dubai_phil

Agree with the sentiments there, but you forget one small "historical" point.... The conversations between RL & SCW began a full YEAR before he came to SMS. (Multiple pictures of them together at games and press articles). SCW was contracted to England Rugby then the Lions (IIRC) but certainly was not available from the moment he (appears) to have sold the concept to Rupes. So the concept was created when we were in the PL with PL revenues so in that case a million here or there would have been covered by anything from Exec Box sales through to some form of Academy sponsorship. Unfortunately, while worrying about this grand plan, the eyes were taken off the bigger ball and we had Bacon Sandwichgate, Wigley Wobbles and everything else. So to "retrospectively" say the money side was insane is unfair - the fact is that the project should have been canned immediately we were relegated, but of course SCW was a real coup (AT THE TIME) and would not have hung around waiting for us to get back up. So SCWgate is just a part of the trail of the effects of the disaster of that season. BUT. With money coming in from the PL for another year (or maybe in Rupe's mind some of the Parachute Payments) financially it was not such a daft idea. Sports Science works. But WTF Rupert was thinking to let SCW become manager??? Hmm

Coulson recieved staggered payments from NI. Nothing to read there standard practice even including the Medical Insurance etc - all comes down to individual negotiating skills at the time. BUT in my (fairly wide) experience of these matters they are ALWAYS covered by an NDA (remember those at SMS?) and pretty severe ones at that (eg so that an individual could actually have to pay everything back if they leak any information) so again Coulson has an "excuse" for not making disclosure. Interesting question however would be What was Coulson's salary while in employ of The Conservative Party? If it was a fair market rate then we are back to people not doing their job when they did their research, IF Coulson had an NDA from NI with his settlement then it is a storm in a teacup, but IF he worked at No 10 for peanuts - oops then it looks like he was being paid by NI to work there and the NDA's become part of the smoking gun trail

On the subject of Sci_Fi & not quite relevant to this thread... Torchwood Season 4. There is a great deal to enjoy about it in a Flash Forward sort of way and Gwen Cooper being a badass Mum But, is it really our Torchwood now? Is the whole concept of big bucks and big budget and really deep and disturbing perfomances (from Bill Pullman) really "It". Let's face it we're up to episode 6 and there is a load of weirdness but not a whole lot of Dr Who Spin off, let alone Sci-Fi. We're enjoying it for what it is and some of the "cultural cliches" and role reversals, but we can't help feel that Russel T Davies has sold his soul for a load of air miles & some winter sun. Oh and for Sci-Fi & Twists? gotta love A Good man Goes to War. Should put this on the watching thread but it's Sci Fi & we just did some catch up Torrent watching and are still reeling from the River Song moment. Moffat 1 - Davies 0 at the moment

A realist can see this ending very badly for Cameron, A conspiracist can see someone stitching him up. Which maybe his only escape. Whether it exists or not is another matter of course

The failure to re-appoint Hoddle is irrelevant. The Board Room make up and discussions that LED to that decision ARE interesting. We all paint Lowe as the man in charge but who WAS on the board and who voted for and against. IF SCW sold Lowe a dud, this destroys a lot of our assumnptions about the "over powering uber ego" How the hell did SCW pull that stunt when it appears even HE did not believe he could do it? Does this make Lowe out to be an even bigger disaster - a WEAK yes man? If so who pulled HIS strings? Who else should we villify? Was this where the divisions were that Clifford mentions or was it the backroom staff? As The Kraken said, just how many people WERE "At the trough" in those days how much did they earn versus what we were paying for players on the pitch. Interesting

Although the names would not be so well known the actual intricacies starting to appear here make a nice tangled web. To our two uber blogging forum members though - Guys - This is YOUR moment. IF SC is about to talk then it should be to writers who are first and foremost FANS so that you can record this and ensure that it is history. The LAST thing we want is having this serialised in some Sunday Rag with all their various slants and angles. I've nagged FF before that the history should be written and would make a damned good book. Maybe he should go with them oop north

