CanadaSaint

I have some reservations about the DoF position but I don't believe for a minute that we'd be where we are if we'd had a decent one for the last five years. Too many key football decisions were being made by what were essentially non-football people. We face the same danger now, even if we're much richer. I think WGS would shine in that role.

My Dad used to say that if it wasn't for the Milton Road wall he would have ended up in the docks. Thanks to TT for posting the vid. It shows that even the top sides had no idea how to stop Big Ron. It also shows what the game looked like when teams actually used the fifteen yards just inside both touchlines.

I hope that's duff info. If it was going to be Tony Adams I'd have thought it would have been done by now. It's looking more like someone who needs some convincing - money or other.

Fast as hell but that might have been his only cross with the right foot. Ever!

It's brilliant that we now have this super-rich backing but there's one thing that worries me. We can't completely re-tool the squad overnight and we're going to be relying on some players who might not have a longer term future here. Knowing that there's all this money back there, the crowd might be a lot less tolerant than they have been in the past, and this could erode player confidence really quickly. Once the window has closed and the cheque book is useless, that won't help us very much.

Wasn't Corp Halfwit gloating on here last week?

After forcing SLH into administration? How is that not a big issue, Phil? BTW, great work!

Plus, we're two weeks closer to extinction and I don't think the FL would want to be anywhere near the centre of that storm.

And here: http://emagazine.credit-suisse.com/app/article/index.cfm?fuseaction=OpenArticle&aoid=123285&lang=EN

Detective Canada offers the following suggestion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_Liebherr There's quite a lot more out there on her.

Well, that hurdle can't be too high, given some people who have sailed over it.

I'd assume that the contract has already been written because Pinnacle had it. All they "should" need to do is change some names and minor details. Theoretically.

Why doesn't that surprise me?

Let's nor forget, though, that Fry doesn't work for us. They still need to make the best proposal for the creditors. But they certainly seem to have the money to do that.

Wow! I await the links indicating their hobbies, links to Southampton, non-links to MJ, MF and RL, rich people's toys, and inside leg measurements. Please God there won't we any sh*t for GM to unearth. This is going to cause a run on F5 keys - get yours while you still can!

There may be a name attached, Thorpie, but he says he's "only acting as a negotiator and (is) not one of the investors". Echoes give me the willies, so Hop Suisse it is!

Somebody needs to put this thread out of its misery. BANG!

Wes, there's a world of difference between consciously investing in something and taking control of a loanee company in the (possibly vain) hopes of getting some of you loan money back. And "international financial services" can cover a lot of things - including venture capitalists and hedge funds.

That's never going to work. Aviva have a clear business focus and they can't step in and take control of completely unrelated businesses just because their loan goes sour. They'd end up owning and operating all kinds of stuff - and they'd almost certainly screw most of it up. These finance companies budget a delinquency rate and budget to wave goodbye to money in situations like this. It's just one of their costs of doing business.

You're really p*ssed off about that barbeque, aren't you?

I didn't see anyone address Chez's post - that angle interests me. If the entity that the new owner is buying is SFC, how do they gain any ownership and control over the stadium? Do they buy that from the creditors (AVIA)? If they are buying SFC (for the team) and at least some of the assets of SLH in order to own and control the stadium, why wouldn't they need a CVA? Sorry if I'm being thick here but I thought Chez raised a good point.

So could this:

We've tried hard to make "Only one club in Hampshire" true.

Easy there, sailor. Given your finances I think you'll be in the Blue Sky before us. At least you have the stadium for it.

It would be great if they really were that well tuned in to our club, and even better if they were now to approach MLT and invite him to become part of their bid. Hopefully they're too smart to offer him the chairmanship. He'd be a wonderful asset in many areas but he doesn't need to be thrown into a pressure cooker role like that.