Long Shot

I think you could put Florida Marlin amid the neutrals. Plus he speaks a lot of sense and is well connected. I would hazard this is quite a big deal in the light of how important it is that the Chairman and a manager see eye to eye.

"Stanthe man" or whatever his name is was being a little too looselipped. However at the time I did tell him there were moves afoot to try and buy M Wilde's shares in time to use them at the AGM but those moves foundered and to the best of my knowledge that will mean Lowe, Cowen etc etc's stewardship will be confirmed on the 23rd December. Considering Wilde is prepared to let his shares go for around £1.6m it means anyone with that sort of spare cash can become "kingmaker" in the perennial battle to control the deckchairs on the Titanic but it seems no one wants to cough up. That means we are stuck with Rupert and Co. I did have high hopes that Salz and friends might be tempted but either Wilde will not sell to them (because they are Crouch friendly) or they do not want to get involved. I know Anthony Salz has had no contact with the powers to be since the season started so I can only assume he is deliberately keeping his head down. I know he has no love for Lowe. Your comparisons with Burnley are spot on. They have had their ups and downs but are now reaping the rewards with what looks like a good young manager - let's hope they manage to keep him. To be fair I have been impressed with the work JP has done with the youngsters and I think he is a straight talking honest sort of guy but even he must realise now we lack the killer instinct so vital to win matches. I also think he is beginning to wake up to what sort of man his employer really is. OK when things are going well and OK when you obey his every word but when you don't - you had better watch out. January will be a very interesting time. If Lowe manages to keep all our players and avoid administration then he will rise in my estimation but I really do think his priorities are not what I, for one, want them to be. His ego and wealth definately come before the club wellbeing imo. For me the pettiness over LM's photo removal somes it all up - I mean if he didn't want to look at his old adversary as he sipped his HT sherry he surely could have got the kit man to run up a pair of curtains.

As a matter of interest do you happen to know whether when these chaps were in charge they had a photograph of a train in their board room?

Rearrange these words Kettle pot calling black. No second thoughts I don't think you are intelligent enough. Still waiting for a post from you that has more than 30 words in it.

Everyone who cares about Saints and uses this forum should read this post and then read it again. It will tell you everything about where we are as a club and who we have running it. Thank you Florida Marlin - in one post you have summed up life at SMS under Rupert Lowe.

If Jan P has suddenly developed "a pair of cojones" then January could well be interesting as Rupert does not suffer being stood up to.

Not unless Surman and Lallana are sold in January, of course. We threw the points away today after playing well, mainly because we have no one as clinical as Tudgay around the box.

shame the Shirley based electrical company that Rupert was a director of, didn't win the battle to stay afloat!!!

This is a sound and accurate review apart from BWP's input. Other than the goal I thought he was crap. Sorry Ron, he contributed nothing in the 2nd half. For me Surman and Cork were our best players. I wouldn't care if I never saw BWP in a Saints shirt again (his goal celebrations were crass considering everything that has happened). Another good performance but again we have not got the points we deserved. If only we had someone who could finish like Tudgay

For someone who claims to have some background in employment law you sure like to chuck the odd dangerous inaccuracy around. It is no wonder some chose to belittle your opinions.

Prepare yourself for a big let down if I were you! If he has an impressive December he will be gone by Jan 31.

Turkeys, unfortunately don't vote for Christmas.

I hear Anthony Salz has had no involvement with the club since he and Rupert had words in the summer. These days, on matchdays he can be found in the Kingsland where he has a ST.

I think folk in 1930s Germany supported Hitler because there was no alternative, mate - didn't get them very far in the long run though!

