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I heard a funny story about how English football works (muddles through, more like) the other day.

Back in 2003 the FA was getting -sized stick from all quarters about its disciplinary procedures.

Some clubs were angry about how long it took for punishments to be dished out, others were annoyed when rivals played the system to ensure their stars would be eligible for big games, the international authorities wanted automatic suspensions, the players demanded a right of appeal and the men from the counties viewed any talk of change as another assault on their place at the heart of the national game. Only the lawyers were happy, being paid silly sums for straightforward work.

Slow, easy to circumnavigate, amateurish and bad value for money - sounds like , doesn't it?

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, , ...every summer has its transfer saga and 2010's is Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas's apparent desire to make a return trip to Barcelona.

The fight for Fab has all the hallmarks of classic : "come get me" pleas, "hands off" responses and almost daily utterances from agents, friends and would-be teammates.

But reading much into any of these would be a big mistake: where Fabregas plays next season will boil down to cold, hard cash.

Or to put it another way, can Barca prise their man away from a "seller" who would rather have the player than the money?

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One of my favourite quotes of recent years is 's bemused reaction to .

"I didn't know the British were good at swimming," Wenger said after led Team GB's swimmers to six medals in Beijing. "I've been in this country for 12 years and haven't seen a pool."

Wenger's powers of observation are not his strong point - he has not seen a foul by an Arsenal player since arriving in London - but he could be forgiven for missing Britain's swimming facilities, they are few and far between compared to his native France.

Which is why last week's news that was so disappointing: understandable, given the state of our finances, but disappointing.

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To the disappointment of Southampton fans, Treasury officials and rival insolvency firms hoping to get the liquidation gig, cash-strapped have taken a big step towards financial stability.

Nothing to do with Pompey is straightforward, so there are still obstacles to navigate, but the club can at least now start to think about a life out of administration and in the Championship.

The reason for this improved outlook is simple: Pompey need to draw a line under last season's chaos, avoid further sanctions from the Football League and tempt prospective buyers to the negotiating table.

Given the fact that the CVA is a five-year commitment to run the club on a shoestring basis, you could be forgiven for wondering why Thursday's vote is such good news for Pompey fans. The answer is simple: the alternative was liquidation and a last-minute scramble for a place in the .

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