Mr Popodopolous

I stayed at work a bit late to follow it! As I did v Leicestershire- thrillers at Cheltenham it would seem.

Higgins the hero but Payne dealt the final blow! Had a feeling it would be close but under 250 I wasn't too optimistic. 3rd place, joint 2nd in a season where 3 go up- this revival has been nice to see! It's a mere platform but let hoping we shall build on it. Gloucs Looking at that state of play- I would say Lancashire especially given 3 go up are indeed going to pull away a bit. Leicestershire definitely look out of it and Worcestershire may well be- but beyond that it's 2 of 7- maybe 8 but definitely 7. Should be fun!! Specsavers County Championship Division Two 2019 Pos Team Played Won Lost Drawn Tied N/R Bat (Bonus) Bowl (Bonus) Deduct Points 1 Lancashire 10 5 0 5 0 0 23 29 0 157 2 Glamorgan 10 3 1 6 0 0 28 24 1 129 3 Gloucestershire 10 3 2 5 0 0 29 27 0 129 4 Northamptonshire 10 2 2 6 0 0 27 27 0 116 5 Durham 10 4 4 2 0 0 14 27 0 115 6 Middlesex 10 3 2 5 0 0 19 22 0 114 7 Derbyshire 10 3 4 3 0 0 18 28 0 109 8 Sussex 10 2 4 4 0 0 22 26 0 100 9 Worcestershire 10 2 5 3 0 0 18 27 0 92 10 Leicestershire 10 1 4 5 0 0 18 22 0 81

This can go in Bolton thing too, and not looked over it properly but Administrators report for season 2018/19 seems to be in for Bolton. Their losses for 2018/19, totalled £4,224,023, the Management Accounts anyway. No indication for 2017/18 but it may well have been lower- it's barely relevant in a sense anyway as they maybe going bust! A textbook- if very unusual case- of how a side can likely keep within FFP but have significant solvency issues. Most are the other way round- Rich and willing owners but an inability to stick to FFP! Courtesy of Kieran Maguire on his Twitter.

Lead of 241 with 2 wickets left- not sure it's enough yet. 87 overs left- fair to say both sides will have ambitions for the win. 246 all out- 81 overs in which to get them. Or more hopefully for us to get 10 wickets.

A draw would take us into 3rd in fact- balance trying to win with trying not to lose, but the pitch doesn't sound so easy so hopefully before then- if indeed we're still batting. Cricinfo says 20.3 overs left- if we could tick along at 2.5-3 an over then we'd be nearly 250 on by the close. Have a bash in the morning- 80 overs to try to win?

That 50 partnership could've swung momentum- we're currently 175 ahead with 5 wickets left- without that last wicket partnership we'd be well ahead and wondering what time to declare.

4 batting and 3 bowling bonus points. At worst- talking worst case scenario that is if we lose we will be a mere 3 points off the top 3. Win and we'll be joint 2nd, separated only by draws/defeat ratio so a win is very important. Draw and we'll be nestled in between 2nd and the chasing pack albeit with a small margin ahead.

Follow on (not seen the score since tea so dunno but am guessing) now looks highly unlikely but I wouldn't have been so sure- given the heat and humidity Tuesday- wear them down in the field in the hot sun and stick them in- if we're not bowled out due to a deteriorating pitch- for somewhere for maybe a tricky 8-10 overs at the end. Danger when its hot is bowlers run ragged, run ragged in the field then it's your side who has that tricky 8-10 overs at the end and maybe a collapse- pitches don't often deteriorate in the same way as the past but maybe it's different atm.

Listening on the radio, sounds promising- a win would put us joint 2nd with Glamorgan- a full bonus point one would've been up to 2nd but given tomorrow will be hot best to try to strike early today, maybe try to be batting by tomorrow under the sun to set a major target.

348/8 after 100 overs- if we get 350-360 or so and the pitch/conditions are doing a bit that'll suit me. Would hope for 400+ of course but it's a win we need- we'd almost certainly get full bowling points if we win so.

The more sedate side, during what is mainly 20/20 season. Bit of a slow start and at times it was a dicy one, but at the end of Day 1 Gloucestershire 339/7 v Worcestershire- not bad! This is our game in hand and we must make it count. Outground so scoring can be quick but at Cheltenham I'm not so sure it's always the case.

Yep agreed- we should see a profit in 2018/19 plus added to FFP exempt pushes up the FFP profit. If we don't go wildly overboard this year we can have a bit of a go, albeit probably less of one in 2020/21 too as that £24-25m (pre deductions) loss will drop off. Think it's a simple response to a fans query and as a starting point, rather than an end one. i.e. Gross losses then adjusted accordingly- and adjusted again with the £5-13m differential, possibly based on capital injections at CH. Plus indeed I suspect removal of non included items like debt write offs- takeovers for exceptional bad debts or clearance may qualify but then again may not.

Kelly sale will fall in 2018/19 or? Eisa defintiely 2019/20 I believe. I assume he's in the process of putting up the initial then going through and adjusting for infrastructure, youth, womens football etc.

