Saint 76er

Anyone reading through this thread would be under no illusion whatsoever as to the near terminal damage Rupert Lowe has wrought on SFC, this once much loved asset of a great city. It really is like watching the last days of the Roman empire as a mighty institution falls despairingly into it's death throes. Nero stayed to the bitter end, but Lowe simply must not be allowed to if SFC is to survive against the odds. Lowe has no business right to remain as his stewardship has seen a decline in the company's fortunes to rival Lehmann Bros in it's swift descent. Furthermore Lowe has no moral authority to continue to control an organisation that is an essential part of the local community fabric and wherein the overwhelming majority of that local community have rejected utterly both Lowe the business man and Lowe the person. Now I realise Lowe may see football as a business, but even in this day and age I believe football club owners have a responsibility to the community their club serves and must make an effort to intergrate with that society. Any sane owner would want to do this anyway as they need the financial support of fans to maintain the business. All of the above is IMHO, as is the fact that Lowe appears to be totally out of his depth as a football cub owner (well the 6% of it that he actually owns), his decision making has been a litany of disasters over several years until we find ourselves standing on the precipice we are today. The Luvvies coming on this forum and blaming the fans will simply no longer do. Read this thread again to see the anguish and despair that Lowe has wrought on this club and it's community. The message has to get through that this man has to go once and for all and it does seem that the tide may at last be turning as this week MLT has spoken out and in today's echo well known Saints fan Chris Newman has opened his heart on the crisis engulfing his club. Perhaps the winds of change really are blowing if the Echo are prepared to publish such heresy! However, I believe pressure must continue to be applied by whomever is able to do so, in order to create a tidal wave even Lowe cannot ignore, before it really is too late. As to a replacement I can only go on rumours, but it does seem that Leon Crouch is keen to take it on again, only this time with help from well regarded business men and enough funds to avoid the threat of administration and the selling of our best players in January. Quite frankly that seems like nirvana (not the rock band) compared to our current circumstances and would at least give us a fighting go at staying in this league. However, if any other groups with appropriate means are monitoring the situation then now would be a very good time to act.... Once again all IMHO

LS, what would actually facilitate a coming together of these disparate parties do you think? It seems that L+W have joined forces to prop up their investments presumably until someone comes along who would buy them out for an acceptable amount. But with the club edging ever closer to the big A (if not hurtling), then it appears they have a problem as who would buy a lowly CCC club in such depressed economic times? But, gee whiz there is one person in the whole world who might just be prepared to do the deal and you would think L+W would bite that hand off. However, due to past bad blood a Mexican standoff appears to have ensued. What I wonder would be required to work around this impasse (answers on a postcard to...)? Perhaps if all parties appointed an independent negotiator to act on their behalf some agreement could be reached without the necessity for them all to sit down and be nice to each other....

LS, presumably you are referring to Leon Crouch and his associates such as the likes of Salz/Davies/Cresswell? If so these are all highly respected business men who would be liable to do a far better job of running Saints than the current mob who IMO are merely running the club into the ground. However, it is widely expected that Lowe and his people (inc Wilde) will not sell to any of Crouch's associates. But Loweites on here forever ask who could take over from Lowe and what would be their plans for the club's future. Consequently, do you think LC might be prepared to go public with his plans and perhaps give an indication of any monies he may be prepared to invest to stabilise things? This would give fans the chance to compare what the incumbents and the wannabees are able to offer and fans may then become more united behind whichever party is more favoured thus increasing the chance of stability one way or the other. This assumes the Fulthorpe bid has failed and that no other bidder is likely. LC has no doubt been negotiating behind the scenes, but is now the time to go public? Also as a matter of interest I notice on the new whiz bang OS that Lowes's shareholding is listed as 5.62% (then why on earth is he running the entire shabang?.... that's a rhetorical question, I know the answer). Anyway I feel sure his shareholding used to be around 6.67%, which if so means he must have divested just over 1% recently. Does this represent an interesting development and does anyone have any info on this please?

