spyinthesky

The gentleman intrigues me. His tenure at Southampton Football Club does seem to have caused a number of issues, to put it mildly. I understand he is only a part time Chairman of the Holding Company and has other interests, amongst which are WH Ireland and Lowe Holdings. Does anyone know if he displays the same business techniques to his non footballing interests as he does to Southampton Leisure Holdings? I also understand that Mr Lowe does a good deal of work for charidee with the Princes Trust which should put him in the frame for a gong at some future date.

The gentleman intrigues me. His tenure at Southampton Football Club does seem to have caused a number of issues, to put it mildly. I understand he is only a part time Chairman of the Holding Company and has other interests, amongst which are WH Ireland and Lowe Holdings. Does anyone know if he displays the same business techniques to his non footballing interests as he does to Southampton Leisure Holdings? I also understand that Mr Lowe does a good deal of work for charidee with the Princes Trust which should put him in the frame for a gong at some future date.

Heard from a contact at Preston that he witnessed a remarkable 'exchange of words' between Mr Rupert Lowe and someone, understood to be a senior member of the local paper, (presumably 'The Echo') in the corporates yesterday Apparently Mr Lowe was ranting on about the newspaper person being either ... 'A two bit country hack' or representing... 'A two bit country rag'. He wasn't exactly sure of the term used It appears this may well have something to do with Mr Wiseman's article in Saturday's 'Echo'. The Echo man seemed to get very upset about the way Mr Lowe conducted himself and there was a definite suggestion made, during the exchange,that the Echo will not be supporting the Football club financially next season. If correct it appears Mr Lowe does have an unfortunate manner which fails to endear him to all but a small coterie of friends Would be interested if anyone can confirm any of the runmoured goings on.

Begs the question what is the record stadium attendance at St Marys? The separation factor will always be there for big games, even for the England v Macedonia game. Was the Le Tizz testimonial a sell out and excluded fan segregation? Incidentally any truth in the rumour that Rupert is due a testimonial, after all Lawrie had one. Would have to big a big segregation between Lowe Luvvies and Loathies!!

Doubt if we could run to the Albion Band these days!!! For older posters do you remember the canvas target that used to get walked round the ground at Half Time? All coins thrown in went to help the band

Can see this 'spin' being put out. Also a statement along the lines of.... 'The Board is confident that the actual number of games expected to be won in Division 1 will exceed the solitary victory achieved in the Championship. Ergo the points per pound spent ratio will decrease' Seriously with the economy likely to get worse, even Prem clubs like Sunderland/P'mouth & Arsenal are either offering deals on Season Tickets or Corporates

FYI The Ex Saints are still going strong Re Len Shackleton, apparently in his autobiography he included a chapter on 'What Football Club Directors know about Football' and left the pages blank. At that time players had to refer to the Directors as 'Sir' Not much change between the 1930's and the current regime at St Marys!!!!

Heard a stong rumour that Peter Storrie has been in contact with Rupert, and his team of advisors, for some advice on picking a new manager. Some suggestion that a certain Mr Portaloo might be in the frame. He comes highly recommended after his successful introduction of Total (Crap) Football. BTW where is Mr Corp Ho at the moment? Normally he keeps us updated on such matters

Cant blame ARETHA. The original version of 'Respect' was by the late, great, Otis Redding

Hamwih Town. This brings back memories. I played a few games for them in the early 1970's. Seem to recollect they had some decent players and used to drink in the 'Flying Horse' at the back of the Echo Office also the pub by the level crossing at Northam. Sid Pugh was one of the leading lights at the time. I also played against Ron Davies when he turned out for Wessex Hotel in the Soton Sunday League. He played Centre Half then. As normal around the time big Ron was at his peak he liked a drink and the company of the fairer sex and he enjoyed himself to the full in both respects. To be fair the players at the time probably got up to as much mischief as players of today but the pressure on them from fans and the media was far, far less so it is easy to look upon the past with rose tinted glasses. No names, no pack drill, but SOME of the players that I came across in the 1960's/1970's could be quite arrogant whilst others were just ordinary guys with a few extra quid in their pockets (not mega money like today) Going back further my Mum often used to get on the same bus as Dixie Dean when he was the most celebrated goalscorer of the 1930's. The equivalent of a David Beckham or Alan Shearer today as regards profile. Imagine that happening today!!

Did any one see the advert in the jobs section of todays Sunday Times? Unfortunately the kids used my copy for the pets bedding!!! As far as I recollect from a quick first read, Dundee are looking for interested business men to assist running the club after successfully negotiating their way through administration. It pointed out that the ground is only used once a fortnight. It implies the staff are underemployed and it suggests that switched on business men might be able to better maximise revenue from under utilised resources thereby bringing in more funds to help the club. Any way if any one can cut and paste the advert, would be interested in the thoughts of our business savvy posters. Might be a possible blue print for our beloved club if administaration calls. Perhaps a certain Mr Lowe might like to have a go. Grouse shooting in the autumn might make a change from ducks!!

