Jump to content

A Tale of Two Cities


SW11_Saint

Recommended Posts

Has there every been a bigger contrast in the fortunes of the two main south coast clubs?

 

On the day one announces a new billionairre owner, the other admits that it cannot afford to pay it's staff or players. One looking forward to the new season in the Premiership with a potentially huge transfer budget, and the other starting life in League 1 for the first time in 50 years, on -10 points, albeit with new owners (we hope!).

 

Not sure I've ever felt so depressed about the state of our club, and so envious of the blue few down the road. Let's hope though that we are starting on the road to recovery and will one day take our rightful place again as the premiere side in the South (and that their plans to tits up naturally!).

 

It did get me wondering about the wider context though. As someone who has lived outside the area for some time now it does seem to me that Portsmouth as a City seems to have a better focus on development - in terms of attracting commerce, global events, and developing tourist attractions. The Spinnaker Tower seems to pull in crowds, and gives the City an identifiable landmark, and I only hear good things about Gunwharf Quay and Port Solent (compare and contrast to "Ocean Village"!), and they've also taken notable and long-standing industry from Southampton (the cross-channel ferry business, Vospers etc.). All I have heard recently from Southampton in terms of development is about the "new Ikea". It might be chicken and egg - has Premiership football woken up the City to it's potential, or are their council just more forward thinking that ours? Am I being unfair to my home town, and does Southampton actually have more to offer than seems to be the case?

 

It all does seem sadly reflected in the state of our clubs - while Peter Storrie was clearly off his @rse looking for investment, our latest board never made a mention of looking for investment - it was all about downsizing. And here we are...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm proud of my town and club, I couldn't give a toss what happens to them lot down the road. Don't be jealous of them mate, because soon, if they start doing well then they will be charging £60 a ticket and have loads of London folk looking for a new club. We may be dying as a club, but they will kill themselves as a club selling to Dubai.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I spent two years living in Portsmouth and I can tell you now a lot of people there see our council as progressive and supportive of the city when compared to theirs.

 

Basically, the grass is always greener. Gunwharf (can sometimes be a bit rough at night mind) and the Spinnaker are huge successes, but Commercial Road is dying on its arse compared to Above Bar, Guildhall Walk makes Leisure World look peaceful etc.

 

Personally I think the worst bits of Portsmouth are far worse than equivalents in Southampton (Somers Town, Portsea and Landport make Millbrook and Thornhill look idyllic - I never found Paulsgrove that bad though) but the tourist bits of Portsmouth like the dockyard and tower have more to offer (or at the very least, are better utilised).

 

I think promotion to the Premier League has changed the outside perception of Portsmouth, but I don't think it's inspired the city itself at all - especially in the way that relegation seems to have decimated civic pride in Southampton.

 

Assuming we get through this though, we'll be back. Just the same as Pompey did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm proud to call Southampton home and will always feel that way, it is a much more attractive city than Portsmouth and although there are rough areas to Southampton it is not as bad as Portsmouth. The only thing that attracts people to Portsmouth is Gunwharf and the Spinaker tower, neither are really worth visiting more than once.

 

I always get the feeling that Southampton has wasted potential. The city needs something to draw people in and I seriously doubt maritime museums or the Spitfire proposed for the waterfront would do that. If the city does recreate a tram line then I feel there needs to be a retail area on the waterfront with family resturants and a cinema connected to the city centre, this coupled with other ideas would draw in crowds.

 

As for the club issue I can feel jealousy but we are a prime example of how fortunes change and I would rather support my local life long team no matter what than a stupidly rich club which is just a play thing for some billionaire

 

Also I know some people knock Southampton's nightlife, but I think its great there are loads of places to go with such variety, especially if you are willing to go up to Bevois valley. People get drawn to Oceana but it is overpriced and over rated, when there are much better clubs IMO. I would feel not nearly half as safe on a night out in Portsmouth and from what I know of Portsmouth's nightlife it isn't nearly as broad

Edited by Rocker268
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alot of development in the city, and there is also alot of space to be developed. Not much more room in pompy. Chin up, I've lived in pompy for a year (kinda had to) and Its crap. Love Southampton and think the majority people that make are far nicer! and as much as I love saints the football clubs success has only a minor impact. Look at Hull or Stoke, Bolton!!! Do I want to be there, err no. Look at Oxford, Waymouth, Bournmouth, Plymouth, even Cardiff Chester (had to put in one northern city).

