If Pompey folds, this will be a calamity for English football - it will effect the image of the game in this country and confidence will be hit - for example, consider how many sponsors may think twice about putting their money into the Premier League. I can't remember this ever happening to any top tier club in the history of English football.

I've heard whispers that all of Pompey's results will be erased - better hope Bolton haven't done the double over them, Owdon.

The chances are that someone with the dosh will come along and rescue Portsmouth - anyone here got a few million spare?

I think Pompey will go tits up next week whatever happens. They plainly don't have the wherewithall to continue doing business; and HMRC want their money. Man U is different in as much as they have assests and can, for the moment anyway, service their debt; but how the sums work out when those assets are put against the debt in the longer term is beyond me.

Beau

Maybe the Glazers intended to be in it only for the short haul and could borrow the amount needed (though they did have two hundred and fifty million or thereabouts of their own) and sell at a healthy profit after a couple of years?

They certainly wouldn't have envisaged the world recession and therefore the lack of willing buyers. That said, they've managed to raise another five hundred million which presumably is to stave off the wolves at the door? And what happens if Man Utd don't win trophies, their manager leaves and their value drops? Maybe the Glazers are just a bunch of feking con men? The more they loan, the more they will have to pay back.

No wonder the Mancs hate them.

I'm sure you're right about the short-term profit motive, Dorts. As I understand it, the Glazers are trying, they say, to reduce interest payments on existing Club debt. But they are doing that effectively by having the Club borrow more money. Long-term madness, I think. Maybe the proof will be in what if any interest there is in the bond offer - in any event, though, the Glazers, as consultants, are going to pocket another wadge from the Club whether the Bond issue works or not - nice work for those who can get it

think there either the last or next to last home game

Judging how they have raised money in the past, I'd imagine the interest payable on the bonds will be high as well.

The amount of money that has gone through that club and to think how much debt they (or the owners) are in mad.

I've heard the same regarding Cardiff, which is bad news for us, having not only beaten them at home and away but because they beat West Brom and Forest, it would actually put us down to 3rd place if it happened.

That would be just our luck

Unfortunatly that is what happens should a team be withdrawn from a league as it is the only fair way.

I noticed last night that the Chester City players went on strike over unpaid wages and their game had to be cancelled, that looks like it could be it for them now should the conference decide to throw them out, it certainly seems administrators couldn't help them out.

Coming home to roost now, isn't it? It's just a matter of time before a big club implodes, then we'll see if the governing bodies pull their fucking fingers out.

One symptom that there's something badly wrong with the Prem is that for the last few seasons the relegation dog-fight has spread from involving just 4 or 5 teams to the whole bottom half of the table!
How can it be that half the teams in the Prem can be so crap, surely it wasn't like this earlier.
How is it that an established top-flight side like Blackburn Rovers can't afford to buy players unless they sell first?
Surely something's got be done about players' obscene wage levels, not to mention their fucking agents!
Who's brilliant idea was it that the clubs should pay the agents, and not the players who they represent?
The whole thing stinks, but it does provide an excellent object lesson in the corrupting influence of Big Money.
What's happening to English football reminds one of what happens to third-world countries that are unlucky enough to be sat on large oil deposits.

1. Relegation dog fight: all the clubs are of more or less the same level; neither crap (apart from the Mackems and Derby) nor very good.
2. Blackburn established top flight: your having a laugh.
3. Wages/agents: agree entirely (see, I can be reasonable!)
4. Agents' fees: the art of negotiating; blame the Clubs for f'ing it up.
5. Corruption/big money: yes (see, I'm very reasonable!)

PS: Harry Redknapp should be jailed. I don't know what for and I don't give a toss why. He should just be jailed for the sake of humanity. (Maybe he should be put in a cell with Fat Sam, they could share bunk ups. Better still, those two could be in with Fat Freddy to make a heavyweight threesome).

