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Pompey Takeover Saga


Fitzhugh Fella

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I could not care less if this led to us being booted out the league. It's more than that, it's a battle for our club, if the league deems that the punishments for foreign owners using the club as a vessel to extract money legally and otherwise out the country then fine, should the circumstances prove similar to other clubs thrown out the league (examples?) then sure, do it FL.

 

Luton did far less and the entire board and management had long gone before the FL dished out their substantial punishment.
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Luton did far less and the entire board and management had long gone before the FL dished out their substantial punishment.

 

And remember it was the new board & management of Luton who went to the league having uncovered what happened, rather than trying to to sweep it under the carpet.

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Skate baiting aside for a moment, Mica hall is a credit to all supporters. Every club should have at least one of him.

 

Hope he has a bodyguard though.

 

He's due a knee capping from Chainrai or a knee capping from the phew if his revelations put them out of the FL.

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He's due a knee capping from Chainrai or a knee capping from the phew if his revelations put them out of the FL.

 

This would be a delightful twist - Twitter is currently awash with Pompey fans singing Hall's praises for his investigations but I doubt that it's dawned on many of them that it's these very revelations that could give what the Football League need to throw the book at the club once and for all...

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I've just gone through the entire Micah Hall 2-part episode and it's quite astonishing.

 

However, Micah's claims that this is all his work are nonsense. There is certainly one example where Hall refers to "we" in the narrative. Presumably the re-write missed that one.

 

There's some group out there which has expended an awful lot of time, money, influence and effort to pull this account together - and it's not one individual.

 

Take your pick of those with a grudge to bear, substantial resources at hand and an ability to gain (or relay) information hitherto unknown.

Edited by TopGun
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I've just gone through the entire Micah Hall 2-part episode and it's quite astonishing.

 

However, Micah's claims that this is all his research are nonsense. There is certainly one example where Hall refers to "we" in the narrative. Presumably the re-write missed that one.

 

There's some group out there which has expended an awful lot of time, money, influence and effort to pull this account together - and it's not one individual.

 

Take your pick of those with a grudge to bear, substantial resources at hand and an ability to gain (or relay) information hitherto unknown.

 

It's him and Sue Maskell, no one else.

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The pst guys seem to think that is the case and I think that he probably has, although, at a guess, it was probably his shout.

 

If PKF think this is going down towards liquidation, one way or another, it probably makes sense to take Trev out of the limelight.

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Haven't read this yet but my hanky is duly poised...

 

@pn_neil_allen: Touching, heart-felt message from a #Pompey fan to the Football League in today's Daily Express. Emotional stuff. http://t.co/tYPCpQlL

 

Edit: probably as close as we'll get to an admission of the club cheating (partly)...

 

Among those creditors are countless local firms, my children’s school, owed nearly £4,000 for the use of their artificial pitch to train youth players, and charities, including the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

The shorthand explanation for this is usually that Pompey bought players they could not afford. But the truth, according to research published this week by freelance journalist and Pompey fan Micah Hall, is a bit more complicated than that. The club have been caught up in a feud involving businessmen.

Edited by trousers
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I find Hall's 2-part article interesting, both in it's content and timing.

 

I think he's on pretty solid ground with his "central allegation":

 

That a group of Arkadi Gaydamak's creditors - Balram Chainrai, Levi Kushnir, Yoram Yossifoff, Ron Mana and came to Portsmouth Football Club intending to undertake short-term asset stripping as a form of debt recovery. They brought their debt-collector, the convicted forger Daniel Azougy, with them.

 

They found a Saudi Arabian hermit, Ali Al Faraj, to front the bid to hide their own presence.

 

However the detail is a bit iffy in places. Much speculation and supposition, a few outright errors and some ignoring of facts that might not fit well into the story.

 

I'm not saying it's rubbish - I'm sure a lot of it is very close to the truth. Too close, in fact, to have been written by an outsider. My guess is that it is the work of somebody in a senior position in the Gaydamak camp rather than Portpin or Falcondrone. Interesting that the "inside info" appears to dry up after about March 2010.