OK maybe thats a bit over the top, end of the day I dont want to live anywhere else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It did get me wondering about the wider context though. As someone who has lived outside the area for some time now it does seem to me that Portsmouth as a City seems to have a better focus on development - in terms of attracting commerce, global events, and developing tourist attractions.

...

It all does seem sadly reflected in the state of our clubs

 

Quite so. There is a lot in common between the leaderships of the councils and their respective football clubs.

 

On the one hand we have a bunch of naive 'line-toers' who want to play with a straight bat to the financial rules of this world; and on the other hand there are people whose business practices can perhaps most generously be described as 'flexible'...

 

Good guys never win - although I'm not sure about applying this description to some of our recent football club 'leaders'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just the usual ebb and flow, the roles will soon be reversed.

 

The one positive thing is that the current role reversals have highlighted how much bigger Saints are as a club, when we were top dogs we were always being told by the blue few how much they are a sleeping giant, now even as FA Cup holders they struggle to fill their ground.

 

When they were in a situation similar to ours they got way worse attendances, their average attendances at Championship level were often around 8-9K, never got above 16K until their sugar daddy turned up and they brought the league.

 

If we were having the success they are enjoying it would be build a second tier on SMS time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just the usual ebb and flow, the roles will soon be reversed.

 

The one positive thing is that the current role reversals have highlighted how much bigger Saints are as a club, when we were top dogs we were always being told by the blue few how much they are a sleeping giant, now even as FA Cup holders they struggle to fill their ground.

 

When they were in a situation similar to ours they got way worse attendances, their average attendances at Championship level were often around 8-9K, never got above 16K until their sugar daddy turned up and they brought the league.

 

If we were having the success they are enjoying it would be build a second tier on SMS time.

 

We had more than 16k in Div 4 moosh.

 

250,000 at the FA Cup Parade. 125,000 watching the day before at the Common and at Wembley.

 

Your club almost out of business and you sell how many tickets? We had three times the amount to watch a Kanu charity match.

 

Our clubs are similar sized but in the all-time average attendence chart we are still higher than you despite decades of utter ****e.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had more than 16k in Div 4 moosh.

 

250,000 at the FA Cup Parade. 125,000 watching the day before at the Common and at Wembley.

 

Your club almost out of business and you sell how many tickets? We had three times the amount to watch a Kanu charity match.

 

Our clubs are similar sized but in the all-time average attendence chart we are still higher than you despite decades of utter ****e.

 

A few skate figures:

 

1995 - 18th Championship - ave att 8,269

1996 - 21st Championship - ave att 9,407

1997 - 7th Championship - ave att 8,854

1998 - 20th Championship - ave att 11,149

1999 - 19th Championship - ave att 11,956

2000 - 18th Championship - ave att 13,908

2001 - 20th Championship - ave att 13,533

2002 - 17th Championship - ave att 15,122

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had more than 16k in Div 4 moosh.

 

250,000 at the FA Cup Parade. 125,000 watching the day before at the Common and at Wembley.

 

Your club almost out of business and you sell how many tickets? We had three times the amount to watch a Kanu charity match.

 

Our clubs are similar sized but in the all-time average attendence chart we are still higher than you despite decades of utter ****e.

 

..blah, blah, blah...

 

You probably got "16k" (in a 36k capacity) the day you were promoted from Div 4, big deal.

 

When you were promoted to the top flight in the 80s the blue-few were boasting how they'd fill fartton's 30k every game. You averaged 17k.

 

And when you were in our position a few years back in the fizzy (and you didn't get relegated or go bust) you were getting 5-6k home crowds regularly (not to mention less than half that for cup games). It was some time after your billionaire arrived and £ms pumped in before you got into double figures.

 

The only time you filled little ol' fartton regularly was the year you were promoted and had signed the likes of Sheringham, Merson, Berger, Stone, etc.

 

The skates have just had the best 5 or 6 years of their lives, promotion, big-name players, winning the cup, getting in to Europe, THREE billionaires, whilst your rivals have been through the ringer, relegated and gone bust, but still empty blue seats are everywhere most home games at fartton.

 

That's the trouble with you newby-glory-hunting-skates, ya don't know yer history.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always get the feeling that Southampton has wasted potential. The city needs something to draw people in and I seriously doubt maritime museums or the Spitfire proposed for the waterfront would do that. If the city does recreate a tram line then I feel there needs to be a retail area on the waterfront with family resturants and a cinema connected to the city centre, this coupled with other ideas would draw in crowds.

