Houston we have a problem..........money.

[Rodders]

And alco:

No. Prior to Milandric and Gaydemak, there were several plans in motion to relocate Pompey, all of which were quite feasible and in that measure, attracted the investment from these wealthy backers. Obviously the plan was to exploit Portsmouth's very partisan supporters, with the possibility of PL status and 35-40k for home games entirely possible. They got Redknapp back, won a trophy within two years and were in the final again and Europe. All they needed for the return on this was a full 35-40k stadium, from a supporter footprint that extends out to the southern districts of Southampton, across Hampshire to Winchester, across to Petersfield and eastwards to Chichester, and south to the Isle of Wight as well. That is a bigger area than the greater district of Sheffield, with one PL team (as was then) playing in it. There was some sense in this investment and some motion in building the new Fratton Park, ideally out on the major east/west/north motorway intersection, which has excellent nearby rail links as well both from Pompey and inwards from London and the West.

But Canada Geese, the environmental lobby and eventually the council had other ideas ...

pommpey

..which is all well and good, but before any of these plans were in any way concrete, Ol' Twitchy was signing anyone he could get his hands on for 100k a week (or whatever ludicrous sums they were) saying "the chairman does all the deals guv, naffink to do wiv me" (a similar excuse heard at Southampton and now QPR though the Club's been extremely fortunate to go up this year). It wasn't like he'd grabbed a team of Championship players by their bootstraps, he'd signed some ridiculous players on ridiculous wages for a team the then-size that Portsmouth were. It was madness for them to gamble like that.

 

[pommpey]

They do, it's called Chelsea. Hee hee

Nice research, but 255 square miles for Winchester..........WINCHESTER!!! That just sounds unbelievable, that's more square miles than Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham or Liverpool.

It might be 255 square miles because there's nothing else near it, but a couple of barns and a tin shytehouse once you get 500 yards outside the City Centre aint going to produce many fans for anybody.

What I'm trying to say really is that I think the Portsmouth board at the time massively overestimated the support it could generate. The area might be a large area with few professional clubs but it has been massively infiltrated by London exiles and I reckon just as many Chelsea and Arsenal fans exist down there as Portsmouth and Saints fans.

Have you actually been down here, JJB?

pommpey

 

[JJBlade]

My knowledge of the area extends only to football games, a night out in Portsmouth because I had a couple of mates in the Navy and a weekend at Hayling Island.

 

[pommpey]

My knowledge of the area extends only to football games, a night out in Portsmouth because I had a couple of mates in the Navy and a weekend at Hayling Island.

Who are they, and which ships?

pommpey

 

[Fulwood Blade]

..which is all well and good, but before any of these plans were in any way concrete, Ol' Twitchy was signing anyone he could get his hands on for 100k a week (or whatever ludicrous sums they were) saying "the chairman does all the deals guv, naffink to do wiv me" (a similar excuse heard at Southampton and now QPR though the Club's been extremely fortunate to go up this year). It wasn't like he'd grabbed a team of Championship players by their bootstraps, he'd signed some ridiculous players on ridiculous wages for a team the then-size that Portsmouth were. It was madness for them to gamble like that.

and we will see in December what happens to QPR when they are asked to pay £65M for overspending.

We will see if the FL have grown some balls to actually make QPR pay up.

Pay up or FUCK OFF when they eventually get relegated again.

UTB

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

I disagree, Patrick ... and this is why.

We are a big club. Why are we a 'big club'? Because on Saturday, Bramall Lane was filled with 20k supporters, a crowd that people like Crawley, Peterborough, Yeovil, Notts County would weep in dire hope for on their opening day of the season. We are in the same division as them, largely by pure dint of fact we have been poorly managed as a team, sold some talented players in some cases under their value and as a result, failed to get out of the third tier of English football for three miserable years.

Those 20k supporters are a fraction of the global support Sheffield United attracts as a third division team. Everybody invests in the Blades, be it buying this season's shirt, a Season ticket, saying 'Shall we gurra t'match?' or watching Sky Sports Gillette cuntfest on a Saturday. So we do have a right to know what the score is as investors, or why support the club? Don't you wish to know what has become of last year's big promise of investment from a man who joined the club the day after the transfer window shut? As I recall, us questioners were roundly told to shut the fuck up when we brought this spiny issue up and to trust in Lord Cluff to deliver - the Saudi was effectively steering the vessel through these choppy waters. Well, yes ... last season post Fulham away was a fucking revelation, but we have now lost Brayford, Coady and now Maguire ... three players who really, really were large parts of the revival last season and have had a cash injection of FA Cup money, supposed 'game changing investments' and now some or most of the £2.5m received for one of said large parts.

