TopGun

According to Sport England today poor pitches are stopping people take up football...

I expect mutual consent just avoids the term sacking which gets McInnes, Catlin and the board off the hook slightly by apportioning blame on to Barker who appears to accept it. It probably still means some form of pay off though. Why would Richie forego a payoff entirely? At the least he will be being paid to keep his trap shut about what a shambles it is down there.

Well, Awford won none of his last five games in charge as caretaker so let's hope he stays consistent. I have to say that if I was a CEO, manager or player of another club approached today by Pompey seeking loanees I'd find it hard to keep a straight face before politely saying "Not today, thanks!"

Indeed, a Barker facepalm for a Photoshop wizard although it could turn out to have a very limited shop life.

Fine. Every little bit of prevarication, uncertainty, disunity and disagreement helps as the clock counts down to the end of the season.

Looks like they're getting ready to pull the trigger... http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/pompey/barker-position-to-be-discussed-by-pompey-1-5961634 Bet Whittingham is having a damn good chuckle.

Not so Mild Mannered Caretaker 2:15 PM on 26/03/2014 I sold my bl**dy car .. and used up most of my savings to get shares for me and my family... And stood outside the High Court in tears the day we were saved.. You are NOT bigger than us fans... or PFC.. Mr Barker. GET OUT OF OUR CLUB. Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

Fantastic. Last night's captain jumps ship! The meltdown has spread to the core! They're in utter disarray. I'd love to be watching Champagne Iain right now! I've just decided to cough up my £5 again as I reckon I will need more than three posts a day here for a while!

One of the thicker on the News site called 2pinthepound is stating that if they get relegated from the FL then they will avoid FL sanctions and be able to buy players again...

2-0

Wimbledon down to 10 men at Northampton. It could be on!

Barker wants another striker. Apparently there is still money left in the kitty for one. http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/pompey/barker-open-to-striker-arrival-1-5957130

Had to have my cat Lily put to sleep last New Year's Day. Bad start to the year. She was purring as the vet administered the injection. Blubbed like a kid.

Seven of today's starters were Barker signings also. You'd have to imagine that there is quite a bit of disunity in that squad now.

While there might be two petions of over 2,000 and over 1,000 letters of opposition unless they are well founded objections on relevant planning grounds they are unlikely to make much headway. That is why I believe the covenant that forbade retail use on some of the former BT/Miland land and which was rescinded by the council recently could be key to it all. If it can be proved that the covenant should not have been withdrawn as it was intended to protect existing local retail outlets and that situation is no different now then there is a good call for a judicial review at least if the planning committee pass the Tesco plan. A JR would eat up another six months, time that Pompey don't have without the Tesco money.

Originally Posted by dune Just to add that this mining company really interests me: African Consolidated Resources Plc. They have recently had their mining rights taken from them by Mugabe and his Marxist cohorts (the Chinese), but I sense that Mugabe's power is waning and let's face it he'll soon be dead. This company interests me because the Marange diamond fields are rumoured to have vast quantities of undiscovered diamonds that may well surpass what we have seen come out of SA, hence the Chinese interest and the "secret" cargo planes that are in and out with guns for Mugabes henchmen and an "undisclosed" cargo out. This is the latest statement from African consolidate Resources PLC: Marange Update African Consolidated Resources plc ("the Company"), the Zimbabwe-focused mineral exploration and development company, announces that the Zimbabwe High Court has decided to rescind its Judgement of September 2009 in favour of the Company which confirmed the validity of the Company's mining claims within the Marange diamond field. The Company will immediately appeal to the Supreme Court against the rescission. It is understood that the appeal will have the effect of suspending the rescission. The Company will issue a more detailed statement upon receipt and analysis of the written judgement ______________________ This company is valued at about 10p a share, but IMHO has the potential to rocket if they regain their mining rights and a stable country materialises. That is where my next investment will be for sure. He who dares. Blimey. I can only assume that Dune had put options on ACRP and Range Resources as they are both at 1p now!

Shame about Northampton losing but has to be viewed as a relatively good night's work.

Lolage.

Obviously when Pompey go under there's a good additional future catchment there!!

I thought there were rules in place about the number of players that can be loaners. Barker must be close to the mark.

Before the meeting both Ritchie Barker and financial manager Tony Brown (TB) spoke to the board. TB said that the operating loss for the year would be less than the original forecast while the projected turnover will be higher. This has been helped by the continuing high gates. The League 2 playing budget cap is 55% of turnover, PFC playing budget is 27% of turnover. There is only one other League 2 club that has as low a percentage of turnover. TB would like budget cuts made off the pitch so that the playing budget could be increased. If a player is sold 50% of the fee would go to pay off past players. Chorley, Taylor and Fogden have 18 month contracts, Jervis and Shorey until the end of the season. Alfei is on monthly loan contracts. Next season’s playing budget will not be approved for a while.

All sorts of interesting items in the PST board meeting minutes. http://www.pompeytrust.com/minutes

Whatever your views, a good interview about Benn conducted with 96 year old Denis Healey today. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26588662

Just an abstract thought that crossed my mind. 2012 figures show that there are 63 million people in the UK. How many of those living people do you think you might have spoken to in total, whether as family, friends, in the pub, on the phone, at work, at a shop etc? I initially thought that older people might have spoken to more people but they will have also spoken to people who have died so they don't count. Might it be 10,000, 50,000 or more? I've got no idea but if you spoke to three new people a day that would be over 1,500 people a year so maybe 50,000 people is realistic? And no, I've not been at the whacky baccy tonight!

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/03/14/uk-soccer-england-southampton-commercial-idUKBREA2D1CA20140314 Interesting article by Ossian Shine, sports editor at Reuters, clearly written for an international audience. Ossian is a Saints fan and an old friend of mine. He attended Thornden School and Barton Peveril 6th Form College.