saint1977

Can't comment on I'm no Sinner's position but I've been in a similar position to yours TDD and got the feck out is my advice - I'm really glad I did too as I met someone fantastic who I'm getting married to. "See how we get on" after 3 months sounds like someone who doesn't know what she wants. This particular ex at the time is a genuinely decent girl but is by all accounts stuck in the same rut that she was and is no nearer to finding what she wants and is dominated by her family. I hope for her sake that she breaks free and meets someone who can help her find a direction but I'm glad I made a difficult decision at the time.

Sorry this is a bit off-topic but a few years ago a mate of mine was getting a taxi home and was talking about some recent comments made by Richard Chorley and Perry McMillan. He said "that Perry McMillan is such a cvnt", and then looked at the driver's ID badge....you've guessed it, the badge said Perry McMillan. Not unsurprisngly, the rest of the journey was rather quiet!

Also, I can't see JP showing flexibility with his tactics.

If we're losing the only players of professional football standard left we might as well go into administration anyway. The risk is we might end up with a hideous loan deal on St Mary's but this is where the Bank should say "no Rupert, that makes the team uncompetitive at this level and the board cannot finance this infrastructure in League 1 - seeing as Rupert had the lavish Staplewood facilities built post-relegation. Therefore you and Mike Wilde go or we pull the plug". It's going to happen at some stage so better to do it and not start in League 1 on -15. Either that, or Rupert and Mike salvage something and sell at a loss to people that can at least keep the club sustainable at CCC level. This board cannot do so and it is high time some on this board put their hands up to this fact.

We're going down anyway and probably into administration - let's face it, after Drew and Adam and possibly Kelvin, there's no more player assets left to sell, in fact the only asset is the stadium!

Thanks for the info Charlie. This is quite specific info so, and I'm not asking you to name your source directly, but did you get this information from within the club or did you collate it from the forthcoming accounts release?

The bottom paragraph sums up how I feel - Lowe doesn't have a clue - a more streetwise CCC manager could have us playing the same football with more end product and a board able to finance a couple of experienced loan signings would get an additional 25% out of the kids and we'd be mid-table at least. The CCC is fairly even this year so it wouldn't take a lot to make the side competitive, which it isn't consistently at the moment.

The guy above that said Branfoot was only sacked because of the 9,000 gate V Ipswich is quite near the mark. Also, the club had a lot of problems at the time finding a sponsor - Dimplex came to the rescue at the last minute - because successful companies did not want to be tarred with the failure of Branfoot, the board and the protests. Don't expect a queue after the Flybe deal finishes if Lowe is still around. If we want to protest, Lowe only controls 6% and - give him credit - is a strong character who won't be affected by singing. Rather, we should target the weak and feeble - Wilde and Askham. Wilde is already wobbling if a number of posters, some of which I would class as more credible than others, are right and if Askham caves in as he has a history of doing, that's Rupert's wider 20% share proxy cooked. Guy won't want the hassle at his senile age but he deserves plenty of stick, he's done nowt but take so let's go for him and Mike.

Those clubs, with only a couple of exceptions, are also doing hideously badly and a number have been into administration. Those Chairmen have also walked the plank, as Rupert should have done in 04/05. Even if that offer to quit was genuine, the retards left behind on the board couldn't have made a cup of tea without Rupert telling them how to make it. Rupert didn't even consult with them when appointing Wigley, that's how much he thought of them as people and business acumens!

Very true CB but someone did point out above that Chairman of other clubs have taken the cost of some of those dismissals - Sir Jack Hayward at Wolves for example. Our various boards should have summoned Rupert after the debacles of 04/05 and said "this is costing the company a lot of wasted money, if you can't get your recruitment right we'll appoint someone else to do it". The toads at the time of course never had the bottle to do that. With a track record like Rupert, a board with any gravitas would have fired him long ago and found someone to take his 6% off of him. But then, if you are Guy Askham or Mike Wilde, it's nice to have Rupert to take all the fans' stick. For that, I do admire Rupert because he will front up. I want him gone but I'd rather do business with him than jellyfish like Wilde or Askham.

