Pompey Takeover Saga

[andysstuff]

Home to Shortwood or Aldershot

[Colinjb]

It's the Skates at home to Shortwood or Aldershot.

[Colinjb]

Or is it, in the list they have them away to Stevenage!?

[trousers]

@officialpompey: #Pompey drawn away to Stevenage in the first round of the FA Cup

[Colinjb]

Stupid ITV, the presenter got confused. Mind you, it's ITV... and also said that Chris Kinnear is Joe Kinnear's brother. Idiots.

[trousers]

Will be good to see how Portsmouth Community Football Club get on in their first ever FA Cup game. I wonder if they'll ever match the record of the club they used to support? You know , the basket case club whose entire history they've disowned, not just the bad bits...

Edited 27 October, 2013 by trousers

[Kingsland Red]

Stupid ITV, the presenter got confused. Mind you, it's ITV... and also said that Chris Kinnear is Joe Kinnear's brother. Idiots.

 

Chris is Joe Kinnear's brother........

[Colinjb]

Chris is Joe Kinnear's brother........

 

He really isn't. The man is a Margate (my second team) legend and is from an entirely different family, born in East London, played in the local area as an apprentice and ended up in a career of P.E. Teaching and Non-League management while also scouting for Wolverhampton.

 

Joe Kinnear was born in Dublin and grew up in Watford.

[Kingsland Red]

I beg to your superior knowledge, as I assumed there was not connection, but (under brothers);

http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/bob.dunning/sonsand.htm

[Jonnyboy]

My mate's (big Saints fan) cousin manages Stevenage so he'll obviously put a word in.

[Colinjb]

I beg to your superior knowledge, as I assumed there was not connection, but (under brothers);

http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/bob.dunning/sonsand.htm

 

I can assure you that is wrong. Lazy research based purely on the same last name. Having met Chris a few times when I was younger I know he isn't related to Joe.

[holepuncture]

75 minutes is usually the cut off, but it's still up to the League's discretion.

 

Just wondering if anyone's seen the video going around from the back of the stand at Fratton on Tuesday?

 

Try http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152041048088455&set=vb.597993454&type=2&theater

 

Stick with it to the 1'20" when it starts getting amusing. That's gonna cost them...

 

 

fatty pipes and leaky roofs, Joseph Cala was right all along.

 

http://www.undersearesort.com/showPage.php?page=usea000

 

[edprice1984]

http://m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/4154806#

 

Not sure if this has been shared yet, but I am concerned that the Blue few have infiltrated our fair city

[Waterside.saint]

fatty pipes and leaky roofs, Joseph Cala was right all along.

 

http://www.undersearesort.com/showPage.php?page=usea000

 

 

Fortress Fratton?

More like Inundated Outpost

[Pamplemousse]

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Finance/article1332210.ece

 

THE heavy door slid open to reveal a stash of gleaming exotic cars. It was the first real breakthrough in an alleged international fraud scandal that would take years to unravel.

 

Just days earlier, Lithuania’s biggest bank, Snoras, had been nationalised after the discovery of a giant hole in its accounts, triggering long queues outside its branches.

 

The Baltic state’s conservative government had wasted little time in pinning the blame squarely on the bank’s colourful owners, Vladimir Antonov, 37, and Raimondas Baranauskas, 55.

 

The pair were alleged to have used it as a personal piggy bank, looting nearly €500m (£425m) to fund lavish lifestyles and build a sprawling business empire that included Portsmouth football club. The pair, who subsequently sought refuge in London, deny the charges, arguing they are part of a political conspiracy.

 

As the drama unfolded, a crack team of forensic accounting experts jetted from London to Vilnius, Lithuania’s 700-year-old capital, to begin the excruciating task of unpicking the mess.

 

In a lock-up garage half a mile from the bank’s headquarters, investigators had uncovered the first real sign of the apparent excesses of Antonov and Baranauskas: a fleet of luxury company cars worth £1m.

 

Two years later, a picture has finally emerged of their alleged scam during their extradition hearing, which is being played out at Westminster magistrates’ court.

 

The prosecution claims that the pair masterminded a “colossal” fraud, with Antonov as “prime mover and shaker”.

 

On Friday, the man at the forefront of the investigation described the perilous state of the bank’s finances when he was appointed to oversee its administration.

 

“It became apparent that a number of Snoras’s assets were deficient, or missing entirely. This was a bank that was running out of money very quickly,” said Simon Freakley, boss of Zolfo Cooper.

