um pahars

Considering that we're still on the verge of going under, I would suggest that there is quite a degree of risk attached to this money, even if it is a loan. There is a very real chance that the vast majority of this loan will never be seen again. So in that context it is a rather honourable gesture, and whilst it does not atone for the mistakes that Crouch may have made, it certainly looks like more of a gesture than either of the two other main protagonists have managed. I must have missed the many buyers all chomping at the bit and demanding that Fry gets on with it. If there were serious players out there they would have been in by now negotiating hard or even managed to gain a window of exclusivity. The idea that this loan is dragging out the process is fantasy stuff. If there is someone out there who wants to do a deal ( and has the funds to back the talk up), then they would be doing it. Fry may be many things, but the idea that he is using the Crouch money to drag out the process and earn more fees as a result is risible.

Methinks you may have missed an S off the end of member;)

You'd have no qualms going off and supporting Leeds, Charlton, Andover, Basingstoke or Salisbury;) Any others you missed telling us about LOL

My big worry as well. There is a chance to renegotiate the main debts, there is a chance to wipe out other debt, a number of high wedge contracts are coming to an end and yet we still don't look to be anywhere near a decent enough investment to the outside world. I do wonder whether the whole structure that has been set up is just unworkable outside of the top flight, regardless of what cost cutting is undertaken????

If you take Plymouth as the last game under the old regimes, then after 33 games we were 19th. Whereas in the 13 games under Pearson we were 13th, so hardly relying on other teams losing. PWDLCSFtSFAGDPtPPG 1Stoke City3316116675843+15591.79 2Watford3317881045440+14591.79 3Bristol City33161071184039+1581.76 4West Bromwich Albion321679946640+26551.72 5Charlton Athletic33141091154636+10521.58 6Ipswich Town3314910985141+10511.55 7Plymouth Argyle331310101374232+10491.48 8Burnley3212119784441+3471.47 9Hull City32121191063936+3471.47 10Crystal Palace33111396103833+5461.39 11Cardiff City32111110884240+2441.38 12Wolverhampton Wndrs3211111014133034-4441.38 13Norwich City33119139103241-9421.27 14Barnsley321010128123749-12401.25 15Sheffield United329121110123436-2391.22 16Queens Park Rangers3210913974249-7391.22 17Blackpool3391212954142-1391.18 18Coventry City31106154133446-12361.16 19Southampton3310815794255-13381.15 20Leicester City338131212123331+2371.12 21Sheffield Wednesday3195178103340-7321.03 22Preston North End3296179123140-9331.03 23Colchester United3261412154552-7321.00 24S****horpe United33710168133149-18310.94 PWDLCSFtSFAGDPtPPG 1Hull City14914532611+15282.00 2Sheffield United14833512215+7271.93 3Crystal Palace1374273209+11251.92 4Wolverhampton Wndrs14752522314+9261.86 5West Bromwich Albion14752512215+7261.86 6Preston North End14653441916+3231.64 7Stoke City13553541112-1201.54 8Sheffield Wednesday15582332115+6231.53 9Cardiff City14554551715+2201.43 10Ipswich Town13463331415-1181.38 11Queens Park Rangers14473551817+1191.36 12Bristol City134454414140161.23 13Southampton13373341417-3161.23 14Plymouth Argyle134361418180151.15 15Blackpool13364231822-4151.15 16S****horpe United13436231520-5151.15 17Leicester City1343657914-5151.15 18Coventry City154565418180171.13 19Barnsley14437471516-1151.07 20Burnley14437331626-10151.07 21Norwich City13418331718-1131.00 22Charlton Athletic13337141722-5120.92 23Watford1318437816-8110.85 24Colchester United141310121734-1760.43

We had this debate the other day and to start with I don't think anyone really knows, but I take a slightly more pessimistic view with regards the sell off prices of our "assets". Firstly with regards the player sales, then no one is going to pay much in a firesale. On top of that there is the potential for the players to claim breach of contract (f they're not paid or if the Football Club ceases to exist) and they can then walk away for nothing (and split any transfer fee with their new club!!!). As for assets, most of Staplewood is not freehold and there are many restricions on it (it cannot be developd) and the same can be said for Jackson's farm. SMS isn't worth that much and after that you really are scraping the barrel. I think the creditor's best hope of getting a return would be if a deal could be brokered taking us on as a Going Concern, not least as they could build future payments into any deal which would be payable upon promotion to the Championship and the Premier League.

“There's a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.”

I'm not surprised, he appears to be the forum's 92 CLUB LEADING MEMBER (only he's supported them all, not just been to their grounds;)). Must have a wardrobe full of scarves and replica kits. NineSunFlashThirdTeen CanDanceBearBeastTeen uses his special football kit pack to decide who he will support this week

You're like that bloke on the SKY advert. Oh when the Saints, Oh when the Lions, Oh when the Valiants go marching in, I want to be in that number, When United go marching in. (couldn't fit The Dragons into that one).:smt041:smt041

He's about as pro Lowe as Scooby was (in that he's actually more anti anything on here that will get a rise).

I wonder what the ratio was at Charlton, Basingstoke, Andover or Salisbury;) Who else do you support ??

