rallyboy

midtable mediocrity isn't enough when you spend that much - they need to go up to survive as a business. More points dropped this month and the Chanrai gamble of instant promotion and cashback is on the rocks, they'll be looking over their shoulders instead. They have stuck two fingers up at everyone and gambled the lot so it's difficult to have sympathy, I 4-1 don't have any at all These sort of days have been rare in recent years, enjoy. 2011 - Judgement Year!

with the likes of serial expenses whore Peter 'duck island' Viggers already knighted and Peter Bottomley joining him for his thirty five years milking the parliamentary system with his wife I would suggest the honours system is still poorly distributed, so to offer the likes of Matt something that puts him in the same class as those characters would be a supreme insult. Equally, placing a minute's silence for Ballie or Markus, Ted, Stokes or Osgood, or our servicemen and women, at the same level as demanding silent respect for a convicted local sex offender who was too cowardly to face his victims and family before sentence was disgusting - I hope St Marys would have raised the roof if that silence had been imposed on more than just the Wessex League. Let's keep honours and marks of respect for people who have made a real contribution - enthusiastic teachers and coaches, sports people, charity workers, inspirational characters, ordinary people who have done extraordinary things - not lazy MPs and perverts. And a happy new year of ranting!

I'm astonished they managed to survive 2010 as they did, though I guess on paper they would say that relegation, administration, tax evasion charges pending, a feeble firesale and falling attendances doesn't rate 2010 as a great year. They have wriggled out of tight spots before, they have friends in high places or their luck will run out at the next court date. I fear we'll see midtable security and more borrowing when we should really see mass clearout, penalties, debt repayment and a slide down divisions. Pompey 35 places below us in 12 months? That would be nice, but just a dream at the moment.....

and as the year draws to a close, today we see the most deluded and ludicrous post of 2010 on The News site.... on the strength of Pompey's showing this season - It wouldn't surprise me to see Cotterill being talked about as future England Manager Yes, and no doubt Pulis will be his captain when we win the World Cup in Qatar as all the other teams die of heat exhaustion. Please tell me that was someone from here typing in the style of a toothless simpleton who has no grasp of reality?......

as long as he doesn't go bonkers or get sent off every other game (which looks possible on occasions), a very shrewd bit of long term planning business, and I can't believe that Nicola will have let his wages get out of hand. For that money you get Utaka for one week down the road, and he's not as good as Chappers. Good deal.

it was quoted the other week that they have the 4th biggest wagebill in the division which is insane. But when you do the figures against the squad size it's even madder - that must make pompey the highest paid team in the championship - and that demands results and automatic promotion - as it does at Saints. As an example, Brown is looking to extend his £25K a week contract. He's just a squad player and not a popular one I believe - if a lower end Prem team with the massive income wanted him for cover they would be looking to pay £8-10K a week. If a solvent championship team wanted him as cover they would be looking to pay £3-5K - not £25K! 'but we are stuck with them...'Yeah right, give them away, loan them out for nowt, or accept that you blatantly bought the cup by paying twice the going rate for players with money intended for hospitals and schools. 'but everyone buys trophies, Man Utd are in debt....' Yeah, but you are meant to pay some back, they do something a bit revolutionary called 'servicing the debt', not ignoring it. Sorry to sound like a broken record a year on - but they have still made no effort to address debt, yet now their hard luck sob story is wearing thin and most fans of other clubs have sussed them out. They have clearly chosen to have a thin squad by paying over the odds and they can't blame the previous regimes. The current owner has clearly been 'in control' for more than a year and he sanctioned the massive wages of Kitson, Lawrence, Halford, Kanu and one or two others - he is now looking to complete a permanent deal for Lawrence on crazy money that he can't get anywhere else. When you have the income it's unwise, when you don't it's as Wenger, Platini and a thousand people on here have said, cheating. Other than the odd mad contract agreed by Storrie and Redknapp to buy a trophy, most of their problems were in fact created by the current owners, either by ignoring debts and contract issues or by overspending in the traditions of the pompey way. Buy now, pay nothing wherever possible. Pay the charities, clear the debt, clean the name of the club if possible and worry about results after that.