Thanks LS and Wes for your kind words. LS, if you are able to do so please pass on my regards to Leon Crouch, as one Saints supporter to another. If he can achieve it Leon would get my support for some form of takeover as the current farce simply isn't working and Lowe is far too divisive among the fanbase. Whereas LC is a FAN and that will mean a lot to supporters like me. Also he may be prepared to put some monies in to stabilise the finances, so it is not just about seating arrangements on the Titanic and even ten quid would appear to be more than the current lot put in. As well, we may expect a more competent board perhaps featuring highly regarded business people such as Anthony Salz and whilst not solving all our problems overnight that would at least give me renewed optimism for the future. Wes, your post is most perceptive. The reason I decided to come back on here was to put my feelings in the public arena of Saints supporters in the hope that those able to influence the future direction of the club may take on board the prevaling mood of the customers of this PLC. Any business owner will tell you that it is imperative to keep the customer happy, but I fear this is not a prerequisite with the current board. Like you I have wondered what action supporters could or should take to get the message across that, with apologies to Peter Finch, "We're as mad as hell and we're not going to take this any longer". It was my hope that some debate may follow and that fans might express their views as to how as a unified fan base some meaningful action might be put in place. Difficult I know, but after Saturday's match I really felt something should be done to get the message across and not to just sit idly by while the club we love heads into oblivion. Perhaps someone could start a thread for this exact purpose of canvassing fans viewpoints with regard to said meaningful action? Even if a consensus can't be achieved it would certainly give the major players in this drama food for thought if they bothered to read through it though, and I bet they would!

Wes you have summed up in a niceish way exactly what I was going to come on here and say with mucho expletives. I know from your posts you are a die hard Saints fan (like me) and it must have hurt to post with the honesty that you have, however I am glad that you have and I hope others will take notice. As it happens I live in Aus and have just returned from watching a replay of the match in the pub with my son. Following our match we stayed to watch our local team Perth Glory (an Aus equivalent of Saints in many ways). You won't be interested in this match but the time span at the pub did involve much beer consumption and whilst the Beck's was A1 I have to say my head does now hurt, but so does my soul after the Saints match. For various reasons I won't bore you all with I decided, probably like many others, not to post further after the forum changeover. However, against my better judgement (and fueled by beer) I simply can't sit idly by without adding my comments after watching what passed for a match. Get real people the fact is we are sh*te, we really, really are. This crazy experiment by Lowe is up the creek without a paddle and we are fooked unless someone comes in to mount a rescue operation. For God's sake every time I see us on TV the script is the same (and so are the after match comments from JP). We were simply brushed aside by Brizzle and it really was a case of men against boys. That may not altogether be Poortvliet's fault as he has to deal with the hand Lowe has dealt him but I know what my eyes tell me and Poortvliet is tactically inept and out of his depth in this league. It really is as simple as that. We desperately needed to build on the Preston result, but what happens.... Look, I have loved Saints for 45 years and have instilled this passion in my son and these days it is a big day when we get to see Saints on TV and I just want to be able to hug my son after we have seen a great win (any win) but it just seems to be one disappointment after another. It's almost masochistic just waiting for a Saints game on TV only to see the same old Sh*te served up every time. Therefore people, I make no apologies for stating that we need CHANGE and we need it NOW. Lowe is only here to prop up his investment and if he can drag it through to January he will sell what passes for our good players to try and extend the agony in the hope someone will pay him off. I am simply no longer prepared to sit by and listen to Lowe apologists on here tell us that he is doing a good job. Get real people, he is NOT. For God's sake I have just seen our team play and we are Sh*te, we are utterly unprepared for life in this league (and it is a sh*te league). Lowe appears to have no sane agenda other than his investment and as with his previous tenure he appears to have only a genius for f*****g that up. Why did he come back to save his investment only to send it hurtling down the pan? Did someone mention he was an astute business man? My own opinion of his ability to run a football club may be at odds with this statement. The insane rejection of Pearson and the numerous pointless loans plus the alledged blowout of the overdraft for example. Now get this clear, this is MEANT to be an angry post. I am a Saints supporter and I am angry. I want my club back, at least to something approximating how it used to be. Consequently, if the rumours are to be believed then surely the time is right NOW for Leon Crouch (or anyone else) to step forward and take control away from those who fail us and give us some hope for the future. At present the only logical future is administration and that does Rupert Lowe or us supporters no good at all. What do you all think the attendance at the next home game will be? Enough to make Barclays cringe I should think. Let me make it clear that I simply have no interest in any rantings from Lowes's PR or agenda driven people who will by now be frothing at the mouth. That is their misguided problem. The fact is SFC needs CHANGE and it needs it NOW, NOW. NOW. If anyone disagrees just get a tape of yesterdays match, that should make it abundantly clear... All IMHO, of course