dubai_phil

Although I am sure Adam Leith (being a fan as well) has a number of other parts of the story, not least some of the off the record conversations he and Peter Law would have had during the whole episode.... Worth a nudge if it stays too quiet

Pilchards - STOP IT.... It's taken me & EricofArabia almost a year to pull this together. Jeez all those hours I spent reading MJ's football club purchasing for dummies handbook so we could make sure we hid every single possible pitfall so it exploded like a well aimed grenade... C'mon man you know about the NDA (not doing anything) for the PL this year, this whole thing cost us two Bullfrogs, it wasn't a Pinnacle style project FFS :smt027

Sometimes jet-lag is a ***** Then sometimes you're wide awake and find something like this thread. Well done GM Duncan - think you now have the story and the tools to make the Pinnacle/Fry version:-)

Duncan Sorry I couldn't change things around last week to meet up and share a beer or two. Alpine is right in his own way, we do need to move on, but I think it is also important for the story to be told. While today we look forward to stabilising our club and beginning the long journey back up the leagues, these past months have without a doubt been a critical piece of our history and the story should be told. Without any doubt, Pinnacle were guilty of whipping up a "PR" storm and "conning" not just MLT but most of us. FF says he had a lot of outside pressure, when I and others posted that there were stories in the City about the viability of Pinnacle's bid we were also subject to grief on here. To find out from lawyers in the City and from known creditors of the club that there were concerns was, not to put too fine a point on it - horrifying. As we ALL agreee, thank God Markus stayed active. I posted a long time ago how my golf buddy (a senior VP in the local banking sector) had explained to me how easy it actually would have been for me - a broke, getting divorced ex-pat - to simply pick up 40 million of cash and buy the club to get rid of Lowe pre-admin. The mechanics, once you knew which door of which type of Bank to walk through were very simple. The planet was full of idiots with money "looking for a deal" (Hicks & Gillett spring to mind). The killer though was the fact that the interest on the leveraged loans would be around 3mil a year, the maths simply didn't work because the banks would want their money back one day. The ONLY time anyone could argue that a leveraged buy out would have been viable was IF it was the only choice between oblivion and taking the chance to buy a few more years to survive and hope the recession ended. The POINT was that when the Pinnacle PR came out, then like all Saints fans I was excited and delighted, however, to NOW find out that they had played MLT AND us with a half baked scheme that was simply a "survival" and mortgage the future deal has actually made me angry. I am pretty sure that there is a lot more to be told in a historical context and I still think that Duncan's next book will be really interesting. Perhaps to avoid descending into the normal round of arguments though, perhaps it would be better to arrange them as a series of "stories" on the main forum page.

A big thankyou to Stevie For mailing the DVD's out a day after I leave the UK... So I have NO idea what nickh is on about, although I am in touch with the South Coasts' resident expert on matters of libel. Unfortunately Rupes was out allegedly sigining on, so will have to wait a bit longer to find a way get my own back and retort properly.... Out of interest though, anyone else notice how disrespectful of THE SHIRT the Away team were. I know they weren't happy about being in Flint, but so many of them seemed to spend so much time trying to rip the shirts off our boys backs....

Excellent read. Enjoyed my internet free week in the UK, but for those with access to BBC I Player and who enjoyed this, I recommend finding Thursday's edition of Never Mind the Buzz****s with Stephen Fry. It was hilarious, especially the bit about the Pretzel........

Well you know how it is.. deals to be done and all that And now I know how to access them and they know I was here and I tell the forum - hmmmm let's discuss the beers needed!

Great day out. Fantastic seats up in the Grandstand - plenty of exercise coming down 3 flights for a fag and to top up on Marstons. OK so it was expensive, but for a guy buried in the desert to come back and have REAL ALE all day was magic, shame about the effects later on! Fish & Chips was at least edible if pricey Great laugh, especially teaching the lads in front of me a new collective word for a flight of Hawks - A Dazzle of Hawks, lol

Hello campers - weeeeeeheee I found an internet signal to log onto while in post FP cup final recovery mode. In answer to your OP, yes there is Wifi signal at SMS I'm using it to type this. Now that makes everyone worry - what's DP doing at SMS:grin:? Don't worry nickh I'm making the case for us as reserve team management! (honest)

