Portsmouth AGAIN

Prufrock · Post by **Prufrock** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:13 pm

"Portsmouth manager Avram Grant has threatened to field weakened teams for the remainder of the season with his side all-but relegated following a nine point penalty for entering administration. " (BBC Gossip column) Thought I'd better reference it

Go for it Avram, that'll show 'em.

Juewanderer · Post by **Juewanderer** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:17 pm

I know we've got to play Portsmouth again but according to the Mail, Avram Grant is" hinting" that he will field weakened teams from now on.

Thus giving our relegation rivals a better chance of staying up.

Would they not incure fines for fielding understrengh teams?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... teams.html

Avram Grant: I'll ruin relegation dogfight by fielding weakened Portsmouth teams

Avram Grant has hinted he will make a farce of the Barclays Premier League survival race by fielding weakened teams for the rest of the season.

The Portsmouth manager is furious his team have been condemned to play Championship football next term after being deducted nine points for going into administration.

He will hold a crisis meeting with his players today in an attempt to discover how they want to approach their remaining nine league games, when they have nothing left to play for.

And in a threat to the integrity of the Premier League he has refused to rule out two stark possibilities.

He may field weakened teams, preferring to keep his best players fit for their April 10 FA Cup semi-final date against Fulham or Tottenham at Wembley.

jimbo · Post by **jimbo** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:17 pm

Prufrock wrote:"Portsmouth manager Avram Grant has threatened to field weakened teams for the remainder of the season with his side all-but relegated following a nine point penalty for entering administration. " (BBC Gossip column) Thought I'd better reference it

Go for it Avram, that'll show 'em.

He should sell places in his starting XI to the highest bidders, therefore raising some much needed cash.

Gary the Enfield · Post by **Gary the Enfield** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:09 pm

They should hold back the parachute payments they've been assured they'll get to keep 'em afloat this season.

F*ck 'em.

Hoboh · Post by **Hoboh** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 5:37 pm

Grant should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute for comments like that! Just shut up and get on with it you knob!

bobo the clown · Post by **bobo the clown** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:02 pm

I know there's a need to "play to the crowd" a bit and keep the Pompey fans on-side, but in the past few weeks he's shown himself to be a complete, sulking, irrational, gobshite & knob.

If he does it against us though, good. I reckon we need 6 more points ... 7 for certain will do us. If we get 3 this way then feck it.

fatshaft · Post by **fatshaft** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:27 pm

I don't follow why he's pissed off about this? Happens to every team, and if it was in the lower leagues it would have been 10 points.

Lord Kangana · Post by **Lord Kangana** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 12:24 am

I don't follow why everyone's p*ssed off with the weakened teams thing. They're bottom of the league by a distance, how much weaker could they get?

And every little helps to get three more precious points. All's good with the world from where I'm sat.

FaninOz · Post by **FaninOz** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:25 am

If they play their "best" or fitrst team against us and beat us and then their "weakest" or reserve team against everyone else and lose our fans would be rightly upset and so would anyone else if it was the otherway round.

There's playing a squad approach moving your players around and then there is what he has said he could do, effectively throw games to show how pissed off he is at the 9 points. Definitely a bringing the game into disrespect comment, shouldn't be allowed to be a manager after that comment!

Zulus Thousand of em · Post by **Zulus Thousand of em** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:15 am

... and he bones prossies.

Worthy4England · Post by **Worthy4England** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:41 am

They still have us, Wigan, Hull and Wolves to play in and around the bottom end of the table.

I'm sure Burnley who lost twice to them and Sunderland who managed two draws will be delighted at the thought of Grant giving points out to the rest of us. Wet Spam got 4 points off 'em, but could be really affected if an easy three points are given to the bottom half teams Pompey have left to play.

With West Ham impacted, this could affect our chances of winning the World Cup!

Bring it on, Avram.

ohjimmyjimmy · Post by **ohjimmyjimmy** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:32 am

Chill out Avram, go and have a massage or something.

KeeeeeeeBaaaaaaab · Post by **KeeeeeeeBaaaaaaab** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:37 pm

Premier League change FIFA rules for financially mismanaged club. They're allowed to sell players outside the transfer window.

It all stinks, really, doesn't it?

TANGODANCER · Post by **TANGODANCER** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:47 pm

Doubt if the players will share his views as at least some of them, with no desire to play Championship football, will want to showcase their talents in order to leave a club that's already in deep shxt. Take it with a pinch of whatever. I will.

superjohnmcginlay · Post by **superjohnmcginlay** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 12:59 pm

KeeeeeeeBaaaaaaab wrote:Premier League change FIFA rules for financially mismanaged club. They're allowed to sell players outside the transfer window.