The point about 'wasted potential' is on-point. My wife, who is not from the area at all, had a walk down the waterfront from Ocean Village to Mayflower park the other day, and commented on "how much more could be done to attract tourists" - around the port history, Titanic etc. She also pointed out (for those literary types!) that Jane Austen lived for some time in Southampton and the surrounding area - Bath bases much of it's tourism on the Austen connection, but it was the first I had ever heard that she lived here (and I am a born and bred Sotonian!).

 

So it's not all doom and gloom from me - I always think, as I drive down the Avenue towards SMS, what a beautiful City it is (well, in parts!), certainly the parks and gardens are wonderful. Also of course the Rose Bowl is a cracking ground, as is SMS. In fact, watching South Today tonight the sports bulletin had an OB from Fratton, and then showed SMS when mentioning Saints - no comparison, and it really emphasised who the bigger club is - just need to get through these tough tough times!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

..blah, blah, blah...

 

You probably got "16k" (in a 36k capacity) the day you were promoted from Div 4, big deal.

 

When you were promoted to the top flight in the 80s the blue-few were boasting how they'd fill fartton's 30k every game. You averaged 17k.

 

And when you were in our position a few years back in the fizzy (and you didn't get relegated or go bust) you were getting 5-6k home crowds regularly (not to mention less than half that for cup games). It was some time after your billionaire arrived and £ms pumped in before you got into double figures.

 

The only time you filled little ol' fartton regularly was the year you were promoted and had signed the likes of Sheringham, Merson, Berger, Stone, etc.

 

The skates have just had the best 5 or 6 years of their lives, promotion, big-name players, winning the cup, getting in to Europe, THREE billionaires, whilst your rivals have been through the ringer, relegated and gone bust, but still empty blue seats are everywhere most home games at fartton.

 

That's the trouble with you newby-glory-hunting-skates, ya don't know yer history.

Well said Alehouse - Game, Set and Match!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't forget 8 years ago things looked oh so different

 

We were an established premiership club, new stadium, financially stable and they were a bottom half championship club with a **** stadium and no hope

 

If we survive as a club things can change very quickly in football.

 

Was speaking to a Bristol City fan today and I never thought the day would come when they are in a better position than us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has there every been a bigger contrast in the fortunes of the two main south coast clubs?

 

On the day one announces a new billionairre owner, the other admits that it cannot afford to pay it's staff or players. One looking forward to the new season in the Premiership with a potentially huge transfer budget, and the other starting life in League 1 for the first time in 50 years, on -10 points, albeit with new owners (we hope!).

 

Not sure I've ever felt so depressed about the state of our club, and so envious of the blue few down the road. Let's hope though that we are starting on the road to recovery and will one day take our rightful place again as the premiere side in the South (and that their plans to tits up naturally!).

 

It did get me wondering about the wider context though. As someone who has lived outside the area for some time now it does seem to me that Portsmouth as a City seems to have a better focus on development - in terms of attracting commerce, global events, and developing tourist attractions. The Spinnaker Tower seems to pull in crowds, and gives the City an identifiable landmark, and I only hear good things about Gunwharf Quay and Port Solent (compare and contrast to "Ocean Village"!), and they've also taken notable and long-standing industry from Southampton (the cross-channel ferry business, Vospers etc.). All I have heard recently from Southampton in terms of development is about the "new Ikea". It might be chicken and egg - has Premiership football woken up the City to it's potential, or are their council just more forward thinking that ours? Am I being unfair to my home town, and does Southampton actually have more to offer than seems to be the case?

 

It all does seem sadly reflected in the state of our clubs - while Peter Storrie was clearly off his @rse looking for investment, our latest board never made a mention of looking for investment - it was all about downsizing. And here we are...

 

There is a lot of sense here - I do think the Council has been very unambitious over the last twenty years and it's time to buck up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always think, as I drive down the Avenue towards SMS, what a beautiful City it is (well, in parts!), certainly the parks and gardens are wonderful. Also of course the Rose Bowl is a cracking ground, as is SMS. In fact, watching South Today tonight the sports bulletin had an OB from Fratton, and then showed SMS when mentioning Saints - no comparison, and it really emphasised who the bigger club is - just need to get through these tough tough times!!

 

Well said SW. I know I'm very cynical at the moment, but you're right. Southampton is a naturally attractive city, without any of the tawdry flummery of the common tart that's on display down the other end of the M27.

