Admin and that
This an open message to all those bandwagonners who are saying that Pompey are cheats and they bought the FA Cup.
It's not the fault of Portsmouth FC as an entity or of the fans that it's in this disgraceful and embarrassing position.
The current players and staff are all committed to the survival and the future of the club which is at the heart of the city. An historic football club in a proud city full of heritage.
I'm studying mathematics, graphs and tables produce one constant which crops up, the former manager of AFC Bournemouth, West Ham, Portsmouth and Southampton. Four random showings of those football clubs entering administration conclude that three out of the four clubs went into administration at some point prior to that managers departure and another was very deep in the mire.
Three out of the three clubs that went into administration that the former manager managed are located on the south coast where the former manager lives.
It could of course be a coincidence.
Published Date:
28/02/2010
Modified Date:
28/02/2010
What If It Was Your Club?
Pompeys plight has been worsened by the late winner for a mediocre Stoke City at Fratton this evening, the hopes that have been raised by the news of an impending salvation from a new buyout were dashed by another defeat that leaves Portsmouth well adrift of the rest of the strugglers in Englands top division.
What is really upsetting is the way many people in the game have turned on the club and in speaking out have turned against the fans and the city which is so proud of a famous English club. A club that won successive league championships, provided international players to England and many other nations. A football club is the beating heart of a city and community, Portsmouth FC is no different, it is a huge part of Portsmouth and it's people.
Quite why some of the media and football people are crying out for Portsmouth to be destroyed is beyond me. Would they be calling for Chelsea or Manchester United to be liquidated if their benefactors pulled the plug and left them in the lurch? No of course not.
Has Portsmouth FC offended anyone so much that the football team should cease to be? I think not, the fact is Pompey have lived beyond their means and we readily admit it (shame that nobody in the media admits Redknapp is in any way responsible) but look at Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and they all live beyond their means. United have recently issued a £500m bond to solve the cashflow problems that was sold out in hours and is not performing too well, is that responsible?
So to all the pundits, journalists, managers and so called football fans who are wishing Portsmouth Football Club to be wound up and finished, put yourselves in the shoes of a Pompey fan and then think on, what you believe should happen to a great historic club....would you want that to happen to your team?
It's not the fault of Portsmouth FC as an entity or the fans that it's in this disgraceful and embarrassing position and don't think for one minute it should be resolved by destroying the football league status of what has been and is an institution in a great and proud city.
Published Date:
20/02/2010
Modified Date:
20/02/2010
Another Day Another Drama
More dramatic news from Fratton Park as it's revealed Balram Chanrai is to become Portsmouth latest owner. He has taken over invisible Arab Ali al Farajs 90% stake, Chanrai and his associates have lent the money which has kept Portsmouth FC afloat in recent months and the failure of the Faraj company Falcondrone to repay any of it has led to Pompey changing hands yet again.With two big battles looming next week, one versus HMRC in the High Court and the not insignicant FA Cup fifth round tie with nearest rivals Southampton what Pompey really need is someone to steady the ship which has been recently plundered by former manager Harry Redknapp.
What I find strange is that with all the transfers out to Spurs no money has been seen coming Pompey's way, Crouch, Defoe, Krancjar, Kaboul all gone and Pompey sliding ever closer to oblivion. If Chanrai can placate the taxman next Wednesday then the club will be on a more even keel but the revenue do seem to be targetting football clubs just lately, Crystal Palace and Notts County to name but two have been hit with winding-up orders and Palace failed to stave it off incurring a ten point penalty as a result.
If Portsmouth were to enter administration the nine point deduction would only confirm what is probably going to be relegation from the Premier League but is the top flight that desirable for a club of Pompey's size? Even in a good season the best a club can realistically hope for is a top ten finish in a league that is so top heavy a one nil defeat against Chelsea is considered a good result. Qualification to the new format EUFA Cup, the Europa League brings the added challenge of a possible dozen extra games, qualify from the group stages and you're rewarded with all the teams not good enough for the final stages of the Champions League joining you.
The massive spending and wages in the Premier League has to bring the house of cards crashing down at some time and Portsmouth could be well off out of it sitting in the Championship competing on a level playing field virtually debt free.