Think some on here still haven't got over the past. Stop thinking every post has to be ONLY about Lowe As in that would change a few opinions in the world As in not in the weird reality of this forum or even in the confines of the greater Saints Supporters, but as in The World. FFS Rupert was hardly known further afield than the Cotswolds. Change opinions about SCW. Jeez so Lowe obsessed still you see his name everywhere you look :-) Remember, SCW is a Global hero a superman who will win a zillion medals at the Olympics, Save English Rugby, Become the first Manager of the England Rugby Cricket & Football teams... Those Tweets pose some VERY interesting starting points for some professional bloggers/media types to follow up. He even states he would be happy to back them up in a Court of Law, wow - a get away with Libel free card given away with the deal! Don't give a flying frick about who on here thinks what about Lowe anymore, here is someone at the heart of our demise offering to tell the story with "Evidence" that could be backed up in court. That is Interesting. Not earth shattering but Interesting. and I for one would like to read it without anyone's "Editorial Slant". No idea if I would believe but I want to read it. End of

An expat lost his leg to a Bull Shark here about 12 or so years ago swimming off Jumeirah Beach. Never made the papers, they just got him out the country fast. Growing up as a kid and being terrified by the movie Jaws, I was well impressed on my arrival in these weird lands many years ago to allow myself to be talked into learning to Dive. (OK she was a fit blonde) Went to the Musandam (Straights of Hormuz to you lot) and at about 20 metres was confronted by a lone shark heading straight at us, he was filmed by other divers and measured at 4 metres. He swam round us slowly about 4 feet away, being watched by something that big while being so close. For the first 30 seconds or so the thoughts going through my brain were "why the feck did I buy such a small dive knife?" and "how do I get the poo out of a wet suit without anyone noticing?" followed by OMG how amazing what a stunning animal to have seen up close. Only found out after we saw the video that it was an exceptionally large Black Tip Reef Shark so would have had to have really hissed it off to have got in trouble, but the head doesn't know that when you see the shape coming towards you through the gloom and you have no rocks or bottom in range to try & hide behind. My brain was screaming at me (from my training) that I was supposed to do something. I think at the same time I realised it was an amazing thing the body went oh hell eyah I know I'm supposed to breath. I've dived and snorkelled with them many times since, would NEVER cage dive (claustrophobia). No idea whether there is a secret other than perhaps be aware that you are in their territory and BE AWARE and watch to see what all the other fish are doing. If they all feck off in a hurry, time to walk on water. While holiday attacks from Rogues are horrific, if it comes up, the chance to swim with them in the wild is something that should be taken and changes you whole attitude to life.

Let's just say that there are some very historically long standing fans who get it. They don't try and justify their existence. They will stand up in the pub and defend their right to support their club but at no time have they ever gloated or tried to defend the indefensible. They haven't renewed their ST's for 2 years now they have not heard anything to tell them that they have not fallen into the hands of another ongoing disaster of ownership. they are not boycotting the club or it's owners, they just want to know what the plans are, because right now they simply don't believe anything that comes out of there. They drink most weekends with a bunch of Saints fans showing understanding and respect for what each have been through. What they are NOT are Trolls with multiple persona who enjoy screwing up internet forums. They have sympathy. You are just ITK with your contact that you meet sociably every week or so. Oh and they understand they cheated. Unlike you.

Thanks for the transcript Ron. Reading that without "antilowe" glasses on there are some interesting points that our "reporters" should look to clear up. One of the indications is in fact "Who's idea was that lunacy?" Just some of the ways SC words things - it maybe Twitter speak but it may also read that maybe Rupert was sold a dodgy deal himself. Worth taking that further guys. Also "The factions" in the Board comment. That needs some more work as well. Taking the Dalek attitude out of anything to do with Hoddle, there was a lot of talk back at that time about the Board being split. Did that carry on into our demise? Just what DID the other hangers on do? Is any of this relevant to today? Well yes because it is History and it was a MASSIVE fail in our History. If "The Truth is Out There" then it should be recorded and we (and the Club) should be able to look at all that went on. Life is about learning from mistakes and NEVER letting them happen again. NC & The Backroom staff now have the right attitude and approach, the Historical research won't affect that but it will be interesting to see what really happened in those crazy days. SCW conned Rupert into giving him the Job? Ooh that would change a few opinions in the world.

District 9 without a doubt is clever, thoughtful and a cracker. It also left itself open to a "They come back and weren't happy about how they were treated when they were broke" Hollywood follow up - which would be a shame. Battle Los Angeles. As a mate said. It is simply what it says on the tin. Is it Sci-Fi or just an old fashioned Good Guys get blown up & Bad Guys lose type "Action/War" movie? Don't think it pretends to be anything other than the latter. It's on Pay per View now over here and watching the clips for it, the CGI for some of the scenes when the Choppers fly over the beach the first time is outstanding. Re-watched Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel again the other night. Amazed to fnd a "low budget" Beeb Film in a Dodgy DVD shop in Asia! It really is a cracking daft nerdy yarn.