Fuller's greatest moment at St Marys was hitting the roof of the stand from six yards in a Pompey shirt. His finishing for us and for Stoke was and has been woeful on occasions, his inability to hit the target has cost them many times especially prior to their promotion, yes he's scored some great goals - but overall I would personally rate him as poor value. Puncheon's finishing for us has been appalling - he may like Guly have other aspects to his game but if you are a goal down and a well-paid professional who practices all week keeps blasting chances all over the shop he is going to get stick - no matter what his nationality, religion, colour, sexuality etc. To suggest most fans are ignorant and it's racism should be late entries for most ridiculous posts of the year. BWP's career has really taken off since he was scooped up by wherever he went and Jermaine Wright who I thought was harshly treated on occasions will always be a Prem legend - yes these guys have all proved us wrong..... A minority booing Davis - is that racism or just people who forget that he has saved us on a few occasions but had a nightmare the other week? Rather than ignorant I would say all fans are fickle, always have been, always will be - they will be annoyed with anyone not pulling their weight in a Saints shirt - whatever their colour. Some are thick but they can't all be wrong. No, the racist accusation doesn't stack up at all.

that sounds like a business that doesn't have two pennies to rub together. Pity it's taken them more than a year to realise. Maybe one or two more will finally realise that what goes on during games is of little relevance and their real interest should be about the rather disturbing balance sheet. Perhaps 2011 will be the year when they make genuine efforts to address debt - they could make a good start by slashing their wagebill by 75%.

poor little plucky Pompey with their sell out support are doing very well - another two points and they might even be able to stay up when the potential ten point penalty for a 2nd admin is enforced (prior to the inevitable financial irregularities penalties.) It's only a problem if the first hit is a 15 or 17 pointer for a third admin.... And if they can just get some of the big earners back off loan to strengthen the squad it should see them out of money completely by the January wages day, and ploughing through the entire four years of parachute money by the summer. Any potential buyers on the scene looking to cash in on this little goldmine of an opportunity?

yeah, to Mero and Mack a happy Christmas, thanks for joining in the entertainment in a mostly sensible way, respeck - and to your football team, a happy Christmas and a very short and painfully insolvent new year that leads to liquidation, criminal charges, and a fresh new club that may one day become our rivals. And while we are on - seasonal greetings to all my fellow antagonists, analysts and the deeply outraged of red Hampshire, one year soon we will redress the balance my friends, oh yes..... though I fear it won't be in 2011. X

the creditors are idiots and have already legally agreed to accept 1p in the pound via the 'less expenses' wording - they queued up like dim lemmings and surrendered all rights by approving the insane unworkable cva that a backward three year old could see right through. We all know the creditors will get properly shafted like a Latvian model on the top table at the West Ham Xmas do, but how stupid are they?? I'll let gullible Terry off as he's a fan and doesn't care about the money but most of the others have voted like simpletons. Is this the most distasteful and criminal saga in UK corporate history yet or does Chanrai have to delay and haggle a bit more with the terminally ill children to claim that crown? Despite raping the charities and local businesses they are still paying a fortune on overpriced PR services so perhaps we will be treated to some nice Xmas shots of Kitson etc waving their wage packets at ill children in hospital. Or has that local ward been shutdown in light of tax shortages as well? Tis still a disgrace, they are forever tainted.

holepuncture has made a good point there - AA only pushed the unworkable cva through by grooming the creditors. It must have been quite a shock to them when they arrived at the meeting to discover that he isn't a 13 year old girl who likes ponies and X Factor. Terry the gullible builder should write to a Portsmouth MP complaining about sexual harrasment, the MP should be able to assist with that.

I have this image of half their squad desperately clinging to the last big payday of their career. Ludicrous contracts agreed by Storrie, Redknapp etc that no other club can match. The likes of Nugent, Kanu, Haim will never earn that sort of money elsewhere. They have given up on career prospects at a higher level and are hanging on for the cash. Storrie's little signature on the contract is worth millions to them and the football creditor rules assure them of every penny. It would be funny if it wasn't for the fact that they are still doing it. Kitson and Lawrence anyone? No, only Pompey are willing to outbid Prem clubs to pay them that much.