Well they coud'nt have cut it any closer, jsut minutes before the deadline, they provided a full financial report to the HMRC, its now up to them to decide on March 1st if acceptance, adminsitration or even liquidation is the option

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...uth/8519103.stm

If Pompey lose the winding up petition hearing, then we could be saying R.I.P. Portsmouth

Heres hoping

Denied!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...uth/8522283.stm

Administration or extinction now seems inevitable

They should give automatic promotion to 3 teams if they do.

Surely there is no way that a premier league club will just shut down. They will simply go into administration and lose 10 points (or is it even more in the prem?) and come the end of the season will just get rid of all the players and bring in youth, which in turn will see them slip down the divisions.

Why not? They are businesses just like any other - OK, with some emotional appeal as well, but still businesses. Pompey, it seems, just simply can't afford to continue trading. There might be many sighs and the great and good in football declaring that's its all a great shame, but I don't see other clubs or individuals queuing up to lend them money or write off their debts.

Yes, it'll be a shame, but tough. If Pompey hadn't spent beyond their means would they be in the PL now?If not which other (better managed?) team would be, and be more deserving of the position.

Pompey enter administration and deducted 9 points. Now on 7 points. They could beat Derby's record!

So, if I understand this, after a period of administration, the administrators will be looking at new owners/investors.

I sincerely hope that the club goes to solid UK-based owners rather than yet another dodgy foreign owner.

Suddenly Mike Ashley doesn't seem so bad.

Our football clubs need to be protected and should not be in the hands of people like Ali Al Faraj, Sulaiman Al-Fahim, Thaksin Shinawatra, Gillett & Hicks, Björgólfur Guðmundsson and Eggert Magnússon. There needs to be some sort of control about who can own our clubs.

The fuckers should have been wound up last season!

In the current climate it is by no means certain that it will be sold as a going concern, most likely scenario is somebody buying it for a quid and taking on the debts, but even that isn't going to be easy.

How much did Ken Bates pay for Leeds after they went into administration? Didn't he manage to write off the club's debts first?

Like everything else involving Bates it's difficult to say, the bloke is so twisted when he snuffs it they'll have to screw him into the ground rather than bury him

Administrator just confirmed debts are between £60m and £70m, given that they will get £16m parachute payment for the next 2 seasons it would be a brave investor who took that on even in a fire sale!

HMRC issued a winding up order against Bournmouth, and Conference have expelled Chester, there's a cold wind blowing through football today!

That could well have been us if Fat Fred had remained in charge.

My thoughts exactly, despite what many think now, thank fuck Ashley didn't go through due dilligence!

They are absolutely fucked!!!

"Chainrai is in a position of strength because he is a "secured creditor", after lending money to the club charged against their assets, including Fratton Park and future revenues.

According to insolvency law, creditors of failed businesses have to be paid in a strict order, with secured creditors close to the head of the queue if and when assets are realised to pay debt.

Chainrai has two charges over Portsmouth, the first secured on Oct 6 against the ground, and a second charge against "the whole of [Porstmouth's] undertaking and all its property and assets" agreed on Jan 7.

This second charge significantly strengthens his hand, and he has further protected his position by transferring the freehold of the ground into a privately-controlled company.

He is thought to have agreed to write off some of his debt in exchange for the ground, which will be leased back to the club for an annual rental of about £1million, but it is unclear how much.

The last accounts valued the stadium at £11million, but the local council has argued that the ground has limited real value as it can only be redeveloped if the club is found an alternative home. Given that condition, Chainrai may have written-off only a moderate sum.

The impact of Chainrai's secured position is that he could be paid the bulk of the £20million the club are due to receive in broadcast revenue and parachute payments from the Premier League between now and next August.

That would leave the administrator having to sell players to satisfy other creditors, and if Chainrai retains control of the ground the club's appeal, as an investment to new owners, would be strictly limited."

