Saint 76er

There is a post on 606 with a link to the "Coventry Telegraph" which claims that Dowie is expected to get it. That paper also quotes it's former chief executive (he now does that job at Burnley) as saying that he believes Dowie would have taken them to the premiership, but that he was caught up in internal problems (guess all clubs have them, not just us) and wasn't given enough support. Interestingly this guy says Coventry have problems as they do not own their stadium complex and miss out on a heap of revenue streams as a result. Lesson for us there I think...

My take on this is that it is unlikely Leon will be offered executive powers such as chairman or chief executive and he most probably wouldn't have the time for these as he has his own business to run. However, as a non exec director presumably he would only have to front for a monthly board meeting and sit in the directors box at matches. Considering what he has done (or paid) to keep the club going this hardly sounds unreasonable. Indeed we may well not have a club without LC. It does rather sound as though, if true, this may be contra in lieu of outstanding loans. However, that is the prospective new owners prerogative if they want to strike a deal. In any event as a dyed in the wool fan and a successful businessman Leon Crouch would add value to those monthly meetings and could advise but would not be the ultimate decision maker. For me, a one owner situation removes the problems of the past and is the best scenario going forward. Much of the discussion on this thread seems to revolve around LC taking control again, but unless he is the new owner, that simply won't be the case. His role, if any, may be quite small in the overall scheme of things. However, whatever happens do keep him away from microphones though....

Is it just me or does that article on the new OS read like it was written by some external agency? It mentions 'Southampton' and 'Hampshire' like a national media outlet might do to explain to the uninitiated, whereas the OS is effectively for Saints fans and we know who we are! I wonder if anyone is still left working on OS matters at the club nowadays? :confused:

Quite like the shirt designs, but the simple fact is that we have another four years left on the Umbro contract. There is no way they will design a one off shirt for us, we will be stuck with one of their standard template shirts and will be shared with other clubs. Has been already announced that the current shirt will continue for next season due to final year of Flybe sponsorship. We are due for a new second strip, although that will also presumably be a template job. Looking forward to the new regime up and running so that we can get back to thinking of such football matters! The question of a new badge or not is an interesting one and I guess half would want it and half not. For me the current badge does look dated and looks what it is, something designed by a fan in a competition. However it has served us quite well for many years. I suspect new owners might like to consign it respectfully to history and design something completely new and in the modern idiom. The present badge is a bit of a mish mash and needs simplifying and enclosed such as Arsenal's new one. Goodness knows what any new design may be but I would favour a simple figure of a 'Saint' maybe like used to be on the old supporters club badge, or a stick figure type 'Saint' with a football. Skillfully drawn either could be okay and represent a powerful and unmistakable image that we are "The Saints", instead of the present badge with so many parts representing so many different things, which don't really mean much in relation to the football club and is more like a travelogue of southern Hampshire IMO....

Retire it... and then hang a huge replica from the stadium rafters on match day. Will be an inspiration and rallying point for the fans in the ground (and hopefully the players too!). Matt saved us at the last moment on the pitch so often, and now it looks like he's returned to do it again.... Le God = Le Gend!!!

St Mary's Stadium, nah, we can do better.... St Matty's Stadium!!! :D

Perhaps we need a Feng Shui expert as our next manager then. Not a bad call really, although we might need some running water at one end of the ground and green plants in the opposite corner.. oh, and maybe a lucky Buddha strategically placed behind each goal. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures you know.....