 

I'm with gemmel, in that I think overall it does more to exonerate Chainrai than condemn him. I don't think there's too much in there that will worry Chainrai's lawyers (no, I dont mean Mark Jacob). He comes across as a "conned" lender trying very hard, within the law, to get his money back. And I wasn't convinced by the article that Jacob was operating exclusively as Chainrai's puppet. Gotta prove the Al Faraj letters are indeed forgeries. Good luck there. And the "prank" call which wasn't really from Al Faraj at all, was it?

 

Pretty good work overall, though. And brave man.

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In his first article he totally brushed over how Falcondrone actually came to own Pompey. The narrative goes from Sacha discovering who was behind Portpin and thus refusing to deal with them to Portpin dealing with the new owners, Falcondrone.

 

As other have said above though, it's all a bit more than a nice little history lesson. Assuming that Hall does have the evidence to prove all this and is trying to use it to show the FL that Portpin were shadow directors and therefore should fail the FPPT, that evidence will also be more than enough for the FL to kick them so hard they'll be lucky to wake up in League 2.

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In recent times I had been leaning towards Trust ownership as the most nutjobbery fulfilling path for the club to take, but I'm now more convinced that Portpin ownership holds the most comedy cards. Decisions, decisions...

 

The way things are going at the moment and with the FL meeting today the "option" of them having ANY future ownership to worry (or us to comment upon) about could be pretty faint.

 

My sources' report from that conference yesterday.. "It was remarkable that the moment a comment was raised people just walked away." "Not even a:- you know I cannot talk about that" "Most unusual"

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And remember it was the new board & management of Luton who went to the league having uncovered what happened, rather than trying to to sweep it under the carpet.
Oh, I thought it was Mike Newell revealing all or was that a separate incident?
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IF the fans can oust these criminals and win the club back then all the 'good' people who helped build the club over its history's effort will not of been for nothing, Portsmouth we retain it's history (earned and passed down by Jimmy Dickerson, Jack Tinn and all those boys in the old grainy black and white photographs) and people like Mike Hall and the PST and even Durr-brains like me, riding on their coat tails, will be able to proudly say we saw off the criminals, paid off some of the debts (dont forget the fans themselves have already collected thousands to pay back the charity money owed) and took the punishment for THEIR actions, we all know THEY will not be held accountable WHATEVER the final outcome, but if we can save the club from their clutches I can live with that, it would only enhance my enjoyment of being Pompey. But first we have to get the club back and as you can see some people are fighting very, very hard.

Yes, it has just come back to me that you were the modern day Zero's I mean Zorro's fighting your corner of ridding the club of corruption etc and against all odds, as the other Skates were celebrating the Fa cup, playing in the PL/Europe, fielding teams of star players, and cheating all around.

The Germans were only Nazi's when they were winning, as soon as it turned bad they became partizans. (i am of course not comparing yourselves as Nazis,but the mindset)

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I find Hall's 2-part article interesting, both in it's content and timing.

 

However the detail is a bit iffy in places. Much speculation and supposition, a few outright errors and some ignoring of facts that might not fit well into the story.

 

I'm not saying it's rubbish - I'm sure a lot of it is very close to the truth. Too close, in fact, to have been written by an outsider. My guess is that it is the work of somebody in a senior position in the Gaydamak camp rather than Portpin or Falcondrone. Interesting that the "inside info" appears to dry up after about March 2010.

 

Jacob comes out of this better than anyone, IMO.

 

So as a puzzled world watched and waited for the fire sale to begin at bankrupt Pompey, the SOS Pompey demonstrations swelled outside. Jacob found himself staring into the eyes of people who wanted his guts for garters on behalf of a regime that was steadily ruining a football club; not at all what he had signed up for as anyone who has read his book or sat next to him in the directors' box while he kicked every ball will testify. Jacob had attended all academy matches, shivering through the winter on the touchlines. He personally intervened according to eye witnesses to insist Paul Hardyman was retained.

 

Our hero!

 

When did Jacob cease to have any involvement in Pompey? :suspicious:

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Jacob comes out of this better than anyone, IMO.

 

When did Jacob cease to have any involvement in Pompey? :suspicious:

 

I must say that I like the cut of Mr Jacob's jib....

 

http://www.football.co.uk/portsmouth/redundancy_baffles_jacob_306005.shtml

 

"The club is in this financial crisis owing to years of excess. It isn't something that's happened overnight." - Mark Jacob, Former Pompey Director, March 2010

So....'cheating' in other words....

