Ken Tone

Could happen in some places, but right next to the river? How low can the water table be at St Mary's ? K.

"Storrie also revealed that he discussed the possibility of walking away from football with his wife on Sunday, but insisted that that he cannot abandon Portsmouth while he is so close to preventing the club from going under." Translates as "I earnt over £2 million from this job last year. Where else would I get that sort of money? I'm not going anywhere till they prise my hands off the cash" Purely in my opinion of course! K.

My view for what it's worth, is that the premiership will do all they can to keep them in business this season, to avoid the problems of how to deal with all the consequences of them not fulfilling fixtures. However they won't give a damn about them going out of business after the season ends. They've already said they will not advance the parachute payments , but will provide reasurance to HMRC that that money will become available at the normal time. I reckon that means they hope that HMRC will hold off on the winding up for now, on the promise of their £11 million by late summer. After that Pompey are on their own, but an even less attractive proposition to buy ... in the CCC still owing about £50 million, with a whole load of players still on ludicrously highly paid contracts reluctant to go and with no other club daft enough to buy them on those wages ..and the first year's parachute money already spent on HMRC. So still with outgoings well above income. Administration would still be their only way out, in the hope of a lucky find of a new owner buying them on the cheap like we had, but the owners would still want to avoid admin as they'd lose everything ... so Pompey are still buggered in short. The *best* they can hope for is administration in the CCC. k.

Both sets of fans were let out at the same time, but the coaches didn't get away for about 30 mins. Your mates will have been held up in the car park outside the northam. Damn silly tactics from the police. Would have been much easier to control things with the pompey fans inside the ground, and clearing away most of the home fans first, like they would do at just about every other ground in the country. Personally I was stuck in the car park directly opposite the ground for about 30 mins, looking at a completely empty road to the left (ie towards the Chapel end), but the stewards had been told not to let us out by the police until the coaches had moved, even though they were to the right. And then when they finally did open the gates we were told we had to turn left anyway! Glad I wasn't parked in the Freeborn garage. Saints fans damaging other Saints fans' cars .. not good. K.

The Riverside isn't so bad. The one to avoid is the City Ground http://www.stadiumguide.com/cityground.htm That has a change of stand height part way along an end. Looks terrible. Think St Mary's could still look ok it they extend 'sympathetically' . Need not be all 3 stands at once either. Could just put another tier on the Northam for instance, thereby solving the away fans issue too, because they could have 2 tiers of a much narrower section of the end/corner, still providing as much space for them as now, with 2 tiers of nearly all the bigger Northam end for home fans. But I too can't see this happening for a while. I presme btw that during the building work, there would have to be some closure of the existing stands underneath? So maybe if Liebher and Cortese are *really* ambitious they might just do it in the CCC in preparation for the premiership, whilst the crowds are still a bit smaller, but I doubt it. K.

Already has a work permit according to the Mail's website, and could play against us. Gobsmacking isn't it. K.

Speculation is now that the Premier league will advance portsmouth the parachute payments they'd be guaranteed if relegated, so they can pay off HMRC and avoid liquidation Daily Mail claims Scudamore is sounding out other clubs for their views. Meanmwhile, incredibly , they have apparently signed a new defender who may play against us. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1250437/Portsmouth-swoop-Dusko-Tosic-despite-dark-clouds-hanging-cash-strapped-club.html K.

Are you serious? If people like me didn't come to games, and hadn't for the past 17 years with my family, the club wouldn't exist for you 'lads' to go to . K.

My favourite was.... > K.

For what it's worth, the policy was already set weeks ago. The club made it clear at the norwich game, before the last leg, never mind the home 'final', and reiterated later.......... http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~1951347,00.html K.

BBC article gives apretty good summary IMO. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/mattslater/2010/02/pompey_court_out_but_still_ali.html K.

What really gets me about this is that Pompey do have a better team than us, but they damn well shouldn't have. It's only because they've been living above their means. When I hear commentators saying things like 'how can a team win the FA cup then be in so much trouble so soon after', it makes me want to shout but it's effectively *because* they won the cup that they're in trouble. They 'bought' the cup with players they couldn't afford. And they've still got most of them, so I fear will probably 'buy' a win against us, even if it may well be the last game they play. K.

