dubai_phil

Ah ha, so to analyse this thread we can now make the following PR Statement. Lowe claims success in the battle to re-unite the split fanbase at Southampton. By staff reporter in the first part of his battle to turn around the struggling South Coast club, Lowe has achieved what many thought was impossible in re-uniting all the fans and removing the era of hostility and contempt from the fans Internet forums. Lowe states that his Master plan of Total Football has now brought the fractured club back together after years of boardroom squabbles and divisions. "It is quite clear that the fans have been turned around and are now p*ssing in the same bucket. While we still have a few hygene issues and training on what is allowed to be placed into the bucket to address, there is no doubt that this is a major achievement for our Total Football programme. Another bonus is obviously that the award winning catering at SMS has allowed us to acquire much higher quality content in our bucket than that of our competitors. Fellow Director Wilde added, I think this is a clear message to our stakeholders that rumours that this great club did not have a pot to p*ss in have been hugely exagerated. We now look forward to moving into contention for the playoffs which is where this brand of Total Football deserves to be. The players were not available for comment as it was already past their bedtime. Read the full article in the Southern Maily Decho tomorrow

:smt005

Ha I saw similar article in the Telegraph but thought nah not Saints related enough. Think he's past his sell by date and has lost what little plot he ever had, he has a nice retirement home in Sandbanks, time for him to see more of it.. But not until he's wasted a few more millions on rubbish Redkarp & Garry Moore at City both prime candidates to remove Lowe & Total Football from this year's Foot in Mouth football awards

Am I the only person on here who doesn't understand this joke?

OK found it - yes finally THE Yacht photo that proves we have a rescue party on the way no idea how to make the pic on here so here is the link for yacht watchers like trousers http://www.panoramio.com/photo/7786954 here it is in close up http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/03/30/ferry_wideweb__470x312,0.jpg

Dubai as you know is damned cold at night for us long-termers! Would love to join tomorrow but have commitments tomorrow afternoon that mean I have to drive places. If all goes well and I finish in time may be Waxy's about 6 ish or a Karaoke trip to RB's about 9pm ish. If you have my mob txt or call or get it from EoA. (Some "tourist" types in town who want to do the Friday thing but need to run around the sights first tomorrow!)

How many shares in Barclays at what price? And Man City? Wow tough definition of stupid! How's life

I agree with most of your take on this, although I would likely change the last line, more likely to read something like.. "the people that handle such matters for him were interested" - that then fits in with all the pieces of the jigsaw and the denials. At that sort of level they would usually have a team of experts who are tasked with running that sort of operation, and with set targets and budgets (and of course bonuses) to meet. The only time the main man would ever know is likely to be when he signs the project off or the cheque, and maybe not even then. That fits slightly better IMHO

Just a simple point Robbie about your sales team idea... It should be made up of professionals with a network of contacts who understand how the UK & international investment markets work. Otherwise in simple terms who would the legends call to arrange a meeting? Which is why Seymour Pierce got given the job... oh sh*t

Is there another club in bad trouble? If so perhaps we could do a Buy One Get One Free advert

NOOOOOOOOOOOO But the point being that maybe an ex manager has a few of his own problems to sort out

ESPN yesterday something like Premier League snub Hoddle business model - he won't be sending players to England so no value for him IMHO.

Dunno about Arnie. Think what we need right now is John Wayne leading the 7th cavalry in.

Nice idea, but don't waste the airfare. After being burned by the Liverpool fiasco and messed around by Charlton, Dubai have repeatedly stated that they have no interest in acquiring football brands on numerous occassions. They took an alternative route into an investment fund & Glenn Hoddle and got slapped back by the Premier league yesterday Add to that the global mirth at Man City (ie Abu Dhabi) being made a laughing stock we have more chance of signing Kaka than being taken over. There are however a lot of countries in the Middle East, but unfortunately at this time the only people looking for foreign investment into secure retirement type properties are Osama bin Wotsit (who is apparently getting fed up with rising damp in his cave) and the Talibanned. Not sure they'd pass a fit and proper person test.