Just like Grant before him, everytime Cotterill opens his mouth something ridiculous spills out. He's an idiot who has no grasp of football finance and the vital relationship between the team and the business. Where do they find these people? They need a manager who can manage every facet of the club, not a 'yes man' who thinks an unfit squad player on £36K a week plus his image rights is an asset to an insolvent business. I feel sorry for one or two like Mack, their club is still being run by buffoons. Give Haim away, you can't afford him, leave him by the skip - with the other eight you can't afford.

what a shame, I'm sure that was the quarter of a million that was earmarked for the charities and local businesses. Oh well, looks like they will just have to wait.

if you have a small squad and poor cashflow, anything that delays income and crams the season into a shorter timeframe must be a real bonus! Bearing in mind we just looked like a team that hadn't trained for a fortnight, I do hope Nige is looking to get depth to the squad and turn this weather to our advantage. We will all be looking at three games some weeks - any club with no depth is going to get found out.

I think thats about £300K the bank will have held back this month, not a big deal to most clubs but a lifeline if you are trading insolvently. They desperately need the matchday ticket income, especially as they have given the shop away to Kappa. Questions potential buyers might want answers to - what is the debt? No really, what is the total debt figure? what future income hasn't already been spoken for? are there any revenue streams left? how can we get the wagebill down? why can't we use the car park and offices? so other than the debt, what do you actually get for the money?....

you could be right about the extent, there's a guy I've known for years, you suddenly discover that he spent years constantly obsessed with all kinds, washing his hands a hundred times, he did the car thing as well I think - that type of behaviour. I guess we all have some odd ways, it depends on where you draw the line. My missus can't stand objects near the edge of surfaces, scissors have to be closed - is that classed as common sense or something more serious? The toilet roll, are we getting into things that annoy rather than obsessions - this could turn into grumpy rant time,which is never a bad thing. I think the only thing I seem to repeat is going to disappointing football matches, though even that condition has improved quite a bit over the last year or two. I had an attack a couple of weeks back but generally it's controlled.

As JimBob once said, don't grow old, don't get sick, if you do Mrs Thatch will rip your face off for a pound. We have demonstrated over the last two generations that neither far side of the political spectrum works. Let's not rewrite history and make out that Thatcher's conservative party was anything more than a remand centre. I haven't seen a PM in the last thirty years who did anything other than look after themselves first - the only one who hasn't lined his own pockets appears to be Brown who was presumably too overhwlemed by the job to wage war for personal PR, or indulge in 'unusual' business activity. Margaret who? Just another sad figure from ancient history.

sorry holepuncture but you can't go accusing people of theft, deceit, poor education standards, inbreeding, ignorance, gullibility, bare-faced cheek, fish molestation, blind naivety, having a shed of a ground, money-laundering, trophy theft and dodgy property development without some facts. So I suggest you withdraw the idea that Harry will get £6M from his nightclub 'project', it must be £4M tops.

I recall that in the accounts there were some hefty transfer payments due in January as well - presumably some in, but more out. The total still due back in April was £17M - the Prem must have paid some in August, I presume there must be a whack due next month -anyone remember what page the link was to the precise detail of when each instalment is due? That'll give a better idea of the cashflow situation. If it's anything over £200K it'll need a firesale, another crippling loan, or more of the parachute payment to be used.

that must be on the strength of his fine performance last weekend... I thought that he and Puncheon have been great examples of players who while useful, clearly demonstrate in other games why no one wants them. There are not many bargains that other clubs have missed, and in the third tier you get all kinds of players coming through the door with great youtube reels or tips from Weah. For me the jury is still out on Guly, not being harsh, just hope he can find some quality and consistency - along with about ten others.

funny how they never respected embargoes etc and you got the impression that they were never really in administration, yet now they are out, you get the impression that they have never left it...is this the only business to spend more during financial restrictions than when under 'new' ownership? Results on the pitch with some of the highest paid players in the division will distract most fans for a while. I still think the club is walking down the beach to look at the debt tsunami, whether they are in admin or not hasn't bothered them in the past so it's likely to be business as usual for months - but without major funding, one day that wave will come in.

buy Pompey. Get a receipt. And ask for change.

yeah, keeper saves a penalty one week and is a hero, next week he drops a clanger and he should be shipped out to a glue factory. Nowt as fickle as football folk, and that's probably why most players and managers don't give a t0ss what we think! Anyway, you lot still trading insolvently?