Torrent Of Abuse

When does nerd-baiting season switch over to football-kicking season? I only ask because I have to work out if I have time to get a root canal without anaesthetic in before the upcoming "you old us it's a red shirt with white stripes when it's clearly a white shirt with red stripes" thread.

How did this forum ever survive the Lowe vs Wilde vs Crouch era? Fck me, you guys will argue any small point to the death.

From listening to you and Turkish throw your arms up in ever-increasing despair at every poster on here despite the fact that everyone on here seems to be taking the whole thing very calmly. No-one is discussing Champions League football (except Turkish who seems to be arguing against an opinion which no-one else is posing). No-one is even discussing building it soon. It's just nice to see the club having some concept of there being a future. No-one on this thread seems to be getting carried away with things like the fish-f**kers did when the bedpan stadium was proposed (although their board did at least trumpet it as being definitely in the pipeline, I guess). As posters like you and Turkish are fond of provoking, how do you come by your numbers? How do you know the composition of the numbers on the database? No-one outside of the club would know those numbers. I think posters are perfectly entitled to speculate that there are plenty of people from outside the region who would come to see a Premier League game. Sure you can disagree but you seem to just think these people are fools. Considering that people bang on about 7,000 fans disappearing since we left the Premiership, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that these people just didn't want to see Championship football? If they were Saints fans who were just tired of seeing us not doing well then they would have come back last season. As it is, surely a large slice of them are people who want to be able to say they watched Rooney and Balotelli but aren't that fussed about seeing Snodgrass and Vaz Te? Probably best to save the talk about stamping feet when you've already stormed off this thread in disgust once, mate. We will become a bigger club. It will take time. I can't see anyone on this thread denying that. All this talk of 'catchment area' just means we have the potential. If we were sandwiched in amongst other clubs of similar size (as in the midlands), it wouldn't be the same opportunity. If we were content to just pick up a cheque (as Pompey did) instead of investing in the future it wouldn't be the same. If we had owners who had no money to spend or inclination to do so (as we had before) it wouldn't be the same. Luckily we have people who are willing to at least invest. No-one is really getting too carried away on this thread at least. Somehow you, Turkish and CB Fry are content on picking a fight with other posters though - no matter what they're saying.

I like the way you only like to take the most outlandish part of an discussion and argue that. No-one on this thread is demanding anything let alone Champions League football. Try arguing one of the more reasonable points or find another thread but don't argue with points no-one on the thread has made. Do you think we will ever need a larger ground? If so, when roughly? How much bigger? I guess you're not opposed to the idea of the club growing as such just when. Or maybe you don't think we can grow? Surely if the club does not grow with its current owners, it never will? It's really easy to fling hyperbole around but how about you stun us by staying on topic and giving us an idea of what you DO believe instead of banging on about what you don't?

Can't have happened. CB Fry has told us that the number of impartial people go just turn up to watch a game of football is minimal. That was the paint pot cup. If CB Fry tells us that people won't turn up in numbers to see a Premier League game then they wouldn't turn up for a Paint Pot trophy game. Case Closed.

The problem is Kraken and Turkish you both think it's all about the hardcore support but it's not. Sadly people really will just come to see Premiership football - and not just ManU and ManC but whatever they can (within reason). After all surely you already argued yourselves that thousands of fans deserted us when we were outside the top flight. Why is it so hard to see that this wasn't just Saints fans who didn't fancy the lower leagues but people who had come to see two Premier League sides front up? At the Dell I used to sit near a lot of fans from Devon, Dorset and further afield. Where else would they have gone to see a Premier League side? I think you are being facetious, Turkish, when you claim that Pompey fans will not cross the divide. We all know that the hardcore definitely won't but there are plenty of fair weather fans who would. Come on, have you never worked alongside fans of other clubs who when pushed don't actually know much about their sides? They support Chelsea. They used to support Arsenal. They are thinking about Man City. Etc etc. Building a big ground will invite these people in but of course we don't expect them to stay fans - but maybe their kids will be. Hands up who knows fans who came from well outside the city boundaries but started supporting the club after their parents took them to a Saints game. I have a mate from Weymouth who first came to see Premier League football. Now he's a fan (even in the lower leagues). Another was a Bournemouth fan. Now he's a fan - but mostly because his kids are. Perfectly ready for you both to roll your eyes in amazement at such a stupid opinion. Feel free to start talking about owning all the fans from Birmingham southwards. Or throw your toys out the pram, storm off and come back again in half an hour. Whatever works for you.

I thought the reason was that he wanted Saints to "buy out" the final year of his contract or at least settle on a decent package to compensate him for losing that final year of the contract? Seems a bit odd to play for someone else and expect your old club to keep paying but that's football I guess. Financially good for Dickson to stay and put his feet up. No advantage in Saints letting him go either. Seems we play hard ball with contracts these days. Surely Dickson has seen what a year has done to Puncheon?

Which contract is this though? The real one or the one they showed the tax man?

Just a thought but maybe the extra building is intended to hold a new sports store, conference suite and offices? Would moving those out and leaving only corporate boxes, would that help reduce the weight load and free up space for seating and turnstiles, etc.?

