Pompey Takeover Saga

[benjii]

It's about time the Premier League threw the book at these scum.

 

How can it be fair on clubs like Bolton and Hull who are trying to work within a budget and cant afford the England goalkeeper or to pay 80K a week in wages to some African. They are cheating plain and simple.

 

They are one of the highest wage payers I think.

 

The simple fact is that small clubs (Hull, Pompey, Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Fulham, Birmingham City, Burnley etc) can't afford to be in the Premier League unless a rich person is willing to subsidise them.

 

Hopefully there will be a natural correction and within the next few years those clubs will be replaced by Forest, Derby, Wednesday, Saints etc...

[Eastcowzer]

They are one of the highest wage payers I think.

 

The simple fact is that small clubs (Hull, Pompey, Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Fulham, Birmingham City, Burnley etc) can't afford to be in the Premier League unless a rich person is willing to subsidise them.

 

Hopefully there will be a natural correction and within the next few years those clubs will be replaced by Forest, Derby, Wednesday, Saints etc...

 

This all boils down to the fact that the EPL is an over-rated entity and is run purely for the benefit of the so called 'big four' and Sky.

Most of the 'football' provided, is pure dross, and why any sane person would want to be part of it is beyond me

[Fowllyd]

The link to the front page of Guardian Sports has already been posted but there's another interesting article in the inside pages:

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/dec/31/portsmouth-gordon-taylor-premier-league

 

Apologies if this has already been posted.

 

That's a very interesting piece indeed - thanks for posting the link. I found these paragraphs both enlightening and astounding:

 

The latest threat hanging over Fratton Park is that the club will become the first in the Premier League to enter administration, which the governing body's chief executive, Richard Scudamore, is conscious would damage the brand.

 

Yet Gloucester Place is relaxed about that prospect, believing Portsmouth will avoid administration by selling enough players in the January transfer window, which opens at midnight, to pay off the £10m owed to fellow English clubs for outstanding transfer fees required to lift the embargo, and muddle through.

 

It seems from this that the powers that be at Pompey aren't the only ones burying their heads as deep in the sand as they'll go. Muddle through? With the debts they have? A few million from player sales will make a small dent in that, plus they must surely be losing money hand over fist every week.

 

It seems to me that those posters on here who reckoned that the PL are hoping that Pompey survive the season and are relegated, thus handing their particular red-hot potato to the Football League, are spot on.

[benjii]

This all boils down to the fact that the EPL is an over-rated entity and is run purely for the benefit of the so called 'big four' and Sky.

Most of the 'football' provided, is pure dross, and why any sane person would want to be part of it is beyond me

 

Yeah, you're right most leagues are much better.

[benjii]

Why would the PL do anything?

 

Ok - it would be a bit embarrassing if Pompey go into admin or are wound-up but what's the alternative? Help them out? Well, we don't want that happneing as it's unfair.

 

Either they let events take their course (they already have fairly robust provisions in place to protect industry creditors) or they help them out.

 

I'm not sure quite what action people expect them to take.

[rallyboy]

was the arms dealer promised the Sky money and he now realises he isn't going to see it?

I see no other reason for him paying wages for a business that cannot repay his outstanding debt, it must have been a short term emergency loan -of course he doesn't want to lose the lot but there's no sign of any significant future income.

And before you say 'the next load of tv cash', it's all secured and promised already, it's gone.

The business, and I use the term loosely, has no proper revenue stream, gate money and sponsorship don't cover the interest payments or one player's wages.

The arms dealer is trying to minimise his losses but with no sign of any income he might be getting restless and trigger happy quite soon....

[benjii]

was the arms dealer promised the Sky money and he now realises he isn't going to see it?

I see no other reason for him paying wages for a business that cannot repay his outstanding debt, it must have been a short term emergency loan -of course he doesn't want to lose the lot but there's no sign of any significant future income.

And before you say 'the next load of tv cash', it's all secured and promised already, it's gone.

The business, and I use the term loosely, has no proper revenue stream, gate money and sponsorship don't cover the interest payments or one player's wages.

The arms dealer is trying to minimise his losses but with no sign of any income he might be getting restless and trigger happy quite soon....

 

He says he is guarantor for the Barclays debt; he's on the hook legally whether he likes it or not. Seems like he couldn't get Fahim to assume that liability.