Absolutely right, and what makes them completed stuffed, is that no one who has the power to put them into administration has any incentive to do so. The current owners would just lose everything, and Storrie as chief exec would be sacked, losing his reported £2million salary. There's no bank involved to force the issue as there was with us, and Gaydamak has said he won't. It will only be if any of them care enough to actually save some remnant of the club even if it means a definite loss to themselves that they'll go into admin. None of them seem to me that noble! In the meantime they're hanging on grimly, against all logic, trying to salvage what money they can ..cf Lowe et al before the bank effectively forced us into admin. I reckon their best bet is to hope Gaydamak changes his mind. K.

I really think they are in worse trouble than that. HMRC is out to make a point. Unless someone is mug enought to immediately throw a significant part of £11.5 million of good money after bad, and then take on the other £50 million debts, they're stuffed. And why would anyone do that ? K.

Exactly. We didn't pay the debts in full. Guardian is wrong. Herr Liebherr paid what he was required to do by the deal with the administrator. Creditors lost money. However we are now debt free, because that was a final (though only partial) pay out. K.

I sell photocopiers ?

More likely to be HMS Illustrious moored next to Paul Allen's boat! Time for some more sheikh spotting? Any good, "my mate's a taxi driver and he says...." stories we can send them? K.

My interpretation is that pompey have made claims that all will be well, honest, and the court is saying show us the definitive state of your finances, never mind all this smokescreen stuff over who owns what and who owes what. The fact that it is only 7 working days (so deadline is Friday of next week) indicates they didn't have great deal of credibility with the court. Maybe, just maybe , if the position in 7 days is clearer they may then get 28 more days or whatever. But if I were a pompey fan I'd be very, very worried.Tthis has to be next worse outcome after immediate liquidation. K.

But a) they owe £60 million, much more than £25million, and b) their players are overpaid so no one will want to buy them because they won't want to pay those wages ..and the players won't leave voluntarily because they know they won't be paid that much anywhere else. Does b) sound familiar? But they have far more such players that we did and far more excessively paid. So they will have great difficulty even matching income and outgoings, even with parachute payments , and no chance of paying off debt. Not crowing over this. Much as I dislike all things pompey this is all the fault of greedy, and maybe even dishonest, people with no real love for the club. The fans are the victims. K.

If it is correct it basically means that their debts and outgoings exceed their income and assets. If so there is no way out that makes any sort of economic sense. Seems about right to me. However football never does makes economic sense. It didn't make any sense for Chainrai to lend £17 million to a club with £60 million debts and land assets worth only about £15million, but he did it. And now he is left holding the baby in effect. Pay up at least most of another £7 million or the club closes down and you lose your £17 million. Either there is some very odd motive behind his actions or he is too stupid to be worth all that money in the first place! K.

If anyone wants to follow it see http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/custompages/custompage.aspx?pageid=81654 Cardiff and Southend both given 28 more days . Portsmouth case about to start K.

What the club had on its web-site in advance (and I think has had there since the norwich tie is that ST holders can buy 2 each then those who attended last night's final get next priority, for one ticket each, then presumably any left go on general sale. The good thing about the JPT is that unlike the FA cup final there should be far fewer general FA hangers-on and neutrals there, with a greater proportion of the 90k tickets being available for genuine followers of the 2 clubs. K.

Yet weirdly the Leeds game is on TV and is also a 7.45 ko! Bit of a mess all round really. Didn't buy tickets when it was 7 because couldn't make it from work, and only realised too late that it had been moved again. Did the poor sod who'd booked hotel rooms etc for original date ever hear back from the club? Anyway, give them a shout from me. K.

You'll need a long -sleeved one to get oxlade-chamberlain on ! K.

It is true that the council gave the stadium (only) ground to the club but I haven't heard of any legal tie to ensure it is only used for football Of course this does suggest that the council would fight ant attempt to build on the stadium land but planning law might we'll make the counci lose. In any event surely the stadium land isn't worth all that much. Chainrai is owed more than the stadium is worth as land. The neighbouring land is owned by Gaydamak still. K.