Shouldn't be too hard to work out, would need some Petrol Heads on the task. He tried to buy Bompey at the start of last season (source Bompey Echo), it didn't happen. Shortly afterwards CSI or some part of it announced they were Sponsoring an F1 team (believe it may have been Renault Williams). The guess was he spent his Bompey cash for the year on that. So Petrol Heads task 1) Are they still a sponsor this season? 2) How much would it cost to put a logo on some wheels in F1? If they are still sponsoring F1 then a fair guess would be they have less to spend than without that.....

bullcrap. Utter apologistic bullcrap. There is a simple reason why they are not yet aimed at us. They simply have not yet developed the delivery systems to get them far enough. The genie is out of the bottle and has been for 65 years. It will not go away. ANYONE who doesn't believe for one minute that Iran is NOT actively building a Nuke programme must still be having 70's CND Acid flashbacks. Pakistan aren't aiming their nukes at us - true. But their Nuke Scientists were damned happy to sell those secrets (via the IT Channel in Dubai) to anyone who wanted them. You want to get rid of Nukes in this day and age then go kick the crap out of the Israelis. While that state exists with it's current attitude to it's obnoxious neighbours then everyone and their mother is trying to get them and that means bringing the extra pressure that Nukes would have, Not just at Israel itself as a target but at those states who (rightly) support it's Right to Exist. It's about as smart an idea as selling off all of our Gold Reserves because they weren't needed that particular week. Trident won't stop a nutter, but it sure as hell will stop someone with money and resources FUNDING a nutter

We own a large chuck of it, always have done. We also do lease a large chunk (that we could not buy) and we always have done. Anyone plays with Google maps can see the shape of the whole Staplewood area and that is then pretty clear which area the extra practice pitches are on. Jacksons Farm was always a plan B. The only reason that would have been needed would have been IF that edge of New Forest area had been changed to be approved for housing development. HTH

Got this by email this week. Think it sums it up sorry if it formats wrong A Police Officer in the UK Question: How do you tell the difference between a British Police Officer, an Australian Police Officer and an American Police Officer? Answer: First - Lets pose the following question: You're on duty by yourself walking on a deserted street late at night. Suddenly, an armed man with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, raises the knife, and lunges at you.You are carrying a Glock .40, and you are an expert shot, however you have only a split second to react before he reaches you. What do you do? BRITISH POLICE OFFICER: Firstly the officer must consider the man's Human Rights. 1) Does the man look poor or oppressed? 2) Is he newly arrived in this country and does not yet understand the law? 3) Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack? 4) Am I dressed provocatively? 5) Could I run away? 6) Could I possibly swing my gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand? 7) Should I try and negotiate with him to discuss his wrong doings? Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it? 9) Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society? 10) Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me? 11) If I were to grab his knees and hold on, would he still want to stab and kill me? 12) If I raise my gun and he turns and runs away, do I get blamed if he falls over, knocks his head and kills himself? . 13) If I shoot and wound him, and lose the subsequent court case, does he have the opportunity to sue me, cost me my job, my credibility and the loss of my family home? AUSTRALIAN POLICE OFFICER: BANG! AMERICAN POLICE OFFICER: BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! 'click'.... (Sergeant arrives at scene later and remarks: 'Nice grouping!)

Sounds like he died a hero getting the plane to hit the field rather than the houses.

Just the game (and result) we needed. Lol at Saints Player League Table - we're top but have 10 points from 4 games. Word of advice to those tuning in to SaintsPlayer for the next game - it has been a sod to get into all season so today started it up 30 mins early. Worked second time after hitting F5,

And another one to add to the flood of records that this team keep knocking over

WOOT great grind out We make history as well Fantastic sounded out on their feet.

WTF has got into Hampshire? He says to try and keep the tension out of the fingers

What they don't want to do is get caught on the ball in that final third Adam.

Welcome to the NpC finally

FFS Get a grip Off the line by Richardson Blinder from KD

Hmm get the Old Thumper out the ice bath or a lucky hug. No contest, still too early for a lucky hug

Update from an eye witness sounds like they might have found the pilot, not looking good It's criminal to hit the first defender.... whispers Dave