Published Date:
04/02/2010
Modified Date:
04/02/2010
Don't You Just Love The FA Cup
Portsmouth find themselves in the fifth round of the greatest club
competition in world football, their lowly league position has no doubt
forced some fans into voting with their wallets as to whether they
attend a cup tie. Two embarrassing attendances of eleven and ten
thousand for the games against Coventry and Sunderland have lent their
next opponents some ammunition to fire in the weeks approaching the game
versus local rivals Southampton. Pompey won the cup in 2008 barely two
years ago but we all know whats happened since then, three different
managers, the squad scattered to the winds (mostly to Tottenham) and now
the club teetering on the brink of financial oblivion.
The
Portsmouth News website has had a mini invasion of Southampton fans on
the comments boards all eager to point out that they are getting bigger
attendances than Pompey and although it's sad it is nonetheless true.
Where are all those tens of thousands of fans that thronged the streets
and packed the common to welcome home the cup winning heroes? All gone
it seems, I know there is a recession and times are hard but for less
than ten thousand fans (the visitors brought six or seven hundred) at
home for a cup tie is shockingly poor for a city of the size of
Portsmouth.
The Battle of Hampshire at St Marys will have around
four thousand Pompey fans there and I hope that the tickets are offered
first to those who bothered to attend the previous two rounds and
especially a priority for those who travelled to Coventry for the
replay. Those who sat through the dire first match and sang their hearts
out at the Ricoh Stadium deserve it. Likewise the fans who got behind
their team against Sunderland when all too predictably they went one nil
behind but witnessed an inspired second half performance. Whether the
players kick started the fans or vice versa I'm not sure but a corner
seemed to have been turned.
Local derbies are few and far between
these days, the atmosphere is electric and even though it's a lunchtime
kick-off this will be no different. I really miss the Pompey
Southampton games and I'm really looking forward to this one, it could
go either way. While watching the fifth round draw with just four numbers left Reading came out, I knew that West Brom were number eight and I started chanting "8 8 8 8 8" then Geoff Thomas pulled it out....number eight. That left two teams, "yes, I don't care home or away but we've got Southampton". It really is too close to call, Portsmouth are the
Premier League side but to be truthful they lack players of true quality
and Saints are already on a run in the FA Cup and looking for more cup
success are just ninety minutes from Wembley in the Johnstone's Paints
Trophy.
If I were a betting man (which I am) I'd lump my cash on
it being a draw which is something that Hampshire Constabulary will not
want to see and neither will the residents of Fratton who well remember
the scenes of violence the last time the sides met in Portsmouth. The
historic facts are that Portsmouth have never beaten Saints in the FA
Cup in four meetings but the cash boost of more than £400,000 from The
FA and television will be handy for Pompey in these cash strapped times
where they have a credit rating worse than Zimbabwe.
Published Date:
27/01/2010
Modified Date:
27/01/2010
Paul Weller....Its All About Him Not You
Saturday night at Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury was the venue for my second Paul Weller gig this year, an open air concert in conjunction with the Forestry Commission. Westonbirt was riding high on the success of the previous night when McFly took the stage but not a sell out so it was no surprise to me when the traffic marshalls and gate staff were unprepared for the 7,000 who swarmed on down from the fields now hastily turned over to car parks.
We are old hands at Weller gigs be it small theatres or big outdoor arenas and once the car park picnic of ham, pork pies, potato and onion tortilla with a dessert of homegrown strawberries were demolished washed down with Portuguese rose we entered the arena and got ourselves into a good spot.
A good spot for a five foot ten bloke with a girlfriend considerably shorter than that is not behind tall people. So finding an ideal location can be tricky, about seven bodies back from the front is just about perfect, any closer and you'll be in that 'moshpit' nonsense where total strangers push pull and fling each other around like they've been mates since nursery school. The moshing area is also not ideal for someone still recovering from a ruptured achilles tendon so mid-stage seven bodies back is good for me.
The excitement builds, the support band do their set and pretty good too they are too. Twisted Wheel three lads from Oldham, look out for them, the raw energy of their obvious Clash and Jam inspired music will be hitting out nationwide after this summers gigs, they play Glastonbury this Sunday on the John Peel stage. If you watch the festival highlights on telly Twisted Wheel should feature on there.
Support act finished now and we're still there just about seven bodies from the front awaiting the Modfather, more tension builds, pissed people are having to go to the toilets making space but more people arrive in our 'seven bodies from the front' exclusion zone. Oh no, no no no no you can't stand there mate, you're eight feet tall and got a rucksack on your back, go on get off out of it. Damn it, we now have to make a tactical move to the left, but hold on yes, nice one the group of blokes next to us need more beer, one is despatched to the bars and we slide along unnoticed and the freak of nature is no longer in the eyeline.