This is quite possibly the most uninformed and utterly wrong opinion I have ever read on this forum. It is blatantly obvious the writer has no grasp of what really happened last year. But that is hardly a surprise. If he had bothered to attend a match last season, under Burley it would have been obvious that the team was in rapid free fall, especially post Autumn when Burley was ironing his kilt. Pearson performed a minor miracle keeping us up considering how dire things had become (I don't think many on here would argue with that whatever their "political" persuasion). To say he took us to the brink of relegation is almost offensive and certainly ignorant. I think it great that fans from all over the world can come on here and give their views but I would hope that perhaps if you were not actually going to matches (and I gather you don't live that far away, SoG) then at least you appreciate that your non-attendances might actually mean that your opinions could conceivably be a little off kilter. Fans who do not attend matches are perfectly entitled to posting their opinions on this forum but I know if I wasn't "bothering" to go I would be a little less strident as to the rights and wrongs of where we currently find ourselves. So, SoG when are you next going to make the short trip to St Marys and did you get to Charlton? Why don't you get your arse out of your armchair, push your keyboard to one side and actually pay a visit to watch the Saints - then you will at least be able to contribute with a modicum of genuine knowledge.

It is quite remarkable that opinions of our form this season range from garbage to fantastic. Someone somewhere is spinning. As for the £30, it is the same Charlton charged Saints fans on Saturday - I thought that a bit OTT but I suppose is about right for this sort of fixture.

No, there are 6 votes under ordinary business - 1. to recieve the accounts 2. to re-elect Cowen 3. to re-elect Lowe 4. to re-elect Wilde 5. to re-elect Jones 6. to re-appoint BDO Stoy Hayward LLP as Auditors under Special Business 7. Authority to allot unissued shares 8. Disapplication of statutory pre-emption rights

Just back and I thought Saints shaded it due to their 2nd H form which had Charlton pinned back. Unfortunately B.WP and McGoldrick are not up to what we need. Plenty of huff and puff but no end product. A decent forward today and we would have come home with 3 points. PS Paterson looks a better bet to me than either Robertson or Pekhart.

Keith West - "Excerpt from a Teenage Opera" more commonly known as Grocer Jack

Shame you have to sprinkle your post with insults. If you don't like what I say fair enough argue back, ignore me whatever... but the minute you resort to calling names you lose my interest/respect in/for your views.

Well Phil - I certainly know one person whose name frequently crops up on this forum who despite his uncharacteristic silence fits snugly into your opening description. As for JP, sure he is on a learning curve but the question being is that curve too steep for him? Rookies do their learning in areas where they can learn without doing too much damage. Throwing him in at SMS may well be a gamble too big, especially as come January someone is going to take half his chips away.

If Lowe pumps some money into the club and stays in the boardroom (ie not having the final say in football matters) I would settle for that. Interesting you say JP is still learning considering he is well into his 50s.

I would be interested in your definition of experienced football people Phil. I have seen well over 1000 Saints games and watched them on approx 65 away grounds, once going 7 years without missing a home game. I feel vaguely qualified then to talk just a little about the "game". However I also work in politics to a degree and have strong views on the way the club is run. I can make no apology for that. JP is an enigma. I recognise at times I have seen some good exciting football this season (far better than one-time favourite Burley used to oversee) but, and it is a big but, JP does not control football policy and whilst that is the case this experiment is ultimately doomed no matter how good he is. It is inevitable that Lowe will sell whoever he can in January even though only Davis, Schneiderlin, Lallana and Surman would command a noteworthy fee (at present). That to me means we are back to square one again while we try and find replacements (the youth conveyor belt will not churn out indefinitely). So unless Lowe pumps some cash into this club we will only go in one direction. I accept shareholders, of course are under no obligation but Crouch has said he will. Even though Crouch is not the best thing since sliced bread his offer could make all the difference - hence my political stance re Lowe. Believe me it would be a lot easier to sit back and just watch this club destruct or stick my head in the sand and pretend it won't happen. I would certainly make less enemies.

So he has taken LM's picture down - would have thought he had more urgent things to attend to.

A friend of mine is a friend of Steve's and this week he told her that he was worried about the Saints game because he regarded us as dark horses very capable of producing a result. That link is interesting because it is the first time I have heard anyone admit to knowing about JP's qualities.