Capel Saint

Indeed it is. I understand that Barclays put the plc into administration for two reasons. Firstly, they were unhappy that no players were sold during the January transfer window to service the debt (as previously posted). Secondly, they reduced the overdraft from £5m to £4m which put the plc over the limit. There are rumours that Barclays had told Lowe and the Board in January that they were going to do this but they called Barclay's bluff and got a nasty shock. Barclays by January could see that the toxic debt of investments and the recession were starting to bite and were therefore reducing overdrafts on a number of businesses. Unfortunately, also being a plc stucture no one was going to buy the club in its current state and going into admin was pretty well the only option left. I believe the Board thought that they could hold admin off until the summer but Barclays didn't wait that long. I agree with other posters that Lowe thought that the FA wouldn't punish the club because he had seen Derby get away with a plc going into administration before and the club not get a points deduction. Again, he didn't realise that Malwhinney wanted to close this loophole and make an example of Saints. At least 12 months on, everything is so much rosier and the club is really benefitting being in private hands with one owner and one Chairman who are in process of rebuilding this great club.

Spot on. The only people getting rich from the Sky money, increased gate receipts etc are the players and their agents. English football as a whole needs to implement this sort of thing, to stop clubs spending beyond their means which only results in financial meltdown.

I believe the reason Ward didn't join Saints in January was because the player suddenly demanded higher wages, was told by Saints this wasn't going to happen and therefore the deal collapsed. Maybe Ward has lowered his demands over the last few months if this is true.

On the assumption that we don't sneak into the play-offs this season and achieve promotion then I think that Pardew's priority will be automatic promotion. Anything less and I believe Cortese will look for a replacement by the end of the 2010/11 season.

Great result and a great day out. Fantastic!

Quite!

A nice balanced post Dave. Some of which other posters should take note of!

Nice post and I hope the club responds, if you send it to them. Thanks for promoting Saints the other side of the world and may the Saints Aussie Army grow!

Top post and sums up my feelings too. Well done!

I would hope that NC's comments was just a little reminder to Pards that the priority will be promotion next season. To be fair to Pards, he is currently fine tuning the team and the new players bought in January are still bedding in. Due to the cup games, we have yet to see what attcking support Puncheon can provide and whether Otsemobor can settle down in the right back position, to cover for Murty. If you look at the league table, we will have played three more away games than home games after this weekend (of which we have played all the top six away). So the league table might look a lot better when we have played these extra home games. Like most fans that have commented already, Pards will be looking to consolidate the squad for the remainder of the season. With the benefit of a proper pre-season, perhaps one ot two more additions and a trimming of the deadwood in the squad in the summer, there should be no reason why Saints can't be in the top two by Xmas 2010. I hope NC will now keep quiet and let Pards get on with it.

I reckon they were scraping around by the time they got down to insulting Matt Le God's haircut! We could fill a top 10 of Poopey gaffs from just the last six months! Dodgy chairmen, overpaid players (John Utaka, £80K a week), internet site pulled etc. You have to laugh!

I reckon they might sign Danns from Palace and the Crawley striker if he liked what Pardew had to say to him when they met at the weekend. (According to the Echo)

Unfortunately very true with the current regime in charge of FIFA! As we know Blatter and Jack Warner are as corrupt as they come and only think about the money rather than what is right and proper in football. The teams shouldn;t have been seeded, it should have just been a straight 8 team draw. At least Slovenia knocked out Russia so it went against them there! We know FIFA won't reverse the result, organise a reply but if FIFA had any balls they should ban Henry from the world cup for cheating.........but of course they won't, as he is an international star and will want him to be there to increase the profile of the World Cup, ticket sales etc!

FFS! One defeat since September and people are already panicing that we will be relegated/the team will be sold etc! I don't see Saints through rosy-tinted specs as some posters will view my opinion to be but more seeing a Saints side being shaped into a very good team, instilling a positive winning mentality and catching up a league that had a 10 point head start. People on here are moaning that we should have won more games but these people should remember it takes time to mold a team. Yes, Charlton and Norwich are up near the top, but they had an established team already and a decent pre-season. Pardew comes in when the season is virtually upon him, with a remanants of an administration stricken team and has to grab what is on offer and has done very well. Virtually all his signings have on the whole played well and in these first 16 games we have played a number of very tough fixtures including Charlton and Huddersield away. So moaning fans need to get a bit of a perspective rather than hitting the panic button as soon as we lose a game. Of course there is room for improvement, the squad still needs strengthening and Pardew/the players will make mistakes and lose a few games. HOWEVER, providing they win more games than they lose and get another little winning streak together, Saints will get out of the relegation zone and speed up that table. So moan when we lose, that is fine but please don't start overeacting with the doom and gloom mentality when we are not even half way through the season. Ta!