 

Antonov and Baranauskas are fighting the Lithuanian government’s attempts to have them sent back home to face charges of stealing €470m in assets and €10m in cash.

 

In the boom years, Snoras attracted the type of aggressive international investors that were also interested in Icelandic and Irish banks.

 

Lured with the promise of bumper returns, investors poured cash into the bank. But it was soon being funnelled out to be used as collateral for loans and fake property deals.

 

The money was channelled into a network of Swiss personal accounts and offshore companies across Europe, the Caribbean and central America so Antonov and Baranauskas could live a life of luxury. Snoras, the Lithuanian prosecutors allege, was in effect a giant Ponzi scheme into which 2.2bn litas (€492m) had vanished.

 

“It was fairly unsophisticated stuff but it was staggeringly efficient,” a source close to the prosecution said.

 

The arrest of Antonov in December 2011 shocked the Russian expatriate community in London where he lived in a £5m Notting Hill mansion. It was also a blow to Lithuania, where he had established himself as prominent business figure and member of high society.

 

Antonov arrived in Lithuania 10 years ago when he bought a majority stake in Snoras bank. The government was quick to extend him a warm welcome. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of the top institutions had been taken over by bigger Scandinavian banks keen to extend their influence into the Baltics.

 

There was a huge political desire to establish a strong bank controlled by people closer to home.

 

Antonov fitted the bill. An Uzbek national with Russian citizenship and a burgeoning business empire, he seemed more likely to represent national interests. “The government needed a bit of national pride and Snoras looked like it was putting money back in Lithuania,” a source said.

 

Antonov’s empire-building had begun in 1999 with the takeover of Akademkhimbank, a small Russian state bank on the verge of bankruptcy.

 

He was only 24 and financed the deal with part of a large bonus from his employer, a Russian broking house, which he had helped by offloading Russian state treasury bonds before the country’s economic crisis rendered them worthless.

 

His big break came in 2003 with the takeover of Conversbank, another Russian institution. It owned a banking licence and operations across eastern Europe, giving Antonov the ability to begin expanding overseas.

 

Within months he had bought a majority stake in Snoras and immediately set about creating confidence in the bank among ordinary Lithuanians. It won awards as the country’s top retail bank and went on to become its biggest indigenous lender.

 

Key to Antonov’s cuddly image was the partnership he established with Baranauskas, a Lithuanian national. Together the pair assembled an array of business interests in the country, using Snoras as their investment vehicle.

 

They bought a stake in a media house that owns a prominent daily newspaper, a weekly magazine, a television channel and a printing house. They acquired one of Lithuania’s biggest basketball teams and built an indoor ski dome called Snoras Snow Arena.

 

“He created a sense of prosperity, warmth and wellbeing. Snoras began to feel like a key part of the fabric of Lithuanian life,” said a source in Lithuania.

 

Antonov set about attracting corporate customers and overseas investors. The promise of huge returns and a rare chance to convert roubles into stronger currencies enticed high net worth Russians. They poured money into the bank. “This is where the real cash came from,” said a source.

 

Investigators claim this is when Antonov and Baranauskas began to plunder the bank to fund their increasingly extravagant tastes.

 

Their system was this. First, the prosecution alleges, the pair bought bundles of government bonds with the bank’s cash. The bonds were held in accounts belonging to Snoras in Switzerland, then transferred to personal accounts to be used as collateral for large loans, which then found their way into a network of companies owned by Antonov or people close to him.

 

They got away with it for three years by forging audit documents suggesting Snoras “had its head above water”, John Hardy QC, for the Lithuanian government, told the court.

 

Documents submitted to the country’s central bank showed that the money used to purchase bonds was still held by Snoras. To officials, it falsely appeared to be solvent.

 

With the central bank duped, Antonov stepped up his ambitions. The tycoon’s biggest fascination was with expensive cars and in 2010 Convers Group, the umbrella name for his interests, bought Spyker, the Dutch sports car maker whose cars sell for up to €350,000. The following year, Snoras sponsored the Renault Formula One team.

 

“The sporting interests were fantastic marketing material to attract more high net worth clients,” said a source close to the prosecution.

 

With the bank seemingly established, Antonov set his sights on the ultimate plaything: a football club. After failed attempts to buy Bournemouth and Glasgow Rangers, he took control of Portsmouth in June 2011.