To be honest TDD, I'm not sure we have. People say it evens up but these are the stinkers I remember: - 1996, blatant cheating of the highest order from Steve Dunn to wipe off Shipps' goal at OT in the Cup. Mind you, the one Man City got in the previous round was even worse! Man U really didn't deserve the Cup that season, the refs won it for them. - 1996, A clearly onside equaliser at Maine Rd ruled out, justice that we stayed up on goal difference. Flash sent off for dissent - Henchoz handball at Anfield - one of the most blatant I've ever seen at 1-1 and Liverpool go straight up the other end and score. - Volz - controlled and stopped the ball with his hand on the floor V Fulham at SMS and then cleared. Ref was no more than 10 yards away and had a clear view. - Darryl Powell fouls Mark Hughes V Derby at home with an awful foul, refs adds on extra injury time and Derby profit by scoring an equaliser created by Powell's filthy challenge. Who says cheats never prosper, that reminds me... - Bainao and Eranio at Pride Park twice in 1996/7 cheated in 2 seperate games by clearly diving and winning penalties - Theo got flattened V Leeds, should have been a yellow card if not a straight red, amazingly no free kick and Leeds score on the break and go on to win. The only 3 dubious decisions I can recall us getting is a Marian penalty V Everton for a clear dive, Beattie penalty V Blackburn and Dodd's basketball V Norwich. Refs have always had it in for us, particularly against the big teams and I know a lot of clubs feel like that as well. I always think it's because refs tend to come from areas where there is no major league or non-league side to support, hence they are Man U or Liverpool plastics. -

Wouldn't mind if you banned that ref from ever officiating again!

I'd pay his entry and then clean up what was left afterwards with a shovel! Actually, that's a question for you all - who would last longer in there - Rupert or Harry? I would say Guy Askham as my number candidate for putting in there and feeding to the Stella-fuelled Northam but it seems a bit excessive - erm, actually, chuck him in!

Didn't Shilton score a goal kick past Forsyth at the Dell for Leicester in the 1960s?

Good point.

Niemi was fantastic for us but for those under 30, I really have to say that very, very few keepers have or had Shilton's presence and aura. The following season after he left for Derby, Danny Wallace got on a one-on-one with Shilts and Shilts totally put Danny off. Can anyone remember Peter's performance at WHL in 86 for the Cup Semi? Shilts was awesome although ****erill nearly won when he hit the inside of the post. I had to be content with full match highlights the next day on ITV's The Big Match as I was too young to go but my old man went. Of course, that game is probably remembered for Mark Wright breaking his leg and missing Mexico 86 and also Kevin Bond's underhit backpass in extra time - never liked Kevin Bond or his Dad. Still, got there in 2003. Shilton's fitness record was also better than that of Niemi although Antti remains one of my favourite Saints players, it's just that Peter Shilton was a world great. Memories of the early and mid-80s just take me back to a time when we had a club to be proud of in every sense, something the boardrooms of the last 20 years or so will never understand.

Totally agree, Smith is one of those players that couldn't even cut it at Millwall, Pekhart has done nowt since a good finish V Ipswich despite a seemingly excellent pedigree and ditto Robertson after his cracker V Norwich (although he has been injured for some of his loan to be fair). Not sure I'd opt for Cureton though, I think we need a bigger striker to give us a different option and to free space for McG and Lallana to run into.

Lita's wages are being paid by a local businessman in Norfolk who is a lifelong Norwich fan. Not that I'm lauding Leon Crouch in any way - he appointed Dodd and Gorman for a start - but Leon to the best of my knowledge is the only local businessman in the area that has backed the club signing a player or loan player? Pretty sad really when you look at the local backing that Hull and others (Stoke) have had as well without any overseas sugar daddies or borrowing through the roof. Another local businessman, Geoffrey Watling, stopped Norwich going kaput after their version of Guy Askham, Robert Chase, bled Norwich City from beating Bayern to within 24 hours of extinction in 4 years. I'd love to think that a Hampshire businessman or woman that has been a lifelong fan (no, not a LifeLong Saint..) will do the same next year but I doubt it.

