CHAPEL END CHARLIE

Kelvin's our best player by a country mile and I think he'd stay if we could make even a half decent offer . Both JPS & Gillett are worth keeping if possible and Wayne Thomas could also be a big player for us next season if fit . But it's all entirely theoretical unless and until we find a new owner of course . (sorry broke the 'Only one player' rule)

Ronaldo to sign for the Saints ?

Lancashire - Had his chance this season but didn't take it . May find his level in L1 . Thompson /Paterson /McLaggon - all show good potential . Next season should show how good they really are . Mills/White - Looking to be the best of the bunch . Stars of the future ? Schneiderlin - Disappointing season , doesn't look like a L1 player to me and injury prone . Off load if we get any offers ? Gasmi - Apparently not good enough (even in this team) to make the bench . Only a loan so return to sender surely . Smith - Mr Wotte likes him , but nobody else does . Out of contract this summer anyway . Gobern - Big lad could be useful , but still an unknown quality at this time . I agree you never really known with young players but you have to make a judgment , learn to live with it and move on .

I find myself simultaneously in total agreement and yet somehow not entirely convinced by the above . The fact that is was an monumental error letting Pearson go is accepted by almost everyone on here (the odd troll or idiot aside) but I just can't see that Rupert Lowe and Nigel Pearson would ever have worked in the long term . Pearson would never have accepted the degree of interference in squad selection and management the Dutch clowns have tolerated this season , nor would Lowe have been happy dealing with a strong character like Pearson (the Strachan days are long gone now ) . As soon as we hit the inevitable bad patch RL would have used that opportunity to sack Pearson and justified it by stating he was never his choice in the first place . With hindsight Nigel Pearson was better off out of it . Whatever the manifest shortcomings of this seasons squad and Wotte & Poortvleit it all goes back to Lowe in the final analysis . He couldn't get the big decisions right because fundamentally he's the wrong type of personality to be running a football club . It's as simple as that really .

Almost certainly not , but relegation to L1 is a rather more serious issue than losing a FA cup tie is it not ?

No need to sack him as I presume he's on one of those short term or rolling contracts . We should save additional cash by avoiding any success bonus payments this season - come to think of it Rupert's masterplan's starting to make sense now .

Letting Pearson go was the worst decision since Mr & Mrs Hitler decided to have an early night in .

Newsflash...... Saints management locate the crucial component our players have been doing without all season .

You talk sense

With Norwich Union/Aviva (whatever they're calling themselves today) rumoured to be ready to take a massive lose on the Stadium debt and Barclay's in not an entirely dissimilar situation the club's debt would be significantly cheaper to take on now than before administration . You could buy this club for less than the cost of one average ability Premier League player which makes us a bit of a bargain surely . This recession won't last for ever and with a modest level of investment we have the potential to play in the Premier League and take a cut of all that lovely TV money . I can think of no other football club that currently offers a better combination of very modest purchase cost (£5-10m?) and having the facilities already in place to compete at the highest level . Even starting in L1 this club is well worth saving , all it takes is a bit of cash and vision . He who dares wins Rodney .

True but counterbalanced by the fact that the club would be very cheap now compared to what would have been required a few years ago .

It would be very handy if somebody could post the actual Football League regulation in question , all I can find are press summary's which may or may not be accurate . Or is it covered by the Official Secrets Act ?

Substitute fitted kitchens or furniture for season tickets and I'm sure there are plenty of unfortunate MFI or Courts customers on here who will be able to confirm it happens all the time sadly - honest or not .

There were a number of avenues open to raise extra cash for the business this year , be it player sales or the usual 'March Madness' season ticket offer etc. The fact is the powers that be choose not to explore any of them for some reason . As a dedicated Sherlock Holmes aficionado I can only draw the conclusion that SLH wasn't 'murdered' by Barclay's at all - it committed suicide .

It seems probable to me that Leon Crouch would indeed have invested in SLH in return for real influence in the running of the business via a seat on the board - it doesn't appear likely that this was acceptable to Lowe & Wilde given their expressed dislike of LC . Successful businessmen seldom in my experience get into the habit of signing blank cheques and it seems perfectly reasonable to me that LC would require something in return for his money - who the hell wouldn't ? The importance of personal relationships (even in business matters) should not be underestimated either , it's common knowledge that these three men despise each other so it should come as little of a surprise really that they don't cooperate together effectively - this is the way of the world . SLH under the Lowe & Wilde regime was a dead duck anyway so £2m could only have delayed the inevitable descent into Administration for a few months - better for Leon better & the club that the money be used to help raise the Phoenix from the flames as it were rather than just sink it into Rupert's chronically mismanaged money-pit .

