Alain Perrin

As soon as you realise that I am right and your leader, the happier you will be.

Nice idea, but there was an article in the Echo saying that the average price paid for tickets (once you take into account children/OAPS/concessions etc.) was £14. Happy if you manage to convince everyone to pay full price though... I stand by my figures sir!

Too true. Many sided problem and fans ARE part of it. Started with Hoddle-gate and then turned into a Lowe vs. Anti Lowe division by people operating with only a smidgen of the facts. Clubs that stay united in hardtimes (Man City are a great example) bounce back. I fear we are not that.

Success and bigger crowds would not have kept us up. The more information we have, the more it becomes obvious the suicidal approach by Lowe was Saints playing the last hand. Cheap manager, loan out the stars to recoup some (probably not all) of their wages, youth players on peanuts or gambles who we might be able to sell on. Sure we could have signed a different manager, but double the salary wouldn't get you much. We could have signed different players, but experienced heads (the kind we needed so badly) also cost more. You say bigger crowds would have kept us afloat? I don't agree. An extra 5000 fans at every home game would have made Saints a piddling £1.68m a year. That's BEFORE you take off any costs for stewards, police, staff, utilities, business rates etc. Rasiak alone was costing the club circa £884,000 a year (assuming his salary was £17K pw), add to that other high earners (Euell, Skacel, Davies, Davis and the list goes on) and it's no surprise we were in trouble. Ironically going down to League 1 could have saved us from administration. Firstly, a season on, some contracts would have ended, but more importantly going down triggered wage reduction clauses in player's contracts. Here's the bit that makes me think others are equally culpable as Lowe for our troubles, if not more so for the financial mess. Amazingly, players signed when Lowe wasn't here DIDN'T have the relegation reduction clauses in them. How ****ing stupid is that? And if they're that stupid, what else did they agree to? The ego of the club was writing cheques the body couldn't cash (especially once parachute payments disappeared). Without a buyer/wealthy investor we were (are) shafted.

It costs money we don't have. Plus they're two different companies, didn't someone tell you?

When you add in the cost of wages, the cost of football is astronomical. And Saints are a generally prudent club! I don't know the figures on wages, these are just guesses, but it goes to show there is no such thing as a 'free' transfer. Rasiak - £2m purchase, £17K per week wages, 3 year contract - circa £5million. Euell - Free - £14K per week wages, 2 year contract - circa £2.2m ..... BWP, John, Saga, Skacel. Can anybody make a guess at our total weekly wage bill on the last day of last season? When you do the maths it is no wonder we had to resort to playing kids who'd play for a bag of cola bottles and a play with Mr Lowe's puppy. Jesus. No wonder we're ****ed. Mike Ashley must be bricking it.

Only if the administrator considers the value of the clubs assets to be less than the offer (i.e. better to take the offer than liquidate and sell off the silver). The administrators sole goal (sole goal) is to get the best deal for creditors. If that leaves a going concern, so be it, if not, it is not the administrators concern.

Ok. So who was the Alain Perrin fan....?

.....

Back in the S4E days, I think it was Crab Lungs who was championing Alain Perrin to be our manager (before he managed Pompey). I changed my name to post a response to him thanking him for his support. But there was a lot of name changing going on at the same time (Sir Woody etc. etc.) and the mods stopped it. The wind changed and I was stuck with it. Been like it so long, seems silly to change, even though it has Pompey associations. So there you have it. I blame the mods.

Blame the mods, not me, says Alain Perrin.

Why? Is the plumbing suspect in the manger's office toilet?

" Rupert Lowe returns and declares 'Stanley is my gimp' "

Hand on his waist, pained expression on his face, guy behind concentrating. Does anyone else think he's being bummed?

