Can we play all our games on a Tuesday night Lemmi said to me when I met him yesterday before the game and how true that was as Pompey after a reasonable first half fell apart after the break.
The first two Burnley goals were down to good crosses something their hosts could not muster and the late Charlie Austin hat-trick just added to Pompey`s misery.
PompeyFrippy has already put and excellent report on the site so I will not dwell on the game any longer except to say that if heads stay down we are doomed to League One now but then this is football eh?
So that brought my 1,000 Pompey games up! Can`t really remember the first and I want to forget the milestone game as quickly as possible. For the statisticians Luca Scapuzzi became the 400th player to feature in those games.
Fans conference
The regular pre Saturday meeting took place yesterday and Trevor Birch was present to outline the latest developments with his efforts to find a buyer. In his statement he said that there were three groups that are interested and are taking to him. That does not include the Trust`s Community share scheme or any group led by former Chief Executive Peter Storrie. He claimed no knowledge of that group at all.
TB said he had been in detailed discussions with both the Premier and Football Leagues to find out how point deduction might be avoided when and if Pompey exit Administration. That would of course mean a successful CVA and the problem getting that would be to get the two major creditors (Balram Chainrai and CSI) to agree to it.
There is no deadline to find an acceptable buyer but it needs to be sorted by the Annual General meeting of the Football League which is on 2 June.
He was asked whether it was crucial that the club remained in the Championship to attract a buyer and he felt not although the loss of television income would amount to £1.8m.
Community Shares
TB did agree that the Trust`s Community share plan was step that he supported and would do all he could to assist. His preferred option would be to put the plan together with a new investor = one which I would support wholeheartedly.
Ashley Brown (Truat Chairman) aided by Mick Williams then spent some time outlining the Trust`s share scheme stressing that the News had made a few errors in the FAQ they had produced on Friday. They asked all present to try and correct that situation by answering all the questions and concerns that YOU the fans might have. I will outline the scheme and if you have any queries I will try and answer them or get you an answer from those involved.
The Trust are asking that anyone interested deposits £100 into the Escrow account being held by Solicitors Verisona. That money is refundable – less a 2.5% admin fee – if you chose not to continue when the full prospectus is released. So you are only risking only £2.50!
If you decide to continue with the Share purchase there are various options open to you. You can invest the amount you chose on the original form – £1,000 upwards. If you have not got the money stashed away in the mattress credit will be available through a credit union. Mick Williams who has been dealing with this side of things gave some example figures which are only indicative at the moment – the exact figures will be available when the offer is submitted to you. The APR will be in the region of 9.4%
You want to borrow £900 and the deal will be over two years. To the basic sum will be added the cost of a season ticket for the season 2012/13 and 2013/14 and a £10 per month investment into the Union. That would equate to a monthly payment of £60ish and after it is all paid the investor would get their £240 back which might just pay for the season ticket for 2014/15!!
The bonus is that under the new Enterprise Investment Scheme you would be able to claim tax exemption on the total share investment of £1,000 which would mean the tax man paying you £300!! The Trust have even promised to help all members with any tax queries.
The Trust upon questioning are looking at ways that groups of fans can get together and buy a share perhaps based in pubs or supporters groups such as Vital Pompey. When I get details of that scheme I will get them to you. A Vital Pompey scheme would certainly be workable!
TB agreed that all monies paid to him as donations could be added to the pot. The Trust representatives also agreed to talk to Portsmouth City Council about setting up a scheme where members of the public could pay money into a public type subscription – this was to help individuals with a small amount of cash to drop it into the Civic Offices.
So get thinking fans and if you want to ask questions the please do. I promise to answer them all either here, via PM or even email.
A few shorts – the Trust would not run the club, it would be run by a management team including a Chief Executive appointed by the Trust – the Board would comprise Trust members and local business leaders – there are a few high profile Pompey fans who will hopefully make themselves known who plan to invest heavily in the scheme – the Trust hope the club would break even in year two of their business plan but certainly in year three.
Phew!!
and finally..
I had thought about putting in a few April fools but have decided against after the game yesterday!!
There was an excellent profile of Appy in the Independent yesterday morning – read it here.
Very best wishes must go also to Stylian Petrov in his fight with leukaemia.
PUP
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