 

But the fun was short-lived, as was Antonov’s status as a serious international player. Doubts about his dealings, which had dogged him for years, finally caught up with him.

 

That summer, a hugely ambitious attempt to buy Saab, the Swedish car maker, was blocked by European authorities. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian government was scrutinising the finances of Snoras and in November when £110m disappeared from the bank over two days — significantly more than would occur in the normal course of business — the authorities stepped in, declaring the bank insolvent. It had 1m customers, 2,300 employees and 250 branches. A European arrest warrant was issued for Antonov and Baranauskas. They were traced to the London office of Convers Group at Bishopsgate where they were detained, bringing their audacious spree to an abrupt end.

 

Some 14 years after swooping on a little state-backed Russian bank, Antonov had amassed a staggering collection of businesses, homes and sports cars.

 

He and Baranauskas had companies in the Dominican Republic, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Belize and Bahamas to help them avoid detection, Snoras claimed in a court filing.

 

As part of a related civil suit brought by Snoras, a judge in London froze assets worth nearly €500m belonging to the Russian. They are believed to include a chalet in Courchevel, France, estimated to be worth €8m; a chateau and farm in Normandy valued at €3.5m; a £3m house in Kent; a £5m property in Notting Hill; and other properties in Switzerland, Cyprus and Russia. He also owned a €15m yacht and a €50,000 wine collection found in a luxury flat in Lithuania’s capital.

 

In the Vilnius lock-up, investigators discovered a Bentley with the number plate “Snoras”, two Spyker cars, several limousines and a Harley-Davidson motorbike — all allegedly paid for by Snoras bank.

 

The extradition hearing is expected to conclude in the coming weeks after hearing the pair’s defence. If Lithuania succeeds, Antonov faces the unthinkable — an abrupt end to the high life of fast cars and trophy homes.

[holepuncture]

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Finance/article1332210.ece

 

THE heavy door slid open to reveal a stash of gleaming exotic cars. It was the first real breakthrough in an alleged international fraud scandal that would take years to unravel.

 

Just days earlier, Lithuania’s biggest bank, Snoras, had been nationalised after the discovery of a giant hole in its accounts, triggering long queues outside its branches.

 

The Baltic state’s conservative government had wasted little time in pinning the blame squarely on the bank’s colourful owners, Vladimir Antonov, 37, and Raimondas Baranauskas, 55.

 

The pair were alleged to have used it as a personal piggy bank, looting nearly €500m (£425m) to fund lavish lifestyles and build a sprawling business empire that included Portsmouth football club. The pair, who subsequently sought refuge in London, deny the charges, arguing they are part of a political conspiracy.

 

As the drama unfolded, a crack team of forensic accounting experts jetted from London to Vilnius, Lithuania’s 700-year-old capital, to begin the excruciating task of unpicking the mess.

 

In a lock-up garage half a mile from the bank’s headquarters, investigators had uncovered the first real sign of the apparent excesses of Antonov and Baranauskas: a fleet of luxury company cars worth £1m.

 

Two years later, a picture has finally emerged of their alleged scam during their extradition hearing, which is being played out at Westminster magistrates’ court.

 

The prosecution claims that the pair masterminded a “colossal” fraud, with Antonov as “prime mover and shaker”.

 

On Friday, the man at the forefront of the investigation described the perilous state of the bank’s finances when he was appointed to oversee its administration.

 

“It became apparent that a number of Snoras’s assets were deficient, or missing entirely. This was a bank that was running out of money very quickly,” said Simon Freakley, boss of Zolfo Cooper.

 

Antonov and Baranauskas are fighting the Lithuanian government’s attempts to have them sent back home to face charges of stealing €470m in assets and €10m in cash.

 

In the boom years, Snoras attracted the type of aggressive international investors that were also interested in Icelandic and Irish banks.

 

Lured with the promise of bumper returns, investors poured cash into the bank. But it was soon being funnelled out to be used as collateral for loans and fake property deals.

 

The money was channelled into a network of Swiss personal accounts and offshore companies across Europe, the Caribbean and central America so Antonov and Baranauskas could live a life of luxury. Snoras, the Lithuanian prosecutors allege, was in effect a giant Ponzi scheme into which 2.2bn litas (€492m) had vanished.

 

“It was fairly unsophisticated stuff but it was staggeringly efficient,” a source close to the prosecution said.

