Lower league Pompey

[Iggle Piggle]

Although this is most amusing one on the comments

As a resident of Portsmouth, I would very much like to see the club gone. The town is a traffic stand still when they play at home; and the vile, loud mouth supporters seems to believe behaving like animals after every game is justified.

I have always wondered how the Southampton lot earned the name 'scum'. It is a name more apt for Pompey fans.

The stadium seems to be 'revered' because of some bizarre nostalgic sentiment. Utter crap. It is simply an embarrassing shed that most fans wouldn't give a backward glance at if another stadium was built. I'll never forget how those scum went on a wrecking spree in their home town.

Begone PFC - your time was over years ago.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

The parachute money is going to Gaydamak, not Chanrai.

And despite being more realistic than most Pompey fans, that chap is still wrong. The CAUSE of their problem was not asset strippers. The asset strippers and opportunists are a sympton of their problems, which are plainly and simply, a result of a few years of hideous overspending.

And he's deluding himself about the land value too. The area is a pit.

I've been down that way a few times and I must say it doesnt' strike me as Sandbanks land values to say the least.

I am now officially confused about where the money is going. Must be that bottle of red last night.

 

[Simster]

I am torn on that one. Part of me says that we should just keep on doing the right thing. I'd like to know what TB thinks though - whether anyone actually thought about it or we simply followed procedures.

Me too. These days, £50k is relatively small beer to a club like ours with the infrastructure to actually make money. And it could be a good investment in other ways. If Pompey do stay afloat, that amounts to a decent goodwill gesture that Albion had put faith in their club where Reading (not unreasonably!) has not. And if they fold, but only after the season has been played out, then that £50k will be part of the reason why they lasted as long as they did - and in all likelihood we'll have taken 6 points off them.

I'd also just like to add my thanks to severnside and NAN whose posts have been incredibly informative and a real insight into the goings on at that club.

I guess I have some sympathy for the average supporter, but the fault lies not just with the crooks who have pillaged the club or the players who have not questioned where their vast salaries are coming from, but also with those in their fan base who have simply not bothered to dig deep into the way their club has been run. They're always telling anyone who will listen that they are the biggest club in the South (laughable nowadays), so how come the fanbase of the club immediately to the East of Portsmouth includes probably dozens of journos and accountants many of whom jumped on the asset stripping of BHA as soon as it was spotted? Are you telling me there are no such professionals amongst the Pompey support? Ultimately, that's why I can't feel too much sympathy for the club at all.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

This problem could be made to go away really easily. How? Get Portsmouth City Council to make Fratton Park and all the land surrounding it only useable for sporting purposes or recreational purposes. No houses, no business parks and no shops. Land instantly worthless.

Next (and I am a Pompey fan and an ex season ticket holder), wind the club up. Yes I did say that. Wind the club up. Then Gaydamak, Chanrai and all the others trying to asset strip our famous old club will be millions out of pocket and it will serve them right for being greedy.

I thought there was already some sort of council protection on what the land could be used for ?

 

[Gwylan]

And he's deluding himself about the land value too. The area is a pit.

That's as maybe but the SE is short of brownfield sites and I bet it would be worth quite a bit.

And finally - this idea they have that they can simply just go and take over Havant and Waterlooville pisses me off too. How arrogant is that? Do H&W get a say?

He's not saying that. He's saying fans could go and support them. Sounds like a reasonable statement to me - not dissimilar to ones that were being made by Brighton fans in 1997.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

He's not saying that. .

Yes. Yes he is.

"or get the fans to support Havant and Waterlooville Hawks, who, not being based on the island, will have much more room to grow and develop. Yes we'll have to start at the bottom but it will be worth it when we make it back to the championship in 10-15 years."

If you read many other posts on the same subject elsewhere, a lot of them do have this idea, that they can just pitch up at West Leigh Park, in their thousands, sing their Pompey songs, take over the board, change the kit, and the badge, and effectively take their ground and their place in the sixth tier.

I'm not sure whether they see the destruction of the Hawks' own history and identity as unavoidable collateral damage, or whether they simply think that H&W should be GRATEFUL.

Either way, it a massively arrogant proposition.

 

[Hotchilidog]

I guess I have some sympathy for the average supporter, but the fault lies not just with the crooks who have pillaged the club or the players who have not questioned where their vast salaries are coming from, but also with those in their fan base who have simply not bothered to dig deep into the way their club has been run. They're always telling anyone who will listen that they are the biggest club in the South (laughable nowadays), so how come the fanbase of the club immediately to the East of Portsmouth includes probably dozens of journos and accountants many of whom jumped on the asset stripping of BHA as soon as it was spotted? Are you telling me there are no such professionals amongst the Pompey support? Ultimately, that's why I can't feel too much sympathy for the club at all.

