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Pompey Takeover Saga


Fitzhugh Fella

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Went to the match at Fatpipe Park this evening (have family who follow Swindon). Strange match, town should have been out of sight by half time and continued to dominate into the second half. Only Howard and the keeper looked good for them. Pompey's main tactic seemed to be to lull swindon into a false sense of security by being abysmal and then suddenly try to take advantage in the last 10 mins. Unfortunately a couple of skates didn't read the whole memo and wasted some glorious chances late on.

 

atmosphere was fairly muted, no singing from the side stands and generally all you could hear was the drum and tcwtb. There was a mass rush to the exits when the board for injury time went up and chants of "appt sort it out" during the match - and we're told that Pompey fans are always behind their team!

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http://m.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/pompey/pompey-past/ritchie-nets-on-return-as-pompey-lose-at-home-again-1-4275062

 

What do people expect ? Don't be a blind idiot!!! MA is clueless!!!! as are you!!!

 

1 up front? we don't need an owner to improve on his clueless tactics!!!

 

appleton is useless and if he was half the man you say he is ,he would come out and shoulder some of the blame himself.plenty bigger boys waiting in the wings to take over.if it wasnt for ownership issues he would have been dismissed long ago.

 

appleton is destroying the fratton fortress reputation.swindon were the home team and beat us up in the first 10 mins,cos appleton tactics so negative.swindon deservedly went aheadbefore half time.appleton decided to attack in the last 10 mins -he should of attacked from minute 1.ma now blaming ownership as reason for poor performances-causing pressure for players....b---ollocks.appleton not strong enough or good enough or experienced enough for the job

 

SURELY IT CAN,T GET WORSE.CAN,T REMEMBER IN 50 ODD YEARS SUCH A CLUELESS LOT IN A BLUE SHIRT. AS FAR AS APPY IS CONCERNED HE LEAVES ME FAR FROM HAPPY. NO FIGHT ,NO NERVE, NO HOPE. NO CHANCE ON SELLING SEASON TICKET ON EBAY AT THE PRESENT.

 

evola

A dismal performance. Appy is clueless and we are losing fans weekly.12k tonight and a fair few of them were Swindon. The longer it goes on the less likely we will get a buyer. We cant rely on the delusional

"Trust" bid.

 

the excuses for appleton must stop.he is not stirring the city and certainly not inspiring fans to invest in the trust.his presentation is below average,his tactics are fearful-1 up front-failing to utilise the 12th man (the great fratton fans) frankly i think he is thick just like the lumpitt that employed him.he has gotta go its just a case of when.the rubbish i heard on solent b4 i got to the game from him and his pal was just insulting to the normal intelligent fan

 

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What a shyt club and support.... It really is a league 1 outfit

 

That's a bit unfair way to describe League 1.

 

Good to see the esteemed local journo is remaining independent of any bid...

 

@pn_neil_allen: RT @SOSPompey: Before people jump to Bassini's defence, he's been advised by Andronikou who doesn't particularly need any introduction. Trust or bust

Hmmm. Let me think for a moment which one it'll be .... 39.gif

 

 

Selma-Blair.jpg

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Portpin have issued the following statement regarding their bid:

 

Portpin have today revised their bid in response to the questions and comments received from The Football League regarding details of its bid proposal submitted last week, specifically regarding the level of debt being carried forward.

 

It is a Portpin board level decision to address and incorporate the suggestions from The Football League to ensure that the club is well-capitalised and financially solvent from day one following acquisition, and remains so throughout the business plan forecast period over the next five years. This is the long-term vision of Portpin ownership, which it is prepared to support and fund.

 

Balram Chainrai announced "We are committed to own Portsmouth Football Club and build it back up to its rightful place. This does not mean spending lavishly on short-term player contracts as the former owners did. It means stabilising the core business and rebuilding the club and its real estate so that it can trade on a financially secure footing.”

 

He went on to say "Do not judge us on our words but on our actions. Portpin is looking to take decisive steps to deliver this objective. We are offering a multi-million pound, multi-year overdraft facility to The Football League to give the business a cash flow safety net and ensure all unsecured and football creditors are paid. We are prepared to convert a materially significant amount of Portpin’s debt into equity to further capitalise the new company. We are committed to ensuring that not one penny of the parachute payments will be taken out of the club but will be used to fund the business going forwards. We strongly believe that Fratton Park and the Club must stay together as one entity. There will be no cash drain for lease payments to a third party for the use of Fratton Park’’.