Now that WOULD be a negotiating coup of global proportions. Especially as said ex manager is now tied down to a very heavy contract with a major investment fund who pumped large sums of money into his personal business venture in Spain. That one won't be like offering 60k compensation, it will cost about 20mil... Oh sorry, you meant he's getting Branfoot back in

I really do not see any validity in the Lowe is doing it to buy the club on the cheap argument. If the club goes into Admin then the "liquidator" has to raise cash to pay off the creditors. So we know that is around 22mil for the mortgage, somewhere between 5 and 8mil for Barclays. Then his fees will add something like a mil, and then there will be the staff payouts for redundancy (yes the company no longer exists they have no jobs) and then the bills for taxes rates etc. Where will they get that money from? Selling everything that can be moved - players, property and the like. How much would we get at auction for all our wonderful sports science equipment? About 50 quid down the car boot sale.... Who will buy a stadium? The only possible people who need one are the Sk*tes - get SMS for 5 mil - bargain. We'll be left looking for out of contract players who want to train on the common every day and change in the municipal changing rooms. Good grief people they would even have to sell THE CATERING EQUIPMENT. (How on EARTH would you get a pre-match or half-time beer then!) The point is that sure there could still be a club, but it will be left with nothing. The debts are too high to cover a Liququidation Sale. Renting the ground from a property speculator or sharing it, no decent players, no land for the Academy players to train on, nothing. So we won't even qualify for Academy status, so that reduces the levl of kids who want to sign for us. Does any sane person really think that running a shell of a club like that is the sort of thing anybody except a totally devoted and wealthy fan would want to do? (ie by our own admissions - not a narcisstic business guru) It could take decades to recover and most of us will lose what has been an important part of our lives

Did someone mention bar?

One of the few games I've got back for in the past years. Worth every moment squashed in cattle class for 8 hours But also nominate Alan ball v Coventry in the 5-5 draw, the crowd had been on his back and he made a mistake that gifted them a goal, straight from the restart - pushed someone out the way, about 10 steps forward and (no doubt with a red mist) just fook hit it. Keeper never moved

Oh, so now you want COMMITMENT to an OPINION - ha, no way i've seen what those do to people on here But my guess is the Bank, simply from what is happening to their share price and the fact that everyone thinks they haven't declared all their toxic debts (like us) meanwhile on a similar subject. bet Amanda Staveley isn't the most popular blonde in Abu Dhabi these days, Buy Man City, buy Barclays... lol Wonder where she got all her contacts from?

Training? You think our boys go to TRAINING? Keep up FFS they go to spend "quality time" interacting with the physical dimensions that constitute the spacial entities that exist between a football and a killer pass... In English they spend 80% of their time playing tippy tappy passing games or mock football The rest? of course warming up and chilling down dude

You are LOVING this aren't you! Wait until all the rest of the dust shakes out after Larry Allen jobs buys us keep it all safe you and FF should get together and write a book!

He was definitely in a photgraph from the Farnboro pre season game. there were comments that he appeared Russian (not very PC) Shame so many posters have been hounded off the site as whoever posted it will no doubt still have a digital copy at home. Shame on us and the Echo for not spotting that we had a consultant on board. Anyone able to trawl the Annual Accounts for his fees? - oh of course not, they haven't been published yet....

I wonder...... I try and analyse things and remove the emotion from it, sometimes I get close, sometimes I'm miles away. But what I see here is a very simple and very clear message. So who is it aimed at? Possibly at the fans, preparing us for the prospect of a bad last week in the transfer window Possibly at somebody stalling in some other field - the only example I could think of would be our resident comedy act - the Fulthorpe bid Possibly even to push some pressure back onto the bank who may be trying to play hardball on the overdraft - after all it's Barclays who are in HOW MUCH sh1t? Maybe, just maybe (oh how I HOPE) it's to do with trying to set expectations for levels of comepnsation for (soon) to be redundant ex coaching staff OR to try and get a replacement teams salary ambitions down The only way to try and see this stuff and make any sense is to take away the first and obvious reaction that everything is the work of a psychotic. So, if it was 2 or 3 above - by f**k I hope it has worked Rupert, if it is 4 then to be honest a week's delay may cost us more than he saves. If it is 1, then better go find the tin hats chaps and chappesses because the next few days to the end of the window could be melt down time As for the PA story. It's gonna make a good book one day when we get all the pieces

Of course, he could have had a phone call saying - sorry, bad misunderstanding, come and have a free lunch next time you're not on air for a game which would also have likely caused David to be careful But that wouldn't be forum - pc right now would it!

Did someone mention Bar? This is possibly the greatest thread in the (short) history of TSW. As others have said, what amazing teamwork and detective skills. And how hurtful and damning that article must be to the rottweilers' employer. Better book 4 seats on tomorrow's Flybe flight 1017 at 18:05 Although I expect they won't be needed until the middle of next week.. can't be seen to be jerking our knees chaps