rallyboy

100,000 fans? Grant is having a mare, that means he's lost 150,000 from his orginal 250,000 figure in just three months. At this rate they will be down to a hardcore of barely 50,000 regulars in no time and the new world cup superstadium won't be needed anymore. They need to stop the rot and get that fanbase back up to 250,000 asap! Presumably the acres of empty seats in their section at Wembley was some sort of worthy and noble protest against the nasty old Prem/taxman/FA/FL? In fact it must have felt like a home game for them, all that space to wander around or to shout across to the bloke sat next to them. What a day out, the bus that took them all must have been like a little mobile disco party on the way back down the deserted A3.

anyway, putting aside all the excitement of their glorious and partially-well-earned but official-assisted victory over a striker-free Spurs for a moment, how's that debt clearance going? Has the new owner put £60M on the table yet or are they still on course for a decade or two in the wilderness? you can put a dirty old tramp in a new kit but he's still a dirty old tramp.

West Ham have ruined everything, it just doesn't scan anymore. 'Gone down, gone down, Pompey's gone down with no money' etc...and as for, 'gone down, gone down, got knocked out of the cup by a tax evading dodgy car dealer and got relegated in one disatrous weekend, with no money in the bank' - that ain't no Lennon and McCartney. Nice concept though, I'd buy the album.

there's a general feeling that they should be despatched to the conference or worse and until that happens many here will consider that they have got away with it. I still believe they are in BIG trouble but we have yet to see decent progress on that front, until we see real sanctions the 'toast' debate will smoulder on. I'm sure the unusual and timely appointment of a new ceo isn't a blatant attempt to buy off the main FA investigator, that would be a ridiculous allegation. Though it does look like the prosecution's lead solicitor has just changed sides mid-investigation. And from today's papers there are concerns about these new contract issues and that Pompey will field a weakened side from Monday. 1. This would not be weakened but their real side, one that isn't artificially-strengthened through financial irregularity. 2. I think it will be shown in their starting line up tomorrow that they have been resting players in the league for the last month, thus breaking further Prem rules. 3. As Avram states he doesn't know about these contract issues, he must be very thick. Hopefully Harry will walk into town dressed as Judge Dredd and issue justice on the pitch. Bale to Crouch, get in there!

'I intend to bring some stability and transparency to operations' said the new ceo... Do what?? - Transparency's the last thing they need with money laundering, 'unusual' player activity and financial irregularities still on the go, AA will go up the wall when he sees that. Lampitt must have been brought in to try and cover up the criminality not to advertise it. I sense a new comedy chapter opening up, the fact that he was responsible for integrity is funny enough for starters. Lampitt's diary notes for the next week - Day one - seems like a friendly club, we should be able to turn things round. Day two - got relegated. Day three - got hammered out of the cup. Day four - had the fraud squad knock the front door in at 6am, then AA sold half the squad for peanuts, fan unrest. Day five - went for a farewell bash with Avram and got arrested by the vice squad, had to evict Storrie from my office. Day six - had death threats from the Russian mafia, after lunch we gave away the other half of the squad, fan protests gathering pace. Day seven - my Mondeo was blown up by Israeli secret service, also had some bad news from HMRC, and Lens, and Portpin, and Gaydamak, and Sol Campbell. Day eight - called the FA and asked if they've filled my post yet.

In future when new roads and closes are adopted in the city, rather than being named after councillors, former mayors etc I would rather see the names of people who have given their lives serving the community recognised. It would be a small gesture by the council but it would send a firm message to the two families that their loved ones would always be remembered in the city.

the agents and football creditor amounts seem to have climbed steeply since the last count up, have their traditional transfer contacts thought up a new way of getting cash via false invoicing? And a tip for AA - writing 'disputed' in brackets doesn't make it go away. That red herring that gathers more interest every day is based on restructuring the way that VAT itself is run in this country and will cost a couple of million in legal fees just to pursue, let alone win, which they won't. Lucky they have that squad worth £38M or it could look like they've been trading insolvently for six months, cheating on the pitch, misleading the Prem and the FA for gain, and the directors would be facing prison sentences. And the forensic accounting - this was AA's first job, surely he couldn't do anything else without knowing the detail and history. Odd that it only starts now....