 

‘’As the senior secured creditor of Portsmouth Football Club (2010) Limited in administration as well as one of the largest creditors to the club, we categorically do not want to see the business stripped of its principal asset to fund the acquisition or the day to day running of the business. This will only end in tears. Sadly it has happened before to Portsmouth under previous ownerships. Four years on and we are still trying to unravel that tangled inherited real estate web and enable the club to own all of the pieces and put them back together again. This is the reason why we have been steadfast in saying no to all of the property developers and distressed capital funds who have approached us about buying the Portpin loan. Look at what happened to Crystal Palace when their ground was stripped from the club – or Coventry City. We have always stated that the only way forward for any club is to keep the stadium and the club under common ownership. Anything short of that would be fiscal suicide for the business’’.

 

‘’We believe Portsmouth is a fantastic football club with the most passionate supporters in the land (aggghhhhhhh) and it deserves to be restored to its former glories. We want to work together with the supporters to make sure that Portsmouth never falls back into the financial black-hole of administration again. Our aim and commitment of capital is to put in place the foundations which are so desperately needed at our club. Our main objectives are:

 

· To make the club run on a sound financial base with realistic targets and objectives

 

· To ensure the Club is never put in this position again.

 

· To maintain ownership and rebuild the infrastructure of the club based on strong financial foundations – including our own training ground, a stadium fit for the future, and an academy to furnish our club with home-grown talent.

 

· To restore the community pride in Portsmouth Football Club – locally and nationally (Good luck with that!!)

 

Balram Chainrai concluded by saying, "Portpin aims to successfully finalise its discussions with The Football League and PKF without delay so that the club can exit administration and move forwards as soon as possible. Under our ownership we intend to demonstrate the same heartfelt passion and support for the club that has been shown throughout by Michael Appleton, the players, the employees and all of the loyal fans of Portsmouth FC.’’

 

So there you have it.

 

The club will be funded going forward by Portpin giving them a Bank Overdraft.

 

Portpin won't take any money out of the PP's, which in English means The club will of course use the PP's to pay Loan Shark rates of Interest to Chinnybank LLC of The Cayman Islands.

 

No doubt the "Deal" includes Chinnybank ensuring the club uses the overdraft to buy all the other bits of land.

 

Perfect. It will take 2 years this time, Chinny will get all the eggs back into one basket and then surprisingly the club will not be paying the interest on time when the PP's run out and Admin 4 pops the club and the surrounding land into Tesco's pocket and Chinny does get his money back

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So there you have it.

 

The club will be funded going forward by Portpin giving them a Bank Overdraft.

 

Portpin won't take any money out of the PP's, which in English means The club will of course use the PP's to pay Loan Shark rates of Interest to Chinnybank LLC of The Cayman Islands.

 

No doubt the "Deal" includes Chinnybank ensuring the club uses the overdraft to buy all the other bits of land.

 

Perfect. It will take 2 years this time, Chinny will get all the eggs back into one basket and then surprisingly the club will not be paying the interest on time when the PP's run out and Admin 4 pops the club and the surrounding land into Tesco's pocket and Chinny does get his money back

 

So do you think there's a few more pages to run here then?

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Given that every single penny of parachute payments (and more) will be needed in the football creditors are to be paid, it's easy for Chinny to say that they won't be taken out of the club but will be used to fund the business.

 

And I agree with DP above - looks like Chinny is agreeing to the FL demands that only a portion of his secured debt is transferred following his purchase. Instead, he's just going to let them rack up a whole new bunch of debt to him in the form of this "overdraft".

 

Nice move, Mr Chinny.

 

I am secured, I will get my money back.

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Oh, and if Portpin really have agreed to all the FL conditions, it's good news for the children of Portsmouth - they will get their presents this Christmas after all. Parents will be breathing sighs of relief at not having to make good on their "pledges" to the Trust.

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nice one Phil, well spotted.

 

So over the next couple of years pompey pay Chinny back his meagre £5M of carried forward debt.

They use the club overdraft to do this, thus creating a further £5M debt to Chinny.

He doubles the FL debt limit, and the interest ticks along at whatever rate he plucks out of the air.

 

If they buy the extra land in the same way and bring it all together in a simple to sell package, Chinny has his £18M - with full approval from the FL.

 

The only thing that can go wrong is the club fails to generate enough income to meet the most modest of payments and he has to cut costs and asset strip to the bone.

