TrueBlueArmy Forums

Anyone on here thinking of going? It's quite expensive but should be interesting. Guest speaker is Harry, and presumably JM will give an update on how he sees things for next season, transfer window etc.

Good nosh?

Thinking about it. Have to dig out my black tie stuff.

(22-03-2023, 01:10 AM)Rocketman Wrote: [ -> ]Anyone on here thinking of going? It's quite expensive but should be interesting. Guest speaker is Harry, and presumably JM will give an update on how he sees things for next season, transfer window etc.

Twitchy can feck off  

If you want a bit of fantasy and fiction go to the cinema. Much cheaper and you don't get to listen to utter bollocks. Him and defoe should share a cubicle together.

(22-03-2023, 08:09 AM)scouse Wrote: [ -> ]Thinking about it. Have to dig out my black tie stuff.

Point of order you Marxist coont, a donkey jacket doesn’t count as “ black tie stuff” white silk scarf or no white silk scarf.  See you there x.

Interesting choice by the Eisners.

Is TJC forgiven now or still TJC?

What happened to the Pompey Hall of Fame?

Judas cannnnntttt

Regardless of what you think of the man he gave the majority of us the best players and football seen at FP for decades ( or maybe even ever).Never mind winning the FA cup. I’d blame Storrie and the many useless owners before I’d blame Harry.

Forgiven.

Took us up.

Took them down, got battered by us in the process.

Came back, won us a cup and took us into Europe.

Would have carried on were it not for the way we were funded and our ambitions tanking (can you blame your manager for the conduct of your owner?)

Always states his best days were at Pompey

(25-03-2023, 08:43 AM)scumslayer Wrote: [ -> ]Forgiven.

Took us up.

Took them down, got battered by us in the process.

Came back, won us a cup and took us into Europe.

Would have carried on were it not for the way we were funded and our ambitions tanking (can you blame your manager for the conduct of your owner?)

Always states his best days were at Pompey

Absolutely right SS. Problem is certain people on this forum have absolutely no idea how a business runs let alone a football club!!
Harry didn't sign a single player when he was manager. He said who he wanted, and the Board decided if it was feasible. Generally they supported him, even though we were living way above our means, but that wasn't Harry (or Rosie's fault). Nor did we as supporters complain at the time. That's also why the Eisners said from day one that they weren't going to throw stupid money at our club, and rightly so. Some people (again on this forum) are very good at spending other peoples' money!

It is difficult to understand some of the criticism directed at Harry.
Obviously some may be talking from a superior knowledge of the game. However, he was a great manager for Pompey and put together a brilliant team.

Perhaps some may even have a greater perception of good players at a young age?
However, It was Harry , in 2009, who brought a certain young lad through into his Spurs first team, Now what was his name ........ ?

Oh yes another Harry - a sound choice - and scored just a few goals since HR gave him his first chance !

It never ceases to amaze me how many fans who lived through those days still beieve the ridiculously oversimplified view that overspending and living beyond our means was the cause of our downfall.  

It wasn't that simple. Our debts were modest by premier league overdraft standards, we would not even have been in the top of the table for money owed to the bank and the debts were less than a season's premiership income. We were screwed by the 'cnut soup' of owners, as Micah Hall put it.  Screwed by Gaydamak senior being arrested by Interpol, screwed by the banks immediately stopping any credit for Gayadamak Jnr, screwed by the recession causing the banks to panic and give us only months to pay back Gaydamak's overdraft, then screwed by the people who followed Gaydamak - a fantasy millionaire pretending to have money (Al Fahim), a non-existent sheik (al-faraj), and loan shark (Chanrai) accompanied by convicted fraudsters being put in charge of our finances (Azougy), and even then appointing a dodgy administrator in Andronikou.   Any one of those factors would threaten a clubs existence, we had four or five in a row. The actual amount of debt at the beginning was irrelevant to what followed. 

How anyone can  complain about the Eisners after that lot is beyond me.