David, Good post. Perhaps between us we could list all the good points about supporting Saints over the years to counteract the current gloom. Incidentally last time I was in Sweden I stayed at a Hotel owned by one of the Abba band. Very funky!!

If, and it is a BIG if, we avoid the drop what do we have in store next season? 1. Wotte becomes a 'hero' for getting us out of the mire? Rupert will bask in the limelight? 2. Finances dictate that saleable players depart. 3. Replaced by more players of the calibre of Ryan Smiths/Gasmii/Pulis/Forecast? 4. Certain relegation? 5. 5,000 season tickets sold? 6. Average crowds down from 16k to 12/14k? 7. Possible trouncings by Portsmouth if they get relegated? Looking at this scenario makes relegation to Div 1 seem relatively palatable. Feel as gloomy as the weather today. Really need to be cheered up by the positive posters on here. Any one out there with a glass half full approach to supporting Saints?

The Vancouver Whitecaps game. Didn't Jimmy Greaves guest for us that day and score in a 3-1 (or 3-0) win??

Sorry this was tongue in cheek of course. However the loss of Svenson, and more latterly Claus, obviously had a significant effect on our fortunes

Everyone and their dog (or duck) have been implicated in Saints recent demise. I think Michael Svenson should be added to the list. If he hadn't been injured in the pre match kickaround at Fratton Park (1-0 defeat), prior to the relegation year, our defence would have remained stong and we may well have avoided the rapid decline which followed. On second thoughts it was probably the rabbit hole in the Fratton pitch which was the real problem!!

Johnny Well done. It actually bucks me up to hear such a positive post in such difficult times. Actually when I think back to my early (school) days as a Saints supporter it was the looking forward to the game that was the best thing. Results were important but expectation levels were low at the time. Suppose the real disappointment now is falling away from a relatively high level of achievement.

Those supporters who have only followed Saints for a short time eg from 2003 and beyond. I have been a supporter since the old Third Div South days so started at the bottom and worked up. I have seen some wonderful performances, some great players and, of course, some difficult times. The 7-1 defeat at Watford was comparatively the worst altho we all knew this was a one off. And I have never seen Saints beaten against Pompey, except on the TV However the good days far outweighed the bad. Now it seems to be continual decline. If it wasnt for the good memories I would have given up by now. This is certainly the worst performing side I have ever seen and my sympathies go out to those who dont have the good times to fall back on. I will be there next year but in body not spirit.

Good news. Rupert will receive another letter of support from an unamed and satisfied shareholder in the post tomorrow and I hear Chris Iwelumo of Wolves is still waxing lyrical about the way we play the game. Only slight drawback is the food in corporate has not been up to the previous standard

Another possible dilemma Who plays RB if James unavailable? Personally I would consider Lancashire but without any degree of confidence.

The statement.....'watched for a SHORT time.. makes me extremely worried. Didnt we sign Ryan Smith after he 'impressed' in a reserve game v Millwall? Add this to Pulis/Forecast/Gasmi/Robertson/Pekhart (and possibly Molyneaux)and you wonder who is doing the scouting for our beloved club. Jack Cork was a good 'un I grant you but he is no longer with us. Oh I forgot about Jack Boyle (recommended by Mr Wilde)!!!

Normally that nice Mr Corps Ho keeps us updated on the likely targets for his favourite club and progress with issues off the field, new owners/manager/training facilities/stadium issues etc. Is he on holiday at the moment I wonder?

I actually put £100 at 14/1 for Pompey to win the cup when they beat Man Utd on the premise that I have never won anything from a bet. My plan that this would scupper Pompeys chances obviously didnt work. For the record I gave all of my ill gotten gains to charity, incl the £100 stake!! Whats the odds on Pompey/Saints & Bournemouth all being relgated? Or those three plus Brighton & Salisbury?

Off topic I know but Kim Wilde might have been pleasing on the eye when being offered up as a chanteuse (before her green finger conversion) but even the best studio technicians couldnt hide the number of bum notes she used to sing especially in 'Kids in America' (if that was the song title)

To be fair he has played all of his youth football in midfield and has been forced to learn to be a right back very quicky. Good points - committed/tackles OK/crosses very well Bad points - not wonderful in the air/very slow on the turn/not particularly quick However he also suffers dreadfully from consistent lack of support from the player in front of him, whoever that may be. Ryan Smith is an absolute nightmare when he plays on the right. Also Gillett was continually being dragged inside v Swansea and James was up against a decent winger and the Lard Arse full back (Hart?), who actually was made to look pretty decent too as his runs often went unchallenged. Wasn't it his shot that Kelvin fumbled for the 2nd goal? I reckon opposing Managers are aware of the lack of right hand side cover and target this weakness. In comparison, generally, our left side players link up reasonably well