Danbert

I've seen a number of people on here mention the fact that they will be going to fewer games next season as prices are likely to become prohibitively expensive. I would have thought that this effect would outweigh the tendency for existing fans to attend more games because the club is successful. The net result? Johnny come lately glory hunter prawn munchers taking the place of the real fan. Generally speaking, the larger the crowds and the more successful the club the greater the proportion of that club's fan base is made up of people with no real affiliation to the club and who are merely attracted to it because of its success. Hence Pompey's support next season will be reduced to the hardcore nut element, whilst Old Trafford is a soulless quiet stadium.

pride

"Also if they help Saints why we were one of three clubs, the other two who funnily enough have wealthy owners as well, who voted against the being introduced in the championship." I thought that was a very telling fact. The club's rhetoric is that we will be put on a "sustainable footing" in the Premier League. This is also something Chelsea have been talking about now for about 10 years. The trouble is, that once you start spending more than you earn it's very difficult to stop. If our overspending is to stop it has to stop now. Once we start paying wages that are unsustainable in the Premier League there's no extra income we can generate in the short term that will reduce those costs as a proportion of turnover. So I'm hoping, for the club's sake, that none of the fanciful Stalinist dreams on the 5-year plan thread get put into action. Financial Fair Play Regulations are a disadvantage to Saints in the Championship (as this means we can't take a punt on promotion). If we're planning on a sustainable business model in the Premier League then clearly they'll be an advantage to us as they'll make it harder for other clubs with different business models to overspend.

In HIS OWN special way. Green biro anyone?

That was my one :-)

Sickening sob story needs your comments: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/may/03/jamie-ashdown-tries-save-portsmouth

Quite - not a good read at all

DID (!) they

Many thanks - felt all weepy watching that

For me Chaplow's gotta go too. He just doesn't have the close control. Even in the Championship all our moves seem to break down when someone sprays the ball out to him.

Thanks for persevering - much appreciated!

God you're all sooo funny. Not everyone checks every single thread on here every 5 seconds do they...

Perhaps he just has a life.

You also make a fuss about us losing to Bristol City though. In fact every time we lose you seem to think the sky's fallen on our heads.

I don't know where you get this 100 % guarantee idea from. The football creditors rule gives players (and other football creditors) a very privileged position but there's only so much money to share around and the players aren't the only football creditors (as I remember there were several and some were owed substantial amounts). Be that as it may, and as I said in my previous post, Pompey aren't going to be asking a fee for these players - they have to get rid. If they don't get rid the club will definitely go under and the player won't be on a big fat contract anymore - so they might as well just tear up their contract and look for a new deal somewhere else - rather than hanging around waiting for the administrator to finally pull the plug.

I take your point, but if they've already deferred a substantial amount even their status as preferred creditors might not be enough. Also, if the club's going tits up over the summer anyway they won't be lose out by agreeing to leave. Clearly the club can't continue in League 1 paying Ben Haim et al. It seems to me that the players are faced with a choice between 1) negotiating a transfer whilst still in Pompey's employ and 2) seeing the club cease trading leaving them without a contract. Given that, there's surely no real reason for the high earners to stay on as, if sold, they're not going to command a fee which would impact on their earning power at their new club.

Why wouldn't they take a pay cut? What confidence can they possibly have of Pompey honoring their existing contract?

As I remember it he said publicly that he was happy where he was - which is fair enough, but not the sort of "come and get me" that helps a player engineer a move.

This

This

We're already up. West Ham won't win their last two games.

Too true

Nice one mate thanks

Wouldn't have thought so.

The Sun says we'll BE in for him: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4158639/Football-transfer-gossip-news.html