SaintBobby

Seconded

Yes x 3

Any Saints fans in London up for celebration?

First priority was to save Saints. Now I wanna save this thread.....it should be protected as an historical treasure.

Phew. Not bad news at all. Not 'arf bad. COYR

I didn't confuse them. That's why I used the word "also". Fry needs to get the best deal for the creditors. But from our point of view, we basically want the largest possible investment in the club. I agree that the Liebherr deal looks excellent, but I don't want to wholly rule out the slight chance that the WFG might (a) offer the creditors a better deal - in which case Fry needs to listen to them - and (b) offer more investment in the team.

My only issue with Illingsworth is that he isn't very good on the media. I don't think he's rabid or insane - just not very articulate. His line on SSN a few weeks ago "The thing that most people will say about Mark Wotte is that he's Dutch" was a particular low point. I wonder whether this forum could democratically elect a "representative" who was able and willing to appear on/in the media, through a poll.

Revolutionary new coaching set-up

Emotionally and psychologically, I'm in the "just getting it f-ing done" camp. Intellectually, I guess Fry is in a difficult position (unless the ink is dry) if the Worldwide Finance Group are offering more to the creditors than Liebherr. Also, I suppose it's theoretically possible that the WFG might be willing the invest much more in moving the club forward than Liebherr. I wouldn't want to miss out on an amazing deal because we swiftly accepted a good deal. Remember, a week or two ago, a lot of people were desperate for the Pinnacle deal to be completed. Some people were saying things like "I don't care if Fialka isn't a billionaire, just save our club." It turns out that the agonising last couple of weeks may have been well worth it in the long run.

Well, we sent lots of books and quite measurable funds to Eastern bloc dissidents. So, that's something tangible. But clearly, I don't seriously believe I was instrumental in bringing down the USSR. I think my exasperation is really with Stanley rather than you. If the fanbase is going to move forward in a united way, it just grates that the "boycotters" are claiming some factional credit for the fact that we're about to be owned by a billionaire. The implication is that those of us who sat through and paid for many hours of grim football last season were responsible for keeping Lowe in place and the credit for the Liebherr takeover goes to the "real fans" who stayed away. I think that's both factually incorrect and also v unhelpful in trying to unite the fanbase.

The "r" word

I'm quite certain the impact of both efforts was absolutely zero. The boycotters who believe they have brought about this bright new dawn are just as delusional of the spotty teenagers who belived we'd helped bring down the Soviet empire.

You're not overly adept at spotting sarcasm, are you?

Fair point - alhough I guess/hope the point is academic now. Would have thought Tony Lynam will be keen to post on here to give his side of the story first. I'm sure he wouldn't want his credibility to suffer by not furnishing with us fans with all the facts...

When I was at sixth form college, I helped set up a student society that argued for democracy and human rights in every corner of the globe. An encouraging number of students supported our stance. Within three months of our formation, the Berlin Wall fell. Although it cannot be proven, it has to be accepted that there is a possibility that this was sufficient to tip the balance to push the Soviet bloc over the edge. Fair comment?

I suspect that there were no more than a few hundred stay-aways on the Lowe issue (but many more owing to our parlous footballing performance - particularly at St. Mary's) I genuinely respected the decision by some to boycott matches (although I didn't agree with it), but it's vainglorious to say it was the root cause of us being taken over by a Swiss billionaire. Like most self-congratulatory theories, the impossibility of disproving it will give its proponents much delusional glee for years to come.

My guesses: Completion confirmed early morning (c. 9am) Formal statement issued c. 10.30am. There might not even be a press conference (lots of questions that might be difficult to answer just yet..."how much will you invest?"..."are you sacking Wotte?"..."what's happening to the out-of-contract players?"...etc etc), but if there is I'd guess some point after lunch.

Lol

TBF, I think the Guardian story was probably filed at c. 4pm...the more optimistic noises have been from 5pm onwards....

I completely agree. Sundance and a couple of other Lowe luvvies kept the old board in place for months with their campaigning on this forum. GM's biting analysis of the Pinnacle consortium caused MLT, Tony Lynam and Michael Fialka to understandably withdraw their c.£500m investment, and who can blame them? The consequence of posting suggestive pictures of a family member of Marcus Liebherr - particualrly salacious posts about his sister - could destroy the prospect of a billionaire buying our club, even at this late hour. It's reckless, irresponsible and potentially fatal for Southampton FC. When Mark Fry and others have been talking about there being a few last details to sort out, we all know what they mean. The potential buyer goes onto this forum and if he/she/they find any negative or juvenile comments about their wealth, nationality or family members, they walk away form the negotiating table. We should never lose sight of the fact that a few ill-judged posts on this forum have been the basic cause of all of the club's problems in the last few years. It's time to grow up. And those whose behaviour is causing this mayhem should be banned from the forum immediately. :smt067:smt067:smt067:smt067:smt067:smt067

It's "hear, hear" Everyone seems to write "here, here" which always annoys me. The incantation is a hearty request for people to listen to and take note of the speaker's remarks, not a comment on geographical positioning... Linguistic pedantry lesson over.

I think - realistically - play-offs are our best hope, but we might scrape 6th place, but be easily the best team of the four play-off teams. Odds are we have to spend two years in League One, but I have put £100 on us getting promoted at 3-1 on betfair.

I was not glad we went into administration. I am still v p*ssed off that we get the -10 next season - this probably costs us a year in climbing the league. It looks like it will all turn out nicely though.

I pray you're right. Just don't know if these guys are going to throw tons of money at the club.....here's hoping!

Solent: "Southampton Football Club should be saved tomorrow"