I think Niemi was a Lowe championed signing. Strachan wanted someone else I think. The signings by panel approach (scouts, coaches, manager, chairman) got a bad rep under Lowe (a convenient stick to beat him with) but, in my opinion, it is the right way to go. The key issue is the balance of power (the manager must dictate what type/position of player is required, not the chairman), but either way it will be the chairman in any club who decides what can be afforded. Picking up on the point about he Lowe stayaways. I really think this is over egged. The thousands that flooded back at the end of the season did so because of Saints' peril (financial and relegation), not because of the chairman leaving. Many people used 'Lowe' as a reason for other reasons to stay away (cash, family, distance, job.... but most of all quality). And there's the nub, the biggest impact on attendances is the performance of the team and the quality of the opposition. Yes, you can argue that Lowe's decisions had a negative impact on this, but it is a vicious circle (lower league position, less crowds, less money, worse players etc.). Clubs like Man City and Newcastle will always come back because the fans will go even in the face of adversity, our support is less resiliant. That said, win a few in League 1 and things may improve.

Was this the same guy who said there'd be a press conference at 2pm, or the guy who said Allen was taking over, or the guy who owned the monkeychicken petting zoo????

Don't worry. When Pinnacle's forensic accountants have finished there will be investment....

Those who can't do, teach. Suck it up.

Bit churlish Yorkie. The catering relates to the weddings, events management and corporate matchdays, not to the pie and a pint. All part of the diversified income needed to make money in a football club outside of the 25 fixtures a year. Theo was one thing Lowe got right - whether that was more down to Theo's parents than Saint's treating him right, we'll never know.

Apologies SS - I was somewhat trigger happy with my response to you and I do appreciate that you have more balance than most. I do think the one thing that is missing in this whole debate is reason - the arguments are too often based around the emotions of a football fan, not the realities of pros and cons or when an answer is only wrong when it doesn't work. Although they'll hate this, posters like Alpine and FF are just ciphers of Nineteen Canteen or Scooby - just different ends of the spectrum. They egg each other on until everything is black and white, not the shade of grey it undoubtedly is. In most of Lowe's decisions, I can see the rationale, if not the logic. For example, I understand why he went for JP over Pearson, not what I'd do, but I can see what he was thinking. But no one can (perhaps 'should' is more appropriate) argue that he hasn't had his hands on a lot of what went wrong. Personally, I blame him more for the debacle that caused the Premiership relegation than I do this one (I see it more as a joint effort between Lowe, Wilde, Crouch and cronies). I think the current ship was already holed below the waterline when he took it back over (Pearson or no Pearson). Anyway, here's to moving on and forgetting this sorry state of affairs.

What a load of arse. When Lowe did create extra revenue streams (through award winning catering, the radio station and insurance services), the Anti-Lowelifes lambested him - "We are a football club, not a business etc". (Ironic though that those things could have justified to the Football League that SFC shouldn't have a points deduction!). Credit where credit's due, Lowe got some things right - accept it. He also got a hell of a lot wrong - you seem to have no problem accepting that. But to criticise the stadium (location, or facilities) is pointless. Look around (Derby, Leicester, Sunderland etc. etc.) None are integrated developments, just because they've got an Allied Carpet's next door doesn't make the club any money. A station would have cost something in the region of £5m (I think that was the number) to be used 20 times a season. Do the maths (we're a football club, not a transport company ).

I agree that a great turnout would be a positive advert for the club but it's really only window dressing. The numbers involved in football are so out of comprehension for the ordinary fan that it's no wonder there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm. When players are being paid a couple of hundred quid a week a bucket collection or a full house at St Mary's goes a long way. When players are being paid thousands and in some cases tens of thousands, it doesn't work. Couple that with the division that is in the club (to which McMenemy and Crouch are just as guilty as Lowe and Wilde) then it is difficult to raise any motivation. Add to that the poor season, people thinking about holidays, a global recession, historic awfulness of these 'legends' matches (I've never seen a good one) and yes, there are plenty of reasons why turnout would have been low. Your mob on the otherhand didn't turn up to help African kids get heart transplants. It's not only tight. it's racist.....

Please can someone tell me what they have against the MonkeyChicken petting zoo. I, for one, would pay good money to see that. Your problem is you're too obsessed with your Lowe vs Crouch rants to see that that could be a real winner.

C'mon. Everyone's tasted their own, haven't they........?!?!

Who was the largely uninspiring manager - Dodd/Gorman? I've got time for Crouch, but his time in charge didn't fill me with confidence. I felt he was less than honest with the fans over things like the Skacel / Rasiak loans, and downright duplicitous over the Walcott renegotiation. If Lowe had done that, Alpine at all would be making T-shirts and sharpening pitchforks.