 

The arrest of Antonov in December 2011 shocked the Russian expatriate community in London where he lived in a £5m Notting Hill mansion. It was also a blow to Lithuania, where he had established himself as prominent business figure and member of high society.

 

Antonov arrived in Lithuania 10 years ago when he bought a majority stake in Snoras bank. The government was quick to extend him a warm welcome. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of the top institutions had been taken over by bigger Scandinavian banks keen to extend their influence into the Baltics.

 

There was a huge political desire to establish a strong bank controlled by people closer to home.

 

Antonov fitted the bill. An Uzbek national with Russian citizenship and a burgeoning business empire, he seemed more likely to represent national interests. “The government needed a bit of national pride and Snoras looked like it was putting money back in Lithuania,” a source said.

 

Antonov’s empire-building had begun in 1999 with the takeover of Akademkhimbank, a small Russian state bank on the verge of bankruptcy.

 

He was only 24 and financed the deal with part of a large bonus from his employer, a Russian broking house, which he had helped by offloading Russian state treasury bonds before the country’s economic crisis rendered them worthless.

 

His big break came in 2003 with the takeover of Conversbank, another Russian institution. It owned a banking licence and operations across eastern Europe, giving Antonov the ability to begin expanding overseas.

 

Within months he had bought a majority stake in Snoras and immediately set about creating confidence in the bank among ordinary Lithuanians. It won awards as the country’s top retail bank and went on to become its biggest indigenous lender.

 

Key to Antonov’s cuddly image was the partnership he established with Baranauskas, a Lithuanian national. Together the pair assembled an array of business interests in the country, using Snoras as their investment vehicle.

 

They bought a stake in a media house that owns a prominent daily newspaper, a weekly magazine, a television channel and a printing house. They acquired one of Lithuania’s biggest basketball teams and built an indoor ski dome called Snoras Snow Arena.

 

“He created a sense of prosperity, warmth and wellbeing. Snoras began to feel like a key part of the fabric of Lithuanian life,” said a source in Lithuania.

 

Antonov set about attracting corporate customers and overseas investors. The promise of huge returns and a rare chance to convert roubles into stronger currencies enticed high net worth Russians. They poured money into the bank. “This is where the real cash came from,” said a source.

 

Investigators claim this is when Antonov and Baranauskas began to plunder the bank to fund their increasingly extravagant tastes.

 

Their system was this. First, the prosecution alleges, the pair bought bundles of government bonds with the bank’s cash. The bonds were held in accounts belonging to Snoras in Switzerland, then transferred to personal accounts to be used as collateral for large loans, which then found their way into a network of companies owned by Antonov or people close to him.

 

They got away with it for three years by forging audit documents suggesting Snoras “had its head above water”, John Hardy QC, for the Lithuanian government, told the court.

 

Documents submitted to the country’s central bank showed that the money used to purchase bonds was still held by Snoras. To officials, it falsely appeared to be solvent.

 

With the central bank duped, Antonov stepped up his ambitions. The tycoon’s biggest fascination was with expensive cars and in 2010 Convers Group, the umbrella name for his interests, bought Spyker, the Dutch sports car maker whose cars sell for up to €350,000. The following year, Snoras sponsored the Renault Formula One team.

 

“The sporting interests were fantastic marketing material to attract more high net worth clients,” said a source close to the prosecution.

 

With the bank seemingly established, Antonov set his sights on the ultimate plaything: a football club. After failed attempts to buy Bournemouth and Glasgow Rangers, he took control of Portsmouth in June 2011.

 

But the fun was short-lived, as was Antonov’s status as a serious international player. Doubts about his dealings, which had dogged him for years, finally caught up with him.

 

That summer, a hugely ambitious attempt to buy Saab, the Swedish car maker, was blocked by European authorities. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian government was scrutinising the finances of Snoras and in November when £110m disappeared from the bank over two days — significantly more than would occur in the normal course of business — the authorities stepped in, declaring the bank insolvent. It had 1m customers, 2,300 employees and 250 branches. A European arrest warrant was issued for Antonov and Baranauskas. They were traced to the London office of Convers Group at Bishopsgate where they were detained, bringing their audacious spree to an abrupt end.

 

Some 14 years after swooping on a little state-backed Russian bank, Antonov had amassed a staggering collection of businesses, homes and sports cars.

 

He and Baranauskas had companies in the Dominican Republic, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Belize and Bahamas to help them avoid detection, Snoras claimed in a court filing.