all these positive stories, the players miraculously throwing away crutches, running off fractured cheekbones etc, and the captivating 'is he/isn't he' Dindane-hype is aimed at one thing - selling tickets that they can't shift, to dim people. 'Fortress Fratton', 'the siege mentality', 'Pompey til they die' - it's all rubbish aimed at motivating the hard of thinking. The facts show that the fans have already abandoned ship, the players still aren't good enough, and AA isn't a real administrator, he's just buying time as he works to get Chanrai his and the child-maimer's monies back - this game is his last big opportunity. So while it's lovely to hear all of the team news, can we just get back to the real issue and check up on how the whole 'paying off the massive debt thang' is progressing?...... Whether Dinadane or Messi plays for them is irrelevant - they need a billionaire not a gutsy showing in a cup game. I thought Pardew's jacket and tracksuit combination nearly worked at Wembley, has Avram selected himself a nice Thai for the weekend?

So these are the recent developments - Mystery billionaire approaches Lloyd to front his bid and protect his identity - plausible. Lloyd takes this on with promise of money or a role in the new era - yeah, I get that.Backer sobers up and decides it's a crazy idea - very plausible. Lloyd continues without the funding for no apparent reason, then stumbles across a second billionaire - for me, this is where it starts to fall down... For a bloke whose own company is in big trouble he has quite a knack of plucking dim billionaires out of nowhere. We have either a man who wants a free day out at Wembley and a bit of an ego boost, or a shrewd player who knows billionaires aplenty and has the skills to negotiate them through the worst set of accounts they will ever see.

when they have idiots like Hertz Van Rental playing at the back they are doomed. On a yellow card, a week from Wembley, let's blatantly stick my arm out to stop an attack and see what occurs.... If he wasn't so dim he would realise that the chances of someone with his talent ever playing in such a big game again are remote, yet if they had lost 25-0 to Blackburn it would not make a jot of a difference to their season. Criminal management, stupid players - they are still on a suicide mission to get to the conference asap.

Redknapp is so predictable, we will now have a week of 'it's a great club, 'triffick' fans, they'll be back, Avram's done a tremendous job' hype, while Avram will join in with his 'it's unfair, we will fight to the last breath, the fans are fantastic, I want to stay, it's not our fault' claims. The funny thing is -they haven't shown any fight, the fans have abandoned ship, it is their fault, it's not a great club, Avram has done a woeful job, he doesn't want to stay, and they won't be back. Keep talking boys and we will keep chuckling along!

and let's not fall for the hype about 'poor Pompey' now being forced to field a weakened team, this is their real team we are just starting to see. They have been trading insolvently for six months now so they have played an illegally-strengthened team for 30 games. In fact they still have a couple of players who shouldn't be playing, either dodgy signings via that blatantly inaccurate paperwork presented to the Prem, or for the crazy wages that should have gone to creditors. Go on Avram, spin that into something positive, and while you are being measured up for the 'spirit of Pompey' statue you might want to explain to the Blue Very Few why your league record is worse than that of Tony Adams.

Suddenly it all makes sense. He must be the UK money man behind Pompey's Lloyd consortium, a figure who wants to keep a low profile until the deal is done. Rix back as manager, Glitter as the chairman, a new emphasis on the academy....and if there's enough money in it Storrie will also want to be in his gang, his gang, his gang.

We've been very fortunate, and I'm pleased for our saviour that he had a day out with his camera last week. The main positive that I saw at Wembley was the number of kids and families enjoying the day. Yes there were a few people who hadn't been to a game since 2005 and I even saw a Rasiak shirt, BUT by winning last Sunday in front of those kids we may have just secured the next generation of fanbase. Markus must be very pleased with his investment thus far, and so he should be, IMO NC and AP are doing pretty well. Last year I really feared we might go under, not because I'm a doom and gloom merchant but because I have a basic grasp of how business works - it was a close call and anyone who disagrees must be considering buying Pompey as it looks like a little goldmine... But for anyone who saw the club in its death throes in those games against Charlton and Burnley, we owe ML enormous thanks - the guy's a legend.