So, as one of those investors, I wanna know - in fact I demand to know ... where's it all gone? If it has gone on overheads, then don't you think that last year's staff cull was enough? If the club is costing too much to run, then show us the proof of this? We have a right to know, so we don't inevitably think the board is short changing the manager and telling him to go begging and pull people through from the supposed academy. How many more fucking seasons will we spend in LD3 then before we build a side that is ready for promotion? How many more academy/young players (like Reed, for example) will we develop only for Wolves/Stoke/Watford/whoever to come along, buy off us and the money be used to pay off overheads? Is that not crass mismanagement?

We lost on Saturday and despite all the inquests held on here, something still fails to convince me that the board is backing us, the players or Cluff, who I still maintain is the right man for the job. I hope Saturday was a small trial for the team and we can get our skates on and anchor ourselves I the top three like most of the previously automatically promoted sides have. Another season of hit/miss performances and allowing our supposed promotion rivals to open up crucial points gaps will just not do when so much has been fed to us as the bright new future for Sheffield United. Currently we still have parts of the playing staff who continue to be weaknesses (like Flynn, for example) and this just is not good enough. We, as supporters have a right to demand the best and a right to be told if this cannot be delivered ... and that is the board's responsibility, not ours.

pommpey

Do you know exactly what has been spent in transfer fees? Do you know exactly what our players are earning? Do you know how much was spent in signing on fees, agents fees etc.? How do you know this team isn't good enough for promotion yet?

 

[JJBlade]

Who are they, and which ships?

pommpey

They've been out of the Navy for many years now mate. They were submariners (crazy b@ggers). They spent most of their time in Bergen, or under the polar ice cap, or Rosyth and Faslane.

One of them went AWOL from Portsmouth on the Friday night before we played Leicester in the promotion year.
He turned up in our local pub on the Friday night saying he couldn't stay in case anyone had realised he'd gone walkabout so we went elsewhere. He couldn't go home and he couldn't go to his parents house either so he stayed at my place.
He wanted to know if I'd got him a ticket...lol
I said "Why would I get you a ticket your in the f@cking Navy you daft tw@t"
He said "I know but I wasn't missing this"

He travelled down to Leicester and bought the last stub in the season ticket from one of the Leicester fans for a fortune.
We went out Saturday night got bladdered and he caught the train back to Portsmouth on Sunday and got back just in time for parade on Monday morning......lucky bleeder, nobody noticed he'd gone AWOL.

 

[pommpey]

They've been out of the Navy for many years now mate. They were submariners (crazy b@ggers). They spent most of their time in Bergen, or under the polar ice cap, or Rosyth and Faslane.

One of them went AWOL from Portsmouth on the Friday night before we played Leicester in the promotion year.
He turned up in our local pub on the Friday night saying he couldn't stay in case anyone had realised he'd gone walkabout so we went elsewhere. He couldn't go home and he couldn't go to his parents house either so he stayed at my place.
He wanted to know if I'd got him a ticket...lol
I said "Why would I get you a ticket your in the f@cking Navy you daft tw@t"
He said "I know but I wasn't missing this"

He travelled down to Leicester and bought the last stub in the season ticket from one of the Leicester fans for a fortune.
We went out Saturday night got bladdered and he caught the train back to Portsmouth on Sunday and got back just in time for parade on Monday morning......lucky bleeder, nobody noticed he'd gone AWOL.

Hmm. Tall tale, indeed.

Nobody noticed he'd gone. If he had a reason to be in Portsmouth, they would have noticed his absence. If (as it seems) he was simply on weekend leave, this 'and strike a light, I just managed to get up the gangway before the quartermaster noticed anything' is the closing coda to many a 'dit' spun in naval circles.

And to think he's been spinning this for nearly 25 years!

pommpey

 

[Maidenhead]

There have been plenty of examples of teams chucking money around and not winning things.

agreed. It took Newton Heath 25 yrs of throwing money at it and changing managers when it didn't work to win the league title.

Step forward the right man and the rest is now history

 

[Revolution]

agreed. It took Newton Heath 25 yrs of throwing money at it and changing managers when it didn't work to win the league title.

