SP Saint

It's looking like Administration is a certainty. It's a sad situation but until it happens and we get rid of Lowe and co this club is not going to rebuild. The sooner the better imo. Then we can at last move forward.

Absolutely and very well put FF. Positive thinking is all very well but it is not going to solve our problem. Lowe's experiment has utterly failed. He has gambled with the future of our club and lost. We had a perfectly good manager in Pearson. We now have Lowe's appointee in charge and he is totally out of his depth. He is undoubtedly the worst manager the club has ever had. On top of that the club is in financial free-fall and Lowe can sit cross legged and chant mantras all he likes but it isn't going to make the big bad Barclays bogeyman go away.

The few dozen posters on here may have trouble grasping the concept but far away in the real world people HAVE stopped going to matches. That is something Lowe cannot deny (even if he wants to pretend it's purely due to the economic downturn.) In the end it will be his downfall.

The club is clearly losing money every month with our current gate levels. I really can't see that the income we get from selling half of the current first team squad is going to help that much. I reckon administration is a certainty. I for one am looking for a place in the lifeboat. Let's just hope that the ship can then be refloated and salvaged with the mad Captain and his officers safe in Davy Jones' Locker.

Interviews repeated again 2 minutes ago - slightly shorter but still pretty damning for Lowe. Time to go Rupes.

I missed Richard Chorley on Sky Sports News but saw Lawrie roundly condemn Lowe's new regime just after. I hope Rupert chokes when he sees it.

Thanks UP - a good report. Presumable Perry doesn't feature because he's over 20. I would have thought with his experience he would start every week and guide the younger players. I don't blame Skacel for being petulant - he has been p*ssed around by the likes of Lowe, Burley, Poorvliet et al hasn't he? Do you still see Hockaday in the frame?

I don't usually agree with alpines glass half empty view but admittedly from the comfort of my own armchair and the Solent commentary, I concur with you today mate. It seems to be all action and no end product as usual. So which comes first - Hockaday as Head Coach or Administration?

LOL - simple maths makes me think that if you're the only one satisfied it will be an attendance figure of 0 which is about what he deserves. (This is not a dig - I doubt Ryanair do Southampton - Austria for £5 return.)

No it's a good question and as I thought it was very shabby to get shot of Pearson whether or not he was under contact. The last match of the season will be a fond memory for a long time to come. I was merely wondering whether he wouldn't go along with Lowe's plans for this season ie selling all the established players. I wouldn't blame him if he wouldn't. My main point was and is still - Could Leon Crouch have run the club much longer without driving it into the wall? I think not.

So do you mean IAS'sHO rather than IMHO Morph? I'm no fan of Lowe but if we do get through the season un-relegated and solvent it will be some measure of success even though he is largely responsible for the mess the club is in. I can't help but think the club would have been in Administration by now if there hadn't have been changes at the top. I wanted Pearson to stay but if we had to implement a youth only policy for financial stability maybe he wasn't the best man.

Jan says "I must make you a big compliment for your good words even if your spelling is not so nice."

"Bristol City play 4-4-2, so the way they play will better suit Stern's style, and we wish him luck during his time at Ashton Gate." Radical formation that - it's a pity we didn't think of it first. It may have saved us from Division One.

It becomes a bit of a lottery from their perspective if they wait that long though. They could face competition - especially if Jackson's Farm does look like it's worth something. I have a feeling that buying all the shares just before a total collapse might be their route forwards.

1. Lowe and Wilde who supposedly weren't even on speaking terms last year team up together. 2. Pearson who was becoming a popular manager was replaced by a complete unknown. 3. Absolutely no incentives are being offered to help fill the ground by the two astute businessmen in control. It makes me wonder what their plan is because I'm sure they have one.

If so they have a vested interest in the club doing badly. When the shares reach rock bottom they can buy them all up and enjoy 100% of the spoils from the development. Perhaps they don't want to do anything imaginative to fill the ground?

Go on - doom, gloom with a bit of disaster thrown in. You know you love it alpine. (Or was GM too positive about the outlook for Saints for your taste?)

I'm sure you're right Phil. There's also every possibility that he'll do a better job of running SLH than Rupert Lowe, Michael Wilde and Leon Crouch who have all failed at the job. I can't think of a single company other than Southampton Leisure who have re-appointed a Chairman who almost bankrupted the club during his first tenure. I just hope the man from Barclays has noticed that there are a lot of empty seats at the ground because fans are being asked to pay too much for too little. I think if he's even had the experience of selling at a car boot sale the solution to that little problem would be obvious even if it eludes Lowe and Wilde. It makes me wonder what Dave Jones the clubs FD does all day. Is he just glad he has less beans to count or do the other Directors just ignore his advice

You wouldn't if they introduced a 50% Admin charge for refunds. So what's your suggestion to avoid having a worthless ST after Christmas?

IMO yours is the rational and intelligent way of looking at it but I'm sure many existing ST holder would be upset if there wasn't something in it for them. At least a discount for them next season wouldn't reduce the clubs funds for this year.

Great post Phil. With regard to this site: people like me can't be ars3d to pay £5 when some over excited Admin can ban you on a whim. I'll use the Ugly instead thank you very much. More importantly, SFC. There is no point in blaming the customers if they don't want to buy the goods. Lowe and co need to do something to make purchases attractive before it's too late. If they don't get gates up it's goodbye SFC in the very near future I should think. They just have to persuade people who go from time to time to get back into the habit. The only way of doing it is to make it very attractive to people to buy new Season Tickets now. They just have to fill those seats by offering a big discount on pro-rata ST prices. IMO at least 33% off and a publicity campaign to go with it - Building For The Future or some such. Yes existing ST holders will be miffed but they have to be promised some kind of discount on next years tickets to placate them - after all the alternative is no club at all.

Are you sure your expertise wouldn't be better used supporting Wien Rovers?

You've got about as much relevence to, or knowledge of Saints as Robert Mugabwe IMO. You don't go to matches and you appear to delight in every point dropped by the team.

How the **** do you know squire - are you the club Doctor or perhaps Mrs Killer? I wish you'd keep your doom and despondency to yourself - I'm looking forward to a few pints and watching a good match where we stuff Barnsley tomorrow.