[saint lard]

I get thie distinct impression they will get away with all this financial mismanagment and somehow escape punishment free.

I also think alot of 'behind closed doors' meetings with various parties,incuding the Premier league,will go along way for both them and the PL to save face.

 

I hope i am wrong however.

[trousers]

I get thie distinct impression they will get away with all this financial mismanagment and somehow escape punishment free.

I also think alot of 'behind closed doors' meetings with various parties,incuding the Premier league,will go along way for both them and the PL to save face.

 

I hope i am wrong however.

 

I'm coming to the same conclusion

[Under Weststand]

Just a thought I heard that if they missed payments today then any player can go for free, is this not correct!!! Why would a club pay pompy when they could temp the player away esp if he cost the 6 mill that one of them wants.

Could be very very wrong this is more of a question.

According to a reporter on Sky News they were interviewing this morning, he said if the players don't receive payment of wages on Tuesday, then the players can Issue the club with a 14-day termination of contract. Now whether that means the club have 14-days to pay up, or that the players can just walk after said 14 day notification I'm not sure. but the reporter this morning seemed to indicate that they could walk away if payment not made.

Edited 1 January, 2010 by Under Weststand

[Under Weststand]

I get thie distinct impression they will get away with all this financial mismanagment and somehow escape punishment free.

I also think alot of 'behind closed doors' meetings with various parties,incuding the Premier league,will go along way for both them and the PL to save face.

 

I hope i am wrong however.

Whilst I can't argue with that sentiment SL, the Lens involvement this morning could put a spanner in there works. They wont be able to just brush them off. And I don't see UEFA & FIFA being disposed to helping the EPL out. I just think that they will try to help them through until the end of the season let nature take its course with relegation & they can then pass the mess onto the FL & breath a huge sigh of relief & Wash their grubby little hands of them.

[Weston Saint]

Fair comment from a Portsmouth Supporter

 

As Portsmouth Football Club prepares to 'celebrate' New Year bottom of the league, facing a winding up order from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and having just announced for the third time in four months it is unable to pay its salary bill on time fans can be forgiven for wondering what on earth is going on.

 

Understandably fans want a focus for the frustration they feel at having seen the best team in half a century - and FA Cup winners less than two years ago - decimated and the fragile bond between club and supporter potentially irreparably damaged.

 

While fans chanting for 'their' club back, miss the fact that PFC has been a private limited company since its inception in 1898, they nevertheless have a point.

 

Since 1972 PFC has been the plaything of sole owners. John Deacon, Jim Gregory, Milan Mandaric and Sacha Gaydamak can all be placed in the by-and-large 'benign' dictator category.

 

Whatever the ups and downs on and off the field, fans at least knew who was in charge, made their discontent known when things were going wrong and administered the (sometimes grudging) praise when it was due.

 

Even the hapless son of Jim, Martin Gregory, tried. Inheriting a loss-making business he had little or no interest in, his ill-fated, but well-intentioned, partnership with Terry Venables and Eddie Ashby ended in recrimination and ultimate administration in 1999.

 

Plus ça change. Since August 2009 we have moved into uncharted territory, however.

 

In many ways it is hard not to feel sorry for Sulaiman Al Fahim.

 

This man is genuinely desperately keen to do 'right' by Portsmouth Football Club and its fans.

 

He will argue, plausibly, that he had a deal with Gaydamak and was on course to meet his commitments and timescales for refinancing the club by the end of 2009.

 

When push came to shove however, he was unwilling or unable able to come up with the cash to see off the persistent bid of the 'Ali Al Faraj' group. Al Fahim's consolation prize was the Chairmanship and a ten per cent stake.

 

Some fans have asked why Al Fahim has yet to inject his '£50 million'. If he has the money, to be honest, he is wise to keep it in his pocket as things stand, but more of that later.

 

The reason Al Fahim sold out so quickly can be largely laid at Peter Storrie's door. Seduced by Al Faraj's promises and frustrated by Al Fahim's evident innocence in the murky old world of top level professional football, he believed this group provided a better and more sustainable future.

 

A desperate time called for desperate measures. An impending wage bill in September had to be met so he acted. Fans groups were mobilised and Al Fahim was bounced into selling.

 

Storrie has his critics among Pompey fans, but much of it is unjust. His partnerships with both Mandaric and Gaydamak have seen PFC progress on and off the field at a rate few could have imagined ten years ago.

