One of my favourite books, with perhaps my all-time favourite opening, written more than 150 years ago, and yet most of it could apply to the situation we Pompey fans find ourselves in.

Best of times? Hard to imagine, let alone justify? Oh, I don't know - we've managed to find ourselves a manager who, given a bit of time and a modicum of funding, looks destined to stand alongside some of the great names in football management, and we've got the makings of a decent squad, with a fair bunch of promising youngsters on the way through.

But, as it was for so many of the characters in Dickens' novel set in the French Revolution, the shadow of the scaffold, and the HMRC guillotine hangs darkly across everything to do with Fratton Park just now, and so we may, regardless of footballing potential, be going to a metaphoric hell very soon, unless some divine hand decides to take pity on us.

Chanrai is coming to town - again. Handy Andy has had the begging bowl out and been waving it in the direction of Portsmouth City Council. Lampwick has said nothing, but then there's nothing much more he can say that hasn't been said already. Meanwhile, doom and gloom pervades the old town, and more and more people seem resigned to the much talked about Plan B - even though nobody - on the face of it, at least - has actually done much about preparing for it.

So, what happens next? One thing is for certain, the tax man has to be paid, or else it's all over, with or without the fat lady's vocal accompaniment. If the politicians press harder, HMRC could just postpone the axe for another week or so, but Portsmouth Football Club have few friends in the revenue's ranks, of that we can be sure, and, with other clubs - especially Rangers, up there in Scotland - up to their necks in tax arrears, any favours towards Fratton would set a dangerous precedent.

Right now, Portsmouth City are refusing financial help, not that they have much alternative; they do have contingency funds, it's true, despite the recession, but to "invest" any of that nest-egg in an organisation, the control of which, as in who's owed what, when and why, is far from clear, could prove to be political suicide. Even an all-party agreement is likely to provide ammunition for those sectors already gunning against cut-backs.

People have spoken about PCC having just been given £1 billion in development funding, but that money simply does not yet exist - it will come from levies on new developments, as and when they happen, and that isn't likely to start up any time soon. Maybe in the future, though, if circumstances - and ownership of PFC - change.

Meanwhile, Chanrai is flying back, with many people assuming he is doing so in order to wind everything up and grab what he can. For my part, I don't believe that's his intention, not unless he wants to drop a very large sackful of potential dosh, and tie up a whole lot more in a football ground that is not going to be available for redevelopment this side of several years of legal in-fighting.

No, Mr Chanrai is heading back to see just what he can salvage, by whatever means, regardless of whether supporters of the club consider them fair, or not. He's coming here to confront OLampwick and to kick Andy Pandy up the backside, because they haven't, or wouldn't, deliver him what he wanted - namely another slice of wonga, regardless of any thoughts for football, or fans.

Andy couldn't do anything, because he was, in my opinion, given an impossible remit. Find a buyer, or buyers for the club, yes - and yes, he did have interested parties apart from the mad Italian submariner. But these other interested parties were, presumably, quite sane, and, having looked at what was on offer, decided it wasn't for them - at least, not at the then asking price.

The HMRC petition suddenly added an element of extreme urgency, and matters were also complicated as it meant the club's bank accounts were frozen, so nobody got paid. Will the court release enough money to sort out that, and a few other bills? Who knows? Time will tell - but then we don't have a lot of that left, do we?

Then the transfer window was drawing to a close, and Andy made an all-out effort to raise money from player sales, even appointing an agent, although some have suggested that he acted outside his remit in doing that. As a result, one promising youngster, Ryan Williams, departed for Fulham for a reported fee of £400,000, although how much of that is "cash on the barrelhead" is uncertain.

Reports and rumours started hitting the media. Ipswich made offers for two, three, or even four players, depending on who or what you chose to believe. Some were accepted, some were turned down, and some moves didn't happen because the players involved flatly refused to go. Or did they?

Was there a suspicion of the hand of Lampwick in all this, an iron hand from which the velvet glove had suddenly been removed? I suggested earlier that DL was exhibiting the signs of a man who had just about reached the end of his tether, and I would not be at all surprised if this little episode was not the end result of that.