 

As part of a related civil suit brought by Snoras, a judge in London froze assets worth nearly €500m belonging to the Russian. They are believed to include a chalet in Courchevel, France, estimated to be worth €8m; a chateau and farm in Normandy valued at €3.5m; a £3m house in Kent; a £5m property in Notting Hill; and other properties in Switzerland, Cyprus and Russia. He also owned a €15m yacht and a €50,000 wine collection found in a luxury flat in Lithuania’s capital.

 

In the Vilnius lock-up, investigators discovered a Bentley with the number plate “Snoras”, two Spyker cars, several limousines and a Harley-Davidson motorbike — all allegedly paid for by Snoras bank.

 

The extradition hearing is expected to conclude in the coming weeks after hearing the pair’s defence. If Lithuania succeeds, Antonov faces the unthinkable — an abrupt end to the high life of fast cars and trophy homes.

 

His extravagence is even greater than we have speculated on here. It almost reads to me that the pompey purchase may have been a step to far for old Vlad.

 

I recall abusing Vladimir on his 'facebook' page and Dubai promptly warning me off, which I promptly did!

 

Funny mention of the Snoras award as the 'retail bank of the year' old Corpy used to be so pleased about, PMSL.

 

Another interesting point, the Times mentions funds and assets were sent round the world to accounts of Vladimirs, or people close to him. Step forward Mr Dubov!

[Torres]

Funny mention of the Snoras award as the 'retail bank of the year' old Corpy used to be so pleased about, PMSL.

 

One of my favourite parts of this thread

 

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?14620-Pompey-Takeover-Saga&p=1149541#post1149541

 

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?14620-Pompey-Takeover-Saga&p=1149769#post1149769

 

I don't want to blow my cover on PoL, otherwise.....

Edited 29 October, 2013 by Torres

[dronskisaint]

One of my favourite parts of this thread

 

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?14620-Pompey-Takeover-Saga&p=1149541#post1149541

 

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?14620-Pompey-Takeover-Saga&p=1149769#post1149769

 

I don't want to blow my cover on PoL, otherwise.....

 

Ah the good old days of 50k posts back in time....even now that they're all fan-owned(!) and staying within their budget(!) it would surely be impossible for the corpulent whore to revisit these pages given the sh*t he's swallowed and regurgitated...Mack aside the quality of skate has diminished and the most ignorant have been exposed too much for a return. Sad from the point of our amusement only...

[OldNick]

Ah the good old days of 50k posts back in time....even now that they're all fan-owned(!) and staying within their budget(!) it would surely be impossible for the corpulent whore to revisit these pages given the sh*t he's swallowed and regurgitated...Mack aside the quality of skate has diminished and the most ignorant have been exposed too much for a return. Sad from the point of our amusement only...

he always got all precious when I said to him that he only came on here when things were good for them.Hence he has gone,until they get the upper hand of course. Just you wait until he can update us with the latest Pompey transfer gossip then

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Ah the good old days of 50k posts back in time....even now that they're all fan-owned(!) and staying within their budget(!) it would surely be impossible for the corpulent whore to revisit these pages given the sh*t he's swallowed and regurgitated...Mack aside the quality of skate has diminished and the most ignorant have been exposed too much for a return. Sad from the point of our amusement only...

he always got all precious when I said to him that he only came on here when things were good for them.Hence he has gone,until they get the upper hand of course. Just you wait until he can update us with the latest Pompey transfer gossip then

[Pugwash]

One of my favourite parts of this thread

 

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?14620-Pompey-Takeover-Saga&p=1149541#post1149541

 

That last line has to be the ultimate example of irony.

Edited 29 October, 2013 by Pugwash

[dubai_phil]

His extravagence is even greater than we have speculated on here. It almost reads to me that the pompey purchase may have been a step to far for old Vlad.

 

I recall abusing Vladimir on his 'facebook' page and Dubai promptly warning me off, which I promptly did!

 

Funny mention of the Snoras award as the 'retail bank of the year' old Corpy used to be so pleased about, PMSL.

 

Another interesting point, the Times mentions funds and assets were sent round the world to accounts of Vladimirs, or people close to him. Step forward Mr Dubov!

 

Glad to have been of assistance.

 

If only somebody once upon a time had been able to save their Corporate Overview Powerpoint Presentation for Posterity (Obviously as mentioned in the article Eddie Mitchell would have a copy and no doubt someone in the mess that is Rangers FC in Scotland does.