 

He is widely respected in football circles and his contacts book has invariably helped the club out of many a cashflow crisis over years. Portsmouth FC is an established Premier League club because of Storrie, not in spite of him.

 

His reputation is undoubtedly compromised however, by the fact he has publicly backed not one, but two 'rich' Arabs in six months and for one reason and another, neither have come up trumps.

 

But the truth is that since Storrie was sidelined from the day-to-day financial side by 'Al Faraj', PFC has collapsed like a pack of cards.

 

The reason PFC can't pay its wage bill, the taxman or assorted football clubs across England and the continent, is because the owners - whoever they are - don't have the cash or credit needed to finance it properly.

 

More worryingly, this is inspite of a loan of at least £18 million, maybe more, from Hong Kong-based businessman Balram Chainrai since October. If you throw in the £5 million Al Fahim invested for his ten per cent and £2.5 million Gaydamak paid to Barclays Bank in December, PFC has received the benefit of at least £25 million since September. That excludes any other revenue.

 

And yet the club can't pay a £1.9m wage bill on time every month? Extraordinary.

 

The spokesman for the 'Al Faraj' group Mark Jacob has hinted in the Guardian this week the blame lies with the previous regime. The statement on the official site contesting Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs' winding up peition is more explicit, citing the 'difficult position following former owners' decisions'.

 

One might be more inclined to believe this if we only knew who the current owners are. But we don't.

 

Besides, Jacob will no doubt understand one legal term which sticks in my mind from my business law days: Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware. Passing the buck simply doesn't wash.

 

Sacha Gaydamak, Sulaiman Al Fahim and Peter Storrie, three of the principal players in this drama (or is that farce?) have publicly come out and explained their positions. Jockeying for PR advantage? Of course they are.

 

However, all the new owners have mustered thus far is a Spurs-supporting lawyer as spokesman and a convicted fraudster who is 'advising' the club on how to deal with its debts.

 

Few of Pompey's previous owners would have had the barefaced gall to treat this club's supporters with the utter lack of respect the new 'owners' have displayed so far.

 

Ali Al Faraj, it is time to reveal who you are. If you are not prepared to face the scrutiny of fans and media alike as 'your' club lurches from catastrophe to crisis and back again, there is only one conclusion to be drawn.

 

You are not fit to run our club.

Colin Farmery chairman of the PVA (Portsmouth Virtual Alliance), a group of websites affiliated to Portsmouth Football Club.

[Colinjb]

Fair comment from a Portsmouth Supporter

 

As Portsmouth Football Club prepares to 'celebrate' New Year bottom of the league, facing a winding up order from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and having just announced for the third time in four months it is unable to pay its salary bill on time fans can be forgiven for wondering what on earth is going on.

 

Understandably fans want a focus for the frustration they feel at having seen the best team in half a century - and FA Cup winners less than two years ago - decimated and the fragile bond between club and supporter potentially irreparably damaged.

 

While fans chanting for 'their' club back, miss the fact that PFC has been a private limited company since its inception in 1898, they nevertheless have a point.

 

Since 1972 PFC has been the plaything of sole owners. John Deacon, Jim Gregory, Milan Mandaric and Sacha Gaydamak can all be placed in the by-and-large 'benign' dictator category.

 

Whatever the ups and downs on and off the field, fans at least knew who was in charge, made their discontent known when things were going wrong and administered the (sometimes grudging) praise when it was due.

 

Even the hapless son of Jim, Martin Gregory, tried. Inheriting a loss-making business he had little or no interest in, his ill-fated, but well-intentioned, partnership with Terry Venables and Eddie Ashby ended in recrimination and ultimate administration in 1999.

 

Plus ça change. Since August 2009 we have moved into uncharted territory, however.

 

In many ways it is hard not to feel sorry for Sulaiman Al Fahim.

 

This man is genuinely desperately keen to do 'right' by Portsmouth Football Club and its fans.

 

He will argue, plausibly, that he had a deal with Gaydamak and was on course to meet his commitments and timescales for refinancing the club by the end of 2009.

 

When push came to shove however, he was unwilling or unable able to come up with the cash to see off the persistent bid of the 'Ali Al Faraj' group. Al Fahim's consolation prize was the Chairmanship and a ten per cent stake.