I think the wheels of Karma justice are starting to turn, I see a squad depleting to the level it should have been all season, and there seems little sign of debt-clearance or new ownership. And I still can't believe that they paid the 3rd choice keeper £5000 a minute to sit on a bench!

no.3 keeper Niemi on £14K a week?! Fair play to him, that must have been more than when he was playing in the Premier League prior to his first retirement. He can't be accused of not doing his bit to bring them down. Tomorrow will be interesting as whatever wind-ups are printed, they can't be funnier than the everyday news we've seen for the last six months. Thankfully everyday is practical joke day to the east.

you can't knock their commitment, while some Hartlepool fans couldn't be bothered, Pompey still remain the only club to have brought their entire fanbase to St Marys. And between them the Few had six different types of DNA. With travelling support like the 300 who went to Coventry or the 390 that went to Liverpool, I'm sure the missing 249,600+ will snap up the opportunity to further worship their hero Redknapp at Wembley - after all it's a proper trophy where only big clubs get to the final. Ask any Millwall or Cardiff fan.

Managing legend Avram would have no problem getting another job - if it wasn't for the fact that his league record at pompey must now be worse that that of Tony Adams. (our stattos can check that out) Some fans don't seem to let those facts get in the way of having a new man to worship so you can judge fans by their heroes, whether they be Bates, Le Tissier, Keegan, Liebherr or Redknapp, Grant, Fahim and Storrie.

they made no attempt to address debt, they made no attempt to sell players, now AA is making no attempt to sell the business. The first question from any prospective buyer would be the details of the debt. But AA hasn't got those figures yet....even though that should have been the second job on this first morning - after sacking Storrie. As he's an impartial administrator and not a puppet for an arms dealing money-laundering consortium, when's he going to start administrating??

Through injuries and loan agreements Pompey now seem to be losing a few of those players who shouldn't have been playing at all. It will now be interesting to see how good they look with the youth team approach forced on every other club that has suffered financial problems. Karma. Has the balance between football rivals ever tipped as much and as quickly as this one seems to be doing?

mine's gone, as did my opportunity to post replies when I needed to because I'm mean - good luck all.

I have one spare ticket at cost - A good one in Block 134. Post a contact on here if you need it.

They weren't meant to be paying loan fees. More importantly there were a couple of VERY unusual instances of players buying themselves out of contracts thus becoming available as an unregistered player for Pompey to sign. On another day the passing of money from club through player to second club could be defined as 'a transfer', bypassing the ban. I suspect they have been cheating the system, and AA has the evidence, it just depends on whether his boss wants him to reveal it. So yes, it does appear that they are Cheats.

Funny that -I thought the O'Hara contract was so binding that even the court-approved (!) administrator can't cancel it to protect creditors - do we now discover that it can be re-written at any point? Another drum of worms spills out across the Fratton Park lino. Harry will say - 'they're a great club, great fans, he's a great player, I would help if I could but my hands are tied, it's with the guys upstairs, it will be a fantastic occasion, they are a very difficult team to beat, Avram's doing a tremendous job'. Harry will mean - 'feck off, I'm manager of Spurs and I don't care what happens to anyone else, the weaker your excuse for a team is, the happier I am'. And on this occasion, he will be right.

how on earth could they get it to £100M??....Staggering if true. An ambitious new owner would now need to find £100M to clear debt, £10M for the land, £50M for players, £10M for training ground, £100M for a new stadium, £100M for two years wages, so by 2012 they will be overcoming points penalties and bouncing back to the Premier League with a decent squad and a new ground. Cost - £370M though they could cut corners and do it for only £280M? By then the tv money will kick back in, the revenue streams will open up with the bigger capacity and the business will be solvent! Unless of course they fund this amazing turnaround through borrowing....... Alternatively you could just buy a controlling interest in Manchester United. With the money that has already gone through the club it now means they paid approx £175M for a 1-0 win over a bankrupt mid-table championship club - what great value for money!