Suddenly Weller is on, the man we've come to see and hear and what a fantastic view, no giants in my line of sight and away we go, Peacock Suit, Changin' Man but hang on..what's occured here then? lots of upper class voices and blonde hair pile into my space, my area, my jurisdiction that I've been guarding faithfully for two hours. I know I know, it's a gig, it's a free country and people have paid their money but I'm now suffering this young female idiot screaming 'woooooo Wellerrrrr wooooooooooo' holding her camera phone in the air constantly while the other hand clutches a pint of white wine.
My upper limbs start to act of their accord, and every time the over-priviledged Barbie bangs into me the elbow goes into her ribs. I'm not giving an inch of ground to the young bitch, I saw The Jam before she was even conceived and been a fan of Paul Wellers' music long before she was even at her boarding school. But then........then she lights a cigarette up, and we become wreathed in her vile smoke. In these days of non smoking workplaces and public buildings we've all become so more aware of cigarette smoke around us, in a word to a non-smoker it's 'intolerable' and my girlfriend asked her politely to please put it out. Barbies response was mono-syllabic.........'NO'.
An uneasy stand-off then ensued and the girl who thought the whole evening was all about her suddenly got a huge surprise, Weller launched into 'From The Floorboards Up' and immediately a surge came from behind us. Just like the random surges you used to get at football before the days of all seater stadia and the European Runners-Up League. But this was no random surge, this was die-hard Paul Weller fans who wanted to get to the front, right in among those mosh-heads and dance and leap around like a demented gazebo, I stepped to the side and grabbed my girl while these three blokes with linked arms and drunken grins on their faces flew past us taking everyone in front of them including the phone clutching, wine drinking, fag smoking spoilt brat into the 'Pit of Mosh'.
Well now, this was great, now we all had loads of room, no elbowing and a clear view of the stage with all the chaos going on in front of us which just became completely mental as 'Eton Rifles' blasted out but then the mosh area soothed a bit as Weller calmed it down with 'Sea Spray' and what do we see staggering out of the mass of bodies? yes indeed, Barbie, now not screeching 'wooooo' looking somewhat dishevelled, minus wine glass and mobile phone making her way out of the mass of people and indeed right out of the gig still desperately flicking her hair as if nothing had happened while looking to all the world like she's just about to burst into tears.
What goes around comes around, treat others as you would like to be treated and we all get along great but if you behave in life as though you are the only person who matters somewhere along the way you'll take a fall.
Published Date:
21/06/2009
Modified Date:
21/06/2009
Do it without a supermarket
It's not like me to have a rant but I've just been reading about the new stadium for the 2018 World Cup story and would like to add my two penneth worth.
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/newshome/Portsmouth39s-World-Cup-dream-still.5278927.jp
Does every new development not just a potential new Portsmouth FC stadium have to be linked with a supermarket and housing (namely more flats?).
Portsmouth City Council have not exactly covered themselves in glory in recent times, they didn't encourage IKEA to come to Pompey and just look at the numbers who flock to the store in Southampton not to mention the 100s of jobs created, the tower fiasco and the millions of pounds wasted on computerised bus stops that weren't needed and never worked. But now Portsmouth has the chance to build something for the future, a facility that could serve as a football stadium and a venue for concerts, shows and exhibitions. We don't need another huge supermarket we need more emphasis on encouraging local shops and a community spirit within our city before it's too late.
Don't get lured into the web of the greedy powerful supermarkets, keep our independence and take ownership of this citys future like you should have kept ownership of the Spinnaker Tower and the revenue it generates.
Published Date:
19/05/2009
Modified Date:
19/05/2009
I don't believe she just said that.....
We've all been there a terribly embarrassing moment, the wrong thing said at the wrong time when the maximum offence could be taken if not entirely meant. A moment when you wish you could just become invisible or the floor open up and take you away from it all but surprisingly this occasion wasn't my doing.
There I was sat in the dentists waiting room with just a television set to keep me entertained except that the Jeremy Kyle show is not my cup of tea. The usual fodder of single teenage mum, wayward noncontributing boyfriend, jealous new girlfriend and new hard-working boyfriend providing for the child all stoked up by Kyle and his particular manner of leading both parties to the brink of committing murder live on television before restoring calm and giving them a solution to their problem.
Ignoring the garbage on screen I said good morning to another patient just arrived, his unmistakable Eastern European voice replied "gud mournin" then it all got a bit busy a man arrived who I knew as an elder of the Bangladeshi community took a seat quickly followed into the room by a young man of Asiatic origin.