After all, selling several of our best young players would barely have raised enough cash to cover the WUP £800,000 and the also outstanding next month's tax, which is a further £800,000. Then there would have been the still unpaid wages and the tax on those - and nobody left to sell that anyone else would want to pay out good money on. Lampwick would have been only too well aware of that, I am certain.

And so the crunch is looming, as would have been the case, even without last Saturday's cancelled match. Given that the majority of those who would have attended would have already paid via their season tickets, the club wouldn't have clawed in much more than another £100,000 anyway, and that wouldn't have done more than barely scratch the surface of the problem.

So what next? Well, I reckon that Chanrai is getting very, very twitchy, even if he isn't actually panicking just yet. But the fact that he's announced his imminent appearance suggests he now knows he has to act, and his options are limited - in a nutshell, he has to keep the club from folding, and he really needs to keep it out of administration, as that course of action could result in points deductions and a Division 1 side up for sale, rather than a Championship outfit.

Which means one of two courses of action, given that I doubt whether Lampwick can now be coerced, bullied, or cajoled, and nor can he, unless Chanrai takes the club back, be sacked. Even then, Chanrai will be wary of possible legal action for wrongful dismissal, if he ever chose to go down that route. Besides, if any owner wants to retain any sympathy at the FL, sacking one of their favourite sons ain't the way to go!

With the clock ticking, the first step must be to pay off the £800,000 which is the subject and trigger of the WUP, and perhaps negotiate a slight delay with HMRC over further payments - although the tax man isn't going to allow much leeway, if any. So maybe it will be a case of paying off that second £800,000 chunk, paying the players and other staff, and then going to the suitcase to get the sensible head on.

Put simply, the council aren't going to help financially, and the Trust, for all their good intentions, cannot help financially. But money still has to be found, in order for the club to last out the season, and to sort out the finances - ssome of the higher paid players will be out of contract soon, and others could simply be released on free transfers, even if an element of compensation was necessary.

Meantime, unless Chanrai has suddenly changed his stance on wanting or not wanting to own a football club, we still need new ownership, but no amount of extra time is going to help Andy do what he's failed to do so far. Nobody - nobody in their right mind, that is - is going to pay the current asking price, especially with the other financial complications surrounding the club, so Chanrai is going to have to reconsider what he thinks he can get, rather than what he wants to get - and what the difference will mean to him.

The bottom line is, if the club folds, Baloo is going to take a financial "hit" anyway, and it could be years before he sees any further return on what's left of his investment. He will know this, I am sure. So, there will be no gun fight at the FP Corral, although there may be something of a bun fight, but I expect the outcome to be that Portsmouth Football Club survives, new owners eventually take control of the stables, at a much reduced price, and, if the gods are willing, we, the fans, can get back to supporting our beloved team.

And this time, let's hope they've all got it right - because I'm not sure my aging nerves will stand it all if there is ever to be a "next time"!

.. up pops a lady from the Administrators, UHY Hacker Young, and lets the world know that whilst she can't see any reason for this Saturday's home game not to go ahead, she can't comment on any matches after that.

She doesn't say so in as many words, but the main problems are likely to be the fact that the electricity bill is in arrears, and there are doubts over whether (a) the club is going to have any money to pay for the police presence, and (b) whether the club still owes money to Hampshire Constabulary for previous matches.

The electricity people probably won't be too much of a problem, as they'll be generating the power anyway, and at least if they keep the supply to Fratton Park going, there's a chance they'll get some cash eventually, but the police problem is another matter altogether. If the court doesn't unfreeze the club's accounts to enable them to cover the basic running costs, the guys charged with running the Hampshire force are going to be faced with a bit of a conundrum.

Do they go ahead and provide the manpower, with the distinct possibility that they may never see the money, or do they turn around and say they're unable to risk what it, after all, money from the public purse? Not an easy call to make, as on the one hand there's a certain amount of "community loyalty" to consider, whilst on the other hand, great though our support base is, there are more non-football fans (in the truest sense) in the area than there are regular attendees at Fratton Park, and even the "casual" fans won't balance out that equation.