 

Some fans have asked why Al Fahim has yet to inject his '£50 million'. If he has the money, to be honest, he is wise to keep it in his pocket as things stand, but more of that later.

 

The reason Al Fahim sold out so quickly can be largely laid at Peter Storrie's door. Seduced by Al Faraj's promises and frustrated by Al Fahim's evident innocence in the murky old world of top level professional football, he believed this group provided a better and more sustainable future.

 

A desperate time called for desperate measures. An impending wage bill in September had to be met so he acted. Fans groups were mobilised and Al Fahim was bounced into selling.

 

Storrie has his critics among Pompey fans, but much of it is unjust. His partnerships with both Mandaric and Gaydamak have seen PFC progress on and off the field at a rate few could have imagined ten years ago.

 

He is widely respected in football circles and his contacts book has invariably helped the club out of many a cashflow crisis over years. Portsmouth FC is an established Premier League club because of Storrie, not in spite of him.

 

His reputation is undoubtedly compromised however, by the fact he has publicly backed not one, but two 'rich' Arabs in six months and for one reason and another, neither have come up trumps.

 

But the truth is that since Storrie was sidelined from the day-to-day financial side by 'Al Faraj', PFC has collapsed like a pack of cards.

 

The reason PFC can't pay its wage bill, the taxman or assorted football clubs across England and the continent, is because the owners - whoever they are - don't have the cash or credit needed to finance it properly.

 

More worryingly, this is inspite of a loan of at least £18 million, maybe more, from Hong Kong-based businessman Balram Chainrai since October. If you throw in the £5 million Al Fahim invested for his ten per cent and £2.5 million Gaydamak paid to Barclays Bank in December, PFC has received the benefit of at least £25 million since September. That excludes any other revenue.

 

And yet the club can't pay a £1.9m wage bill on time every month? Extraordinary.

 

The spokesman for the 'Al Faraj' group Mark Jacob has hinted in the Guardian this week the blame lies with the previous regime. The statement on the official site contesting Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs' winding up peition is more explicit, citing the 'difficult position following former owners' decisions'.

 

One might be more inclined to believe this if we only knew who the current owners are. But we don't.

 

Besides, Jacob will no doubt understand one legal term which sticks in my mind from my business law days: Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware. Passing the buck simply doesn't wash.

 

Sacha Gaydamak, Sulaiman Al Fahim and Peter Storrie, three of the principal players in this drama (or is that farce?) have publicly come out and explained their positions. Jockeying for PR advantage? Of course they are.

 

However, all the new owners have mustered thus far is a Spurs-supporting lawyer as spokesman and a convicted fraudster who is 'advising' the club on how to deal with its debts.

 

Few of Pompey's previous owners would have had the barefaced gall to treat this club's supporters with the utter lack of respect the new 'owners' have displayed so far.

 

Ali Al Faraj, it is time to reveal who you are. If you are not prepared to face the scrutiny of fans and media alike as 'your' club lurches from catastrophe to crisis and back again, there is only one conclusion to be drawn.

 

You are not fit to run our club.

Colin Farmery chairman of the PVA (Portsmouth Virtual Alliance), a group of websites affiliated to Portsmouth Football Club.

 

Unbelievable, absolutely no acceptance that the foundations for the 'best team in 50 years' had been built on sand in the first place. No acceptance that the club was punching dreadfully above it's natural place in the pecking order. No acceptance that the policy of overspending was always risky at best.

 

May their wake up call be long, drawn out and horribly painful for their deluded repugnant fanbase.

[Saint_clark]

"But the truth is that since Storrie was sidelined from the day-to-day financial side by 'Al Faraj', PFC has collapsed like a pack of cards."

 

Yes, because ALL of your debts were created after Al Faraj bought you. Including the fee owed for Glen Johnson.

[Micky]

Unbelievable, absolutely no acceptance that the foundations for the 'best team in 50 years' had been built on sand in the first place. No acceptance that the club was punching dreadfully above it's natural place in the pecking order. No acceptance that the policy of overspending was always risky at best.

 

May their wake up call be long, drawn out and horribly painful for their deluded repugnant fanbase.

 

You make a good point, but the fans can in some ways be excused for not caring or questioning where the funds were coming from. They (rightly or wrongly) expect those charged with running the club to do so prudently, and with good business principles and accumen.