Yes Ron, but if/when we do get playing again it would also be nice to know there a full back out there. God knows we need one! (See how I reverted this thread back to football matters just for a moment)

Agree Ponty, it is quite bizarre. The thing I can't reconcile is why Lowe and co didn't find the money themselves to bring the overdraft up to date when the chips were down. I mean when Barclays called to say the overdraft is 110,000 quid in arrears so it's admin for you, why the hell didn't Lowe and/or his cohorts simply write a cheque on the spot? That lot must have been good for it between them and much as they might not want to dip into their own pockets the thing is they have lost millions in share value and wages and expenses by ignoring Barclays. Lowe lost about 1.5 million in potential share value and Wilde much more, yet all of them simply walked away and lost the lot. Surely it would have been worth a quick whip round to save their investments? The whole thing beats me, I know Lowe seems to act crazy most of the time but what sort of a lunatic would let themselves lose out like his followers appear to have done? There doesn't seem to have been any real reason for the admin, especially for such a small amount, so why did Lowe let it happen? I know he doesn't like us fans and may have thought it served us right, but then it's his money he's lost.... :rolleyes:

On another thread it has been suggested that some rugby loving chancer from Gloucestershire has bid for the stadium only (not club). IMO it would be madness for any consortium (assuming there is one) to buy the club but to leave the stadium in someone else's hands. Those people would always have a gun to hold to your head if they wanted to keep screwing more money from the club owners. Now for the frightening bit... the term 'rugby loving' and it's initials give us a clue to another Gloucestershire identity who may well like to purchase the club but perhaps couldn't come up with the readies. However, in true fashion he may possibly be clinging to the coat tails of an acquaintance to whom he had let slip the merits of owning a certain near riverside property in an area with future development potential and would take a small equity himself if the other chap put up most of the dosh. Yes folks, it is horrible to contemplate but one Rupert Lowe could possibly take his ultimate revenge by actually becoming Saints new landlord!!! Now that is a scary prospect, and not too far fetched I should have thought if a consortium is stupid enough to lose control of the club's most vital asset, especially for the comparative peanuts Aviva will probably settle for compared to it's replacement value....

Please, please let it be the Canadians, if only for having the lumberjack song as our new club anthem. Should be perfect for when the players come out! Northam chavs in check flannel shirts will be in their element, and end of season dress up... well to be true to the song something about 'dressed in women's clothing' I seem to recall...

Regarding the incumbent bid, didn't Derry previously indicate that his semi relative had claimed it was from KK with financial backing by some sort of hedge fund? In which case this may account for why the alleged local property developers consortium were so keen to publicise MLT's connection. After all, can you imagine fans response when MF happily announces that a bid by Kevin Keegan has been turned down in favour of some local property guys! However, if he says a bid by MLT consortium wins, then joy everywhere. Simple really, just substitute one former Saints legend for another. There's always method in the madness...

Which might possibly save our -10 next season if one of the next few clubs above us happen to fall into admin during the summer... perhaps. COYS... win one for the Gipper!! :cool:

Sorry Matty, but SFC is stark b*llock broke and can't afford to pay it's way, that is the problem and is why liquidation will follow shortly if no buyer steps in. Well, at least it seems we do now have a deadline if you check the Times article on the 'staff brace for the worst' thread. Apparently, Thursday 21 May is the big day, if we can't come up with 500k by then to pay staff wages due that day. Reports have suggested that LC kicked in to get April wages paid, thus allowing us to complete our fixtures. With the season over today I would suggest that if no buyer has signed on the dotted line by the above date, then we are cactus. To quote (ironically) the Edwin Hawking Singers great hit record.... Oh Happy Day!!!

It does indeed sound like they know something. Simon Lilley is very upbeat in the Echo interview. He even says Flybe want to be more involved in the running of the club. Maybe they're going to buy us! Clearly Lilley is a happy man now that Lowe has departed the scene, as are most of us, and he sounds full of enthusiasm for renewing close ties with the club. Maybe this news is a precursor to even better news as Lilley says he is in close contact with Mark Fry and presumably has some sort of heads up on what is actually happening. As major sponsor, whose support may be critical, he is no doubt well and truly in the loop...

