Pompey Takeover Saga

[charliemiller]

Another lie to the courts then. He told the judge they had funding. HMRC & Judge asked for better evidence than a signed note from Chainrai.

 

Seems to me the Administrator, by various actions and comments in the last few days, knows that Chainrai did not have the power to put them into Administration and that Chainrai is not likely to fund without that status.

 

It gets worse for the blue few but nothing more than we have been saying on here for a while now

 

 

I know of a proposal to forward fund the parachute money for next season under the assignment and security from the PL , the factoring discount is very high as you can imagine !! however this is rapidly becoming pompeys only escape route.

 

However they will be fecked next season ( The premier league wont care tho)

[Matthew Le God]

exactly. Whether it is me totally missing the point or the fact that only this forum is missing it.

The PL and FA are desperate to not let their competitions lose their integrity.Therefore it would be a disaster for the 'football family' if Pompey could not fulfill their commitments on the pitch.

The answer to this is to pay the HMRC debt and so the High Court will then not carry on trying to get justice.

NONE of the media have picked up on Dave Richards (Chairman of the PL) involvement in finding the Sheik and introducing him to Pompey and PS. IMO him wishing to keep his place on the PL gravy train will make him very keen that they survive, he wouldnt want to be connected to the embarrassment.

I maintain that they will bale Pompey out of the next court appearance at the 11th hour as their billions of viewers in China India etc dont give a toss about the irregulrities, they want to watch the PL and FA cup being played not byes.

Pompey will get out of it.

 

Well they didn't bail pompey out at the 11th hour last time they went to court. It was possible they could have been wound up that day. Unlikely but possible - still against your theory though.

[OldNick]

Is it genuinely accepted that jacobs was pushed out by Fuglers?

 

Assuming the answer is yes, what did he do that that compromised his position

we mere mortals will never find out, unless it becomes a court matter.

[tony13579]

Balram Chainrai has defended his decision to send Portsmouth into administration.

 

Hong Kong businessman Chainrai is unhappy that negative reports in Britain have damaged his reputation.

 

"I'm not a money lender. I'm a businessman. My involvement in Portsmouth is purely business," he told the Sunday Morning Post. "There's been absolute transparency all the way from my side."

 

Chainrai also reiterated a desire to put the club in the hands of a new management and recoup his money.

 

"Anybody who is ready to give me the money I put into the club and lent to the club in good faith, I'm ready to take it and walk," he was quoted as saying.

 

"They can step straight into my shoes and I'll be happy. I'm sick of these accusations. People can say that I'm asset-stripping or doing this or that, but it simply isn't true."

 

replaces this statement

 

"Mr Chainrai has agreed to continue funding the club going forward until its long-term future is decided and he will also pay for the administration process out of his own pocket."

[OldNick]

Well they didn't bail pompey out at the 11th hour last time they went to court. It was possible they could have been wound up that day. Unlikely but possible - still against your theory though.

I think the first time they all were complacent, and thought it would just get a 28 day adjournment.

That woke them all up to what could have happened to their precous league and cup. Now there will be some head scrathcing and a diry deal may be hatched so that they can fufill this seasons games.

If they paid the HRMC would they still have to go into admin?

[View From The Top]

Nickh, you really just don't get it do you?

 

The EPL want them gone but need them to fullfill their fixtures.

 

They will go down and will be in an even worse state if they get their money advanced.

[Goalie66]

I think the first time they all were complacent, and thought it would just get a 28 day adjournment.

That woke them all up to what could have happened to their precous league and cup. Now there will be some head scrathcing and a diry deal may be hatched so that they can fufill this seasons games.

If they paid the HRMC would they still have to go into admin?

 

The issue for an Administrator is not just paying OFF one debt but does the business have a sustainable future.Therefore IMO the PL intervening is a red herring and non starter. If they are in Admin illegally the Court must grant the WUP to an order and then appoint an Insolvency company to get rid of what is left.

[OldNick]

Nickh, you really just don't get it do you?

 

The EPL want them gone but need them to fullfill their fixtures.

 

They will go down and will be in an even worse state if they get their money advanced.

It seems to me that the fans on here are the only ones who 'get it'

The PL may want them gone, but are backed into a corner and need Pompey to survive.