A further relegation and attendance drop could leave Chinny exposed to more losses.

 

Just like loan sharks everywhere, he loves taking risks, and he's all heart.

 

 

Though as Nutjobs who look for conspiracy theories at every turn, we could have it all wrong.

Maybe this time he really is falling in love with the club.

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BC is pulling the wool over the FL's eyes, not that it takes much! That statement was brilliantly put together by a PR company, telling the Pompey hoards (!) how great they are etc etc and not to be scared of the big bad wolf. It also alludes to the fact that they will not be spending much on the squad, so how he will put a team out that competes on a low budget and still keep the 'loyal fans' turning up is a bit of a trick

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According to his twitter feed, SAF has managed to open an escrow account in the UK now his safari in Tanzania is over. Plenty more twists and turns people.

 

Sulaiman_205_normal.jpg SulaimanAlfahim ‏@TheRealSulaiman

Successfully opened escrow account in knight Bridge Branch. We have fully complied with the KYC & Anti-Money Laundry Laws #PUP

Professional stuff...

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My scout mate was watching Pompey last night, so a couple of us made the trip down there with him to watch from the Swindon end. My God, Pompey were terrible. Its no exaggeration to say that Swindon could have been 4 or 5 up by half time, such was their dominance. At the other end Izale Mcleod did his best Jonny Wilkinson impressions by clearing the away stand roof with the couple of chances that slipped his way.

 

Its true that Pompey turned it on for the last 10 minutes; and while they could indeed have gotten back in it, it would have been wholly unjustified. Their only decent players on the night were Brian Howard (too good for League 1) and their goalkeeper, who won the man of the match award.

 

The "Fratton roar" was nowhere to be heard either. Plenty of banging on the drum but not much singing at all, it all sounded like a carninval band piping up and I was waiting for the majorettes to come out. Quite cringeworthy really. "Passionate fans" my arse, they were singing about going on a League 2 tour and moaning at their manager "Appy make a sub". Even their ner ner nerring was very tepid.

 

After a visit to Fratton I'm now more than ready for Saturday's trip to a proper football stadium and not being around a group of knuckle-dragging fans who, quite frankly, freak me out a bit.

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I am guessing at this, but;

 

With Chinny converting the debt to equity and commiting to the CVA and football creditors payments - This would effectively wipe out all debts (Outside any new ones created by chinnys new overdraft)..So from an adminsitrator prospective, does that mean unless pst offer chinny the full 18 million, that Birch has no other choice (Based on his remit of getting best deal for creditors) than to go with Portpin?

 

Is the coversion of debt to equity as big as deal as I am thinking? (Bascially taking 18 million quids worth of debt off the table).

 

Where's Clapham when you need him.....

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My scout mate was watching Pompey last night, so a couple of us made the trip down there with him to watch from the Swindon end. My God, Pompey were terrible. Its no exaggeration to say that Swindon could have been 4 or 5 up by half time, such was their dominance. At the other end Izale Mcleod did his best Jonny Wilkinson impressions by clearing the away stand roof with the couple of chances that slipped his way.

 

Its true that Pompey turned it on for the last 10 minutes; and while they could indeed have gotten back in it, it would have been wholly unjustified. Their only decent players on the night were Brian Howard (too good for League 1) and their goalkeeper, who won the man of the match award.

 

The "Fratton roar" was nowhere to be heard either. Plenty of banging on the drum but not much singing at all, it all sounded like a carninval band piping up and I was waiting for the majorettes to come out. Quite cringeworthy really. "Passionate fans" my arse, they were singing about going on a League 2 tour and moaning at their manager "Appy make a sub". Even their ner ner nerring was very tepid.

 

After a visit to Fratton I'm now more than ready for Saturday's trip to a proper football stadium and not being around a group of knuckle-dragging fans who, quite frankly, freak me out a bit.

 

I hope you have hosed yourself down.

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cd74

10:37 AM on 19/09/2012

Haven't seen it mentioned on here yet. What are peoples thoughts on Appleton's last minute application for the Coventry job. The fact that it was last minute is worrying to me, does he know something we don't, more bad news on the horizon?

 

 

Anyone know if this is correct?

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That statement was brilliantly put together by a PR company, telling the Pompey hoards (!) how great they are etc etc and not to be scared of the big bad wolf.

 

I'm sorry, but if that statement was put together by a PR company they've done a **** job. He's fooling no-one with that sort of tripe. Not even the fishy few will buy it.