It all stinks, really, doesn't it?

That does fooking stink. What a load of bollox.

boltonboris · Post by **boltonboris** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:06 pm

Nobody will buy them until the summer anyway.. why would you? Buy a player who can't play now, or buy him cheaper in the summer when he hands in a transfer request? Seems pointless to me

H. Pedersen · Post by **H. Pedersen** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:06 pm

superjohnmcginlay wrote:
KeeeeeeeBaaaaaaab wrote:Premier League change FIFA rules for financially mismanaged club. They're allowed to sell players outside the transfer window.

It all stinks, really, doesn't it?
That does fooking stink. What a load of bollox.

They can sell players, but those players can't play for their new Premier League clubs until the next window. Why would anyone take them up on this offer?

Puskas · Post by **Puskas** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:13 pm

H. Pedersen wrote:
superjohnmcginlay wrote:
KeeeeeeeBaaaaaaab wrote:Premier League change FIFA rules for financially mismanaged club. They're allowed to sell players outside the transfer window.

It all stinks, really, doesn't it?
That does fooking stink. What a load of bollox.
They can sell players, but those players can't play for their new Premier League clubs until the next window. Why would anyone take them up on this offer?

Football league clubs?

Foreign clubs?

They can play for those chaps.

boltonboris · Post by **boltonboris** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 1:17 pm

Puskas wrote:
H. Pedersen wrote:
superjohnmcginlay wrote:
KeeeeeeeBaaaaaaab wrote:Premier League change FIFA rules for financially mismanaged club. They're allowed to sell players outside the transfer window.

It all stinks, really, doesn't it?
That does fooking stink. What a load of bollox.
They can sell players, but those players can't play for their new Premier League clubs until the next window. Why would anyone take them up on this offer?

Football league clubs?

Foreign clubs?

They can play for those chaps.

Subject to FIFA approval.. The same FIFA who said they wouldn't support the Premier League in this deal. Which Championship club could / would afford these transfers at this stage of the season? without knowing what they'll be planning for next season?

H. Pedersen · Post by **H. Pedersen** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:54 pm

Bruce Rioja wrote:
H. Pedersen wrote:
Bruce Rioja wrote:85 reducies announced today amongst club staff, some on as little as £15K a year. Out of all the players, the Admistrator announced today, only two offered to take a pay cut to try and help stop this from happening.

The wedge between player and supporter takes a hard knock once again!
Any guesses? David James shouldn't be hurting for cash after all these years.
The guy wouldn't say, but James was first that came to my mind. He also comes across as being a really decent fella.

Looks like we were right, Bruce . . .

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/footbal ... 584412.stm

Portsmouth players have stepped in to save the jobs of four of the club's training ground staff, manager Avram Grant has said.

The debt-ridden club laid off 85 staff in a bid to cut costs after going into administration in February.

But players and staff have rallied to cover the wages of the club groundsman, a masseur and two others.

"The players, me, the staff and everybody contributed, and I must say we were happy to do it," said Grant.

"Most of these people were here before me and the players, and they will be here after. We need to keep them."

Among those whose jobs have been saved by the gesture - reported to be costing each player around £1,500 - is former Royal Navy sailor Tug Wilson who now works as groundsman.

"Tug has done a lot of years here and works from the morning until the night on very low wages," said Grant.

"He does a great job and I'm happy he's here. I think the moment the club loses its human side is the first step towards it being finished."

Wilson, who earned £60-a-day for taking care of Pompey's training pitches in Eastleigh, said he was amazed by the move, thought to have been suggested by goalkeeper David James.

"You read a lot of bad things about footballers these days," Wilson told the Daily Mail. "But what's been happening here has been amazing."

Pompey boss Grant, whose side host his former club Chelsea at Fratton Park on Wednesday, insisted that staff whose jobs had been saved and those who were carrying on without their former colleagues were key members of his team.

"We have a kit man who works from the morning until the evening and takes care of 11 teams alone," he added.

"He was with two assistants but they are not here now because of the situation. I look at him and I don't know what to say. I admire him.

"I admire these people because they are not in the spotlight but, without them, there is no team.

"Even at Chelsea, where you have players coming and going, you cannot succeed without these people helping us. These people are very special and we live with them day by day.

"I'm very happy the players and staff did what they did. It means a lot to me personally because football is not just a cold business."

The south-coast club employed 166 staff full-time and 154 part-time before it became the first Premier League side to go into administration. The subsequent nine-point penalty has left them 14 points from safety in the Premier League and all-but certain to suffer relegation.

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