Makes me wonder, and this is no criticism of Marsden's, if Ringwood's much bigger distribution access to pubs since their takeover has done Hampshire's pub market in a bit. They cited rising costs (plausible) and the smoking ban as reasons for going kaput but I don't think the ban has had much impact and anyway, if people want to drink real ale and smoke they sit outside in the summer and there is the additional option of bottle conditioned ales that Hampshire sell/sold. I was in the South Western Arms after the Bristol City game for a beer festival and it was as heaving as I have ever seen it for a beer festival.

Actually, whilst I may not agree with Sundance's conclusion, he deserves credit for a well-reasoned and very creditable post. Long may it continue.

Good point, we're just bringing in cheaper foreigners, that's difference. At least if it was UK and Ireland players, the PR boys on here could claim it was a plan. Moreover, we're ruining good young players like Lloyd James by playing them blatantly out of position - how that can that be justified? Gobern - clearly not ready on Saturday, he's an impact sub at his age, Theo he isn't. Sad thing is, 2 decent EXPERIENCED loan signings would probably get us up the league and help the kids along. Why are we wasting money on Robertson who is someone else's youngster and also is there need for Forecast AND Bart?

Wolves for a start - Kightly et al. Ipswich have a super set of young players not least Owen Garven but Magilton will get the sack soon for buying rubbish around them, Palace have Scannel and were forced to sell Bostock, plus Soares is still there. So there's at least 3 CCC clubs that have better young players. Don't get me wrong, Lallana would be a good player in any of our young crops from the past but Drew has been in the first team for 3 years so not sure he counts. Morgan S was a smart buy but McG is far from a proven CCC player yet although he played very well on Saturday and Lancashire is well out of his depth unless Perry is there to help him out. Very impressed with Pearce but alas he belongs to Reading! All this bull about a youth strategy though - I recall the late 80s when MLT/Shearer/Franny/Maddison/Flowers/Rod Wallace/Kenna/Dodd via non-league came through. Difference is, they had experienced mentors like Case to help them through. Still, if Mike and Rupert tell themselves fibs enough times, they start to believe it, trouble is, no-one else does apart from Rupert's PR companies. In fact, we had another crop of youngsters in the late 70s/early 80s in Danny Wallace, Moran, Hebberd (walked out after League Cup final snub), Baker, Williams and going further back Channon, Chivers and even Sir Alf Ramsey! No Lowe advocate will tell any Saints fan who knows their stuff that this is somehow new. Rubbish. Rupert - time to go again. Mike, do the decent thing and take a hit on those shares if someone wants to take them at a loss. You are killing SFC and bringing Rupert back has shattered our fan base. I hate seeing SMS so empty, even if Wolves did their bit to help on Saturday!

Fair comments Steve, I did curse at Bopara for running out KP on Friday. I like Colly a lot as a player and met him in 2004 and top bloke as well. He's taken some stunning catches but can't rely on a brave century every 6-12 months to keep him in the side. I just think Bopara's time is coming and Colly might be the candidate to make way. Bell clearly has the natural ability to be a success but either has a mental block akin to Ramprakash or just doesn't have the hunger for the top level. Also, I don't mind Moores picking Prior but please Peter, bat him at 7 or so, Sanath Jayasariah he isn't!

It certainly seemed like it. Some refs give subtle decisions one way but this joker was blatant. Still, Keith Hackett won't do anything and it'll be another Graham Poll or Uriah Rennie wannabe next week. Refereeing is a very tough job but I thought the flak given out on Saturday was spot on for once.

Totally agree, some young players were needed last season to inject pace and verve but not 9 or 10 in one go FFS. Poor Gobern looks a real prospect but shouldn't be starting games yet, his confidence should be built as an impact sub as he was at Preston. James we are totally ruining by playing out of position. Parents of talented youngsters shouldn't let their prodigies anywhere near SMS whilst Wilde and Lowe are around - so sad to say that as we've brought so many players through in the last 4 decades, more than most clubs in the 92.