(25-03-2023, 10:00 AM)DeepBlue Wrote: [ -> ]It never ceases to amaze me how many fans who lived through those days still beieve the ridiculously oversimplified view that overspending and living beyond our means was the cause of our downfall.  

It wasn't that simple. Our debts were modest by premier league overdraft standards, we would not even have been in the top of the table for money owed to the bank and the debts were less than a season's premiership income. We were screwed by the 'cnut soup' of owners, as Micah Hall put it.  Screwed by Gaydamak senior being arrested by Interpol, screwed by the banks immediately stopping any credit for Gayadamak Jnr, screwed by the recession causing the banks to panic and give us only months to pay back Gaydamak's overdraft, then screwed by the people who followed Gaydamak - a fantasy millionaire pretending to have money (Al Fahim), a non-existent sheik (al-faraj), and loan shark (Chanrai) accompanied by convicted fraudsters being put in charge of our finances (Azougy), and even then appointing a dodgy administrator in Andronikou.   Any one of those factors would threaten a clubs existence, we had four or five in a row. The actual amount of debt at the beginning was irrelevant to what followed. 

How anyone can  complain about the Eisners after that lot is beyond me.

Quite right about all those factors, however, coporate greed and panic at the 2008 meltdown were, IMO the main reasons. We always want to put a name and a face to a problem Peter Storrie - Donald Trump - Boris Johnson - but that's all just a red herring to distract us from same cultprit every time - big business protecting its profits.

(25-03-2023, 10:00 AM)DeepBlue Wrote: [ -> ]It never ceases to amaze me how many fans who lived through those days still beieve the ridiculously oversimplified view that overspending and living beyond our means was the cause of our downfall.  

It wasn't that simple. Our debts were modest by premier league overdraft standards, we would not even have been in the top of the table for money owed to the bank and the debts were less than a season's premiership income. We were screwed by the 'cnut soup' of owners, as Micah Hall put it.  Screwed by Gaydamak senior being arrested by Interpol, screwed by the banks immediately stopping any credit for Gayadamak Jnr, screwed by the recession causing the banks to panic and give us only months to pay back Gaydamak's overdraft, then screwed by the people who followed Gaydamak - a fantasy millionaire pretending to have money (Al Fahim), a non-existent sheik (al-faraj), and loan shark (Chanrai) accompanied by convicted fraudsters being put in charge of our finances (Azougy), and even then appointing a dodgy administrator in Andronikou.   Any one of those factors would threaten a clubs existence, we had four or five in a row. The actual amount of debt at the beginning was irrelevant to what followed. 

How anyone can  complain about the Eisners after that lot is beyond me.

DeepBlue, what you say in your main paragraph is correct, but not the whole story either.  It doesn't matter how big your debt is as long as someone is underwriting it (usually against assets and future funding potential). Man Ure, Chelski etc had debts far far bigger than ours, but in both cases had a sugar daddy with endless pockets. We didn't, and therein was the second part of the problem. We were screwed by all from Gaydamak Jr to Chanrai, and of course the pitiful "right and proper" test. 
Overall I think we agree on the main concepts, and that the Eisners have a sound approach. Three points today and an improved GD will help ;-)

(25-03-2023, 09:06 AM)firqdays Wrote: [ -> ]It is difficult to understand some of the criticism directed at Harry.
Obviously some may be talking from a superior knowledge of the game. However, he was a great manager for Pompey and put together a brilliant team.

Perhaps some may even have a greater perception of good players at a young age?
However, It was Harry , in 2009, who brought a certain young lad through into his Spurs first team, Now what was his name ........  ?

Oh yes another Harry - a sound choice - and  scored just a few goals since HR gave him his first chance !

Broke my heart when he joined our ditch digging neighbours, it hurt beyond hurt. The reason it hurt so much was because the love for him, at that time, was deep in our city. That promotion team did not just get into the Premier League it put the pride back into the club and City. His real legacy for the likes of me is that he gave me the best teams and the best players I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing at Fratton. The like of which I will never see again in my lifetime. Let us down badly by joining the straw suckers but everything considered, thank fook he turned up when he did.

Seems to be sold out anyway.