If they pay the HRMC then they can carry on and see what happens. I have become even more disenchanted with the football world as they all wallow in the pigsty, and bend over just to service their own world.

_9 points will be very hard to catch up especially if the admin sends Ohara etc back, but there does seem a reluctance to do so.

[Shufty Zubrik]

"If they are in Admin illegally the Court must grant the WUP to an order and then appoint an Insolvency company to get rid of what is left".

 

So if it is found that they are in Administration legally (given that illegally = WUP), is a third party (FA, PL) allowed to pay off the HMCR debt as surely to do so would disadvantage other creditors and surely protection of ALL creditors is the object of Administration?

[OldNick]

The issue for an Administrator is not just paying OFF one debt but does the business have a sustainable future.Therefore IMO the PL intervening is a red herring and non starter. If they are in Admin illegally the Court must grant the WUP to an order and then appoint an Insolvency company to get rid of what is left.

So if somehow Pompey pay the HRMC are you saying the WUO is stll relevant

[buctootim]

Minor technicality

 

http://www.uhy-uk.com/

 

It is a partnership

 

People could write and ask if he is about to have the same kind of former relationship with his professional firm as Jacobs has with Fuglers.

 

a.andronikou@uhy-uk.com

[AK]

Is it genuinely accepted that jacobs was pushed out by Fuglers?

 

Assuming the answer is yes, what did he do that that compromised his position

 

The belief here is that he was using Fuglers client account to make payments to Channrai.

 

If you recall HMRC said in court last week that they were aware that millions had gone from PFC to Channrai in February, as they did not have a bank account it can be assumed that Fuglers client account was being used initially as a legitimate clearing account then later for maybe different reasons.

[View From The Top]

_9 points will be very hard to catch up especially if the admin sends Ohara etc back, but there does seem a reluctance to do so.

 

FFS. The EPL & FA won't do owt until after the court hearing. The EPL were due to ratify the decision last Tuesday but it was postponed after the court hearing.

 

It's really not hard to understand.

[View From The Top]

So if somehow Pompey pay the HRMC are you saying the WUO is stll relevant

 

The HMRC is just one debt.

 

They have to meet all of their debts and still have enough cash to trade throughout the summer.

 

If they can't they are liquidated.

[Bucks Saint]

"If they are in Admin illegally the Court must grant the WUP to an order and then appoint an Insolvency company to get rid of what is left".

 

So if it is found that they are in Administration legally (given that illegally = WUP), is a third party (FA, PL) allowed to pay off the HMCR debt as surely to do so would disadvantage other creditors and surely protection of ALL creditors is the object of Administration?

 

Any 3rd party can pay anyone else's debts in any situation if they want to (you are welcome to pay mine!) - you cant stop this.

 

Other creditors would not be disadvantaged if the PL "stand in the shoes" of HMRC, i.e. they claim the same amount and then take their chances of getting a dividend, as the total claims will be the same. But yes, Administration is designed to get the best outcome for all creditors, so just because one gets paid it does not end the Administration at that point.

[tony13579]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8555595.stm

Portsmouth will have to make a special representation to the Football Association in order to be paid their FA Cup winnings, BBC Sport understands

[Crab Lungs]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8555595.stm

Portsmouth will have to make a special representation to the Football Association in order to be paid their FA Cup winnings, BBC Sport understands

 

Weird.

 

Didn't think they had to go cap in hand to anyone since they moved into their 250,000 seater Riverside toilet bowl? Or was I dreaming when Corp said Portsmouth signed Riquelme?

[rallyboy]

The beast is terminally wounded yet they're still looking for little plasters.

 

If they're lobbying for an emergency discounted version of parachute money advanced to creditors via the league, then they are in a worse state that I thought.

 

That would just get them to the summer and their main future revenue stream would be dry, causing immediate decline and chasing off investors.

 

 

It works for me!

[dellboypete]

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/columnists/view/125367/Skint-Portsmouth-deserve-sweet-FA-out-of-Cup

 

Poopey are certainly losing friends at a fast rate in the written media.

 

and in the Times today..........no cash coming their way if the FA has their way

 

"FA prepares to hold on to Portsmouth bounty"

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article7053083.ece

[dubai_phil]

Nick

 

Chill.