Was mentioned indeed and covered- just, but we're still alive for top 3 and maybe even race for 2nd.

http://priceoffootball.com/selling-your-stadium-to-yourself-its-not-cricket/ A piece I'm looking forward to! Not read it yet, but it apparently has one of those cryptic messages in there. This message is about Shaun Harvey by the looks so it's richly deserved!

Phew!! Wow that had its twists and turns- adds fun that way though. Logged out for superstition reasons as I noticed when I was logged in for a while earlier things were just drifting, no real wickets all a bit meh. I had nagging nervous doubts about 48 off 8 overs, especially with Abbas at one end- high quality international bowler. We're still alive though, promotion wise- that 2020 West Country derby prospect is alive...just.

5 down first ball after Tea but it doesn't sound like much is going on. @Super They do seem to have been. More than that I heard on commentary one of the days a suggestion that they may effectively give up- not in practice but give up in a meaningful sense, the Championship and focus largely on One Day and 20/20. Took a quick look and the 6 full seasons before this one, they've "won" the wooden spoon pretty often! Bottom of Division 2, 4 seasons out of 6. 6 down- into the tail now.

Agreed- I think reasonable chance Lancashire now start to pull away, certainly it's 2 of 8 for the remaining places though.

The platform has been laid. IF we win this one, we can look again at top 3, top 2- but more likely 3rd right now. Have to win though.

Was that a similar timeframe? Certainly I remember reading about Swindon, definitely don't know about Man Utd. Interesting and funny thing. Auditor who signed off on Sheff Wed accounts- is or has been by his own admission, a Mr. John Warner, well he is or has been a season ticket holder. Of them Blades? Er, oddly enough no! Like I say work comes over pleasure but it's a funny thing- not so easy to find this one, but the internet never forgets? http://www.bqlive.co.uk/yorkshire/2015/09/28/news/golf-s-loss-was-firm-s-gain-6443/ It's a long article so I will just quote the relevant bits. While I am suggesting no impropriety or wrongful conduct, really even if all above board it would appear to an outside observer to have potential for a conflict of interest. Do I think one has happened here? Certainly not! The problem is that people have to be seen to be above and beyond reproach as well as actually being so, when it comes to certain professions, or certain situations. Also for double verification- this appears to be same one as the other one, South Yorkshire Investment fund. The article times out, age etc but this search should provide: Like I say just the nature of the beast, surely have to be seen as beyond the fray- can someone who is a supporter, let alone an ST holding one be truly seen as 110% impartial? Again I say yes but! Seems like the sort of thing that should be avoided really, even if all above board which I am sure it is. https://www.accountancyage.com/aa/interview/2414051/best-practice-bhps-john-warner https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/yorkshire/bhp-merges-with-sheffield-practice https://www.insidermedia.com/business_directory/profile/profile-5465 Instinctively to me, even if all turns out to be right and above board which I am sure it is and will, it just "feels" a bit of a puzzle to have a season ticket holder or what seems to be a long term fan with a role in auditing a clubs accounts? Maybe it's a lot more common than I've ever assumed!

I certainly won't speak too soon about it, not after my early optimism last week that wasn't quite justified! ?. However! Results appear to be falling our way in the race for 3rd or even 2nd in Division 2. Full bonus points with the ball today and game or games in hand- think Lancashire will be winning this League, Glamorgan still in a decent position but this can change- could be a very open push for 1, if not 2 promotion places.

I fear you are right, but I believe UEFA regs don't allow profit on stadium sale and leaseback to count towards FFP- PL ones may though, but though I fear you are right I think there should be repercussions as it has effectively allowed them to circumnavigate PL rules to gain a place there- assuming that is that said rules have more in common with UEFA guidelines than EFL ones. God knows why the EFL lifted that regulation though...if they must have it they should set some sort of % of upper limit, ratio, proportion of profit that can count towards FFP. Reading's £6.5m profit on a £20m asset feels somewhat more realistic- that 32.5% or maybe a bracket of 25-35% should be the benchmark IMO when it comes to such RPTs. He can touch a nerve, I do agree. His hidden cryptic messages are ultimately pretty harmless though I reckon, can be amusing too. Bit juvenile though?

It may well go to the last game- at home you seem rather strong, that could be your ace in the pack Essex at home final game. Have it spinning like a top- but within County cricket regs of course. I'd sooner Somerset won it despite supporting Gloucestershire than one of the usual suspects tbh- about time the West Country started building up its sport profile bigger (except a certain team in Bristol of course).

Thought it was a curious decision looking from outside to bowl first. Tuned in to listen for a bit Saturday and when commentators said little movement, not a lot in it for the bowlers- well at Headingley traditionally look up not down. Like I said before, you're a bit unlucky- such a good start and yet such a low margin for error owing to Essex nearly keeping pace. Meanwhile in Division 2. Our current promotion prospects look a little something like this! Still 3 go up and we have games in hand, if we win this one it maybe game on again.

Sheff Wed fans are somewhat salty, touchy- they don't seem to like the scrutiny for some reason! https://www.owlstalk.co.uk/forums/topic/283349-kieran-maguire-article/