;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote=aintforever;312874

The one positive thing is that the current role reversals have highlighted how much bigger Saints are as a club, when we were top dogs we were always being told by the blue few how much they are a sleeping giant, now even as FA Cup holders they struggle to fill their ground.

 

When they were in a situation similar to ours they got way worse attendances, their average attendances at Championship level were often around 8-9K, never got above 16K until their sugar daddy turned up and they brought the league.

 

If we were having the success they are enjoying it would be build a second tier on SMS time.

 

 

!00% True.

The Blue Few have struggles to sell out Fratton Parks meagre capacity (Anyone can see the empty seats on tv). And even allowed fans with a record of buying 1 (one) match day ticket the right to by their cup final tickets !!!!!!

Portsmyth FC indeed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just the usual ebb and flow, the roles will soon be reversed.

 

The one positive thing is that the current role reversals have highlighted how much bigger Saints are as a club, when we were top dogs we were always being told by the blue few how much they are a sleeping giant, now even as FA Cup holders they struggle to fill their ground.

 

When they were in a situation similar to ours they got way worse attendances, their average attendances at Championship level were often around 8-9K, never got above 16K until their sugar daddy turned up and they brought the league.

 

If we were having the success they are enjoying it would be build a second tier on SMS time.

 

What a load of utter crap. If you were such a 'big club' how come you couldn't sell more than 1500 tickets for a 'save the saints' all-stars game. After that fiasco, don't you ever, ever try to say your support is bigger than ours again, because it simply isn't. You're just the same as us, a medium sized provincial club, and that's all you're ever likely to be....

 

..blah, blah, blah...

 

You probably got "16k" (in a 36k capacity) the day you were promoted from Div 4, big deal.

 

When you were promoted to the top flight in the 80s the blue-few were boasting how they'd fill fartton's 30k every game. You averaged 17k.

 

And when you were in our position a few years back in the fizzy (and you didn't get relegated or go bust) you were getting 5-6k home crowds regularly (not to mention less than half that for cup games). It was some time after your billionaire arrived and £ms pumped in before you got into double figures.

 

The only time you filled little ol' fartton regularly was the year you were promoted and had signed the likes of Sheringham, Merson, Berger, Stone, etc.

 

The skates have just had the best 5 or 6 years of their lives, promotion, big-name players, winning the cup, getting in to Europe, THREE billionaires, whilst your rivals have been through the ringer, relegated and gone bust, but still empty blue seats are everywhere most home games at fartton.

 

That's the trouble with you newby-glory-hunting-skates, ya don't know yer history.

 

Really? Lets look shall we? How many major trophies have you won? Er, one. How many have we won? Four, the last only a year ago. THAT'S your history lesson.....

 

The point about 'wasted potential' is on-point. My wife, who is not from the area at all, had a walk down the waterfront from Ocean Village to Mayflower park the other day, and commented on "how much more could be done to attract tourists" - around the port history, Titanic etc. She also pointed out (for those literary types!) that Jane Austen lived for some time in Southampton and the surrounding area - Bath bases much of it's tourism on the Austen connection, but it was the first I had ever heard that she lived here (and I am a born and bred Sotonian!).

 

So it's not all doom and gloom from me - I always think, as I drive down the Avenue towards SMS, what a beautiful City it is (well, in parts!), certainly the parks and gardens are wonderful. Also of course the Rose Bowl is a cracking ground, as is SMS. In fact, watching South Today tonight the sports bulletin had an OB from Fratton, and then showed SMS when mentioning Saints - no comparison, and it really emphasised who the bigger club is - just need to get through these tough tough times!!

 

Jane Austen was born in Steventon, Basingstoke- not Southampton. I think it's stretching it a bit far to try to cash in on that one. On the other hand, Charles Dickens was Pompey born, as was Peter Sellers. Also, if a photo of St Marys makes you think you're the bigger club, forget it- it's a white elephant that's taken you to the brink of bankruptcy...

 

Well said SW. I know I'm very cynical at the moment, but you're right. Southampton is a naturally attractive city, without any of the tawdry flummery of the common tart that's on display down the other end of the M27.

;-)

 

Seen through the rosiest of rose tinted glasses. Come on, be honest- neither city is gonna win best in Britain is it? However, if you want to get picky, Pompey ALWAYS finishes 1 or 2 places above southampton in best places to live surveys.

 

Overall, what's happening now is payback time, a sort of 'what goes around, comes around' if you like. For forty odd years you guys were above us- bet you never thought it was going to end? Well now it's your turn to get the fuzzy end of the lollipop........