 

If someone from inside the higher echelons of the club can decree two and a half years ago that the club was living beyond its means (and had been "for years" before that) then why oh why does your average Pompey fan still cling onto the claim that they weren't cheating when they won the FA Cup et al?

 

It's there in black and white FFS.

Edited by trousers
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Pompey in 'off-loading another youngster* to make way for another higher league journeyman' alert....

 

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/pompey/appy-wallace-loan-move-will-work-wonders-1-4353403

 

"Pompey’s squad-size restrictions have conspired to ensure he has been unable to be considered for first-team duty since." :facepalm:

 

I really am lost for words....

 

*(Note: this 'youngster' is older than James Ward-Prowse)

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Pompey in 'off-loading another youngster* to make way for another higher league journeyman' alert....

 

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/pompey/appy-wallace-loan-move-will-work-wonders-1-4353403

 

"Pompey’s squad-size restrictions have conspired to ensure he has been unable to be considered for first-team duty since." :facepalm:

 

I really am lost for words....

 

*(Note: this 'youngster' is older than James Ward-Prowse)

 

It's not so much the fact that they cheat or circumvent the rules; it's how brazen they are in doing it. And how they still shamefully deny their ongoing cheating, time and time again.

Edited by The Kraken
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I've just gone through the entire Micah Hall 2-part episode and it's quite astonishing.

 

However, Micah's claims that this is all his work are nonsense. There is certainly one example where Hall refers to "we" in the narrative. Presumably the re-write missed that one.

 

There's some group out there which has expended an awful lot of time, money, influence and effort to pull this account together - and it's not one individual.

 

Take your pick of those with a grudge to bear, substantial resources at hand and an ability to gain (or relay) information hitherto unknown.

 

I'm with you on this, why has this all suddenly come out now? He's obviously been fed information by someone ITK.

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I'm with you on this, why has this all suddenly come out now? He's obviously been fed information by someone ITK.

 

I suspect that someone (who was very closely involved up to around March 2010 and who comes out of all of Hall's pieces better than anyone. Someone with a tarnished reputation that they would like to restore. Someone who has been wronged by Chinny and might be out for a little revenge by derailing his attempt to takeover again by putting info out there that might cause him to fail the FPPT. Cream Crackers, anybody?) dumped a lot of info onto Hall et al and it's taken them a while to plough through and piece it all together.

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I suspect that someone (who was very closely involved up to around March 2010 and who comes out of all of Hall's pieces better than anyone. Someone with a tarnished reputation that they would like to restore. Someone who has been wronged by Chinny and might be out for a little revenge by derailing his attempt to takeover again by putting info out there that might cause him to fail the FPPT. Cream Crackers, anybody?) dumped a lot of info onto Hall et al and it's taken them a while to plough through and piece it all together.

 

:suspicious:

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Lol.

 

Seems the IP Industry has moved on.

 

Football Insolvencies are so last year, nobody wants to get involved any more, they are proving to be more harmful to careers than other more "sexy" areas such as retail.

 

And what a shame.

 

http://www.insolvencynews.com/article/14447/corporate/ir-awards-2012-all-the-winners

 

Nobody from PKF and no football related winners

 

TB's name was never mentioned anywhere by anyone

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Lol.

 

Seems the IP Industry has moved on.

 

Football Insolvencies are so last year, nobody wants to get involved any more, they are proving to be more harmful to careers than other more "sexy" areas such as retail.

 

And what a shame.

 

http://www.insolvencynews.com/article/14447/corporate/ir-awards-2012-all-the-winners

 

Nobody from PKF and no football related winners

 

TB's name was never mentioned anywhere by anyone

 

The two main annual awards are

 

Business Rescue of the Year – up to £20m turnover

 

Business Rescue of the Year – £21m plus turnover

 

 

So no award if your heroic efforts involved a company with between £20m and £21m turnover then? It just confirms what I'd started to think - insolvency practioners are shysters who cant add up.

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The two main annual awards are

 

Business Rescue of the Year – up to £20m turnover

 

Business Rescue of the Year – £21m plus turnover

 

 

So no award if your heroic efforts involved a company with between £20m and £21m turnover then? It just confirms what I'd started to think - insolvency practioners are shysters who cant add up.