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I'm sorry, but if that statement was put together by a PR company they've done a **** job. He's fooling no-one with that sort of tripe. Not even the fishy few will buy it.

 

Chainrai is running scared; there's no need for him to put out that statement if he's in line to take over. Its a publicity statement only, it will not influence his bid in any way; so it has been done to garner public perception that his bid is more stable than the Trust's.

 

Chainrai, the Trust and Sulaiman Al FatSlob all seem to want to conduct their business in public; its shameful whoremongering from the lot of them. Then you've got that moron Neil Allen eschewing all efforts at unbiased news reporting by castigating Portpin's bid both on his personal twitter feed and through the medium of the Pompey News. What a sad charade. Althought it admittedly makes for great reading this end of the M27!

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I reckon the Trust will get the club, they will celebrate but there will then be a court battle which eventually they will win. They will celebrate even more until the financial realities hit and they will stay rooted in the lower leagues for a generation whilst saying we must be jealous of their amazing fan owned club.

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The FL must know Chinny is running rings round them. Whatever rules they invent he just circumvents them. The FL must also know that if they try to pull the plug and withhold the golden share they'd likely lose in court. What to do? Roll over, take the easy life and let it all unfold - or spend lots of cash in court and get dumped on from all sides? My guess is they will keep deducting points, hoping to gradually relegate the club into insignificance.

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That statement was brilliantly put together by a PR company, telling the Pompey hoards (!) how great they are etc etc and not to be scared of the big bad wolf.

 

I'm sorry, but if that statement was put together by a PR company they've done a **** job. He's fooling no-one with that sort of tripe. Not even the fishy few will buy it.

 

3a7f571774a7c0f3b5b23ca97c7ab6b7.jpg

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We are offering a multi-million pound, multi-year overdraft facility to The Football League to give the business a cash flow safety net ’

 

Sounds like an AA type statement or it could be just crap PR firm English, but why would they be offering an overdraft to the Football League...?:-)

 

Now that's not what they meant (probably) but where anything PFC is involved I'd read the small print..

Either way, as pointed out, it's just a way of allowing short-term survival. What interest rate will be used for this overdraft?

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Comment from the article:

 

Still doing better than the neighbours. No team in the top 4 divisions has a worse points score and only two have a worse goal difference. We're not doing too well but we're faring better than the stripey ones using far less people and cash.

 

:o

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The FL must know Chinny is running rings round them. Whatever rules they invent he just circumvents them. The FL must also know that if they try to pull the plug and withhold the golden share they'd likely lose in court. What to do? Roll over, take the easy life and let it all unfold - or spend lots of cash in court and get dumped on from all sides? My guess is they will keep deducting points, hoping to gradually relegate the club into insignificance.

 

The golden share is issued by a boys club. The law has no say on what terms they wish to apply, so there is no chance of them being taken to court.

 

I suspect though (Happy to be proven wrong) that the conversion of all debt to equity, now makes it impossible for Birch to go with anyone else..... The debt just fell by 18 million, if he goes with Portpin ( I know that there was a 5 million limit from the FA, but still removes all debt and reprsents the best deal for creditors)

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The golden share is issued by a boys club. The law has no say on what terms they wish to apply, so there is no chance of them being taken to court.

 

Thats not quite true. Even members club have to act 'reasonably' under the law and Chinny would be able to claim their actions in withdrawing the golden share caused him financial loss.

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The golden share is issued by a boys club. The law has no say on what terms they wish to apply, so there is no chance of them being taken to court.

 

I suspect though (Happy to be proven wrong) that the conversion of all debt to equity, now makes it impossible for Birch to go with anyone else..... The debt just fell by 18 million, if he goes with Portpin ( I know that there was a 5 million limit from the FA, but still removes all debt and reprsents the best deal for creditors)

 

Actually the statement was 'We are prepared to convert a materially significant amount of Portpin’s debt into equity'. So the debt has not fallen by 18 million as Chinny will undoubtedly carry forward the alleged 5 million or so that the FL will allow.

 

Nonetheless, your point is valid. Birch now has an easy way out with the Portpin bid, or he might face a costly legal battle over the valuation of FP.

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Ian Darke ‏@IanDarkeESPN Barnsley boss has great point about parachute payments. Why should clubs be rewarded for getting relegated? 48m over 4 yrs scandal really

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19644509

I cant recall him commenting on this when his beloved Pompey got saved by it.

We will happily accept it when/if the time comes.

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