Talking about spending, Shrewsbury have increased tickets by 2 quid. £19 in advance and £21 on the day for those of you who wish to visit us.

The price of progress. Thank fuck I renewed my season ticket at the early bird rate which works out at just under £12 a game. A reasonable amount for 4th division football, but a fucking bargain in the 3rd it seems.

Anyway, how do those prices compare with other clubs in the division? I suppose I should trawl through various club websites, but I don’t have the time or the inclination.

OK I’m a lazy twat.

Depending on where you sit, it's in line with/cheaper than Brentford. About the same as the cheapest part of the ground. No idea about the rest of the division, but Brentford seem like they'd be pretty average.

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Gangster Octopus wrote:


I've tipped Portsmouth to go down again this year and the points deduction seems a step in that direction.

Additonal note for clarity: I tipped them as relegation candidates before the deduction

Pompey fan here… Basically, I’m comfortable with the deduction and sanctions the League are imposing. PFC deserves the points deduction, and the sanctions could be what we need to get back on our feet. This season was always going to be a struggle, and I saw survival as our main aim. The points deduction will make that more difficult, but I think other factors will have a greater bearing on whether we stay up or not.

The general feeling I’m gauging from fellow fans is that people were half expecting a points deduction, and feel we have got away lightly compared to a club like Luton. I think there is a real awareness now amongst the majority of Pompey fans that we’re lucky to still have a club, and that up until now we haven’t really ‘cut our cloth accordingly’, so to speak.

This is in contrast to a year or two ago, when we were still signing players on £15k - £20k. A minority – me included - said this wasn't the sign of a club learning from its mistakes; that we should be drastically reducing the wage bill on principal, we shouldn’t have to be forced to do it. We were told "don't worry - the football league have approved the business plan." Some of us then said "but would you trust the football league to properly scrutinise our affairs?" Again, some dismissed this view and suggested the dissenting voices should change into our hair / Southampton shirts.

The news that the FL is to ‘hold our hands’ for five years should be good news, provided they actually fulfil their scrutiny role. As I understand it Crystal Palace went through a similar thing, which actually helped them in the long run.

The statement yesterday has been interpreted by some as the FL indicating a preference for the Portsmouth Supporters Trust taking over. Whether this is true or not, if the Trust does succeed then I guess the five years 'hand-holding' could be just what it needs - I'm not suggesting the people involved in the bid aren't capable, but running a football club will be new to everyone. The FL's 'hand-holding' could be seen simply as sensible parameters for the Trust to operate within for the first five seasons. It could ensure that people don't get too ahead of themselves, or out of their depth.

Leon Tricker wrote:


Fair enough, but I must admit I struggle to understand this point of view.

The goal of the Football authorities should be to provide the sort of PRO-ACTIVE oversight needed to prevent clubs being driven into administration and/or being run by crooks. The FA and FL have failed miserably to do either of those things hence you have clubs in the predicament that you find yourselves in.

Point penalties are entirely RE-ACTIVE,do nothing to address the root causes of financial mismanagement and as ADC has already noted upthread are not an effective deterrent.

In any case the people largely responsible for this mess are long gone and will care not one jot about another point penalty being imposed on Pompey. Meanwhile the likes of you and your fellow loyal supporters are left to clean up the wreckage, the whole thing stinks.

El Tel wrote:


Yep, I agree with this. More should be done to punish the people who caused the problems rather than the clubs. In Portsmouth's case Mr H Redknapp should be investigated as partly culpable, IMHO.

Portsmouth have gone on a pre-season tour. Seems strange that they can afford to do that, especially as they have no idea whether they'll be able to/want to recruit the trialists they've taken.

Anyway, I think Div3 could be quite an interesting league. None of the teams coming down are in an astonishing state, nor are the defeated play-off teams - I fear Franchise may be the best set, alas.

Then there's a number of teams who are spending if not massive amounts of money, then at least decent Div3 amounts - Bournemouth, Preston, Swindon, Crawley. And I think Brentford have a decent set-up.

Here's Portsmouth's motley bunch of trialists, by the way: Izale Mcleod, Simon Gillett, Brian Howard, Moustapha Dumbuya, Jon Harley, Simon Eastwood, Luke Rogers and Lloyd Sam.

St Mirren are maximising the brand, or whatever pre-season is for these days, in North West England. First stop is the all important Cumbrian market.

Any tips for Carlisle on a Friday afternoon/night ? Get in mid-afternoon and back on the last train to Glasgow Central. Thought this might be the thread to find out the best pubs between the train station and the ground. All tips most welcome. Ta

KingsburySaint wrote:


You'll get allocated a pub in town if there are a few expected to make the trip, and if so the pub you'll get is the Griffin, which is right outside the station.

There are far better pubs in town, if real ale is your game then the Howard Arms and Kings Head are worth going out of your way for (by which I mean ten minutes walk from the station). Otherwise there's a cluster of reasonably nice, and pricy bars to the left as you come out of the station (Circle, Thin White Duke, Gilded Lily) if you're into continental lager and hummus. Turn right out of the station for cheaper pubs (Walkabout, Weatherspoons) but they'll be home fans only by early evening.

Apart from the pubs we've got a castle and a cathedral to wander around, each of which will kill a few minutes.

And I should add, there's a rugby union club next to the football ground which is a regular and trouble free venue for both home and away fans - the pub opposite the ground will probably be home fans only,

Thanks. The Howard Arms and Kings Head sound like the best places to start.
I doubt there will be more than 150-200 down although the train is still relativly cheap.

Does anyone Brentford-connected know if this is likely to be a goer? It's been in limbo for some time now, and this is probably the only viable 'Brentford' site left for them to move to now that the new flats are in along the A4

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The Brentford fan I was chatting to on Saturday was hoping that they'd be building a pub on each corner...

NickSTFU wrote:


A good deal for the season ticket holders - although that number has dropped in recent years. Maybe it will go up with promotion.

Not such a great deal for irregular fans and occasionals.

Football is now a lifestyle choice rather than an amusing diversion on a Saturday afternoon.

JM Footzee wrote:


Is that Luke Rodgers the ex-Shrewsbury, Notts County, Port Vale player?

El Tel wrote:


I don’t disagree with any of what you’ve, other than to say I think points penalties should run alongside sanctions for owners / crooks.

I think there is an argument that the actions of dodgy owners can lead to success on the pitch, and I think this needs to be reflected somehow. So, yeah, punish the owners – but if sporting advantage has been gained then this needs to be countered in some way. A points deduction seems as appropriate a gesture as any other.

I also think that points deductions, because they hit the people left behind, have led to Pompey fans taking a greater level of interest in what the owners are doing, which I would say is a positive development.

Jongudmund wrote:


I’d be interested in why you think Redknapp is cupable. A lot of Pompey fans would certainly agree with you.

I’m no great fan of his, but I tend to feel the blame ultimately lies with Gaydamak. Redknapp was no doubt putting a great deal of pressure on the owner to sign players. I suspect Gaydamak believed Redknapp was bigger than the club, and wanted to keep him onside. But it’s Gaydamak’s fault for signing cheques he ultimately couldn’t cover, surely?

Peter Storrie, the old chief exec, has to take his share of the blame for his poor contract negotiations – the salaries, the add-ons, the image rights, the lack of relegation clauses etc.

JM Footzee wrote:


It’s something that we’re wondering too. One theory is the trip is being funded by the ‘high worth’ investors working with the supporters trust.

Jongudmund wrote:


Surprised we didn't offer him something. A handy pocher in his season in Nottingham.

Confirmation of how the Pompey trip is being paid for:

m.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/pompey/pompey-p...ood-heroes-1-4069819