Torrent Of Abuse

I was wondering when exactly a relegated side leaves the jurisdiction of the Premier League and joins the Football League. Does anyone know? Is it an automatic process which is triggered on the final whistle of the final game or is there a period where one organisation hands over responsibility to another? I remember from playing the old Championship Manager (may she rest in peace) that whilst relegation was decided instantly, the divisions only updated to show promotions and relegations after 30th June. Was this based on any real rules or just the way the game worked? It seems to be the same with football websites. A site like BBC Sport shows relegated teams and promoted teams unmoved throughout the summer until a point (probably when the new fixture list comes out) when everything gets updated. I only ask because of P*mpey's current plight. If they went into admin after the last game, would their punishment be meted out by the Premier League or the Football League? For one thing, the penalty is 9 points in the Premier League and 10 in the Football League. Which penalty would a freshly relegated team get? Would it be better to enter admin before the final whistle than after? Also, if P*mpey went into admin but were still officially under the auspices of the Premier League, would they actually be allowed to apply a penalty to a club which isn't in the Premier League any more? Can they deduct Football League points or only Premier League points? I know it sounds like hair-splitting but knowing those dodgy b*stards, it's just the sort of loop-hole they'd challenge.

http://mypompey.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/01/28/another-winding-up-petition.aspx "...a full on wet kiss with a tank of hungry piranhas..." Well, as a Pompey fan, he would pick that metaphor wouldn't he?

Well Avram does have a record of scoring in a SO postcode. Not sure we can be bought off the same way though

Steve, what would be the cost if they replaced the videos with hand-drawn pictures of the action as drawn by members of the crowd? Might be a nice little cost-saving measure there. They could also probably ask for part of the fee for reproducing the fixture list to be returned: there's no point in paying to show fixtures past February.

Which is a significant slice of your problem. You're a club which has spent the last few years living as a top end Premiership club yet you can only reliably call on the support (and therefore income) of a Championship club. We, conversely, are a League One club but we can (and do) call on the support worthy of at least a Championship club and probably more like a respectable Premiership one, so the idea of a self-supporting club actually fits. You'll need a sugar daddy for some time, I think. We had a hard time managing finances with the Stadium mortgage chewing up a significant slice of our income. It took one bad season to kill us. You're feeling the same heat With your loans and you've bought nothing truly concrete. It's just a matter of time before it cooks you. You may not care about attendances, but they will have a significant effect on your club's future. Whether that plays well on the PO postcodes or not won't make a bit of difference.

If only Osama wasn't too busy at the World Hide & Seek Championships.

Just don't throw them on the pitch in front of OUR goal. Remember Liverpool v Sunderland(?)...

Bet the f**kers will bring a full complement of subs this time. ;-) You'll never play here a-gain... You'll never play here a-gain...

A Monday press conference features Mark Jacobs strongly appealing for the transfer embargo to be lifted due to a mysterious Arab businessman investing millions in the club. By 2pm it turns out to be a small short term loan from Chinrai. Udinese call up mid press conference to ask where their money is. Jacobs points out the window to an imaginary escaped bear and runs for the emergency exit when no-one is looking.

Perhaps no-one in Portsmouth can afford to get to the game because a file wasn't loaded at the bank so nobody got paid?

Undoubtedly they COULD survive. The bottom of the table is so tight and the teams down there so comparatively weak, that a bit of a good run could save them... but at what price? The debt is not getting any smaller and, as the Williamson transfer shows, even something as simple as selling a player doesn't always fix things. So aren't they just doing the same old Pompey thing - deferring problems for another day?

We'll get either Fulham or Spurs away (after they despatch Leeds) Skates will get Cardiff at home. Replay of 2008 final, but with a very different Pompey. Four days after the HMRC winding up hearing. Emotional times? Of course, I'd prefer it the other way around: Saints home v Cardiff Skates home v Spurs. Just think of the warm reception for big spending Uncle Harry, former captain of the sinking ship... :)

So I'm guessing Udinese threatened arbitration simply to force Pompey's hand?or do we get another story on Monday? Like a denial from Udinese? How does this actually help Pompey aside from confusing things further? Even if the PL paid ALL the money to Portpin, how would Pompey cover the transfer debts that this money was going to pay off? Chelsea in particular were not happy to be out of pocket. What about the money due to Watford at the end of the month? It's insane. We've already seen that the Emperor is actually stark b*llock naked. Who do they think they can kid? Why would they push to sell Williamson at a loss if they were confident of getting new funds and winning their legal battles? Is this really a plan to get a week's worth of signing players who they cannot pay? Surely they are just delaying the inevitable. At least the PL seem to be holding their ground. Only another 9 days, boys.