 

The FAPL should be the ones open to question about this whole sorry affair as they are the ones who should have been taking a 'business' eye view on procedings at Pompey and not a 'fans' eye view. They appear now to be taking 'an interest' once the iceburg has been hit - and we all know the outcome of that, don't we?

[ottery st mary]

Unbelievable, absolutely no acceptance that the foundations for the 'best team in 50 years' had been built on sand in the first place. No acceptance that the club was punching dreadfully above it's natural place in the pecking order. No acceptance that the policy of overspending was always risky at best.

 

May their wake up call be long, drawn out and horribly painful for their deluded repugnant fanbase.

 

 

Buying 10 players and giving them 30-50 grand a week and then not being able to pay the clubs at the due payment dates. FA cup won by default...But this guy attaches no blame to Storrie, Redknapp or their agents. but still case loads of dosh go offshore.. Allegedly..very strange.

 

We all know Farag and Fahim have no money...even if Farag exists he is only a scam.....As for the Arms dealing family and the South African connections...

[ringwood]

as said earlier in this thread love the fact that ted is waving goodbye to them already from outside SMS , looks like one of the sports good guys is going to have the last laugh

[Doctoroncall]

Standard Bank,South African,i am led to believe.

 

http://www.standardbank.com/

 

Just catching up on posts, but standard bank started the ball rolling when wanting their cut in August and the first traunch of Sky money went to them, hence the bargin basement buys at the end of August.

[sidthesquid]

It still amazes how many players they signed at the end of Sept, none of whom by the sound of it have they paid for. It must be pretty close to fraudulent to be getting goods (ie players) without the means to pay for them. How did they get away with it just when we thought Eugene Bopp would be their star signing and how come th PL let them carry on signing players with no means of paying for them. I think the PL are just praying that they can limp on to relegation without too many questions asked

[L1Minus10]

I believe that the FA will do their best to gloss over it all and keep them running until they get relegated but the HMRC and Lens are **** all to do with the FA so if they go legal and demand payment and can prove that it's due and it's late, then it's out of the FA's hands and in the hands of the Courts of the land. I believe they are completely ****ed as things stand.

 

I wonder if it could happen that whoever owns Fratton Park, turns round and stops renting them using the ground due to monies owed. I mean, you default on your mortgage payments then you get re-possessed, if you don;t pay your rent you get evicted....

[Badger]

as said earlier in this thread love the fact that ted is waving goodbye to them already from outside SMS , looks like one of the sports good guys is going to have the last laugh

 

Ted was far too much of a gentleman to take delight in their plight.

 

Many of the rest of us aren't though...

[dune]

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Could this be the answer?

[Under Weststand]

Maybe this could be their answer http://www.quickquid.co.uk/ good interest rate Typical 2356% APR Sort out their pay day worries.

[NickG]

Palace just announced didn't have enough cash to pay players this month.

[jawillwill]

Palace just announced didn't have enough cash to pay players this month.

 

Why should it be Palace's responsibility to pay Pompey's players? The skate ****s have got some proper cheek asking for that.

[hypochondriac]

Positive article here:

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...ngland&cc=5739

 

I'm still worried they'll get away with it.

[Um Bongo]

Positive article here:

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...ngland&cc=5739

 

I'm still worried they'll get away with it.

 

It really wouldn't surprise me, would make all our gloating bite us back on the arse. You know what our luck is like.

[St Chalet]

This all boils down to the fact that the EPL is an over-rated entity and is run purely for the benefit of the so called 'big four' and Sky.

Most of the 'football' provided, is pure dross, and why any sane person would want to be part of it is beyond me

 

Positive article here:

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...ngland&cc=5739

 

I'm still worried they'll get away with it.

 

Maybe they will, Maybe be they won't. Irrespective they will probably still get relegated.

 

Interesting point in that article about naming rights for Fratton Park. That could be a whole Golden Thread of it's own with helpful suggestions from TSW.

[Whitey Grandad]

Let's call it Flattened Park.

[miserableoldgit]

It really wouldn't surprise me, would make all our gloating bite us back on the arse. You know what our luck is like.

Yes it`s really, really bad isn`t it??

[St Chalet]

It really wouldn't surprise me, would make all our gloating bite us back on the arse. You know what our luck is like.

 

Does any one remember the final scene in The Commitments where Wilson Pickett actually turns up after a whole film length of doubt?