Step forward the right man and the rest is now history

Yes, and Ferguson did it without spending any money at all!

Jesus wept.

 

[Will Brammer]

it is abit annoying that we've sold maguire and not really brought in some more quality with the funds, after earning around over a million in the fa cup (not including tv coverage), I do believe the money is there to be spent, we just havent attracted the right players, i doubt we will see many more signings, probably one more loan max. Clough has always said he wanted a small squad.

 

[yorkshirecoast]

We can only assume that our game changing Board told Clough there was very little money to spend. Otherwise it would be completely ludicrous for him to have brought in all the free signings he has.

 

[Fulwood Blade]

it is abit annoying that we've sold maguire and not really brought in some more quality with the funds, after earning around over a million in the fa cup (not including tv coverage), I do believe the money is there to be spent, we just havent attracted the right players, i doubt we will see many more signings, probably one more loan max. Clough has always said he wanted a small squad.

£900K of the FA cup money is stored away in the bank account for an artificial DESUN pitch which would have been laid in the summer but the company were too busy doing other grounds. This has been scheduled for next close season.

FYI it is the same as Real Madrid, Barca and Wembley plus others.

UTB

 

[alcoblade]

£900K of the FA cup money is stored away in the bank account for an artificial DESUN pitch which would have been laid in the summer but the company were too busy doing other grounds. This has been scheduled for next close season.

FYI it is the same as Real Madrid, Barca and Wembley plus others.

UTB

Let's hope Chesterfield and Rochdale enjoy playing on it next season.

UTB

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Desso, not Desun.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Desso, not Desun.

it's not green it's orange

 

[Rodders]

We can only assume that our game changing Board told Clough there was very little money to spend. Otherwise it would be completely ludicrous for him to have brought in all the free signings he has.

I imagine they've told Clough the same as they told Weir; you'll be among the top overall spenders in the league (inc wages) - then if we get up, we'll talk then.

 

[Large Mendonca]

I reckon we have spunked the Maguire money, on wages for several mediocre players.

 

[Bladesman]

I reckon we have spunked the Maguire money, on wages for several mediocre players.

Starting to think that myself.

Oh well...not sure why anyone is surprised.

 

[Fulwood Blade]

Desso, not Desun.

Thank you for that - I will go and sit in the corner and put on the D for dunce cap on!

And for those not old enough, yes it used to happen in schools! Just think if teachers tried to do that now?

UTB

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

I imagine they've told Clough the same as they told Weir; you'll be among the top overall spenders in the league (inc wages) - then if we get up, we'll talk then.

Ever thought that the agents might say get out of the division or be 10 points clear at the end of January and we'll talk.

 

[Toronto Blade]

If the cost to Huddersfield is "believed" to be ~£400k then when we enquired it was "believed" to be ~£1m
Is there any wonder that NC looked around and got others in?

But meh, whatever. I'm sure there will always be something to beat someone with because...reasons

I don't understand why Liverpool wouldn't come back to us with a lower counter offer knowing the player was happy here and the Blades had inquired instead of selling to Huddersfield for less than half what they quoted us.

 

[JJBlade]

I don't understand why Liverpool wouldn't come back to us with a lower counter offer knowing the player was happy here and the Blades had inquired instead of selling to Huddersfield for less than half what they quoted us.

Maybe they did let us know he was available Toronto, but maybe the board asked if they could loan him to us again and pay most of his wages.

 

[S5Blade]

Tin foil hat time.......

 

[yorkshirecoast]

Millions have gone in? Where?

 

[Large Mendonca]

Clough and the backroom team, Baxter, Cuvelier, Basham, Scougall, Wallace, Butler, JCR, Alcock, McNulty etc etc etc

Not money in transfer fees as such, but the wages (with 2 and 3 year contracts) probably add up to 2-4 million which I suppose is "millions".

That's how I interpret it anyways.......

 

[bartman]

Millions have gone in? Where?

hasn't half the debt been paid off ? if so that is around £20 mill. I suppose we will find out when the accounts come out

 

[Pollingtonblade]

Tin foil hat time.......

"Part of it is conditional"

On what?

 

[S5Blade]

"Part of it is conditional"

On what?

 

[yorkshirecoast]

"Part of it is conditional"

On what?

The fee we agreed for Harry was £100k + an extra £2.4m if Hull win the Champions League and Harry scores the winner