 

A PL spokesman has said they cannot make any comments as the issue is "With The Courts" (that Beeb prog)

 

The PL has to find a vehicle to get Pompey to fulfill their remaining League fixtures.

The PL must also find a way to ensure that "In fairness to teams that have already played them" they allow pompey to field as "Strong a Team as possible" (Imagine the row if one club needs 3 points on the last day and is playing their Academy side when others up to Admin played a stronger (hahah) side

 

They hold the TV Money and the Parachute Payments

 

The PL Spokseman said "Words to the effect that They want PL Clubs to have DECENT owners and implied that none of Pompey's this season had fit the bill.

 

IF by a miracle Pompey stay up they will need to be solvent AND funded for NEXT season in order to be allowed to play (New rules 1st march)

 

PL have more than enough cards in their hand to negotiate from a position of strength. They will not "bail out Pompey" and let them stay in the PL, that sets a VERY dangerous precedent when the next club goes to the wall, The PL will "Manage Their Removal From The League"

[benjii]

at a blue few crawling back on after a jammy win (offside goal, legitimate goal conceded not given etc) in a League One standard match against a surprisingly poor Brum team and pretending that all is now well.

[OldNick]

FFS. The EPL & FA won't do owt until after the court hearing. The EPL were due to ratify the decision last Tuesday but it was postponed after the court hearing.

 

It's really not hard to understand.

VFTT, it is easy to say 'It's really not hard to understand.' but frankly nothing in this has been logical for quite some time. The court were issued a SOA before we played Pompey and still the company traded on and played its football with its apparent illegal players.

Therefore there are things in play that are hard to comprehend.

If I ran my business likewise I would have been shut down or inside.

I of course do not have the media and pressure from different sides applied to the judges. Fry himself said he couldnt understand why they were not wound up the first time, so excuse me for being less confident than youi are and it is noticable 'they are toast' type quotes have lessened to quite a degree.

IMHO the PL and FA self interest is a very pertinent point and also if those 2 do club together and pay the HRMC the court case does not go ahead. That would make Pompeys life much easier, and they could wriggle on the hook much longer until they can get off.

I dont know the legal implications of Chanrai's moves, but if they could be seen as driminal, all of a sudden his objectives could change and so the 17m owed may not be so important as not himself being in court.

As i say, there are quite a few on here who seem to know a lot more than myself on the legal stuff etc and i dare say a lot more than you.

[OldNick]

Nick

 

Chill.

 

A PL spokesman has said they cannot make any comments as the issue is "With The Courts" (that Beeb prog)

 

The PL has to find a vehicle to get Pompey to fulfill their remaining League fixtures.

The PL must also find a way to ensure that "In fairness to teams that have already played them" they allow pompey to field as "Strong a Team as possible" (Imagine the row if one club needs 3 points on the last day and is playing their Academy side when others up to Admin played a stronger (hahah) side

 

They hold the TV Money and the Parachute Payments

 

The PL Spokseman said "Words to the effect that They want PL Clubs to have DECENT owners and implied that none of Pompey's this season had fit the bill.

 

IF by a miracle Pompey stay up they will need to be solvent AND funded for NEXT season in order to be allowed to play (New rules 1st march)

 

PL have more than enough cards in their hand to negotiate from a position of strength. They will not "bail out Pompey" and let them stay in the PL, that sets a VERY dangerous precedent when the next club goes to the wall, The PL will "Manage Their Removal From The League"

I hope you are correct Phil.

[dubai_phil]

Again Nick.

 

There is no way that the PL can be seen to pay the HMRC bill to "avoid" the club being wound up.

 

Legal precedent will then have been established, not to mention the Preferred Creditor Status could be liable to challenge every time a club gets into arrears by a month.

 

Bournemouth will be banging on the door of a court within minutes.

 

The PL have not made any comments since the Court Case so where did the idea come from?

[View From The Top]

VFTT, it is easy to say 'It's really not hard to understand.' but frankly nothing in this has been logical for quite some time. The court were issued a SOA before we played Pompey and still the company traded on and played its football with its apparent illegal players.

Therefore there are things in play that are hard to comprehend.

If I ran my business likewise I would have been shut down or inside.