I was goaded by a couple of Cardiff fans looking for a fight after we beat them a couple of seasons ago, when I was walking away from the ground. I just ignored them and nothing happened. Sometimes it is a lot easier to just walk away and not get drawn into what is most of the time, a pointless confrontation.

And also well done to Pards and the coaches for getting more out of these players than the last lot did.

Quite right. Some posters believe it is going to be either a relegation scrap or a play off place. Very different postions. What about a more middle ground view as I for one think it will be a bit more steady with what I reckon will be a upper middle finish. In that case, a good season with a platform for a promotion push next season.

Quite right. Some of these players have got off lightly and I like to see a manager kicking backside if required. I think some of the younger players have got away with lacklustre performances in the past but clearly Pardew is stating that this sort of attitude is unacceptable. Good on him!

Agree that we should get three points against Yeovil but although some on here are already panicing, I think we need to also review that although we haven't won a game yet, we have only lost two of them. Considering that the team has only just been put together, is still gelling, recovering from the previous regime and the unsettling summer months while the takover was on/off then I am not surprised the team haven't got more points on the board. Also to be fair, most of the teams we have played so far have all been in the upper reaches of League 1. Playing Yeovil will be a good indicator to see if the team can now push on and get that important first win. Once we have, I think more victories will follow quickly. If we are stillin the bottom three by Christmas, then a change of manager might need to happen but I'm sure the owners would be well aware of that by then.

2-1 to Saints if Papa plays and fulfills his potential. He is an unknown quantity at the moment so the opposition have not been able to send their scouts out which may give him an edge. Recovery starts here.

A DOF can work, providing both jobs have clear defined roles so neither the DOF or Manager step on each others toes. It will also depend on whether Coppell would be happy with this new role or wants to get back into management. Personally I can see it working as Coppell is a quiet man who just gets on with things without making a big fuss. If he truely doesn't want a manager role anymore then this would be a good acquisition for the club, if Coppell accepts.

The first 11 will look pretty strong when Jaidi and Papa are in the squad. Still think we could do with a strong CM to partner Hammond or as back up for injuries/suspensions. Also would like another striker depending on Saga's state of mind and whether he is willing to knuckle down and help Saints or still wants away. Possibly another winger, again to cover injuries and suspensions. The only other problems are pace and the quality of service to the front two strikers. The team as a whole should work on their crossing for the two strikers as it was woeful against Colchester, especially Mills in the second half. They need to cut out this hoof ball and get the ball on the deck. Hopefully this will improve as the squad gels and Pardew and the coaches can get them playing better.

Have to agree. I think Saga will ask to be loaned out rather than compete in the squad. If this come true then I reckon Pards will need a winger and two strikers on loan, unless he can pick up any decent freebies who haven't got a club. Loans are always risky, as we saw last season, but I don't think there are many other choices at this stage.

Agreed, a good signing. We now look to have a good solid defence, especially when Murty returns and much needed as we haven't kept a clean sheet in the league. (Not helped by our defence giving away 3 penalties in the 5 games!) I was wondering that maybe Saints have approached a number of players out of contract who were waiting to see if a Prem or Championship team would come knocking before the transfer window shut. Now they haven't got a club we could see one or two players agreeing to drop down to League 1 to join a club. There are still a number of good players who haven't got clubs yet. Plus the loan window is still open so hopefully Pardew can strengthen the squad with a couple of young starlets from the Prem. Certainly need to strengthen up front, as one goal a game is not enough.

I think AP still needs another centre back, central midfielder to partner Hammond and 2 strikers if Rasiak and/or Saga goes by the end of the month. Then I think we have a fighting chance of progressing well in this league. One thing seems to be apparant, it has been a wake up call to the existing players that they need to up their game if they want to get the three points. As fans we have to do our bit and keep positively supporting the team. Hopefully this will rub off on the players and they will play with a lot more confidence.