite a noise! Welcome to hell? I don't think so! - the bestest bubble has burst. Fortess fratton is a wendy house.

they were heading for about 8,000 season tickets I believe. which would mean, the first £280 of EVERY season ticket goes on paying ONE player (wages and NI) That is insolvency territory. while 6,500 paying punters a fortnight = not a lot of matchday revenue. So the Russians will have to dig deep in April when the transfer income hasn't quite matched the ridiculous fantasy CVA predictions. Anyone looked at the Land Registry recently to see if Chanrai is still quietly in control of the business? If he still owns Fratton Park, he has full control of the club. But I'm sure the Russians wouldn't allow that to go on.