trousers

Would appear they've caught up with the paperwork now... http://www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/IFSPages/MarketNewsPopup.aspx?id=2076980&source=RNS Regulatory Announcement Go to market news section Company Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC TIDM SOO Headline Appointment of Head Coach Released 16:52 26-Jan-09 Number 2728M16 /**/ RNS Number : 2728M Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC 26 January 2009  Southampton Leisure Holdings plc ("the Company") Appointment of Head Coach The Company announces that, following the resignation of Jan Poortvliet, Mark Wotte has been appointed as the Head Coach of Southampton Football Club with effect from 23 January 2009. Enquiries: Southampton Leisure Holdings 0845 688 9448 David Jones Seymour Pierce Limited 020 7107 8031 Paul Davies

Poortvliet: "You want how much for that sh*t jacket?"

Could our situation with Barclays have eased slighty due to their statement to the LSE yesterday announcing they are in better shape than most pundits predicted?

Agree. Just can't work out why he wasn't installed in the role last July.

What did Crouch say to Lowe and/or Wilde on Friday before Jan 'decided' to stand down?

This is the key line to me: "this was all refused but JP was sacked/resigned and then wotte was given the job so something must have been agreed."

Nothing. But how long do you conduct an experiment before realising it's flawed?

Hmmm....back to 'not adding up' then.... i.e. if the outcome of Crouch's meeting with Lowe and Wilde was "nope, sorry, we don't like your plan Mr Crouch, especially the bit about changing the manager...." then Poortvliet would have surely known later that day that Lowe and Wilde, by virtue of turning Crouch away, had given him a vote of confidence (albeit indirectly)? Why walk away following such backing?

Nice Jersey...

http://www.coloradorapids.com/ Rapids Make Two Additions to Technical Staff COMMERCE CITY, COLO. (Monday, January 26, 2009) - Colorado Rapids head coach Gary Smith announced today two additions to his technical staff as Steve Guppy joins the club as assistant coach and David Kramer returns as goalkeeper coach. Assistant coach Steve Guppy comes to Colorado after serving as a player/assistant coach for the Rochester Rhinos during the 2008 season. Guppy holds over 15 years of professional experience in the highest levels of competitive soccer in Europe and North America. A native of Winchester, England, Guppy's career includes stints with Southampton (1989), Wycombe Wanderers (1989-94, 2004-05), Newcastle United (1994), Port Vale (1994-97), Leicester City (1997-2000), and Celtic F.C. (2001-04). Guppy made his MLS debut with a five-game stint with D.C. United during the 2005 season. He then returned to the English leagues in 2006-07 with Stevenage Borough F.C. Recently, Guppy spent three months training with Aston Villa, as he prepared for the 2008 USL-1 season. A crowning moment in his storied playing career was when Guppy earned a national team cap, playing the entire match for England on October 10, 1999 in a 2-1 victory against Belgium. Kramer first joined the Rapids’ technical staff as goalkeeper coach in June 2008. Most recently, the USSF “A” license holder served as the director of coaching for the Colorado Edge Soccer Club. Throughout his eight-year MLS career with Los Angeles, San Jose, and Colorado, he posted a 1.76 goals against average with 15 shutouts in 106 matches with 98 starts. Kramer appeared in 42 games for the Rapids from 2000-2002, including eight playoff matches. His professional career began with the Monterey Bay Jaguars in 1995, when he helped his team to the USISL Western Division championship. Kramer also played with the Colorado Foxes of the A-League in 1997.

Oo-er....how come we missed this one (apart from there being no mention of it on the OS of course) ?! PFA called in over Jason Euell's dispute with Southampton Jason Euell has called in the PFA for help after a huge row with Southampton executive chairman Rupert Lowe. The midfielder, 31, made the move after weeks of talks about having his contract paid up came to nothing. MLS side Colorado Rapids want to sign him.

Was there any nudity in the dream? May affect my decision to turn up if it turns out to be a premonition rather than a dream....

So, in which case, had Poortvliet waited a few hours to see the outcome of Crouch's meeting with Wilde and Lowe he could well still be here? In other words, he incorrectly assumed that Crouch would be successful with his 'new manager' proposal?

Yep, that would fit. Can someone confirm the chronology though? i.e. did Crouch approach Lowe and Wilde about 'changing things' BEFORE it had been decided that Jan would leave (either of his own accord or with some 'help') or was it AFTER the Jan decision?

Lowe: "Look Kim....this remote control is so easy to use I can operate it behind my back. This might be the first game of the season but I can see this robot idea of your working you know. Just make sure your contacts destroy the TSF Database to remove the evidence though"

"Crouch has had an ongoing dialogue with them since October, but the 2-1 home loss to Doncaster forced him to call a meeting between the three largest individual Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC shareholders. “I put my proposals to them but they obviously didn’t accept them because they went and put Mark Wotte in charge," said Crouch." Erm, perhaps I'm reading too much into this (for once) but if Lowe and Wilde didn't accept Crouch's proposals (which included changing the manager) then why didn't Poortvliet stay in place (whether he was pushed or resigned)? Either they accepted Crouch's proposals or they didn't? All seems a tad coincidental that Crouch come up with a plan which involves changing the manager which is turned down by Lowe and Wilde but the manager change then happens anyway.... Lost.

"Crouch has had an ongoing dialogue with them since October, but the 2-1 home loss to Doncaster forced him to call a meeting between the three largest individual Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC shareholders. “I put my proposals to them but they obviously didn’t accept them because they went and put Mark Wotte in charge," said Crouch." Erm, perhaps I'm reading too much into this (for once) but if Lowe and Wilde didn't accept Crouch's proposals (which included changing the manager) then why didn't Poortvliet stay in place (whether he was pushed or resigned)? Either they accepted Crouch's proposals or they didn't? All seems a tad coincidental that Crouch come up with a plan which involves changing the manager which is turned down by Lowe and Wilde but the manager change then happens anyway. Lost.

Get your boots on....you know it makes sense....

I thought he was a footballer? edit: do we pay him on a pro-rata basis if part of his time during the working week is spent on 'other business interests' ?

Indeed. The comparison with SCW is a valid one. Which makes it even stranger that the club chose not to publicise it. Would appear illogical on the surface.

A trip to Jersey between two away games...sensible?

Like it All we need is a fly on the Waals and we'd know what was going on.... (now, that play on words is borderline intelligent, even if I say so myself)

Nail. Head. It's all very simple really.

Are you my wife?