It is this that grates so much with me, the plaintive pleas from the 'helpless' fans. Surely BHA proved that fans are not helpless, it was the fans that discovered the changes to the articles of association and delved deeper into the finances, it was the fans that got active and brought the Albion's plight to national attention and finally got the authorities involved, and it was a fan that finally got rid of Archer and Belotti. This was of course all followed up by a decade long campaign that finally got us to Falmer, the fans can even take on the government if they want! I'm sick of pompey fans whinging that it's not their fault and they are powerless to do anything, they just couldn't be bothered and now it all appears to be too little, too late. Even now at this late stage where is the action? where is the campaigning? where is the rallying of support? Absolutely BLOODY NOWHERE.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Although this is most amusing one on the comments

As a resident of Portsmouth, I would very much like to see the club gone. The town is a traffic stand still when they play at home; and the vile, loud mouth supporters seems to believe behaving like animals after every game is justified.

I have always wondered how the Southampton lot earned the name 'scum'. It is a name more apt for Pompey fans.

The stadium seems to be 'revered' because of some bizarre nostalgic sentiment. Utter crap. It is simply an embarrassing shed that most fans wouldn't give a backward glance at if another stadium was built. I'll never forget how those scum went on a wrecking spree in their home town.

Begone PFC - your time was over years ago.

That is class.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

I thought there was already some sort of council protection on what the land could be used for ?

Via the medium of google, that is apparently true.

I take it back - That fan doesn't have an IQ above the average house fly.

 

[Gwylan]

Yes. Yes he is.

I think that's a bit of a selective interpretation. He quite clearly says "or get the fans to support Havant and Waterlooville Hawks, who, not being based on the island, will have much more room to grow and develop". I don't see how "get the fans to support" can really be interpreted as meaning "Let's take over H&W". The part about starting from the bottom clearly refers to the other option of being a phoenix club.

I'm sure there are fans that say that they should take over H&W but this fella's clearly not saying it and he shouldn't be tarred with the actions of some deluded nutters,

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I think that's a bit of a selective interpretation. He quite clearly says "or get the fans to support Havant and Waterlooville Hawks, who, not being based on the island, will have much more room to grow and develop". I don't see how "get the fans to support" can really be interpreted as meaning "Let's take over H&W". The part about starting from the bottom clearly refers to the other option of being a phoenix club.

I'm sure there are fans that say that they should take over H&W but this fella's clearly not saying it and he shouldn't be tarred with the actions of some deluded nutters,

Whatever you reckon - he's not talking about individuals choosing H&W as a new team to follow. That's why he says "GET THE FANS TO support H&W". i.e. - all the fans, as a block. A takeover, formal or otherwise.

 

[Mellotron]

Next, either start up an "AFC Portsmouth" selling them the now worthless land or get the fans to support Havant and Waterlooville Hawks, who, not being based on the island, will have much more room to grow and develop. Yes we'll have to start at the bottom but it will be worth it when we make it back to the championship in 10-15 years.

Sorry, when were HAVANT and WATERLOOVILLE HAWKS last in the CHAMPIONSHIP? He's clearly referring to PFC "taking over" H&WHs.

I'm sure there are fans that say that they should take over H&W but this fella's clearly not saying it and he shouldn't be tarred with the actions of some deluded nutters,

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Sorry, when were HAVANT and WATERLOOVILLE HAWKS last in the CHAMPIONSHIP? He's clearly referring to PFC "taking over" H&WHs.

And there is no "Havant and Waterlooville Hawks". This club that he's proposing to go and support (not take over, on no sirree) -he doesn't even know what its called.

It would be like going to suppport "Brighton and Hove Seagulls".

 

[Gwylan]

Sorry, when were HAVANT and WATERLOOVILLE HAWKS last in the CHAMPIONSHIP? He's clearly referring to PFC "taking over" H&WHs.

Eh? H&W are in Conference South - that's nowhere near the bottom of the pyramid. You seem to be unaware that there's quite a bit of football played below this level.

I know that some of their fans are totally deluded and think that they'll just pitch up there but the one just quoted has his head screwed on and can face reality. As I said to HKFC, you can't just assign opinions to this bloke just because other nutters have them.

 

[Mellotron]

Eh? H&W are in Conference South - that's nowhere near the bottom of the pyramid. You seem to be unaware that there's quite a bit of football played below this level.

I know that some of their fans are totally deluded and think that they'll just pitch up there but the one just quoted has his head screwed on and can face reality. As I said to HKFC, you can't just assign opinions to this bloke just because other nutters have them.