Oh yes.... Best mix 5 ice cubes, cover with Zubrowka, squeeze in a fresh lime, one small sprig of mint and top up in a 500cc glass with apple juice. T3 LHR Duty Free sells it, and MMI over here (for EoA) Now YOU can keep real ale why can't SMS = oh wrong trhead sorry admins night all got a plane to catch

Feb 2007, managed to get the company to pay for me to take clients to Barcelona for a conference. The centrepiece was that we all got to watch Barca v Real, Messi scoring the equaliser after Barca were reduced to 10 men. Sat at the back at the bottom tand so not great view of the stadium and cannot find the photos but in the words of Frankie Valley - Oh what a night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hT558s2MtY seems to be in Spanish for some reason Best football match I've seen since Saints used to be a football club

Now there's an offer But unfortunately had a choice FP final or Millwall as a focal point for an urgent biz trip..... Footie games come around 40 times a year, Lords trips - damn

Expensive normally Although Al Hamra Cellars had a really good sale on last week. Got 2 bottles of Pouily Fusse 2002 for 39 Dirhams (about 6.50) usual price 276... and got 4 bottles of a nice Haut Medoc reduced from 175 to 30 But tonight it was the Zubrowka and Apple Juice. Shame you're in Italy, they won't have such a large Polish community there so you probably cannot find it, but it is sure catching on here. Yummy But Tomorrow night - London Pride & Marstons Pedigree - The old Le Meridien at Heathrow has a decent pub just opposite, land at 8:15pm will be in there by 9:15pm thanks to IRIS Oh what we DO get down here is Lebanese wine.... OMG knocks spots off anything from EU. Chateau Musar or Chateau Ksara, heck Chris DeBurgh even wrote a song about it. Bekaa valley produces a lot more than terrorist camps

Seriously! That day cost me a damned good Olympus point and shoot (analogue camera) AND my mobile phone. Let's face it, before that day what Dubai resident would ever have thought about buying Gortex? Heck, even my flag came back cleaner than when it went out. And no, not been out tonight, been watching House all evening and recovering from the horror of EoA finding a TimeOut & Hello Mag shoot and posting it on the Forum match thread :mad: He is in Soooo much trouble

Well, after the post on the OTHER thread, I'd quite forgotten the football side of the meaning of play.......... Meanwhile, moving on from the thighs So we now have our squad numbers. Admin cost us 3 players - Surman, DMG and Dyer, as well as losing JPS Looking at the squad TODAY, and now having AP coming onboard. Would we have wanted to keep any of them to fit in to the new era? Assuming they could have been "talked" into staying

Hmmm You should get over here, you'll fit right in to Rock Bottom

The more I look at our squad, the more I think we NEED a copy of the Forum Match DVD to AP. More than a few on the pitch that day CDAJFU compared to some on the squad list Griffo, Baj, Big Dave Watson, Hamster, Disintegration 87, Granty, Nexstar, The9, heck even Influenced.Com would walk this League compared to Pulis with his passion... Hell, Granty was more deserving of the #7 shirt than some of the recent occupants

I went to a football ground once. Does that count? Seriously - anyone get any photos of Steau's ground? my camera died in the rain!

'79 League Cup Semi away to Leeds. Snowing like crazy, minus 500C, coach got a brick through the back window on the way out the ground. Got dropped off in Salisbury around 3am, luckily I was near the front so didn't get hypothermia. Best train trip - London Saints to Sunderland - we upgraded to First using the weekend special and someone let Stink bombs off - juvenile but funny Derby Train trip for Chris Marsden day was funny. Blimey - EoA went on a train? bet they were steam

Without googling, he hung out a bit further east, Wadi Rum was where it was filmed, close to Aqaba in Jordan, awesome place but a tad warm this time of year Peter O'Toole wasn't it And He's responsible for the whole Osama thingy..... Not Peter but the other one