 

Allegedly you can make a good deal of money if you run a professional compliant and reputable business, have good access to Capital and know IP's

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Facepalms at the ready folks....

 

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/pompey/appy-believes-youngsters-are-wilting-under-pompey-expectations-1-4353121

 

Michael Appleton fears the Pompey pressure has started to inhibit his brightest starlets.

Now the Blues boss wants to pull Ashley Harris and Adam Webster out of the first team in order for them to ‘rejuvenate’. :facepalm:

‘That is not their fault, that’s just where we are as a club at the minute and it is crucial we get more quality. :facepalm:

 

This is not just a run-of-the-mill club, it’s a big, big football club with a massive fanbase :facepalm: and to ask a player to keep producing like that is difficult.

Hopefully we can bring a little bit of quality into the squad :facepalm:, so I will be able to pull them out of the limelight for a while and give them breathing space

 

number22

 

11:15 AM on 11/10/2012

Think your the one who needs a break Appy this job is too big for you

 

Space Monkey

 

11:16 AM on 11/10/2012

moan, moan, moan, moan, moan. Change the record Appy!

 

[h=4]worldly1[/h]11:39 AM on 11/10/2012

Appy you are losing the plot. The players you brought in are cr@p and you're making the same mistake as cockerill by slating and letting go of the youngsters. IMO you should be laying the blame firmly at the doors of the players you said would tear up the division and keep our youngsters out of it. People wouldn't want the youngsters in if your freebies were any good. Rant over!

Edited by trousers
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Appleton's actions are absolutely f*cking shameful, and all Portsmyth fans should hang their heads in shame if they go along with his nonsensical witterings. YOUR CLUB IS IN MASSIVE DEBT. You need to trim little bits here and there; you've lost the right to be competitve and should thank your lucky stars you're still able to put out a team with players that most of the other clubs in the division cannot afford. When will all be enough? When is the overspending ever going to stop, when the manager is all too keen to encourage and more to the point the local news NEVER, EVER question where the money is coming from and what the current wage levels are.

 

Appleton is just an ignorant joke of a manager. Shame on the Portsmouth News who just accept his mad ramblings as fact and don't ever dare to ask to the questions that the fans don't want to hear.

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Appleton's actions are absolutely f*cking shameful, and all Portsmyth fans should hang their heads in shame if they go along with his nonsensical witterings. YOUR CLUB IS IN MASSIVE DEBT. You need to trim little bits here and there; you've lost the right to be competitve and should thank your lucky stars you're still able to put out a team with players that most of the other clubs in the division cannot afford. When will all be enough? When is the overspending ever going to stop, when the manager is all too keen to encourage and more to the point the local news NEVER, EVER question where the money is coming from and what the current wage levels are.

 

Appleton is just an ignorant joke of a manager. Shame on the Portsmouth News who just accept his mad ramblings as fact and don't ever dare to ask to the questions that the fans don't want to hear.

 

I'm not sure they have lost the right to be competitive, but they have certainly lost the right to outbid bigger clubs for players and to get in a load more players than they have at the moment.

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I'm not sure they have lost the right to be competitive, but they have certainly lost the right to outbid bigger clubs for players and to get in a load more players than they have at the moment.

 

Pompey's definition of 'competitive' is to be better than everyone else not equal to everyone else.

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I'm not sure they have lost the right to be competitive, but they have certainly lost the right to outbid bigger clubs for players and to get in a load more players than they have at the moment.

 

Correct, I guess it comes down the definition of being competitive. Most rational people would term that as being able to put out a side that can prove to be the equal of others, and not lose every single game. A side with a fighting chance of surviving in the league and with a reliastic chance of winning some games is a competitive one.

 

Pompey and particularly Appleton define being competitive as winning more games than you'll lose, of expecting to steamroller the "smaller" sides in the division; and they'll attribute each draw or defeat to a lack of competitiveness, and an unfairness of the rules imposed by the Football League.

 

Edit: in other words, what Trousers said.

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She is my sort of Gal...:rolleyes:

 

LUVVERLEEEE:D

 

Not sure she still has her Abacus though;)

 

I still think our Tanya is Corp Ho or PES just pretending to be stupid on this forum:lol:

Edited by ottery st mary
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