 

Knowing our luck I'll be watching Sky Sports News on deadline day and Riquelme to the Skates will be the 11pm shock transfer.

[St Chalet]

Ocean Finance Park

[Colinjb]

The Saints Web Forum Stadium @ Fratton Park

 

That should go down well.

[Yeovil Saint]

The Saints Web Forum Stadium @ Fratton Park

 

That should go down well.

 

Simpler would be better, we could leave it what it's always been called... Krap nottarf

 

I'll pledge £1.54 that I've just found down the back of the sofa (10x the net worth of Al-Fahim) towards that.

[NickG]

Positive article here:

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...ngland&cc=5739

 

I'm still worried they'll get away with it.

 

its a little bit of "they would say that wouldn't they?" -they are keen to get as much money as possible for their players so can't sound too desperate.

 

Also their owners have had a solution days away for three months now.

[NickG]

The "Don't you wish this was St Marys" stadium.

[hypochondriac]

its a little bit of "they would say that wouldn't they?" -they are keen to get as much money as possible for their players so can't sound too desperate.

 

Also their owners have had a solution days away for three months now.

 

I do hope that's the case.

[Big John]

A very interesting conversation appears to be opening up on John Beech's own site recently. I understand that he is a Pompey fan who lectures at Coventry Uni (couls be wrong).

 

http://footballmanagement.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/how-much-more-benefaction-can-pompey-take/

 

Any programme collectors down the road might want to stock up on Saturday.

[Tamesaint]

Positive article here:

 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...ngland&cc=5739

 

I'm still worried they'll get away with it.

 

Who wrote that ?? The tooth fairy??

 

Naming rights - I am sure that in this time of global recession , multi mationals will be fighting amongst each other to get their name associated with the Fratton Park toilet bowl.

 

New kit supplier - presumably they are tied in till at least the end of this season with their current shirt supplier so don't expect too much revenue from that source this side of the summer.

 

Future season ticket revenue securitisation - well I suppose all their TV money is tied up paying back loans so season tickets are the only source open to them.... and exactly how many times can you mortgage Fratton Park???

 

The owners have paid tax arrears - well they haven't done a very good job so far. HMRCE are clearly not very happy.

 

 

Rest assured. Pompey are not going to escape from this. The longer they try to defy gravity, the worse the fall will be. The CCC will be far too high a league for them next season with all the penalties that will eventually come thier way. Enjoy watching the car crash whilst it is still going on.

Edited 1 January, 2010 by Tamesaint

[Saint in Paradise]

I wonder if the latest "owner" is actually a person who hates the Gaydamaks so much that he has set

all of this up just to bankrupt him ( Gaydamak ) ?

[PES]

You make a good point, but the fans can in some ways be excused for not caring or questioning where the funds were coming from. They (rightly or wrongly) expect those charged with running the club to do so prudently, and with good business principles and accumen.

 

The FAPL should be the ones open to question about this whole sorry affair as they are the ones who should have been taking a 'business' eye view on procedings at Pompey and not a 'fans' eye view. They appear now to be taking 'an interest' once the iceburg has been hit - and we all know the outcome of that, don't we?

 

This post has no place on this forum. Far too balanced.

[PES]

Fair comment from a Portsmouth Supporter

 

As Portsmouth Football Club prepares to 'celebrate' New Year bottom of the league, facing a winding up order from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and having just announced for the third time in four months it is unable to pay its salary bill on time fans can be forgiven for wondering what on earth is going on.

 

-SNIP-

 

Ali Al Faraj, it is time to reveal who you are. If you are not prepared to face the scrutiny of fans and media alike as 'your' club lurches from catastrophe to crisis and back again, there is only one conclusion to be drawn.

 

You are not fit to run our club.

Colin Farmery chairman of the PVA (Portsmouth Virtual Alliance), a group of websites affiliated to Portsmouth Football Club.

 

Colin Farmery is a very knowledgable Pompey fans and a genuinely good bloke. I'd say his is as accurate (Given the available info) as your liable to find.

