http://www.cardiffcity-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/pompey_after_whittingham_683695/index.shtml As Mike asks in his article, where have Pompey managed to scrape up several £million from???
Looks like paper talk, 1.5 mill not enough anyway. 2 years left on his contract. I'm off to Pembrokeshire until Saturday, hope to see a few new faces at the City by the time I get back.
DSC have just been taken over by a bunch of Russians i believe, but surely that would be a backward step for Whitts, cant see him going down there anyway
Pompey Fan in peace. Have also seen the rumours of us signing Whittingham. To answer the question of "where have we got the money from" - we were taken over by a group of russian sports investors about a month ago. They are reportedly worth around £600m between them. We are still under a CVA agreement, and this is our main priority to pay this off. Because of the CVA, we have to have all transfers sanctioned by the football league and we have a cap on the amount of wages we can pay. What do you guys think of Whittingham? Ex Premiership, young(ish) and has a cracking free-kick is all I know of him. We feel it would be a cracking signing if it comes off - are Cardiff looking to sell him then? does he have much competition for his place?
Hope he stays, but may not be MMs cup of tea due to work rate. He has improved over the last season or two though. Rhondda, watch you back for Jacks while you are away.
Hi Mike, Your summation is pretty accurate but he can also supply some great balls and pick a pass. Can go missing sometimes - or seem to - as he isn't much of a battler... As for the are we looking to sell/competition for places questions, we've experienced the exodus of loanees, players out of contract and the sale of Chopra and we have to date seen just one new recruit, a replacement for Burke in Conway. So no competition for any places hardly, but we are hearing rumours of potential new arrivals a lot - well we have to or else we don't have a 1st team let alone a squad! So really depends on what Malky wants in his new squad and if existing players form part of that picture and if higher paid players making way might be part of his budget management...??? Good luck with the Russians - as £600m isn't that huge an amount of money as I doubt that their entire collective worth is fully available to be invested! Any idea what their plans are - i.e. Why Pompey? Previous/existing ventures? Links with other clubs?
Why Pompey? - your guess is as good as mine but I have a sneeky feeling it has a lot to do with the surrounding land around Fratton park! Sell for flats or for a tesco and they are quids in. Also, the asking price for the club was £17m - not a high price in my opinion. The Russians are part of a sports investment group called CSI (yes, we have heard the puns!) - they currently own the Spyker car company, had some dealings with Saab and also have a holding in some of the racing worlds sporting events - Manx TT I think, but could be wrong. They buy up sporting teams, i.e - a couple of football clubs in Russia for cheap - invest and get their money back - but more importantly, they are football fans. With the ability to redevelop Fratton Park (plus a tesco or flats) they would make their money that way. To be fair, we have not heard a lot from them regarding their intent - but at present the sky is blue on the south coast as everything they are doing seems to be for the right reason and they appear to be listening to the fans. They have currently given Cotterill a transfer kitty (remember we havent seen a transfer that we have paid for in 2 years!), redeveloping the training ground, which will be ready for Friday and then investing in the ground. With the previous bunch of crooks we had running us, this is a breath of fresh air and we are keeping our fingers crossed that they will grow to love us down here instead of using us as a "play thing" - all signs are positive so far though. On Peter Whittingham - we have heard a rumour down here that he has put in a transfer request? Any news your end?
Whitts is a lovely player and I would be sad to see him go. Would be a great signing for any Championship side. Scored 24 goals in 09/10, less goals last year but still hit double figures and was played out of position for much of it. I hope to see Whitts in our side next year on the left, as I think he is one of the top players in this league.
I am hearing Andy Taylor has chosen us and it will be confirmed this week. Good news again Also we are the bookies favourites to land Bellamy http://www.oddschecker.com/football...my-specials/club-after-summer-transfer-window
The Leak triumphs once again over the Carrot (I'll wait for any official confirmation though before gloating too much) All gone a bit quiet on the Bellamy front which could be a good sign?