I of course do not have the media and pressure from different sides applied to the judges. Fry himself said he couldnt understand why they were not wound up the first time, so excuse me for being less confident than youi are and it is noticable 'they are toast' type quotes have lessened to quite a degree.

IMHO the PL and FA self interest is a very pertinent point and also if those 2 do club together and pay the HRMC the court case does not go ahead. That would make Pompeys life much easier, and they could wriggle on the hook much longer until they can get off.

I dont know the legal implications of Chanrai's moves, but if they could be seen as driminal, all of a sudden his objectives could change and so the 17m owed may not be so important as not himself being in court.

As i say, there are quite a few on here who seem to know a lot more than myself on the legal stuff etc and i dare say a lot more than you.

 

Jesus wept, your glass isn't 1/2 empty it's just the dreggs left!

 

They are totally and utterly fu©ked up. Just let it play out and enjoy it.

[OldNick]

Jesus wept, your glass isn't 1/2 empty it's just the dreggs left!

 

They are totally and utterly fu©ked up. Just let it play out and enjoy it.

A pleasure to read such confidence.Since saturday and the gloating from even the more reasonalbe fans has made me recall why I need to see them back where they belong.

[Whitey Grandad]

Jesus wept, your glass isn't 1/2 empty it's just the dreggs left!

 

They are totally and utterly fu©ked up. Just let it play out and enjoy it.

So all that can save them now is a huge injection of money, or their players volunteering to take massive pay cuts. Any chance of that?

[Channon's Sideburns]

A pleasure to read such confidence.Since saturday and the gloating from even the more reasonalbe fans has made me recall why I need to see them back where they belong.

 

Indeed their continual 'woe betide us' routine is wearing a little thin. Everyone's supposed to feel sorry for them aren't they?

 

I want the court case to happen regardless of whether they get liquidated - just so their dirty linen can be seen in public - then it can no longer be ignored by the press on the whole.

 

Yes, some are now reporting the truth in little segments, but the majority are still playing on the 'poor little Pompey' routine.

 

Feel sorry for Bournemouth, who have been operating with one hand behind their backs all season, but not for them.

[Saint_clark]

Again Nick.

 

There is no way that the PL can be seen to pay the HMRC bill to "avoid" the club being wound up.

 

Legal precedent will then have been established, not to mention the Preferred Creditor Status could be liable to challenge every time a club gets into arrears by a month.

 

Bournemouth will be banging on the door of a court within minutes.

 

The PL have not made any comments since the Court Case so where did the idea come from?

 

If the Premier League started paying it's clubs bills, i'd hope the Football League would stand up and tell them to f*ck off - either by withdrawing the money or cutting all ties between the two associations.

[View From The Top]

So all that can save them now is a huge injection of money, or their players volunteering to take massive pay cuts. Any chance of that?

 

The fact that the administrator has yet to take any discernible action to cut costs speaks volumes for the mess they are in.

 

I genuinely want them to be advanced a parachute payment to get them through the summer as it will leave them in an even worse state than now.

 

My preferred option, however, is for them to soldier on through the season, get relegated and then liquidated and I believe that is a genuine possibility.

[tony13579]

http://www.sport.co.uk/cartoon/72/Portsmouth_see_the_value_of_the_FA_Cup.aspx

one cartoonist has seen the light

[Crab Lungs]

if there was ever any doubt about the Portsmouth fans being the best in the world ™, then that should be no more by the time you have finished reading this tear-jerking article, courtesy of The News ( I have to wonder as to why they bother writing - no-one can read in Portsmouth)

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/frattonlatest/Thousands-sign-Pompey-Flag-as.6130102.jp

[Sevvy]

if there was ever any doubt about the Portsmouth fans being the best in the world ™, then that should be no more by the time you have finished reading this tear-jerking article, courtesy of The News ( I have to wonder as to why they bother writing - no-one can read in Portsmouth)

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/frattonlatest/Thousands-sign-Pompey-Flag-as.6130102.jp

 

With all those x's it probably looked more like a spot the ball coupn

[tony13579]

Birmingham blues

http://www.joysandsorrows.co.uk/2010/03/post-portsmouth-musings/comment-page-1/#comment-4648

Post Portsmouth Musings!