Eh? No idea what you're on about there, think you completely missed the point of my post.

My point is - He's using the phrase WE when referring to H&W, quite clearly he's referring to Pompey fans taking over H&W and using them as the "new" Pompey.

Why else would he say "get BACK in the Championship"?

He said WE can get BACK in the Championship, at the same time as talking about supporting Havant and Waterlooville. I'll ask again, when were Havant and Waterlooville last in the nPower Championship? They must've been in the Championship before, to get BACK there, surely?

 

[Gwylan]

Eh? No idea what you're on about there, think you completely missed the point of my post.

My point is - He's using the phrase WE when referring to H&W, quite clearly he's referring to Pompey fans taking over H&W and using them as the "new" Pompey.

Why else would he say "get BACK in the Championship"?

He said WE can get BACK in the Championship, at the same time as talking about supporting Havant and Waterlooville. I'll ask again, when were Havant and Waterlooville last in the nPower Championship? They must've been in the Championship before, to get BACK there, surely?

No. You haven't read the whole thread. The Portsmouth supporter said that there were two choices: become a phoenix club and start at the bottom of the football pyramid and take 10 to 15 years to get back to the Championship; or go and support H&W.

HKFC says that a few thousand fans starting to support H&W would have the same effect as taking them over - I'm not so sure it would, unless they could get some sort of influence and infiltrate the board. But the fella's not saying that, he's just saying that it would be an option. There's also an option to watch Brighton of course - I'm sure a few of the Sussex based fans might look to that.

Personally, I think the vast majority of the fans would opt for the phoenix club option. It's what I'd do. I think the 10 to 15 years to get back to the Championship is optimistic though. It's 10 years since AFC Wimbledon formed and I wouldn't bet on them getting into the Championship in the next three or four years.

 

[Mellotron]

No. You haven't read the whole thread. The Portsmouth supporter said that there were two choices: become a phoenix club and start at the bottom of the football pyramid and take 10 to 15 years to get back to the Championship; or go and support H&W.

HKFC says that a few thousand fans starting to support H&W would have the same effect as taking them over - I'm not so sure it would, unless they could get some sort of influence and infiltrate the board. But the fella's not saying that, he's just saying that it would be an option. There's also an option to watch Brighton of course - I'm sure a few of the Sussex based fans might look to that.

Personally, I think the vast majority of the fans would opt for the phoenix club option. It's what I'd do. I think the 10 to 15 years to get back to the Championship is optimistic though. It's 10 years since AFC Wimbledon formed and I wouldn't bet on them getting into the Championship in the next three or four years.

Someone has done some selective editing then, because transcribed above, it suggests he talks about getting back in the Championship in the same breath as going to support H&W.

 

[Pinkie Brown]

Never mind the rest of it, I cannot believe we are letting them sell tickets to their fans and not sorting it out ourselves.

That £50k could have made or broken us in years gone by. Why should we write that off??

Abso bloody lutely!

I can't believe we haven't followed the example of Reading who are only selling from the Madjeski ticket office to Portsmouth Fans. There may have been database issues but that could have been overcome by stating, 'produce your season ticket or membership on entry at the AMEX or no entry'. Not an ideal solution but better than no controls.

So as I see it, Brighton will probably join the list of creditors & get a few pennies in the pound several years down the line? What happens if some of their more neanderthals cause 1000's of pounds worth of damage? We have everything to lose & nothing to gain.

The only possible plus? Have we paid them out for the ticket sales from last August? Hopefully not. At least have a sizable 'down payment' for the inevitable default.

 

[Simster]

You three are arguing over semantics as far as I can see. Whatever that fan meant, it is certainly arrogant, and I think that is something we can all agree on!

Oh and this is a real bug bear of mine:

No. You haven't read the whole thread. The Portsmouth supporter said that there were two choices: become a phoenix club and start at the bottom of the football pyramid and take 10 to 15 years to get back to the Championship; or go and support H&W.

Surely that is "a choice" (of two options) as opposed to "two choices".

 

[Gwylan]

Someone has done some selective editing then, because transcribed above, it suggests he talks about getting back in the Championship in the same breath as going to support H&W.

Yes. HKFC did a bit of selective editing. Here's what was originally written. "Next, either start up an "AFC Portsmouth" selling them the now worthless land or get the fans to support Havant and Waterlooville Hawks, who, not being based on the island, will have much more room to grow and develop. Yes we'll have to start at the bottom but it will be worth it when we make it back to the championship in 10-15 years."

The starting at the bottom bit clearly refers to the phoenix club option because, as I just pointed out, H&W is not at the bottom of the football pyramid. I agree it's clumsily written but actual words make no sense otherwise.