If no-one else forgives you, I will... I remember the 3-1 against Man Utd in '96. I was just trying to get everyone singing "We beat the scum 3-0" when up popped Ryan Giggs. Oops. Red face... ;-)

The thing is, if the team who get the bye go on to win the cup, they will be made to feel like they won the cup by default - on the cheap - because another team couldn't play their game, not because they actually won a fixture. This is completely different to winning the cup with a team you can't possibly afford. That's somehow regarded as ok. Strange to see the Telegraph article taking pity on Pompey and criticising Sol Campbell. After all, if Pompey had played fairly financially, maybe Cardiff would have won the final and had their european tour and they wouldn't be in financial meltdown too. It's not just a cup final they stole.

Pompey will soon be the Pompey of League 1...

But I thought you were worried about the amount we were spending? Surely you of all people would want to know? You can't make a judgement about how much or how little we are spending if you don't know what we are spending. Can you?

Perhaps they were still working under the principle that they wouldn't have to repay the money as it was only one of those pesky footballing debts. Or would this debt just join the back of the queue so older ones can really get paid? I did see something which suggested Williamson was due a payment because he didn't request the transfer. Any news about this? Trying not to laugh at PFC (given out recent flirtation with annihilation) but they make it so tough...

I wonder if those in charge before saw Al Faraj as a way to kiss all their money mismanagement problems goodbye. I mean, who would care if they got themselves £60m into debt if the guy brought £100m or more? Who would turn up asking questions about dodgy payments with all that other money sloshing around? Of course, now the new guys don't actually have a pot to p*ss in so it makes them all look bad. And the old guard are trying to make the new boys look bad for not bringing money whereas the new boys accuse the old guard of getting the club deep into debt. Politics. Don't you love it?

Hmmm. So a set of accounts, which are embarrassing to Al Faraj, get 'discovered' in a bin. A couple of days later, the finance director, who had been side-lined by Al Faraj, quits. Coincidence?

Haven't checked the previous (many many) pages to see if this link has been posted already. Interesting stuff. http://www.fansonline.net/pompey-fans/article.php?id=158 So... not one single bean invested since the takeover then? Interesting to see that the leaked accounts contradict the new owners. So P*mpey are in the same position we were last year, where differing factions leak information to show up the other instead of coming right out and showing their hands. Oh how I miss those days........ not.

He may have just got a slight knock in training. It may be the club who are looking to haul him in to see someone who will tell them that it would stop him playing for a bit (and hence be covered by insurance). No defrauding going on. If you feel a little under the weather and feel you're still ok for work but the doctor gives you a sick note, it's not fraud to take the day off work. Anyway, I'm just musing... Interesting that Jacobs mentioned insurance. It's obviously something which is at the forefront of people's minds at FP. So either they are looking to use it to their advantage or they haven't paid it. Both are possible in Pompeyland.

Of course, the terms of player insurance could mean they get a payout if a top player gets injured. I wonder if that could be linked to David James getting "injured"? They don't want to play him. They don't want to pay him. Every little helps.

Also, I think the demise of PFC will actually set relations between the two cities back. The real hatred seems to bubble up while we are not playing each other. That knuckleheaded element won't simply go away but it will probably just find another outlet. An AFC Portsmouth could be a much bitterer animal by the time it comes back to the league. Even now, for every finger pointing the blame at the current owners, another seems to point at the PL, as if it is they who are holding Portsmouth back by puzzlingly insisting bills are settled and players paid. With the benefit of a few years of stewing, you can imagine that the story will mutate and that more and more blame will fall on those outside of Fratton Park when the real blame lies firmly inside. As rivals (and, critically, untouchable rivals - as we would be if Pompey had to leave the league and start again) we would be first port of call for any bitterness emanating from the southern end of the M27.

If Pompey did go under, what would happen to the architects of their demise? I can see Storrie (convicted or acquitted) washing his hands of all blame for this, claiming that the damage was done after he moved on and lost control of the running of the club. The Arabs, Israelis and Russians will disappear into the shadows from whence they seem to have sprung. Redknapp will still be spending someone else's millions making expensive signings for clubs eager to buy into the dream, making a very nice little pot while doing so. Jacobs will be in court somewhere selling more snake oil. The only change will be that there isn't a professional fulltime football club with a PO postcode. Over 100 years of history will become just that... history... and who, if anyone, will be held to account? I don't see anyone writing our brief history of administration and I don't think anyone will write a history of Pompey's... at least not a fully truthful one. Like their accounts, there are just to many unknowns, untruths and inaccuracies. Where is the justice for the people who will actually deserve taking down? I doubt there will be any. The ordinary fans will pay the price as usual. Sure we'll be able to mock those loud mouths who gave us sh*t when we were on trouble but somehow I think the real payoff would be seeing those really responsible being taken down - and I just can't see that happen...