What came next was straight out of a BBC comedy show.......except you couldn't have scripted it, one seat left in the waiting room......next to me and who do you reckon came in and sat in that seat? Only the absolute spitting image of the vulgar grandmother from the Catherine Tate show.
"Look at that bloody rubbish on telly....bloody good for nothings....all on benefits you know? They should neuter 'em. Listen to 'em....can't even speak proper English". I did my best to be polite and nod agreeably with the odd "yes I know" thrown in for good measure. Seizing the moment I deflected her onto MPs and their immoral expenses claims but that proved to be a mistake. She let rip "I needed a new boiler and had to wait eighteen months for it and pay for it meself then they put the pension up and took my wotsname credit away bunch of bloody crooks.............don't get me started on that Gordon Brown and now they wants to bring in even more immigrants..........there aint enough room for 'em they wants to do what they does in China and limit the number of kids they can have".
Well I just sat there head thrown back staring at the ceiling I have no idea what the other occupants of the room were doing I just wanted to disappear into thin air........then I heard the words "Mr Newsham would you come on through please"............I have never so willingly entered the dentists surgery.
Published Date:
11/05/2009
Modified Date:
11/05/2009
Beer Hunting
Bath is a fine city full of culture, too many tourists but thankfully full of alehouses. Loads of them, my weekend in Bath was punctuated by many a pint and one of the best is the local brew 'Bellringer' and I must confess to asking for a pint of 'Bell-ender' when I'd had quite a few.
Our first stop was the smallest pub in Bath (pronounced Barth for any northerners reading) this is the Coeur de Lion with it's quaint old coloured glass windows and fab food, the tempura vegetables are just enough for a lunchtime snack and allow themselves to be washed down by the beer without a hint of making a windy reappearance. As the pub is so tiny you are compressed into your seats and cannot avoid tourists.......namely Americans. Alright I know they are always so amazed at our old stuff like castles, Roman remains and Stonehenge to name a few. Why do Americans say 'Stonehenge' with the emphasis on STONE? it's not as if there is another one to differentiate it from. 'Hey buddy we're looking for 'STONEhenge'.......... 'ah you mean Stonehenge'..you pronounce it as just one word my transatlantic friend. But what really made me chuckle was the elder male yank who noticing my shaking of the non-brewed condiment onto a bowl of chips exclaimed 'they put put vinegar on their French Fries!'....... his wife Myrtle said 'NO!!'..... he said 'yeah! they seem to like it ya know'.
The Abbey Square is the place to be after lunch, at two o'clock the guides gather outside the door of the Roman Baths waiting to take you on a narrative journey through their city. No need to book no need to part with any cash, the guide who led us on a two hour amble to check out the architecture and tell us the story of his city was a fine English character decked out in several layers of linen shirts finished with a linen jacket. His umbrella was quite clearly of a vintage older than myself and his topping off was a floppy grey Fedora, the whole ensemble spoke of a man who had style, class and the ability to tell a story without boring his audience into the nearest tea shoppe. His class was such that after the walk he simply raised his hat and said goodbye, no hanging around for a tip.
Back on the beer hunt The Star is worth a visit as is the Raven last years winner of Bath pub of the year. The Raven offers nine types of home made pie with mustard mash and a range of beers and ciders. On the subject of cider I was offered good advice by our free walk guide 'cider after beer will make e feel qweer but beer after cider makes a good rider'. So thats sorted then make sure you taste the ciders first.
Bank Holiday Monday saw county cricket at the Bath ground just a short walk across the river and Middlesex were the visitors who being bowled out by Somerset for a total of 65 didn't make for much of a game but the beneficiaries of this thrashing by the hosts were the pubs who cashed in with hundreds of visiting fans heading for the alehouses. Most were in a pretty fluid state by late evening and a most amusing moment on the platform at Bath station was a crowd of Middlesex fans chanting 'we don't know what we're doing'..........I can vouch for their honesty.
Get down to Bath on the train for a day of culture and beer but aim to arrive about tennish before the coaches and you'll have a comfortable visit to the Romans Baths, a nice lunch with a pint then take the free walk including the Circus and The Royal Crescent.......here's a good tip visit The Royal Crescent Hotel and they'll show you round, serve you tea and home made biscuits for a fiver which is a lot less money and a good deal less sickly than a massive Bath Bun with cinnamon butter.
Published Date:
06/05/2009
Modified Date:
10/05/2009