Shame the Trust doesn't have any money, as this is one area where they could actually help, albeit in the short term. They could approach the police and offer to "donate" a suitable sum, in exchange for the police cover being provided for free, at least for now. And, as it would be a "donation" to an organisation other than either Pompey or CSI, the courts couldn't do anything about it.

But, the Trust hasn't got anywhere near enough in its coffers to cover that, so what's the alternative? Maybe a local business, or collection of businesses could offer enough money, via the Trust if necessary, to at least get one more home game played. Maybe even Chanrai or Gaydamak could put their hands in their pockets, as it won't be more than (say) £15,000 - being an evening game, there will be few visiting supporters in evidence, I suspect.

If any local businesses are interested, I'll donate a couple of hundred quid on behalf of my company, recession or no recession, and I'll stick in another £100 from my own piggy bank. Not that much, I know, but it would be a start, and there are still bigger companies out there who could offer more. Will the Trust act, though? I doubt it, as I'm still awaiting the call back I was promised by their spokesman nearly a week ago now.

Maybe enough local policemen will volunteer to work the shift for free, although that may create problems with the force's insurance company, especially if they sustain any sort of injuries on the night. Maybe the Council will offer help.Maybe Harry will discover a spare fifteen grand he'd forgotten he had, and send it down for old times' sake. Maybe a certain Russian gentleman will make an anonymous donation, from all that cash the Lithuanian government still haven't been able to trace.

Maybe pigs will fly ...

Ye gods, even William Shakespeare couldn't have written a plot this tragic - could he?

And then there was nothing - or almost nothing. Every dedicated Pompey fan spent yesterday on the edges of their seats, as the clock ticked all-too-slowly towards 11pm, with questions, rumours and anguish dominating every forum and internet thread, waiting in dread to hear what many expected would be a deciimation of what has become a more than promising Michael Appleton squad, But, when the curtain finally fell on the last act of the day, only Ryan Williams had departed the Park.

The Williams deal was reported early on yesterday, and it was quickly established that it was more than a rumour, although Pompey didn't finally confirm it as "done" until just before the deadline, and it later emerged that the fee agreed was much nearer to £400,000 than the half a million earlier mooted.

Relief this morning is widespread, although tempered by the continuing uncertainty and worry over Pompey's finances, as we await news as to whether the club's bank accounts have been unfrozen, so that staff and players can be paid. Also, there remains the spectre of the tax man, and a court date on 20 February that could bring the hammer crashing down on everything, and so the "doe we?", "don't we?" have viable new owners in the wings goes on.

Ryan Williams is a genuine talent, who will be missed at Pompey, although most would agree that the likes of Pearce, Halford and Henderson are a greater asset, at least in the shorter term, and the fact that they - and one or two others - remain Portsmouth players this morning comes as a great relief. All three stated yesterday, via various social media, that they weren't going anywhere, and their reluctance to leave may have played a large part in the final outcome.

However, there is also the possibility that clubs interested in other players would not match Pompey's valuation figures, and those figures, whatever they were, may well have been governed by a basic law of the land, to which even football is subject, namely that any business facing a winding up petition, with possible bankcruptcy on the other side, cannot sell off assets below market value, without its directors facing criminal proceedings for asset stripping.

The definition of "market value" can be open to interpretation, especially when it comes to football players, but one thing is for certain, in this situation nobody on the Portsmouth Board of Directors is going to take a chance of getting it wrong, so they may have erred on the side of caution and self-preservation, and thus refused to sell.

The other possibility is, of course, that there are indeed genuine bidders at, or close to, the table, that a real deal may be close to finalisation, and that welcome fund injections are therefore not too far away, even if, initially, they only come from Balram Chanrai, in order to keep the whole thing alive for him to ultimately take as much of his pound of flesh as possible. It may even be that there are no new owners close to the scene, and that Chanrai has finally realised that his only immediate alternative is to take back the club himself, in order to buy time for Andrew Andronikou - or anyone else, for that matter - to carry on looking.