The Camel Bar in Hurghada seemed to be the best bet when I went and my daughter & other mates enjoyed it. Local pharmacies should sell Ecrefuryl - it is an anti-bacterial mix of Immodium and Motilium. Your local doc probably won't recommend it certainly without a prescription but I never travel anywhere these days without it after my local Doc recommened it, TBH I get more doses of the sh*ts in UK than I did in Egypt, just watch the salads - go grilled as much as possible Oh and do NOT take ANY drugs/medications unless you check with your doc first - some Muslim countries will jail you for Codeine possession let alone anything worse NEVER drink ANY soft drink that you do not open yourself, that INCLUDES Pepsis etc in McDonalds/Pizza Hut from those machines (sods got me in Pakistan with that - it is just tap water into fizz - bad bad bad. Check the water bottle lid has not been tampered - ie glued back on so buy from shops NOT street or beach vendors Above all enjoy

yes But.... You know all those pictures from old movies - Gordon of Khartoum, Young Winston, well ME train services are still somewhat like that, always raised a smile when I went past Cairo station..... Mind you they make the old Southern Region look, well modern and luxurious! But if you get a 1st class... should be ok, but do the searching for the cheap flights first and save a day each way, Egypt is a BIG place.... My mate drives but again you guys who think some of the M25 drivers are bad - ain't seen nuffink - really do not recommend it.

Thx. Dubliners from 12:15 - 13:35 if you ain't driving Perhaps a recon mission to Nelson's to line up a full blooded assault to celebrate the arrival of the DVD later in the month!? Should still be open in 2015 Rotana Marina I think

I heard he phoned our dear own MJ up today.... (ok only a joke) nearly

Egypt was part of my sales region for 13 years. Do not expect it to be a "Torremolinos" holiday, in fact, don't expect it to be a Med holiday at all. Everything is far more basic and their approach to life is different to ours. The best description of an Arabic Holiday resort is that it is a facade and looks sad and faded. There is never a great deal to be had at the markets and the shops no matter how hard you haggle - the bargains are in the real world of Cairo markets etc. The beaches at Sharm are basic at best, dotted with rotting old swings and playgrounds that would never get past a UK health & safety check. The western food is average at the very best, a lot of the diving is now over fished or over polluted. Which is why it is fantastic. The whole way to enjoy these places is to get RID of the usual pre-conceptions, accept that much is held together with bits of string and brown paper. Stay away from the Pizzas and the Burgers, get into the fantastic Arabic Food, especially the Mezzes and the mixed grills. Do not expect Ibiza clubs but sit and watch the people while having a Shwarma and a Sisha. Do your homework on the diving, find the proper dive clubs with ex pats, NOT the smiling local ones, they will take you further and you will get fantastic diving Sharm is odd and quirky and in the middle of nowhere as is Hurghada. The most modern resorts are out of the town and are insulated from the rest of the "resort", to be honest the only way you could tell you were in Egypt would be the vastly overpriced Papyrus in the hotel shops. Golden rules - you are not going to be clubbing until 3AM and vomitting in the street, save that for at home or Newquay/Ibiza, NEVER trust ANYONE as for them 50 quid is a LOT of money and they would sell their kids kidneys for less, BUT, I loved Egypt, I enjoyed Sharm, make sure you take your eyes and ears and actually listen to the history of the place. My recommendation is to try and do two nights in Cairo, 6-8 days in Sharm/Hurghada will be enough and if you can fit in Luxor then it's a must. There are almost hourly flights from Cairo airport, Egypt Air is grim but gets there, and there are a load of charters and low cost wannabees (all about 5 decades behind western operations though) You must see the pyramids (don't bother with the camel rides you just get fleas). You must see the Cairo Museum. Never did much history at School but I've been there 5 or 6 times, it is fantastic. Take a camera with high ISO capability - no flashes allowed but King Tut's exhibition is up there on OMG moments. The Semi Ramis Intercon is old but one of my favourite hotels (even has a casino) if you want a steak then Pascha 1901 or something is an old steamboat with a good steak house close to the old Marriott hotel beer is ok, but the local wine is pants (drink Lebanese if they have it) Can never pronounce it but get a guide to take you Khalil Al Khalili market (be careful though a bomb went off there recently and you must go to the Salah Al Din's castle/palace/mosque on the hill Egypt is great but you must be prepared to treat it as a real Indiana adventure, don't be passive and do the package tourist sit on every bus going rubbish.