 

The country got the result it wanted so who are we to have a moan about it? Some of the coverage has literally made me feel sick to the stomach. At half time, Blues were great value, playing well, etc, etc. By full time, Portsmouth ‘fully deserved the win’ and their loan players ’showed that they cared as much as any Portsmouth fan does.’ Gah, the stuff you could lose your lunch to.

 

The club I love has been reduced to a footnote in the season of a club who has pulled the wool over the eyes of the footballing public and media with lies and deceit. They’ve financially mismanaged themselves and apparently, this makes them ‘deserve it’ and ‘earn that little bit of luck’. Why? Because they can’t manage and haven’t played very well this season?

[hutch]

Nick,

 

You can relax a bit. There is an impression among some here that, because the WUP went to Court, that the Judge on the day would deal with anything and everything that had a "whiff" of illegality about it, including sending directors to jail. She couldn't. She was confined to the WUP, a civil proceeding against the Company which owns the club.

 

IMO, although I'm not an insolvency practitioner, temporarily trading while insolvent, with a reasonable expectation that something is about to happen (a stupid new owner with money to throw away and no brains, perhaps?) in the near future which will bring an end to that temporary technical insolvency, can be justified. But very risky if the saviour fails to appear, both for the Company and the individuals concerned. That's the card PCFC played.

 

I don't think anybody disputes that the SoA shows that, at that time, they were technically insolvent. But they qualified that with upbeat statements about new owners any day now. So their defence is that a temporary technical insolvency was in the long term best interests of the creditors.

 

They knew they couldn't play that card again, and didn't (and still don't) have any others. So they cooked up an "administration", to stave off the WUP. That fake administration will shortly be exposed and nullified. These things have to take their course. HMRC and the Judge(s) are being ultra careful, given the media spotlight, to make sure that PCFC don't have any grounds for appeal.

 

Phil and others have, correctly IMO, speculated that it's in the PL's interest to find a way of letting Pompey fulfill their fixtures this season, but get relegated. That may extend to the PL standing as guarantor to a new independent administrator, against future payments, to borrow enough to fund a proper administration process.

 

It's in the balance next week. They will either be liquidated, or go into "proper" administration. Nobody's going to pay their bill to HMRC before that.

 

Nothing has happened in the past couple of months to change my humble opinion. They will either start next season in non-league football, or in the CCC with a further points deduction.

 

Either way, their prospects are very bleak. Depending on your definition of toast, they are either toast, or the bread's very, very hot.

[DS]

Lol at this quote in the 606 debate box in this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8555595.stm

 

Now that we are the first team in the semi finals of the world's finest cup competition, will that make us more attractive to a multi billionaire new owner?

 

Do you want to tell him or should I?

[pedg]

Lol at this quote in the 606 debate box in this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8555595.stm

 

 

 

Do you want to tell him or should I?

 

But it must be true cos andy the appy android says so to...

 

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/newshome/FA-Cup-semifinal-will-help.6131739.jp

[dubai_phil]

Lol at this quote in the 606 debate box in this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8555595.stm

 

 

 

Do you want to tell him or should I?

 

I'm cooking dinner so no time to register but how does.

 

But you've already had 3 Billionaire owners this season.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Lol at this quote in the 606 debate box in this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8555595.stm

 

 

Do you want to tell him or should I?

 

Whilst most are clueless muppets there are one or two with a bit of sense.

 

This was one of the best posts I've read from them.

 

"I wish with all my heart that Pompey were not in this mess financially. We have been shamed by the goings on. I will always support them on the pitch but its true what people are saying. We bought the cup with money we didn't, and aren't likely to, have. I went on record the other day, saying that clubs shouldn't be allowed to borrow at all! As it stands now, were this the case, we would be still in the 2nd tier, and to be honest, I would be a lot happier. We might have been in the premiership on merit, who knows, but at least I could have the Pompey and proud feelings I used to know."

 

I maybe going soft, but I feel sorry for this guy.

[Gorgiesaint]

So Chester City's results have been expunged from the Conference today - with a new table to be published this afternoon without any of their results included.

 

Easy for the Conference to sort out - come on PL, you know it makes sense!

[charliemiller]

Again Nick.

 

There is no way that the PL can be seen to pay the HMRC bill to "avoid" the club being wound up.