I'd seriously be disappointed in the board and Malky if we sold Whitts. Whilst he does go missing from time to time he is still a great player who can make something out of nothing. Just look at his goal against Barnsley last season. Belter! Intersting insight from what's going on at Portsmouth, i've been so focussed on Cardiff City the last few months I've missed what's gone on at other clubs.. But is good to see them coming through what they have in the last few years, wish it on no club's fans. I'm not sure, and this is no disrespect to Portsmouth at all, why Whitts would want to go to Portsmouth, if the rumour is to be believed that they are offering £1.5 mill (which is far too low in my opinion) they would also have to fork out wages which i'd imagine after his renegotiation last year would be a fair whack too. Are Portsmouth really in a position to offer this despite the new ownership? For me, Whitts is essential for next season, building the midfield around him and his clever runs from the left flank like a couple of seasons ago, I think he could do some damage. fingers crossed he stays.. Out of interest Portsmouth fans, is Liam Lawrence available? I rate him highly and would love to see us make a bid for him. What's the situation on Michael Brown too? He was the player that was unable to play due to a clause in his contract last season isn't he?
Would be a sideways step definitely, however if they are going to throw a shedload more wages at him then maybe, after all Chopra didn't exactly move upwards did he? Of course with a new manager coming in all bets are off as well. Hope he stays personally as think his experience could be key.
Wages are something that I was worried about also. but because we are in a CVA - every transfer has to sanctioned by the football league before it can ahead. Our CVA states that we can have an average wages of 10k per player per week. Whether or not Whittingham features in this I dont know! In regards to Liam Lawrence - hands off unfortunately! We are building a side around him - and with only 10 registered players for next season we are definately not in a position to be selling! Michael Brown is all yours though - the money grabbing, greedy so and so! He had a clause in his contract that meant one mroe start and he triggers a new contract (3 years at £25k a week!) - we tried to renegotiate with him and he wanted none of it - so he has been sat in the stands since January and he has now been released. (The same as Richard Hughes) Great player though, and my namesake so always had a soft spot for him - calmed down now too which is good and scores some vital goals - you are welcome to him and he would be a great midfield talisman for any team in this division. Interested to see where this Whittingham bid is coming from though - even BBC are reporting it now!
If we sell Whittingham I will be furious. Firstly we are not really in a position to sell due to our thin squad, and secondly he's been one of our best players in the past few seasons. Yes he goes missing sometimes, but thats what happens when you play someone who isn't that strong in centre midfield. 36 goals in two seasons, be stupid if we sell him.
Whittingham wont go to Peeeeortsmuuuuf. Why would he ? For less money than he is on now ! We had all these rumours last year wrt Whitts, i cannot see for the life in me why Mackay would want to sell him, and i cannot see why the player would want to put a transfer request in. Hope you didnt read this in The News Mike, have fond memories of watching Pompey when i was a Skate in the 80's and 90's. However hands off Whittingham, plus why would he want to play in front of 14 thousand people when he plays in front of 22/23 thousand people now ?
I know what you mean in terms of previous regimes at our club! If he has put in a transfer request I think that would have to have been on the back of some sort of discussions with the new man at the helm...otherwise I can't imagine he'd simply turn round and say I want out when he stands to play a huge part as things stand... As soon as I read your CSI comments it all came clear...there's a guy in my office who supports Pompey also and I remember when he mentioned these Russians and me having a laugh with him about forensics...actually it's our owners doing some of that though with Sam Hammam's old accounting practices!
I did say I came in peace! Gosh! As i have already said - this would be considered a major coup for us - if it happened! There appears to be many rumours going around today throught the media (BBC included, so it cant be imaginary as we all know the BBC website does not get updated with any old junk) The number of people he is playing in front of is irrelevant also - unfortunately I am not Peter Whittingham, nor his agent, so your questions will go unanswered until something concrete is released from either club. We have suffered enough over the last few years and we are now, with new owners, looking towards the future. If our new owners intent is to be challenging for the play offs then signing someone like Whittingham would be proof of just that. As I have also said - this is media talk at present with neither teams releasing any information - only time will tell and I was merely enquiring into his status within CCFC and the competition for the places he has. Lets just see what happens! P.S - No offence taken Definately a poster in peace here as I have always had a soft spot for the Bluebirds after the cup final!
We have both suffered at the hands of the crooks it appears so i am glad you can see the non-malicious, non-WUM origins of my posts. Football is about the fans, always has been and always will be and I eblieve CCFC and PFC are cut of the same cloth - I know when you walk around Cardiff, you wont see Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea shirts on kids - just the home team. CCFC is part of the community, exactly how a football club should be and we can sympathise immensely with this!
