Bailey

And I can't help but ask, why would Pinnacle agree to this sort of deal, before a manager is even in place? I'm taking this with a large pinch of salt, as I'd hoped we'd get a slightly better deal for Rasiak. Time will tell though.

I'd love it if we got Keegan! Seriously though, I can't see it happening. Would be more than happy if true, but I won't be surprised if this turns out to be nothing more than speculation.

I'm sure the potential new owners have spoken with the out-of-contract players to give them an indication as to whether or not they will be offered a new deal. Kelvin will almost certainly be offered another contract on much reduced terms, and I genuinely believe that he'll stay at Saints. Time will tell though.

Always on with 20 minutes left eg. 10.40, 11.40, 12.40 and so on.

And he's got a great tan too.

A lot of decisions have been made behind the scenes, but until the takeover is finalised and has gone through (Friday) then nothing can be said in public. Expect a flurry of news on the OS once Pinnacle have sealed the deal. News on the new Board, Manager, players and kits etc will all be out in the open soon enough. We've waited long enough for a takeover, surely a few more days won't hurt?

BWP would have done well in League One but it was always unlikely that he'd stay due to his wages. I know he's not got many fans on here but I wish him all the best if he does move on. He's shown glimpses of potential, but not proved himself on a regular basis. BWP will be missed, but at the same time he's not irreplaceable. He leaves, I wish him all the best, and we move on.

If 'Park Life' got published, I'd definitely buy it. Some good articles in there, well worth reading. Nice job!

This would be a great away strip. Good work Gecko!

Sounding increasingly like Wotte is going to remain at Saints, but I very much doubt it'll be as Head Coach. Maybe he'll return to his role as Academy Director, but I'm pretty sure that Pinnacle/MLT will want to bring their own man in. Ideally I'd opt for a clean sweep and be rid of anything with links to Lowe et al, but the way that Wotte has conducted himself in the off-season means that he should get a bit of credit. I wouldn't be totally against him returning to his role with the Academy, but in an ideal world I'd thank him for his efforts and let him move on.

Maybe this is a sign that Pinnacle have enough 'moolah' without needing help from other individuals/consortiums? If they were seen to be accepting offers from elsewhere, then people on here would ridicule them, saying that they clearly don't have enough funds to complete the deal etc etc. I don't think it's neccesarily a bad thing that they are wanting to go it alone at all. With one owner and one Board, hopefully this would mean that the club can move forward, united as one. No more Boardroom squabbles! We've had more than our fair share in recent years.

This is my favourite without doubt. Would be cracking to have a new shirt like this to signal a new era at Saints. Have we worked out whether or not we're due a new home kit yet? I'm pretty sure we're getting a new away kit, but not certain on the rest.

I agree with the poster on the Exeter forum; Saints would be a better move for Tisdale. Realistically, I can't see Swansea pushing on any further. They've lost their manager and rumours are going round suggesting that their key players, such as Jason Scotland, are also set to leave. The same applies to Exeter too IMO. They've been brilliant in recent seasons and getting into League One is a massive achievement for them, but do they have what it takes to maintain their success? The best they can hope for is to preserve their League One status, so Tisdale may need to leave to further his own career. If Tisdale took over at Saints, he'd have a chance to build us up again and get us back into The Championship, with the long-term ambition of pushing on into the EPL. PT strikes me as a man who likes to build his own side and he'd have a great chance to do that here. Add to that the fact that he has previous ties with Saints and it could be an attractive job for him.

Initially I expect the attendance will be above average as there will be a bit of a 'feel-good' factor going around the place should Pinnacle's bid go through without any problems. If MLT is announced as Chairman or something similar, then that could well improve attendances in the short-term too. Generally speaking though, our gates will come down to results on the pitch. If we're winning regularly, then the attendances will improve. If we struggle, then it'll be the same as this season, if not lower.

Oh when the Saints, Go Johnstone's Paint! Oh when the Saints go Johnstone's Paint! I wanna beeeee in that number, Oh when the Saints go Johnstone's Paint! Being serious for a minute though, we'll probably get knocked out by a League Two side. Would love to get to the final though for a day out at Wembley. Here's hoping!

I remain cautiously optimistic. The fact that we haven't heard a lot from the likes of Tony Lynam and Pinnacle suggests that everything is being done in a professional manner. No news is good news, and unless we hear otherwise, all we can do is assume that the bid is progressing nicely. We'll know when we know, so there's no point in stressing and we'll find out in due course. Understandably, some fans are going to doubt this bid as in ways it does seem too good to be true, and under the stewardship of Lowe and Wilde we have had to suffer but here's hoping that we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I've been told that he wants to stay (although he's stated that repeatedly on the OS) and if the takeover goes through, he'll be one of the first players to commit their future to the club.

Would agree with Trundle but there's no chance we'd be able to sign Monk. If he did ask for a transfer, I'd imagine that there would be a few Championship sides in for him.

To be fair, as LL rightly says, people are always going to doubt this deal as it almost sounds too good to be true. Add to that the fact that us fans have been lied to for years under the stewardship of Lowe and Wilde and you can understand why people are a little bit sceptical. Once the deal is all signed, confirmed and finalised, I have no doubt in my mind that almost every Saints fan will be very grateful and optimistic for Saints' future, providing that Tony Lynam and Pinnacle are true to their word and have the club's best interests at heart. Here's hoping anyway. The fact that we haven't heard anything from TL and Pinnacle is good IMO. Shows that they are going about their job in a professional manner and as the old saying goes, no news is good news. I remain cautiously optimistic, but the fact that Matt Le Tissier is happy with the bid reassures me immensely. ANYWAY, enough speculation. We'll know when we know. I just hope and pray that the deal goes through without any problems so that we have a team to watch next season.

I'd be sad to see Surman go should he leave. He's one of our best midfielders without doubt and we'd struggle to find a replacement with his ability.

Saints have already been moved to the League One section on the SkySports website. http://www.skysports.com/football/leagueone/0,19734,11718,00.html

You're going to get some serious abuse for your choice of thread title. You have been warned!

I have a feeling Steve Cotterill will be the manager. Would like to see Tisdale given a chance but unlikely.

Would love to see Tisdale take charge. I've managed to see Exeter a few times in recent seasons and he's got his team playing decent, attractive football. During his short managerial career, he's done pretty well to be fair and he's definitely one manager with a bright future. He has ties with Southampton and despite Exeter's success, I think he may be tempted if he were offered the top job here. If the Pinnacle bid goes through, then there may even be a little bit of money to spend and that could persuade him. Tisdale has also got a decent knowledge of the lower leagues too, something we will need to utilise more now than ever before due to the fact that we're a League One side.

Adams is the favourite to be named the new Port Vale manager. See link below. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/port_vale/8079064.stm Thankfully I'm glad that he's not going to be at the helm at Saints. I just don't rate him at all. As for Dowie, I wouldn't be overjoyed but we could do a lot worse. We are a League One side after all.