 

Once the key is thrown away and their "friends" have slipped back into their Night Vision Goggles, perhaps it will resurface

 

Wonder how much his McLaren will fetch in the Liquidation auction?

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

His extravagence is even greater than we have speculated on here. It almost reads to me that the pompey purchase may have been a step to far for old Vlad.

 

I recall abusing Vladimir on his 'facebook' page and Dubai promptly warning me off, which I promptly did!

 

Funny mention of the Snoras award as the 'retail bank of the year' old Corpy used to be so pleased about, PMSL.

 

Another interesting point, the Times mentions funds and assets were sent round the world to accounts of Vladimirs, or people close to him. Step forward Mr Dubov!

 

Glad to have been of assistance.

 

If only somebody once upon a time had been able to save their Corporate Overview Powerpoint Presentation for Posterity (Obviously as mentioned in the article Eddie Mitchell would have a copy and no doubt someone in the mess that is Rangers FC in Scotland does.

 

Once the key is thrown away and their "friends" have slipped back into their Night Vision Goggles, perhaps it will resurface

 

Wonder how much his McLaren will fetch in the Liquidation auction?

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Wtf is it with the double post copying tonight?

 

Mods? Sort this out!

[Waterside.saint]

Shock! The BBC says the poster boys for fan-owned clubs are...

Exeter. Apparently not the Bestest after all. Who'd a' thunk it? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24458891

 

Exeter City: The fans who wouldn't take no for an answer: From Uri Geller and Michael Jackson on the board to the poster boys for fan-owned clubs - Exeter City's rise

 

This weekend will see the 10th anniversary of the Exeter City Supporters' Trust (ECST) taking ownership of the club celebrated against Hartlepool. The contrast between now and then is stark.

 

With no debt, the Football League's longest-serving manager in Paul Tisdale and a successful academy system, the Grecians are now a byword for continuity, stability and most of those other attributes usually considered desirable in football clubs.

[trousers]

http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/article/new-big-screen-set-for-debut-1145377.aspx

[Matthew Le God]

........

Edited 30 October, 2013 by Matthew Le God
duplicate

[Matthew Le God]

http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/article/new-big-screen-set-for-debut-1145377.aspx

 

They use the often misused phrase "state-of-the-art", I very much doubt it is even remotely close to being at the pinnacle of screen technology in 2013.

[Waterside.saint]

http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/article/new-big-screen-set-for-debut-1145377.aspx

 

They use the often misused phrase "state-of-the-art", I very much doubt it is even remotely close to being at the pinnacle of screen technology in 2013.

 

Fat in the leaky LEDs?

[Golden Balls]

http://www.portsmouthfc.co.uk/news/article/new-big-screen-set-for-debut-1145377.aspx

 

How did they make an article that long about a bloody screen. What a bore.

[Colinjb]

Priorities gentlemen!

 

Is your stadium a leaking, fat encrusted, barely habitable, structurally unstable death trap?

 

No worries! Enchant the well educated locals with a 'BIGGER TV!' Watch them fall over themselves in the rush to take a look!

[mcjwills]

Shock! The BBC says the poster boys for fan-owned clubs are...

Exeter. Apparently not the Bestest after all. Who'd a' thunk it? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24458891

 

Exeter City: The fans who wouldn't take no for an answer: From Uri Geller and Michael Jackson on the board to the poster boys for fan-owned clubs - Exeter City's rise

 

This weekend will see the 10th anniversary of the Exeter City Supporters' Trust (ECST) taking ownership of the club celebrated against Hartlepool. The contrast between now and then is stark.

 

With no debt, the Football League's longest-serving manager in Paul Tisdale and a successful academy system, the Grecians are now a byword for continuity, stability and most of those other attributes usually considered desirable in football clubs.

 

What the team thats gonna give the what for on saturday

[hypochondriac]

What the team thats gonna give the what for on saturday

 

The fans who wouldn't take no for an answer versus the fans who only said no about five years too late.

[rallyboy]

At last, a pioneering fan-owned club gets to play at Fortress Fatpipes.

 

No property deals, no debt, just fans.

Something for smaller less successful newly-formed clubs to aspire to.

[Colinjb]

The fans who wouldn't take no for an answer versus the fans who only said no about five years too late.

 

They didn't say no, they kept saying yes when bent over a barrel. Tarts.