That rather depends on how high the 'Landlord' sets the 'rent' for the stadium doesn't it ? I'd imagine the council would set fairly generous terms as I can't see a full commercial rent that might potentially force us into administration again at some stage in the future being a particularly attractive prospect to the local politicians who'd get the blame .

Assuming the club survives to see next season it's imperative we avoid the worst mistakes of this season - be it CCC or L1 we'll need to find experienced (but affordable) players to replace the senior players who will leave this summer . This is of course much easier said than done but finding a manager able to sort the wheat from the lower league chaff will be the first item in the 'In-Tray' for any new owners . I'm a firm believer in building from the back so establishing a strong back 4 and goalkeeper with their stand-ins should be top priority . Recent Saints history shows us starting the season with our defensive arrangements in disarray on more than one occasion - lets not go there again .

The attendance numbers are a bit of a minefield . The evidence of my eyes tells me that St Marys (home sections anyway) was pretty full yesterday - it certainly looked more than 2/3rds full to me anyway . I think the vast majority of season ticket holders are actually turning up now and 'Kids for a quid' always helps to fill the place . Palace didn't bring many down considering it's not that far but that's the shape of things to come if we get relegated - St Marys is just inappropriately big for this clubs core fanbase outside the Premier League I'm afraid . nb - I note half the turnstiles were closed yesterday (at least in the Chapel) , a sensible cost-cutting measure I'd say .

My ratings for Saints v Crystal Palace (1-0 home win ) K Davis 7 - The usual fine display from our best player & captain . Not especially busy today until late on . L James 7 - Does the business well now and has been steadily improving all season . JPS 7.5 - If we'd had him all season I reckon we'd be safe now , he's that good . C Perry 7 - Take a moment to consider that this 34 year old has played virtually every game this season with hardly a injury or bad performance among them . Well played that man . R Skacel 6.5 - Experienced player , flashes of quality coming forward & cool under pressure (without ever being outstanding) . A Surman 6.5 - Put a decent enough shift in but didn't really stand out . I'm looking for more from him . P Wotton 7 - A 'Marsdonesque' performance , great attitude and leadership compensating for limited abilty. He'll play an important role with Gillett out . A Lallana 7.5 - Much better today than in recent weeks & seemed ready to take on more responsibility , put himself about splendidly until he ran out of steam . DMG 8 MOTM - Was playing pretty well but that goal was as sweet as they come (at the Chapel End as well bless him). I said back in January he'd outscore Saga & I wish I had money on it now . Mule 7 - Good pro he's the nearest thing we have to a play maker , unlucky not to score & a very odd substitution IMO . BWP 6.5 - Quick and occasionally dangerous you can't fault the effort he put in today - I don't really rate him but looking a better bet than Saga at this time . Substitutes: M Saganowski 5 - On for Mule didn't have a chance to do much . M Schneiderlin 6 - On for BWP I thought he looked (surprisingly) quite good . Z Liptak . Very late sub . Conclusion : A quick glance at the League Table will show we're still in deep trouble but it was a really good effort today , any neutral spectator will confirm we were good value for the 3 points and could/should have won by 2 or 3 . I think this is our best team available for selection so well done to the Head Coach for getting the basics right and identifying it - which is easier said than done . On a personal note I arrived at St Marys not really fancying it today & expecting a football funeral in all honesty , but it turned into a party instead and I left singing "Southampton till I Die" with a great big smile on my face .......it's a funny old game Greavesey .

That I'm sure we can all agree on . The era of the £8-£15k a week footballer at this club is well and truly over once current contracts expire (or before if we don't find a buyer) - and good riddance to it many will say .

... and neither are the fans being asked to pay their wages - twice .

The fact that this club has been reduced to such penury that as desperate measure as this has even been contemplated is a sad indictment of those that led us into this predicament , I include everyone from the boardroom on down in that . The senior players earning £1000's every week need to take the old proverbial 'Long Hard Look' at themselves as they witness fans (many of them earning minimum wage) putting their hands in their pockets to pay players wages in effect - it wouldn't be so bad if you thought for one minute many of them actually deserved it . :mad: I'll Probably put something in the bucket in the hope that it will help prevent the club I love from kicking the bucket as it were , but I will tell you this - I'll NEVER criticise any Saints fan who finds the whole business of robbing the poor to pay the rich absurd and decides to save their hard earned cash for spending on their family where it belongs , they may well be in the right .

It's going to be a bit like Cambodia's 'Year Zero' in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge seized power , except without Pol Pot's leadership and with a lower body count obviously .

It's like jumping off the end of the pier - exhilarating if you land safely in the water , painful if you end up on the rocks .