If you want to win something with no issues about how much it costs to do so, he's your man. Someone who can't actually improve players like Adkins can but only buy a completely new one and let the players express themselves. Fine up to a point but fantastically expensive. A terrible match for us (why was he ever appointed?). Would be ideal for Man City. No wonder he has absolutely wrecked every club he has been appointed to: his ethos is to win a title at whatever cost. Sadly the cost keeps weighing these clubs down long after he has gotten in a huff and walked away. It's like lending someone your car in order for them to drive you to Scotland and finding they've gotten you there 5 hours early, with a bucket load of speeding tickets and your car on fire. AVOID!!!

Can he and Peter Storie return to Portsmouth and really destroy them this time? Maybe a third administration and 0.5p in the pound CVA leading to their complete liquidation (preferably accompanied by a big *pop* sound or the sound of the last bit of water gurgling away down a drain)?

Maybe... Seaborne to Colchester on loan.

Maybe you need membership to be something that is automatically earned by buying a ticket? That would be a perfect description of the "ticket tax" - membership fee. Then you have certain levels of membership: if you go to 20 games a season (home and away) that would be one band. Ten games the next band. Lowest band would be for those who bought tickets but not a great number in any given season. That way you would push people who rarely go further towards the back of the queue. If you wanted big game tickets you'd need to buy a season ticket or to go to at least 10 games a season.

Mancini: "I know, Nigel. Once upon time I likea the Italian Stallion. Then onea day I get Italian chairman - *boof* I getta the grey hairs"

This. When I update my BBC and Newsnow links to point to the Premiership, we will have arrived. Rather like that point in my old copy of Championship Manager 2003/4 when the PC chugs along as it updates all the leagues. Was it 30 June?

I live in Australia which is about as south as you'd really want to go. I used to have the same north/south bias but consider this: if the south is so great, explain Portsmouth and France.

Not without Lord Hoddle of Tottenham at the helm. It was a sad day for Southampton and the world when he was passed over for the job at the request of the minority, etc. etc.

I think the upshot of the FFP rule is that 5 year plans become 10-20 year plans. You can't just buy a big team and hope people turn up. You have to invest in the infrastructure, Build your fan base, set up an academy to bring in young talent, get other revenue streams and then work from there. If you don't do that then the best you can hope for is to stay where you are. It favours ambition but not blind ambition. P*mpey's plans would be knocked on the head - and if they don't get people in to watch the games they'd stay down where they are too. It would favour big clubs currently down on their luck in lower divisions but still getting good attendances. It would hinder clubs wanting to grow quickly from a non-existent fan base (MKDons anyone?). With quite loyal support, good location for attracting new fans, good infrastructure and a good academy, we seem to be well prepared for life under FFP. Better than many clubs anyway. We were not this prepared for the changes the Bosman ruling brought about that's for sure.

Also the best recent measure for increasing competition in the EPL was to get the Glaziers to buy ManU. The financial restrictions their loans have imposed has allowed other teams at least a chance. I'd hate to think what sort of money they could spend if they had no debts!

It depends on the type of ambition. There are no rules about spending money to expand your facilities. That is "good" investment. The idea is that clubs can still expand but they must have the potential there. Surely the FFP rules out two models of Premier League Interloper: the P*mpey and the Wigan. In the first case they didn't even bother to redevelop their stadium and so tried to run a 5-star team off a 2-star budget in a 1-star dump. In Wigan's case, does anyone actually turn up? Do they have a fan base? If you can't bring in the fans, you won't get the money to spend. I'd guess it favours clubs with a big, established fan base like Leeds or the Sheffield clubs. We are in a pretty good position having access to a large swathe of southern England which has smaller clubs but few top clubs. If the blue few's exile is long-term, would our fan-base swell to fill the gap? I think it takes a generation to truly establish a bigger club but I can see our owners extending the ground to a 40-45,000 seater and (provided the club is still well run) we would find it fits us properly in about 10 years. In which time we might have had some dalliances with cups a few times and set ourselves up as a top half club. Like Aston Villa of a few years ago but hopefully without the boredom and recent decline. Think the FPP therefore favours us a little as it favours those willing to spend on infrastructure but keep wages sensible. Big clubs will always find a way to abuse it but that's life. Don't think any development in the game is going to give us a massive advantage but every club WILL need a top class academy and modern stadium. I'm just happy we have owners who know to pursue those things without us having to drum it into them.

Cardiff - rivalry with Swansea - West Ham and Birmingham in financial problems which also take the focus off P*mpey imploding a league below them. What's not to like?

http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/LatestNews/news/Special-Pompey-Tie-For-Sale-3394.aspx? Strong enough to support a fully-grown adult's weight. Can't imagine why...

Was looking at the Echo website. Decided to look at their old stories about Markus Liebherr. Noticed one from about the time he took over (a "so who is Markus Liebherr" article) and one of the comments below from one of the blue few made me chuckle just a little. A case of words coming back to haunt them perhaps?

You've got to understand that he has put his heart and soul into achieving this very thing and now he has gotten it. There's got to be a feeling of "now what?". Few of us ever set such a target for ourselves and far fewer reach it. I imagine he has to take some time to relax, adjust and decide what he wants to do now. Sometimes that could be a completely new start but he is so comfortable here I can't really see that. I imagine he will return in a few weeks fired up with enthusiasm and ready to build a bigger bus with a big f**k-off engine and wheels which could drive over pedestrians like a monster truck. If someone sees him out and about, please give him a big hug from me. He's ****ing giving me back my pride in my club. That's priceless.

We won't get ****-****ed in the playoffs if we rest everyone for the next game to keep them fresh for the playoff games.