Southend and Cardiff are in equally deep shit too

For the first time I can remembr, the HMRC are not taking any shit from football clubs

Damn right, i have to pay my taxes what makes football clubs an exception.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8560834.stm

Shame on you Pompey players. I know it was inevitable that staff would have to go at Pompey but to see 85 laid off and only 2 players offer to take a pay cut when they are the money they are on sickens me.

That is pretty poor of the players considering - if they decided to get half pay each just for one month, I reckon they could have kept them staff laid off for at least one more year - but then again I don't know how much Pompey are paying their players.

Mixed feelings on that really - the club gave them the contracts to they are well within their rights to get paid whats in that contract.

Pompey are not really in the position they are in because of the players.

And what about the 85 staff who you can say the same about! These staff are probably be on minimum wage a lot of them (maybe talking bollox which I often do)

Wasnt for a second forgetting the other staff mate, of course its rubbish that they have lost their jobs but that isnt the players fault.

Just think its a bit off having a go at the players - they are on contracts and are entitled to demand what is in those contracts just like anyone else.

Of course they are within their rights to get what they signed up to I just think morally when you are probably earning twice, three maybe four times these peoples annual salary in one week, they could really step forward and say I can do without £x amount per week, every penny helps.

Im not disagreeing mate, if they did that then fair play to them but I just dont really think they should be criticised for not doing it if they choose not to.

The club is in the shit - the background staff were always going to get laid off and be the first to go.

Plus you ahve to think that even if the club were requesting players to take pay cuts, its not the players that would rebel, it would be those attention seeking nutters at the PFA that would be onto them like vultures.

I'd be fairly hacked off if I was in a £12k a year job and was having to be laid off to save costs if there was several earners in the business on salaries between £1m-£3m a year who couldn't even help in the slightest by taking a minimal pay cut.

I do think the players should get a little bit of stick for this, they can't even take a 1% pay cut to help a club that could go out of business, but why would the players care about that, it will make them free agents to go off and collect a nice signing on fee and similar wages somewhere else.

Players wages in general make me sick compared to the man in the street mate but the clubs offer to pay them the money so the players are never gonna turn it down. Nobody holds a gun to these clubs heads to pay the wages.

Its gonna take a bit more than players giving up 1% of their wages to dig Pompey out of the shit mate.

I know every little helps and all that but like I say its not the players fault that they are on lucrative contracts and the admin staff arent - thats just the way it works.

There are plenty of people in this world that get paid more money than me but I dont expect them to take pay cuts so I can have more money / keep my job etc.

The 85 people would almost cetainly have lost their jobs even if more players took a pay cut. The business has huge debts which need repaying and every possible saving is being made. That's what administrators do - cut costs.

If you played for Portsmouth, would you take a pay cut? Would you really? Do you care about them that much? Would you not have you become accustomed to the lifestyle that the wages have provided you with and would you give that up? Probably no in most cases.

Spot on General

Sol Campbell £1.2M image rights..............Harry stitched them up good and proper on player contracts I wonder what Crouch, Johnston et al were on, its Harry that screwed this club over bad.

Sadly. Again, that they should ever get to multi-million pound contracts at any club like Pompey is and will forever remain beyond comprehension.

i'm still convinced they'll go tits up

The Miss C thread is in Banter, mate.

Media today:

"Portsmouth players are preparing to dip into their own pockets in a bid to keep up to eight members of the training ground staff in work until the end of the season."

I'd hazard a guess that if just five or six players went without wages for ONE WEEK, they'd be able to keep eight members of the training ground staff in work for a year.

Fucking pathetic - think of all the families, etc. How did we get to this??

Reportedly John Utaka is on £80k A WEEK, if thats true then just one weeks wages from him would be enough to keep 6 or 7 of those staff on for a year.

If hes on that then thats fecking crazy but again its Pompey's fault for offering him that contract.

Agree with whoever mentioned it above, I think Appy Arry has a lot to answer for as im guessing a lot of these ridiculous contracts were sanctioned by him before he fecked off.