[PES]

as said earlier in this thread love the fact that ted is waving goodbye to them already from outside SMS , looks like one of the sports good guys is going to have the last laugh

 

Sorry Ringwood but IMO this is a ****, stupid post. People like Ted Bates don't achieve great things by being equally as small minded, petty and childish as some on here, by lowering him to that level you do him a diservice. He would of been a man who enjoyed building things, not seeing things destroyed. No real football people at Pompey would of had anything but upmost respect and admiration for him, the handful of cretins who 'scummed' him wouldn't of even known who he was until he died.

[hypochondriac]

Sorry Ringwood but IMO this is a ****, stupid post. People like Ted Bates don't achieve great things by being equally as small minded, petty and childish as some on here, by lowering him to that level you do him a diservice. He would of been a man who enjoyed building things, not seeing things destroyed. No real football people at Pompey would of had anything but upmost respect and admiration for him, the handful of cretins who 'scummed' him wouldn't of even known who he was until he died.

 

TBF you don't actually know that...

[PES]

It really wouldn't surprise me, would make all our gloating bite us back on the arse. You know what our luck is like.

 

Dont worry it wont happen and despite what Dell Days et al say about Karma or 'What goes around comes around', has no bearing on things whatsoever. Pompey aren't cursed 'cos a few thousand dickheads laughed at Saints in their darkest hour, they're screwed due to irresponsible/dodgy dealings and massive overspending on players wages. Thankfully there is no Football God punishing the Smug gloaters, so gloat away, your on your own messageboard and no mystic higher power is judging you.

[rallyboy]

sorry pes, you seem a sensible bloke but we won't buy the 'handful', I was there and heard it, I also don't accept the fact that home fans' reactions were a factor or that Saints fans would have done the same in the circumstances - best you leave that one be, we all have our opinions on it.

 

Either way, Ted looks happy enough now he's the right shape, and he's still waving goodbye.

[PES]

TBF you don't actually know that...

 

Fair enough, let me rephrase it then, 'It's doubtful Ted Bates would share the same sentiments as many of the more petty posters on here as petty people don't tend to achieve things of the scale Ted Bates did.'

[PES]

sorry pes, you seem a sensible bloke but we won't buy the 'handful', I was there and heard it, I also don't accept the fact that home fans' reactions were a factor or that Saints fans would have done the same in the circumstances - best you leave that one be, we all have our opinions on it.

 

Either way, Ted looks happy enough now he's the right shape, and he's still waving goodbye.

 

TBF, I never once said Saints fans would of done the same. Pompey has always had a low-life element which dwarfs that of Saints, but that does not mean I'll standby and not say anything whilst others on here make out that it's the majority of Pompey fans, cos thats just twaddle.

As you mention it, the Ted Bates statue is as good a football statue as i've seen and a massive improvement on the first, which was far more insulting to his memory than anything the moronic few subjected him too.

Those ignorant cretins genuinely DON'T know any better, the Saints supporter who pocketed the commision and the many prominant Saints fans, Boardmembers and Southampton dignitries that must of seen that monstrosity BEFORE it was unveiled to the footballing world DID know better.

[SOTONS EAST SIDE]

This all boils down to the fact that the EPL is an over-rated entity and is run purely for the benefit of the so called 'big four' and Sky.

Most of the 'football' provided, is pure dross, and why any sane person would want to be part of it is beyond me

You are a skate sir! I have seen your username on that dirrty skate forum! FISH! FISH! FISH!

[Chin Strain]

Fair comment from a Portsmouth Supporter

 

Storrie has his critics among Pompey fans, but much of it is unjust. His partnerships with both Mandaric and Gaydamak have seen PFC progress on and off the field at a rate few could have imagined ten years ago.

 

Colin Farmery chairman of the PVA (Portsmouth Virtual Alliance), a group of websites affiliated to Portsmouth Football Club.

Part of the current problem is that the progress on the field has been largely at the expense of any progress off the field. If they had at least parted with some of the cash that they've been blowing on extortionate wages and transfer fees, on some kind of infrastructure (ground / training facility) then they may be a worthwhile punt for a wealthy owner. As they haven't, they're borderline worthless.

 

Storrie, let's not forget, earns in excess of £1.25m p.a. (if you believe what you read). Surely someone in his position should be able to spot a decent investor from someone who's flying a kite. To get caught once is poor...to get caught twice is inexcusable.

 

I've been saying to my Pompey supporting friends for years that they have nothing tangible to show for the years of indulgence, starting with Mandaric. Now it looks like that lack of infrastructure will cost them dearly.