 

Legal precedent will then have been established, not to mention the Preferred Creditor Status could be liable to challenge every time a club gets into arrears by a month.

 

Bournemouth will be banging on the door of a court within minutes.

 

The PL have not made any comments since the Court Case so where did the idea come from?

 

No they wont directly pay the bill , but they could provide the financial instrument that secures the borrowing....totally different from digging them out personally!

[OldNick]

Nick,

 

You can relax a bit. There is an impression among some here that, because the WUP went to Court, that the Judge on the day would deal with anything and everything that had a "whiff" of illegality about it, including sending directors to jail. She couldn't. She was confined to the WUP, a civil proceeding against the Company which owns the club.

 

IMO, although I'm not an insolvency practitioner, temporarily trading while insolvent, with a reasonable expectation that something is about to happen (a stupid new owner with money to throw away and no brains, perhaps?) in the near future which will bring an end to that temporary technical insolvency, can be justified. But very risky if the saviour fails to appear, both for the Company and the individuals concerned. That's the card PCFC played.

 

I don't think anybody disputes that the SoA shows that, at that time, they were technically insolvent. But they qualified that with upbeat statements about new owners any day now. So their defence is that a temporary technical insolvency was in the long term best interests of the creditors.

 

They knew they couldn't play that card again, and didn't (and still don't) have any others. So they cooked up an "administration", to stave off the WUP. That fake administration will shortly be exposed and nullified. These things have to take their course. HMRC and the Judge(s) are being ultra careful, given the media spotlight, to make sure that PCFC don't have any grounds for appeal.

 

Phil and others have, correctly IMO, speculated that it's in the PL's interest to find a way of letting Pompey fulfill their fixtures this season, but get relegated. That may extend to the PL standing as guarantor to a new independent administrator, against future payments, to borrow enough to fund a proper administration process.

 

It's in the balance next week. They will either be liquidated, or go into "proper" administration. Nobody's going to pay their bill to HMRC before that.

 

Nothing has happened in the past couple of months to change my humble opinion. They will either start next season in non-league football, or in the CCC with a further points deduction.

 

Either way, their prospects are very bleak. Depending on your definition of toast, they are either toast, or the bread's very, very hot.

Thanks hutch, all interesting and no doubt close to hitting the button

[Guided Missile]

Phil and others have, correctly IMO, speculated that it's in the PL's interest to find a way of letting Pompey fulfill their fixtures this season, but get relegated. That may extend to the PL standing as guarantor to a new independent administrator, against future payments, to borrow enough to fund a proper administration process.

What happens if the PL forward Pompey enough money to ensure Burnley go down at the expense of West Ham, Liverpool make 4th place at the expense of Man City?

 

Never happen IMO...

[RedFear]

are the players still on huge bonuses for things like an fa cup win??

[Gemmel]

Where the fook is storrie teller, I miss his little assurances that all is well. Is he still around or has he turned Queens evidence...... now that would be funny.

[Joensuu]

are the players still on huge bonuses for things like an fa cup win??

 

Some like James will definately still be in line for big bonuses... Any sensibly run company would have reconsidered the level of its bonuses in the wake of the 2008 cup run, and as a result significantly reduced the bonues payments written into contracts. The question is, are Pompey a sensibly run company?

[Weston Super Saint]

Some like James will definately still be in line for big bonuses... Any sensibly run company would have reconsidered the level of its bonuses in the wake of the 2008 cup run, and as a result significantly reduced the bonues payments written into contracts. The question is, are Pompey a sensibly run company?

 

Aha, I see what you did there...

 

This is one of those rhetoric questions isn't it

[hypochondriac]

A pleasure to read such confidence.Since saturday and the gloating from even the more reasonalbe fans has made me recall why I need to see them back where they belong.

 

My thoughts exactly. If I was in their situation I would be ashamed of the club. Just goes to show what class of fan they are.

[benjii]

I'd if Sol Campbell was somehow on for another bonus.

 

Anyway, they aren't going to win it this year - no Championship passage through the semi and final for them this time.

[Tamesaint]

A Reading fan at work received a text this afternoon from her skate cousin which expressed the hope that he could get his "usual" seat at Wembley.

 

At my suggestion she has replied asking him why he wants to go to watch Fulham play Spurs in the cup semi final!!