LMFAO:D:rolleyes: I've been saying for a while that NineSunThirdFlashTeenDance CanBeastBearMan is not very good at remembering who he is and the ****** he has posted up on here, as he has often contradicted himself on here. Bless the poor Andover, Charlton, Leeds, Salisbury, Basingstoke, Saints (delete as applicable) fan;)

I'm sorry nickh, but I have to say I think you spectacularly miss the point. Up to a certain point you will have the die hard supporters who will come what may. Maybe 7,000 to 12,000 (or somewhere either side of that). After that you have to provide them with a reason for coming. Bar the odd exception, every club will see a fluctuation in attendances due to the division they are playing in, the opposition they are playing, empathy with "their" club and probably most importantly perceived success. To suggest that supporters just needed to come back for everything to be alright is extremely naive and just doesn't resonate with what happens in the real world.

And I would like to think that there could be many links to the past through staff, backroom team and maybe even players, particularly the youngsters. And of course the biggest single link would be the supporters. Many Clubs have changed their names (am I right in thinkning Portsmuff reformed in the 70's/80's) and dropping a few divisions certainly won't affect my support. As Aldershot managed t do, I'm sure there is a way of keeping the continuity and tradition even if we end up non league.

And here's my two pieces of inside gossip from the same source who was convinced the Pinnacle deal would be given favoured status on Thursday (I think) of last week (so treat it with the same degree of caution). MLT has been saying they (Pinnacle) are an e-mail away from pulling it off. No idea what the e-mail relates to, or any other aspect of what the bid/offer entails. The second piece relates to another bid, maybe tied up with Green, or something standing alone. Apparently, the whisper that the Birmingham part owner (Sullivan or Gold???) wants to get involved but can't due to ownership restrictions. However, he is considering buying the stadium (other assets) as a toe in, whilst someone else holds the Club only to go the whole hog once clear of Birmingham!!!!!! Personally, I think number two is total ******, but thought it might cheer some of you up, and with regards the first one, I'm still of the view that this will all end in tears!!!!

And I wonder if you're still missing Positive Poortvliet;)

Southampton FC was not formed in 1885. The first team that morphed into Saints was established in 1885, but in those early days the Club morphed about a bit, changed its name, changed its status, changed its kit, changed its home ground etc etc etc. The Football Club Ltd part came about quite a bit later and IMHO even a move up or down the leagues will not change things for me as they will still be a Club that hopefully I can connect to.

Leeds, Andover, Salisbury????:smt038 You're beginning to sound like Lowe when he kept switching his alledged alliegances between West Ham, Ipswich and Saints.:rolleyes:

LOL He's our own Mick McManus or maybe Jackie Pallo LMFAO. Someone has even PM'd me suggesting it's Granty on a total wind up in an effort to drive up traffic on the site (ala Mike Parry on TalkSport;)). Recognise anyone NineSunThirdFlashTeen CanDanceManBearBeastTeen????

As the Good Ole Blues Brothers Boys sang in that Country bar: tROLLING, tROLLING, tROLLING:smt006

I would sugest that Matty is strong enough to formulate and espouse his own opinion. He certainly hasn't taken any sides, just been honest about where he feels the mistakes have been made. Then again I shouldn't be too surprised that your trolling needs a new target figure to rally behind, so I guess Matty will be in your cross hairs to provide future game on here. Just imagine a player of his quality playing his trade for Andover. Just what did happen to Scooby???

And with 2,000 bums on seats equating to circa £1m it's not a massive leap of faith to see where you're coming from. And that's before we even look at the wasteful transfer policy this season and the other poor decisions that plagued last season. Ending up where we are was not a fait accompli, as demonstrated by Lowe and Wilde coming back to save (LOL) the Club. Indeed, even midway through the season they felt there was still a chance to save the Club by changing the manager.

If you consider the bank tightened the purse strings by £1m last September, then surely a £2m+ injection would have us at least £1m better off than we were last August! I don't buy into the argument that we were a lost cause as Lowe and Wilde did not come back merely to preside over a funeral. It was a tough task, but certainly not a lost cause. If that £2m would have meant avoiding administration, staying up, not incurring a points deduction and not facing oblivion, then the three main parties should have done their utmost to get a deal done. Maintaining the status quo under Lowe & Wilde ended up with the total fckfest we now find ourselves in, so I for one would have been up for a respite and seeing if we could trade our way out of it in the long run.

With regards the first offer I never thought it could have been accepted on those terms, mainly on the basis that I didn't think that Lowe or Wilde either had the money or the desire to put any in to the Club. However, with regards how the offers and counter offers manifested, I think that by the time of the January meeting there was something that could have been acceptable to all concerned, if they were of the belief that such a cash injection could make a difference. But of course against this you have to remember that Lowe and Wilde were still of the view that they were capable of turning things around and so were not in need of Crouch's money nor support or advice. However, as we have now found out to our cost, the view that they could turn it around proved to be a fallacy, given it all went tts up two months later. Seeing as they failed miserably without Crouch and his money, it's not that much of a stretch to suggest things might have been different had they accepted some of the strings attached to the £2m (even if it only brought about some temporary respite).