[hypochondriac]

They didn't say no, they kept saying yes when bent over a barrel. Tarts.

 

They said no eventually. Only when there was nothing left to save.

[trousers]

@PioneerGroup06: Work, well underway as our #AVengineers install the new #concourse TVs at @officialpompey!!

 

[Colinjb]

@PioneerGroup06: Work, well underway as our #AVengineers install the new #concourse TVs at @officialpompey!!

 

 

A fresh rainstorm will take out those teles as the water leaks in.... typical skates not planning ahead.

[Chez]

New Flatscreens. Yippee. Whatever next? Toilets that don't leak back onto your feet?

[Torres]

Priorities gentlemen!

 

Is your stadium a leaking, fat encrusted, barely habitable, structurally unstable death trap?

 

No worries! Enchant the well educated locals with a 'BIGGER TV!' Watch them fall over themselves in the rush to take a look!

 

They've just got to that point where they are simply laughable.

 

Poor guys.

 

[hutch]

Apparently they've had people sweeping and cleaning the concourses and stairs too.

 

Highlights are available on DVD from the club shop at only £24.99 on matchdays.

[OldNick]

To be fair they are getting decent crowds and so it is a good advertising opportunity for some businesses. I also notice that they are not happy generating 30m for the local economy but want the fans to spend it at their stadium,to make it a complete match day experience at FP. Loxl

[Weston Super Saint]

@PioneerGroup06: Work, well underway as our #AVengineers install the new #concourse TVs at @officialpompey!!

 

 

That's gotta be a 'local' firm carrying out the work.

 

I'm not an expert on the 'working at height' regulations, but I'm pretty sure that 'steps' are for access and NOT for working from. I wonder what the HSE would think of this marvelous picture?

[goneawol]

Flatscreens? It's pompey, it'll be CRT. The only question remains, B&W or Colour?

[Big Bad Bob]

Flatscreens? It's pompey, it'll be CRT. The only question remains, B&W or Colour?

 

Don't be daft, the stands won't be able to support the weight of the CRTs and the fans...

[View From The Top]

They are now so small time that I can't even be bothered to take the p**s.

[Hatch]

I bet someone has already nicked the remote.

[rallyboy]

Mark Catlin has revealed Guy Whittingham has been given the go-ahead to strengthen his squad.

 

Well there's a surprise.

 

 

The club have received unbudgeted income through their progress to the quarter-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Presently they have earned £12,000 in prize money

 

Enough to pay off five small businesses - or to bring in more runts from culls at other basement clubs.

 

With all this new money sloshing through the business, how about they do something radical.

Like paying off some effing debt?

Or fixing the roof?

 

They need a change of mindset.

[Colinjb]

Mark Catlin has revealed Guy Whittingham has been given the go-ahead to strengthen his squad.

 

Well there's a surprise.

 

 

The club have received unbudgeted income through their progress to the quarter-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Presently they have earned £12,000 in prize money

 

Enough to pay off five small businesses - or to bring in more runts from culls at other basement clubs.

 

With all this new money sloshing through the business, how about they do something radical.

Like paying off some effing debt?

Or fixing the roof?

 

They need a change of mindset.

 

£12k

 

Wow, just wow at how small they have become.

[trousers]

Mark Catlin has revealed Guy Whittingham has been given the go-ahead to strengthen his squad.

 

Well there's a surprise.

 

 

The club have received unbudgeted income through their progress to the quarter-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Presently they have earned £12,000 in prize money

 

Enough to pay off five small businesses - or to bring in more runts from culls at other basement clubs.

 

With all this new money sloshing through the business, how about they do something radical.

Like paying off some effing debt?

Or fixing the roof?

 

They need a change of mindset.

 

Yeah, but....yeah, but.... The old debts are nuffink to do wiff the new club, is it guv? It's only the good bits of our history that we is gonna keep, alwight matey!

[Hatch]

What can they get for £12k FFS

 

two players for a few months max.

[Saint-Reece]

Neil Allen ‏@pn_neil_allen 5m

So to recap on busy day at #Pompey. In - Jervis (Uefa permitting). Loans out - Butler (Aldershot), Nick Awford and Harris (both Chelmsford).

 

Thought Harris was the next big thing? Or has that passed now?

[Pugwash]

What can they get for £12k FFS

 

two players for a few months max.

 

They could always get one their old Hero-Villains back to man the ticket office for a week.

 

Oh, I forgot. They haven't paid him for the last time...