CHAPEL END CHARLIE

As good a chance as we're likely to get for a home win as SWFC have an extremely poor away record and some key players out , but there again our home form is nothing to shout about either . Another disappointing draw on the cards ?

We're more or less where we were last season as far as I can see - except we're failing with a much more economical team that is . When I think about it that is some sort of progress I suppose but I'm struggling to get very enthusiastic about it . If we beat Sheffield Wednesday later today I might cheer up a bit , it's quite literally been months since I've seen SFC win a football match .

Did we not start the season with the stated aim of achieving promotion ? - I note with interest this has now changed to the rather vague "taking the club forward in the long term" . Unfortunately in the long term we're all dead and I'm sure I can speak for many Saints fans in there 40's or 50's when I say that we would prefer to see some improvement before we start collecting our old age pensions .

Firing off copious amounts of ammunition without actually hitting the target is not generally considered a noteworthy achievement . Sometimes watching BWP and DMG strike the ball it occurs to me that they do not (or can not) impart sufficient energy into the shot - which is a long-winded way of saying hit it harder it might go in !

To address the original question Watford have an option to permanently sign Gregorz Rasiak in January - should they not exercise this option he would still remain on contract at Watford FC until the end of the 08/09 season as per the loan arrangement . I would have thought any alteration (or annulment) to this legally binding contract would require the mutual consent of both clubs and quite possibly the player involved as well .

The first step towards finding an investor would be to start looking for one - I see no evidence that Rupert Lowe is now or has in the past ever seriously sought to find new investment in SFC .

There's going to be so many Saints fans buying tickets for MUFC mates we'll end up with more mancs than home fans at the game - we might as well move it to Old Trafford and be done with it .

Reading Leon Crouch's words today it is abundantly clear to me that were LC still in charge tonight SFC would be a better run , better supported and far more united football club than it is now - the fact that he is no longer our Chairman represents a minor tragedy for all those who hold the best interests of this club close to their hearts .

There's just no way anyone on here is ever going to respect the mods , I view them as the Internet equivalent of referees .

Born in Bedford (the town not the lorry)

It may well be that Aalborg BK have an option to extend the Saganowski loan in January - in which case this discussion would be moot .

Well I'm sure he can speak for himself but I'm confident it was hyperbole as the fixture list shows there are 20+games (60 points available) left to play after the Christmas period making it a practical impossibility for any team to be relegated by the 25th of December .

Hyperbole hye-PER-buh-lee; "HYE-per-bowl" is a mispronunciation) comes from ancient Greek "ὑπερβολή" (meaning excess or exaggeration) and is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken literally. Hyperbole is used to create emphasis. It is a literary device often used in poetry, and is frequently encountered in casual spee HTH

Beware the thunder of approaching jingle bells - remember the Saints have not won a game over the Christmas/New year period in 74 years . :^o

Behave yourself UP ! - I've looked up 'sensible' in the dictionary and he's right you know . I hope this clears the matter up .

You've summed him up perfectly my friend . :smt045 Although you clearly don't need any help in defending yourself if I was you I wouldn't want to get dragged down to his level - it's really not worth it .

I don't hate Wilde and Lowe personally as I've never met them and spending your life hating other people seems a particulary unproductive use of precious time , but I do hate what they're doing to my beloved club .

I welcome this kind of honest effort to build bridges with the fan base and by all accounts Jan Poortvliet is urbane and interesting company - if only football matches could be won over as easily as Saints fans .

It's all very sad , MS is on a one year contract with an option to extend , I'd be very surprised if the club took up that option .

You make it sound like the club were eager to hear our opinions and would genuinely value the fans input , I see no evidence to support this contention . For what it's worth this forum has produced an abundant supply of good , bad and indifferent ideas as to how the fortunes of the club could be improved over the years ranging from the usual arguments about on the field matters to the boardroom and financial aspects . For example some quite interesting ideas were put forward on here as to how we could attract more fans back into SMS - the only answer we received from SFC was a reply claiming that nothing could be done because it would supposedly upset the season ticket holders , why my fellow ST holders would want to see the stadium half empty and the club in administration I have no idea . :confused: At the end of last season some 90% of Saints fans were of the expressed view that Nigel Pearson should remain as manager - but in spite of this one of Rupert Lowe's first actions upon his return to the boardroom was to (in effect) dimiss him , now compare where Leicester City FC are in their league with where we are tonight and then tell me that was a good decision . Maybe - just maybe if the fans opinions had been listened to every now and then more of us might feel we were not just mere 'turnstile fodder' and were actually a valued part of this enterprise , who knows then the club might not be in quite the perilous state it is today .

The Chairman is expected (and paid) to run the business in a succesful and competant manner , RL deserves credit for appointing WGS and getting the club to a cup final , but that is his job . On the other hand he must take responsibilty for the managerial failure that led directly to our relegation . Any Navy man on here will tell you - the Captain is both responsible and answerable for the safty of his ship - Captain Rupert ran us aground in 2005 , this club may never recover from that .

The situation as I understand it - and please remember I'm no accountant . Turnover £14.9m Operating Loss £12.5m-£14m+ (excluding player trading & tax etc) Even if last summers cost cutting has halved our operating loss you can guarantee turnover will reduce again substantially next year (lower 'gate' income) leaving us with another large underlying loss in 12 months time - in the unlikely event of SFC still being in existence by then that is .

Thanks UP , in my very non professional opinion that kind of underlying loss looks unsupportable for a business of this size - unless we discover 1 or 2 Bale/Wallcott/Jones type players every year that is .

Do the accounts have a 'Operating loss' number ?