Alain Perrin

I have on occasion, mainly to 'local' away games. More often now than in the past (easy to find a mate who wants to watch Chelsea, rather than Doncaster on a Tuesday).

I suspect because the 'pipework' is new, there are few leaks. In time, acquaintences will be made and the flow of information may start again. But.... most of the ITK was ******** anyway.

Meaningful contribution as usual Ottery. Perhaps more emoticons will help get your message across....

There are none so blind as those that will not see. I'm glad we're rid of Lowe, I think the club needed a new beginning. I'm just not a season ticket holder on the 'anyone but Lowe' **** truck like Ottery and yourself. Does Crouch deserve a box for 5-10 years? No Does he deserve one more than Lowe? Yes If you cannot see that there were many rogues in our club, rather than just the one, that's your problem.

I'd agree with this. I just feel there are two sides to this story and the 'Crouch cuddlers' seem to forget he had some role in what happened. He may be less culpable than Lowe or Wilde, but some of his decisions were decisive (and bad) for Saints (eg. Wilde support, Euell wages and Pinnacle bankroll). BUT the guy put his hand in his pocket when things looked bleak and he should be thanked for that.

Ain't going to happen, nor should it. If ML expects all directors to buy tickets then this is a no-brainer. Anyway I'd argue that Crouch is as much to blame for the mess we found ourselves in as the other so called directors who squabbled like children. Leon put up money to keep the club afloat and we should thank him for that. However the Pinnacle bid he gave credability/funding to was one of the reasons why we needed his support in the first place.

The average age on this thread strikes me as circa 8 years old. A referee is closer to football than a fan, just as a plasterer is closer to a painter than a carpenter. Why? Because they both work on the same surface. In the stands at SMS you hear some complete gash about football tactics and rules / laws. People, for example, who haven't grasped the updates to the offside rule getting all prissy at the Ref for enforcing the rules correctly. And it looks to me that there are some of the same on here. My advice? Let Pardew be Pardew. Wait until the window slams shut and then judge whether his spending (or lack there of) has been worthwhile.

I suspect they treat some opinions on both sides with contempt - because sometimes that is all they deserve. I don't know Illingsworth or any of the Saints Trust lot, but they have got off their arses and tried to do something. I might look at Illingsworth/Foley and think, "you're a different type of fan with different ideas to me", but the fact is that they stepped up to the plate and I haven't. I am sure that the Saints leadership look at this site to guage opinion, just as the Echo and others look at it too. That doesn't make any of the opinions on here any more valid than others, just that it's more accessible. If you've got a problem with it, ring South Today, get your face on TV and then maybe others on here can call you a ****.... I promise I won't.

The only problem for me is that John scores the spectacular yet misses the simple. Rasiak is the other way round.... But I agree they can't / won't play together. Need a quick poacher in my opinion.

I think I remember reading it was Saints in the Community and some mental health charity (can't remember which).

I thought the subtle changes that Liebeherr is making were beginning to show on Saturday. It makes a refreshing change from arguments over pictures in boardrooms though.

Don't be so harsh on yourself I personally think Laurie should get a seat on merit, and no doubt what he has done for the club should be recognised. I am somewhat dubious as to the value of the £75K because you've got to shake a lot of hands to make £75K profit (not just revenue). That said, if it does, then great. The only thing I think he should be banned from is speaking on the pitch. The PA is bad enough without having to translate his Northern tones. I swear that at the last home game of the season when he spoke on the pitch I did not understand a word.

I agree completely. However, I suspect you'd be eating your words if a certain Rupert Lowe was sitting in there..... Not calling you a hypocrite, just saying that that statement is very open to double standards. I favour all out, clean start personally.

Two thoughts. Lallana - Ship him out. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he might be a good squad player in the Premiership, but he'll get killed in League 1. Uncharitably I'd say he's all pretty feet and no product. Saga - Saga who? Sag a loo more like. Did he spend the entire break eating? Ironically it may help him as I always thought he got pushed off the ball too easy. Plenty of work to do Mr P.

Our form started becoming rubbish when they stopped hurdling the advertising boards in front of the Kingsland.

It's not like you'll know though, is it?

Horse Scheiße is more likely ML in an interview said: "I regularly look out for the main results, but I admit that football is not my passion. With this acquisition, I will discover an environment that I do not know too much about." I disagreed slightly with your translation of the French on another thread. My interpretation suggests he is more of an occasional fan/investor/hobbyist than the 'in-depth' knowledge you suggest. Not saying it won't be a German, just that I doubt ML's the driver here.

He's Knill Knill's brother. Juan Knill is his Spanish cousin.

There were other reasons why Teves and Mascherano weren't on the pitch.

Mark le Swiss, Mark le Swiss, Mark le Mark le Swiss. He bought the club, he'll take the **** Mark le Mark le Swiss.

If I had the book in front of me I'd quote directly but: - A paragraph on what RL did at Southampton - I paraphrase.... 'I have great admiration for what Rupert achieved at Southampton (despite him not being popular with the fans)' - I got on well with RL and, you may be surprised, still do. Difficult position in hindsight over the sacking/garden leave. Business decision. To be balanced there are also other annecdotes. - the one you mention - a story about them watching a match abroad and him saying the player they were scouting was crap (he was apparently watching the no.8 on the wrong side!) - the argument when he was put on gardening leave. But on balance, that seems like strong praise to me. As a contribution to the historical record I think it is a useful tool - but it depends. Are you from the David Irving school of history?

In fairness, after we saw Saints play against Derby or Birmingham early in the season, many thought the same. In fact, my words if I recall were "**** me this might just work".

I can't remember if Stevo is on my **** list, but regardless, riding him over this is silly. It was ironic and, if you read the Times article Jones himself says: “You know, that is a phrase that I used to use a lot. ‘No smoke without a fire’. It just seems obvious that if there is a controversy surrounding someone, then something has to be wrong. But that is not a phrase you would hear me saying now. I have learnt the hard way that it is possible to be accused without there being a shred of truth." So I'd let it go - but hey I'm an exceptionally tolerant person.

Completely agree. The point is you can't through coaching make someone 11% better. It's not possible or, if it is, it is nature rather than nurture (a late blooming Kevin Phillips or Ian Wright for example). What you can control are the smaller percentage improvements. Eg. Lions tour in SA when some of the players were struck down by food poisoning from a dodgy meal somewhere. Solution = take your own chef. That player that isn't ill turns out to be your winning goal/try scorer the next day. That's a real improvement. The point is, unless you try these things you'll never know if they work or not. The problem was in our financial state we couldn't fund the lab.

I read your last point and wonder how many World Cups you've won and how qualified you are to judge someone's achievements as a "desert of mediocrity"? He played for England multiple times, was successful as a club manager / coach and before that as a successful sales manager. Hardly a desert. I agree with you it was an expensive experiment, ill afforded in the Championship. I do think that innovation is a key to success and just doing what everyone else does isn't going to give you an edge. Innovations need innovators to introduce them and, guess what, sometimes it doesn't work, but when it does you have a Dyson. Don't get me wrong, he's a salesman. I am certain there is some spin and myth in there with the achievement. That said, to dismiss what he achieved as a fluke, luck or not applicable to football is churlish. Legend? No. Useful? Yes. Appropriate for Saints at the time? No.