Garry Monk was recently quoted as saying that we had received around 52 million in transfer fees since relegation and he couldn't understand how we had become the mess that we are. I haven't done the sums but it has long occurred to me that large sums go in (Walcott, Bale, Jones etc + parachute monies) and little comes out. This is NOT an administration caused from overspending in the transfer market, we only have low priced krap players, so where does all the money go? Even BWP doesn't earn 52 million (I think!). The luvvies standard response is to look in the annual accounts "where it's all accounted for". I remain unconvinced about this as anything can be covered up if someone wanted to do so, for example I doubt if all of Al Capone's finances were written up in his official accounts. Circumstantially it does look a bit dodgy IMHO, but let's hope for the club's sake that a perfectly reasonable explanation will be forthcoming. As a point of interest I wonder if Mark Fry's refusal (presumably it came from him) to allow Grant Thornton wider access to our accounting records may have in any way been connected to this matter? Will be interesting to see if the FL, or even the fraud squad, do in fact take an interest in unravelling the audit trail at SFC/SLH, just to be reassured that everything really is above board....

So the last rites of the hideous Lowe regime are played out. What a legacy that crazy man has left us. What an utterly bereft shambles of a once great(ish) club he has created in less than a year. Crouch appeared to have finally sorted things out and then all the joy after the final match, but one man had to ruin it all. How can things have become so ruinous both on and off the pitch in so short a space of time? Instead of punishing the innocent why on earth don't the FL chase up the idiots who do these things to clubs and drive them out of the game for good. It scarcely seems credible but Lowe could simply turn up and do the same thing to us again or to some other poor unfortunates. The FL want to hammer us but couldn't give a sh*t about the real culprit. Well hopefully this really is the last rites and that something good can be reincarnated for next season with quality new owners who actually understand both the football and business worlds, no more chancers please.... :(

Sorry to keep pushing this Derry, but wasn't the original idea that if we cut a deal with Swansea then the banks might accept that as some sort of guarantee and bankroll us to complete our fixtures? On that basis it could be the immediate agreement of a deal that is most important rather than the actual day the money comes in. I agree with LM that we could probably get a better price but I'm fairly sure other clubs would likely wait til July before moving, whereas Swansea really want him and know they will never get him cheaper than right now and can avoid getting gazumped if they sign immediately. Given our financial status, I think I would be straight on the phone to the Liberty Stadium if I were Mark Fry.

For those not keeping up, this is relating to the potential sale of Dyer to Swansea. My point is that if we need 250k in the next 2-3 weeks then according to reports that amount is about what Swansea have offered. He's worth more (probably) but why not grab it now and save the club? Time frame should be fine as the deal could be concluded first Monday in May, immediately after the Forest game and for such a bargain price we could surely plead poverty and demand the full fee up front. Not sure about advertise him for sale (put a notice in the Times!) but time would be against trying to organise an auction, so best to take Swansea's money if it's still on the table, et voila LC & MF can sleep easy once again...

Isn't that figure about exactly what Swansea are reputed to be offering for Dyer? He may be worth more, but in the circumstances might this not be the time to bite the bullet and take whatever we can get. If we can sell him for 250k then problem solved is it not?.....

What about the Court of Arbitration and Appeals for Sport (?), based in Lausanne I think, aren't they the ultimate final appeal for sporting disputes? A bit like the House of Lords for sporting matters. Why not, this is important stuff, it involves US.... :confused:

In another 124 days would be more accurate. Yes, by all accounts things are that bad so fill the ground and don't worry about the abysmal team or Loweite manager, they'll soon be history. The objective now is to make sure the club they leave behind isn't consigned to history also.... :smt023

That confirms it must be Lowe then (remember January?).... Oh FFS Noooooooooooo!!!!!

Robbie, I presume he could but in reality not a chance. Reason is that as administrator Fry is liable for all debts he incurs from his appointment and he will not want to add Wottes pay off (probably a years salary) to the debts he must personally clear when selling the PLC, especially as indications are that no one is likely to stump up big bucks. A small scale buyout gives Fry problems in clearing debts and I am sure he will be happy to leave the Wotte problem to the new owners, assuming he is lucky enough to find someone. Also I guess Fry will now believe we are beyond saving this season, just like the rest of us.