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only thing that attracts people to Portsmouth is Gunwharf and the Spinaker tower, neither are really worth visiting more than once.

 

Not heard of historical dockyards then? HMS Victory? Mary Rose? As much as I can't stand the skate bastards it pays to offer a balanced opinion when you are slating them from a weakened position such as we find ourselves in. Be patient though as football works in cycles and one day we will have our day in the sun again.

Edited by Chez
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a point to bear in mind regarding respective attendances.

 

Pompey's gates did indeed at times dip well below 10k. I know because I was often among those crowds, though I'll readily admit not for every game. However, you need to consider the fact that Pompey had spent decades in a relative football wilderness. Kids in Pompey grew up watching Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and the like on Match of the Day, not Pompey at Fratton Park. In fact, on an average Sunday afternoon on Southsea Common you'd probably see more kids wearing replica shirts of those clubs than of their home city's team.

 

Conversely, you enjoyed decades in the top flight, filling the Dell and, for a while, St Mary's, so whilst crowd numbers have dipped dramatically in the last two seasons, they've fallen from a high achieved on the back of all those years of relative success. If you continue languish in the lower leagues for another 10 or 15 years (and at present I guess some of you would actually welcome that prospect compared to the darkest alternative) then attendances will continue to fall. Sure, if you have a good season chasing promotion then they'll rise a bit again but, believe me, if you're in league 1 or even the championship in 15 years time then your crowds will be half what they were this past season.

 

Why? Well quite simply because all bar the most die-hard Saints fans will be far less interested in attending matches, and the next generations of Southampton kids will be wearing Man Utd, Chelsea, etc. shirts when they wander around West Quay or Ikea rather than the red & white stripes.

 

In the meantime, the kids of Portsmouth now wear the latest replica Pompey shirts with pride, and if Dr Al-Fahim should build a 35,000 seater stadium, with decent access and sensible ticket prices, and Pompey remain in the top flight, then in years to come it'll be full, or close to, for many games (though probably not for the likes of Wigan, Burnley or Hull).

 

It may be a tale of two cities, but the story is still being written.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not heard of historical dockyards then? HMS Victory? Mary Rose? As much as I can't stand the skate bastards it pays to offer a balanced opinion when you are slating them from a weakened position such as we find ourselves in. Be patient though as football works in cycles and one day we will have our day in the sun again.

 

woops forgot about them and its only fair to mention Old Portsmouth and parts of Southsea as they are nice as well, I did a photography project along Portsmouth seafront and got much better pictures than I would have along Southampton waterfront

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a point to bear in mind regarding respective attendances.

 

Pompey's gates did indeed at times dip well below 10k. I know because I was often among those crowds, though I'll readily admit not for every game. However, you need to consider the fact that Pompey had spent decades in a relative football wilderness. Kids in Pompey grew up watching Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and the like on Match of the Day, not Pompey at Fratton Park. In fact, on an average Sunday afternoon on Southsea Common you'd probably see more kids wearing replica shirts of those clubs than of their home city's team.

 

Conversely, you enjoyed decades in the top flight, filling the Dell and, for a while, St Mary's, so whilst crowd numbers have dipped dramatically in the last two seasons, they've fallen from a high achieved on the back of all those years of relative success. If you continue languish in the lower leagues for another 10 or 15 years (and at present I guess some of you would actually welcome that prospect compared to the darkest alternative) then attendances will continue to fall. Sure, if you have a good season chasing promotion then they'll rise a bit again but, believe me, if you're in league 1 or even the championship in 15 years time then your crowds will be half what they were this past season.

 

Why? Well quite simply because all bar the most die-hard Saints fans will be far less interested in attending matches, and the next generations of Southampton kids will be wearing Man Utd, Chelsea, etc. shirts when they wander around West Quay or Ikea rather than the red & white stripes.

 

In the meantime, the kids of Portsmouth now wear the latest replica Pompey shirts with pride, and if Dr Al-Fahim should build a 35,000 seater stadium, with decent access and sensible ticket prices, and Pompey remain in the top flight, then in years to come it'll be full, or close to, for many games (though probably not for the likes of Wigan, Burnley or Hull).

 

It may be a tale of two cities, but the story is still being written.

 

Absolutely spot on......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Evidently, the Pompey takeover deal could go pear-shaped:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/28/portsmouth-takeover-premier-league

 

I thought there were some quite amusing comments in the Times too (especially the bit about their new ground ending up under water!)

