Alain Perrin

I try to respect everyone's opinion Daren - my comment was sarcasm at some of your vitriol directed at people with views different to yours. I just thought the comment : .... indicated a certain 'one track blame' approach.

Excellent - with that grasp of finances you should work in banking....

Kill me now or kill me later. I'm still dead. Personally I think, regardless of who was chairman, the loan out the high earners / play the youth approach was the only game in town. The question I have is 'was Lowe too aggressive in trying to cut costs', could we have cut less players, won more games and raised attendances enough to stave off administration. Who knows? I don't, you don't, no one does.

Thanks Daren, and I respect your opinion too. I agree that Lowe is responsible for a hell of a lot this season, but I find it amazing that some people cannot see there are other factors at play too. Do I think Lowe's single mindedness about his revolutionary coaching setup cost us - yes I do. Do I think we had much choice but to play youth in the first part of the season, no I don't. BTW when we stopped doing this and playing a few of our higher earners we went into admin.... Personally I doubt that, even without the 'revolutionary coaching set up', we'd have done much better. Pearson had a good pair of lungs on him and appears to be a good motivator, but would he have done better with the same hand that JP/Wotte had? As someone who travelled to Hull to see our thrashing there AND saw us capitulate against Burnley / Barnsley, I doubt his tactical ability. Lowe was sailing the ship when it crashed into the iceberg, so yes, he is to blame. But in my opinion it is naive to think he is the only one to blame. Wilde, Hone, Hoos, Crouch - all those who let us get to a state where pounds were more important than players are also to blame. When Man City went down to the third tier they played to full houses, when we went down we spent the time blaming each other, boycotting etc. C'est la vie.

Sorry mate but that's ********. I am no follower of RL, I just believe to blame him for EVERYTHING is naive.

I thought he'd left?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing JustMike. If only everyone was as perfect as you we'd win every game I still think we'll stay up, but then I'm an eternal optometrist....

Thanks. Working for me.

Any recommendations for streaming of today's game? PM if you don't want to post.

You boys in Dubai were in denial. The rest of the global economy started to nose dive from Bear Stearns onwards (March 2008 I think)

Three points: 1) I don't think this is a thread should be used for attacks on David Luker, it is about doing positive things for Saints. I would suggest that David's role isn't as proxy fundraiser and I am sure he's got other things to do to make sure Saints runs efficiently. 2) ... But someone at the club needs to raise the profile of fundraising. 3) I still think the virtual ticket has legs (I would say that) as it is a tangible thing, rather than a money black hole. 4) His mobile number should be removed pronto. 5) The point about the fundraising is that it is optional. Cutting prices / increasing prices is fraught with problems. If you want to save Saints (and can afford to do so) Saints should be making it as easy as possible to donate. Ok, so that's five points, but you get my drift.

...

Surely the natural conclusion for Saintsweb is to launch a takeover bid. Posters will then be able to finally accept that the fans are to blame for the mess Saints are in.

David Luker's response.... ..snip.. "We already have this set up (kind of). Hopefully the website will begin to promote this fully very soon Effectively, you can make a donation with or without buying a ticket. It can only be done here at St Marys or via the booking line (currently). It works the same as taking a booking fee, but effectively you determine how much you want to give." ..snip.. ............. Personally I think the incentive of virtual tickets is a missed opportunity, but this is time for actions not gimmicks. I'll be ringing the ticket office tomorrow to donate £50 and I'd encourage everyone to do the same.

Does it matter? Does it really matter?

Absolutely my point. Pictures on the boardroom wall have naff all to do with what happens on the pitch, yet they took up pages of posts on here. I find the image of Laurie rushing in, puffed up and self important with a pair of plairs and a screwdriver amusing - although I am sure it didn't happen. But it is indicative... Until this club - and that includes the fans - stops fighting amongst itself, we're destined for continued failure. Failure to respect other peoples views was/is one of Lowe's biggest failings and a lot on this board (like it or loath it) replicate him. People (pro and anti) need to shut up and move on - hence why I didn't like the Leon and Laurie pitch parade and I don't like some of the 'na na na nah you were wrong' kind of posts on here. Saints; the team, what happens on the pitch, is what has always been important - some seem to have forgotten that.

I don't disagree that Lowe going led to more tickets selling, just don't believe it was the only / the major reason. Personally I'd put it down to our perilous situation. I do think it a shame the game didn't deliver. Every time this season that Saints have had a chance to advertise themselves (be it a bigger than average gate or tv slot), they've failed to do the business.

FFS Mike, we've all just got to let it go. Lowe is gone, hopefully the others too - we just need to move on. Any fan who goes every week (regardless of who is their boardroom favourite) is a loyal fan. If we don't stop squabbling amongst ourselves we might as well give up now.

Anyone else think the pre-match rallying cry from Laurie and Leon were a bit triumphalist. Personally I'd like them all out. Leon I have some respect for, but LM doesn't bring much to the party imho. Can anyone confirm that Laurie swapped the pictures in the boardroom pre-match. Kind of petty don't you think?

No it doesn't. slashed prices, sunny weather, impending relegation, impending liquidation AND Lowe going were all factors. Lowe is a convenient excuse for those that only sing when we're winning.

In fairness I think that is a reasonably balanced article. I know I would say that, but it shows the good and the bad of RL (without the emotion that colours our judgement as Saints fans..

----snip---- Hello David, I am sure you have had plenty of ideas about raising money for Saints, so I'll keep this brief. Why not let fans (including season ticket holders) buy their seat more than once for one of the remaining games this season and see how many virtual fans you can get into St Mary's. At half time Saints could announce the real attendance and the virtual attendance - a visible demonstration of fan support, with a good media spin. Even long distance fans could buy a ticket and be 'virtually there'. Probably best to target a single game for maximum impact - imagine if we could get 60,000. To ease the load on your staff, you could set up an item in the Saints online store that people could buy as a 'ticket' and, if something has to be sent (for legal or process reasons), you could send out a blank ticket saying 'I was there'. Give us the opportunity to help and we will. Kind Regards, --- snip ---

Will do, I'll email them. Show your support here if you think it's a go-er. No point doing it if there isn't the appetite / willingness / ability.

I've thought of a way we can pack 60,000 into St Mary's for each of the home games left. I'd call it - "Saints in trouble, I'll pay double" I'm a Season Ticket holder and I'll happily buy my seat again for one or all of the remaining fixtures. Give walkups the chance to buy 1 for the price of 2. The ticket office just need to be set up to accept this. At half time Saints could announce the real attendance and the virtual attendance - a visible demonstration of fan support, with a good media spin. Even someone like Alpine (in the sense that he's too far away to travel, as opposed to him being a miserable **** ) could buy a ticket and be 'virtually there'. I appreciate that for some it isn't an option financially, but for others it would be possible. I don't want to be in the position of not having a club next season. What do you think?

Ahhh the spirit of harmony. Just as there were many factors why attendances were down (including Rupert Lowe), there are many factors why Saints should see full houses for the last three games (not least because they could be the LAST three games). Also, calling somebody wrong when your last sentence is a tautology, kind of doesn't work.