If Chanrai agrees a price with Handy Andy, and the club reverts back to his ownership, it would take the Administrator right out of the equation and leave the way open for all sorts of potentially different deals to be done, but that is just speculation for now, as are the thoughts that Mr Lampwick and his fellow directors may have put their collective foot down at long last.

I don't expect any worthwhile answers any time soon, but one thing is certain - if any deal is to be done, there are now a little less than twenty days in which to finalise it, because the tax man, unless he gets his money, is not going to go away. And so, unfortunately, it's back to waiting ...

Well, today's the day we've all been waiting for, and already the rumours are even more rife than usual. Andy Pandy (Andronikou) has apparently asked the powers-that-be if they could release some of the parachute payments from the Premier League, but, as I write, we have heard nothing to suggest that they will. Is there a precedent for this, I wonder, and, if not, might they see it as setting a dangerous one for the future?

Meantime, speculation continues that we will be forced to sell three of our most promising talents before the window closes tonight, and that Ryan Williams is as good as a Fulham player already, though how much of the reputed £500,000 fee that his transfer will bring the club will be paid "on the nail" is anyone's guess.

The tax man wants £1.6 million before 20 February, and selling Williams, Pearce, Ward - and possibly even Henderson - would cover that, as long as all the monies are paid over immediately, but then what about the next tax bill? And then there's the question of paying the players and other staff. Andy Pandy tells the world that it's just a matter of asking the court to free up the account, so presumably he's saying that there's enough in the pot to pay the wages, plus a few other smaller bills.

But then Andy has been handy in saying a lot of things that haven't proved to have any real substance, so should we believe him now? Possibly. Or maybe even probably, because if the court unfreezes the account, and people don't get paid as a result, young Mr Andronikou is going to look an even bigger plonker than Rodney Trotter, isn't he?

Aside from all that, Andy is also saying that the way forward lies in finding a new owner - as if we needed him, or anyone else to tell us that. Another statement from the Ministry Of The Bleeding Obvious, which I could have made, and for a lot less than Andronikou is being paid for supposedly sorting out this fiasco.

Back to the transfers question. On this one, Handy Andy is saying that he is "advising" the board of directors on player sales, but that he has no actual authority to compel them to do anything. Well, once again I think that most of us already knew that, but at least he's clarified that point to those who still had doubts. Although that's only the position in theory, isn't it, because, behind the scenes, who knows what other pressures he might be able to bring to bear on Lampwick and his co-directors.

I feel sorry for David, I really do. He's no great shakes with the media, and he doesn't have the personality to be an inspiring leader, which is why so many fans seem to be despairing of him, which I think is a bit harsh a judgement, because he has two things that are important right now: a reputation for integrity, and some powerful friends at both the FA and the Football League, not to mention the Premiership.

So, will he now dig his heels in and call the Chanrai bluff - or the Andronikou bluff, if you prefer, as most people suspect he is more or less Chanrai's hit-man, as his job is to get as much out of selling Pompey as he can, on behalf of the CSI creditors, of which Baloo is probably the largest, at least so far as we know?

Right at the moment, I wouldn't want to call it either way, but if Lampwick has finally had enough, he may just try to deliver a painful kick where it hurts, and whilst he still has the power to do it. After all, if Pompey go bust, or if the club passes to another dodgy owner, or even back to Chanrai, the likelihood is that Lampwick will be out of a job anyway. If he can in any way force Chanrai's hand, it could lead to a deal being agreed with a decent owner, or consortium, and they would probably want him to stay where he is, at least for the foreseeable future.

By tonight, we may have a slightly clearer picture, but I wouldn't put money on it. If Lampwick and Co manage to hang on to the players - or even most of them - it could signify that there really is a genuine hope of a decent owner for the club, but it could also mean that Chanrai has been forced to inject more cash, in order to buy more time.

Whatever happens, today could and should be the day for bold decisions - but I very much doubt it will be the day when we find out whether Pompey still has a future. That would be too simple, wouldn't it, and not at all in keeping with the circus that our club has been turned into yet again. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed, and keep the faith.