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/portsmouth/article6382896.ece

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Portsmouth deal may not go ahead.

The Premiership's new 'fit and proper person's' scrutinity requires that the investors belonging to Sulaiman Al-Fahim's ownership consortium must be publicly named. The sheik is not prepared to allow this as anonimity is conditional on their pledging their money.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/28/portsmouth-takeover-premier-league

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pompy cant fill fratton in the prem, yet they want bigger. Clever that

And Southampton couldn't fill The Dell in the Prem, yet SMS got higher attendance figures.

 

Build it, and they will come...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And Southampton couldn't fill The Dell in the Prem, yet SMS got higher attendance figures.

 

Build it, and they will come...

build it and if you have a team of star players they will come.I accept that the timing of our fall and your rise has been a massive bonus for Pompey.If we had stayed in the PL you would not be where you are in respect of the future projections of crowds . If the arab invests as it looks as he will you will draw many fans from the outlying areas that we have called ours, as many do not have the deep seated dislike of Pompey and so will go without a second thought.

Your luck has for some reason been outrageous for the last 6-7 years. It seems as that it will hold out for quite a bit longer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

and if Dr Al-Fahim should build a 35,000 seater stadium, with decent access and sensible ticket prices
if you know anything about businessmen from the Arab world you will know that they don't like giving money away. If you anticipate subsidised ticket prices think again. Your ST price is going to rise not fall. Remind me how much it is now, £650 is it?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Portsmouth deal may not go ahead.

The Premiership's new 'fit and proper person's' scrutinity requires that the investors belonging to Sulaiman Al-Fahim's ownership consortium must be publicly named. The sheik is not prepared to allow this as anonimity is conditional on their pledging their money.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/28/portsmouth-takeover-premier-league

 

isn't he also on the board of the company that owns Man City? Is that allowed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see that the administrators have opened their new office in Portsmouth.

Handy if the arab with ties to Manchester City and a guy up on torture charges proves to be involved with another club or for that matter, people who are up on torture charges.

 

 

Scudamore didn't bother to look at their last two chairmen so I don't suppose he will look too hard at these characters either.

 

But it would be funny if he is just a caravan wheel kicker, that would be an oasis of ****ing-your-pants humour in the current desert of despair!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your club almost out of business and you sell how many tickets? We had three times the amount to watch a Kanu charity match.

 

This would be the same Kanu match days after the greatest day in your history to celebrate one of your best players in your recent history and how many bothered to turn up?

 

The save our saints game was a load of cobbled together nonsense where the fans were being fleeced again once too often, and everyone knew raising piddly amounts of money wasn't going to make a blind bit of difference. I am proud of Saints fans for turning their backs on it.

 

Good luck with your sheikh but don't forget Sunderland, Villa, Everton, Man City and Spurs are all keen on being the next big thing too. And who had the fifth biggest wage bill last season? And where did it get them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

if you know anything about businessmen from the Arab world you will know that they don't like giving money away. If you anticipate subsidised ticket prices think again. Your ST price is going to rise not fall. Remind me how much it is now, £650 is it?

 

And if you took the trouble to check your facts first, you'd find that ticket prices have been lowered at Man City since their takeover, which suggests that Arabian businessmen appreciate that it's better to sell 30,000 tickets at £25 each than 20,000 tickets at £30 each.

 

BTW, my season ticket for next season has cost me £575.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't know about you Mack but I'm exhausted from trying to keep the spirits of the dead red up. At least now MLT's taken over they're all happy and we can have a break.

 

 

Delighted to say I have never so much as looked at a Portsmouth web forum, let alone post on one like you seem to do obsessively. You're in the Premier League onto your third multimillionaire and we're up ****street. And you're still bloody obsessed with us.

 

When you were nowhere I didn't give your club a second thought.

 

Bitter, bitter ****s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jane Austen was born in Steventon, Basingstoke- not Southampton. I think it's stretching it a bit far to try to cash in on that one.

Sorry, did anyone say she was born here? No, I said she lived here - slight difference.

 

On the other hand, Charles Dickens was Pompey born, as was Peter Sellers.
You forgot "Same Difference"...!

 

 

 

Seen through the rosiest of rose tinted glasses. Come on, be honest- neither city is gonna win best in Britain is it? However, if you want to get picky, Pompey ALWAYS finishes 1 or 2 places above southampton in best places to live surveys.
Care to back that up with facts? Must be the old time, ahem, charm of Leigh Park etc...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...