Topcat

Not just business, also from a survival point of view.

But they would have got £10m and instead got nothing.

The evidence is clear that under Lowe's revolutionary coaching scheme and his "play the youngsters" strategy, debt went up. The average loss of supporters per game was closer to a £250k hit per game. 20 games = £5m lower revenue. Something that dwarfs all Lowe's savings and just shows what a useless bunch of businessmen he and his backers were.

That is what the Saints Trust is for. Unfortunately they are not up to the challenge as they mainly focused on places to drink beer on match days.....

Here are my responses to the main points. Some of you do not grasp the fact that in a month we may no longer exist. Q1. "cardomon Why would they pay rent (or whatever) to play at SMS when they own Fratton (that they can't fill)" A1 Because they are in debt and need a modern stadium. Q2 "Mase No thank you… Going to the stadium will feel like dirt." A2 Better to still have Saints playing in a stadium than a AFC Saints in the part time leagues playing in a field. Q3 "Pancake No, they are in a worse financial mess than us, what is it £90Million in debt? I dont what that debt near SMS." A3 So they could sell Fratton Park and reduce some of their debt and use their prem income to pay it down without taking on the massive new debt of a new stadium.

We are facing extinction. Even if we survive this next few months the large burden on a L1 club (we need to be realistic) that has to pay 100% of the fixed costs of SMS will put us at risk of future failure. Yet if we had a ground share the fixed costs of SMS fall by 50%. Down the road they clearly do not have enough finance for a new stadium. Sharing could at a stroke almost guarantee our survival as the main stadium debt could sit in a "SLH inc" which just runs SMS renting it out to the 2 clubs and others.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7rv A pic of the lady that cut her show into the conference...... 2 bag job?

....after this record I will be chatting to Sylvia Simms..... Yes its our cr*p local station.....

Solent cut away from the conference.... FFS

I agree it is the banks fault for letting Lowe back in!

It is not in the FA's best interest to allow us to get away without a points deduction. Any decision they take will be made in the light of the principle that they want to discourage club's from defaulting on their debts. Separating a Club's normal trading items into a holding company will be the principle that they will seek to break. The problem with the FA saying that they will look at it at the end of the season is that it creates a further degree of uncertainty for any prospective buyers.

One puzzling factor for me is why the Club's lenders thought that Lowe was a fit and proper person to be allowed back in to run the Club? They could easily see the terrible image he had with many fans and factor in that he would knock thousands off the gates. That alone would reduce the income by several millions of pounds. For a business in a precarious position the "Lowe factor" on attendances was something that sensible lenders should have understood. Serves them right if they take a hit.

Pilchards, what nobs thought that Lowe would save their investment? That is the only bright side of a very gloomy day.

"lowe never been welcome here" on r hants

on radio hants laying into illingsworth and murray for backing lowe.

Nickh. After this action today, I really do not think you would be convinced that Lowe was mainly to blame ever. No matter what evidence would be presented, you still think the best of Lowe. Clearly you have faith in him no matter how many times he presides over a relegation, no matter whether the Club under his leadership goes into admin/liquidation or dies. Nothing can change your mind.... There are always some useful idiots that buy timeshares from snake oil salesmen convinced it was a bargain years after they were fleeced.

Rupert Lowe's worst promise? "We are not going to do a Leeds"!

Will the administrators act quickly and remove Lowe and Wilde from SLH and SFC? If they do act quickly then attendances will rise and give a boost to the Club's finances and its chances of avoiding relegation. I have read that the Echo and the Saints Trust are calling for all supporters to come back. But Lowe and Wilde need to be removed to enable that to happen. Sad that the Trust do not understand that.

Is the real problem that these airhead presenters and their producers actually know very little about the area? One lady on earlier had an accent from miles away, so is the real problem that their are not enough sotonians involved at Solentless?

Each time I tune into Radio Solent its priorities are all about flim flam subjects on each show today. Not one has the Saints as its main priority. Clegg was focused on "what strange things you have found" the next chap was all about a steam car .... and next we have Charlie talking about pregnant brides dresses........ Nothing really local and Saints are a minor news item. It should be THE main item with call ins and experts etc etc. What is the point of BBC funding (from our tv licence fee) for a local radio show that does not fully focus on a major local news story?

BBC South said tune into Radio Solent for details . I did. Julian Clegg talked about the strange things that people have found and about G20 protests! WTF is that about? What is local about his show? Local Club near death and Clegg is wittering about finding 2p on the pavement and G20. Finally we get Merrington who does not know much..... Now we have a twerp wittering on asking about what people are doing in the sun and a charade about a steam car....

We had to win 3 games in a row just to stay in touch with the clubs above us. Even after that we were still in the bottom 3. That is why we are near certainties for relegation.

Is being arrested something BWP some monthly target he has? Has the CPS given him a season ticket?

They failed because of their timidity, at a time of the Club's darkest hour they went missing. Just like the TSA did. They failed because of their inability to have an effective discussion with their supporters. A discussion that would have included votes on what their priorities should be. In this age of online communication the Trust focused more on operating as a Committee that soaked up precious time. What a shower. They had no vision on how it should operate effectively. A 16 year old had more passion and drive than the lot of them. Shame.

If we have to discuss a lower league quality of football it follows we should pay less for it. How about half?