Saint Fan CaM

Fantastic signing.

This thread is WUM feed. There is nothing more to say.

Great news - good to hear he's keen to stay and contribute.

Mmm, just went back to use the system and it seems to work now.

Come on Steve - what could the club possibly say? "Sorry, but we're not holding the TBT this year because we are worried the team are not up to a spanking"!?!?! Hardly motivating. We should sit back and wait to see what transpires perhaps before worrying too unduly. In the big picture of season preparation this really is small stuff IMO.

Yes.

Yes, I can understand what you're saying and in fact, I agree with you to a point. But it's never going to happen is it - it's a pipedream? I repeat, winning games = continued success and inevitably climbing up the ladder. And yes, there will be a small minority who cannot afford to go in the future who will be replaced by others. I might be one of those people, but I cannot predict this - if I could, I would know the lottery results and so wouldn't need to worry about money - but I digress. And I would hazard a guess that for the likes of yourself, it's not just about the 90mins - it's the occasion of the day with your mates. I do agree that £50 is excessive, but that's not a problem Saints, NC or indeed any other football club can solve in isolation - that's down to complete reform of the game, so really not worth debating in relation to the OP. I don't agree about the atmosphere in SMS by the way - I would much prefer to see/hear SMS rammed with 32k+ in the Prem than with 20k in L1. And I would imagine that when we thrash Chelski, ManUre (again) or Spurs in the Prem, you will be there and you will be more than happy to be eating your words too!

Well there's your problem mate. You need to start putting together your own purchasing history with them from scratch so you 'get onto the database'. Or find an old ST ticket/card that you bought - they would probably honour that I would suspect.

Err, if you've booked via others then surely its obvious you won't be on the database? Kind of surprised they don't have your ST details still though - don't you keep your old ST 'tickets'?

Strange thing that - I could have sworn NC was CEO, meaning that regardless of whether a DoF was in place or not, he would still be 'the centre piece of everything' as you say as the DoF would report to him. Guess thats what being a CEO means.... ;)

IMO there are just two types of supporter in theory - those that like to see their team win and those that don't, although clearly it's difficult to comprehend why anyone would want be in the 2nd camp, which brings me back to the fact you've not answered the question. Do you want to see Saints win games? Yes or No? If it's yes, then that means that over time inevitably you will expect the team will rise through the league(s). That means paying more money. Do you actually expect the club to poll it's 30k+ supporters asking whether half-way up the CCC is OK for them in relation to the spend!?!? LOL - get real!

Very interesting indeed. Forgot he stood in for Stock when injured and we were looking at Stock (still are?). Looks like he impressed as now Gillet is stepping up a league, but possibly to warm the bench?

You're talking complete and utter nonsense again. I said quite clearly that it's the journey that really matters. If the strategy of the club is to strive for Premiership football in a controlled and sustainable manner (e.g. real investment in the Academy), can you honestly criticise that? Do you think players go into a football match thinking "I know, I'll play quite mediocre today" - of course they don't - they want to win! It's obviously inevitable that sooner or later if you're successful in individual football matches that you will reach the pinnacle of the sport... i.e. the Prem. So if the CLUB has high aspirations that match yours, well welcome to the real world - we all pay for the things in life we want. If anyone doesn't want to be a part of a successful football club then go support one with lesser aspirations and pay less money - simple. So I challenge you to come out and confirm to everyone on here that you do NOT want Saints to win as many games as possible. Come on, stop dancing around the subject - an honest answer to a direct question please.

I think you've answered your own question there. We've not had any confirmation whatsoever that it's been scrapped. Even if it's been postponed, so what? If it had been organised, we'd have the likes of you and others complaining the club's making money out of Mary Bates death?! FFS...move on.

I know it's hard to be patient when it seems no progress is being made, however some can see the bigger picture and see the club has turned a corner. It's not the same club admittedly in the sense that the ownership and strategy has changed, however what did you expect? More of the same underachievement as seen in the last 10-15 years? Do you really understand how ravished the club was in terms of it's position relative to a Prem team? Markus, NC and AP have had a massive re-building exercise to contend with. It's coming together slow but sure and Rome was not built in a day. Clearly NC's policy is 'quietly, quietly, catch the monkey' and that's fine by me providing we continue to be successful on the pitch with good, committed players. No longer are the trivial things being concentrated on - try and imagine the end game : Southampton as a real major force in English football and perhaps you'll start believing a bit more? That's the one thing that we all need to focus on and that's the only commitment form the club that matters.

Haha. NC working with Marc Jackson. Good laugh that Stu and the day's only just begun!

Do you know whether the family requested that the Trophy match not be played? If not, then why shout off about something you know nothing about other than to attempt to stir up more unrest? You're starting to sound like a skate Stu - no humility or empathy to the club's best intentions. Why is everything wrong in your world?

What we need to remember is that Lowe was driving the club into the ground - it was failing financially prior to LC's involvement...way before. Getting Lowe out was an attempt to rescue the club, no ifs or buts. It was Wilde that caused the utter mess with the Executive he appointed and then turning Judas to allow Lowe back in. Crouch did everything he possibly could, but it was too late by the time he was able to influence matters. And let's all remember also that Lowe's failure to put the club into Admin 1 week earlier would have seen us back in the CCC this season as we wouldn't have had the -10pts.

As usual, a balanced and understated post. There are a number of possible and perfectly rational reasons for not holding the trophy game. The club have many initiatives that are currently underway to transform root and branch how the club operates to prepare for the exciting future ahead. To get the foundations right takes huge resource and planning and I can understand why NC wants focus on the important stuff right now. I also agree that AP might want a different pre-season focus for the squad. However, it would be nice to keep the competition going. I think it might be much more befitting now for the trophy to be contested by the youth squad. Perhaps between our Academy and another Academy (Hoddles?) for example.

Perhaps Saints could offer him the medical and recuperation facilities he needs and in turn he could help Saints back to the Prem? Let's face it, Connolly is here still and he must be getting near to fitness where he could ply his trade at a higher level now. IMO Owen doesn't have a hope in hell of getting back near the England squad now - he's a yesterday man as Capello will be turning to younger players to bring through ready for the Euro's.

Where the heck did that crazy rumour spring from Trousers? Anyway - Owen or Connelly? Both?!?

Mentioned on here quite a few times how much the club meant to LC - I know from discussions with him. Beyond being a good businessman, he is a top guy who put lots into the club for many years, even when Lowe was trying his best to ruin it. Be glad to see him back at SMS ready for the good times to roll again.

Have not read all the thread so not sure if this has been mentioned already. Drove past the stadium today and saw that electronic barriers and ticket machines have been installed to the entrances to the car parks. Now then, first thing I thought was perhaps the car parking is being set-up on a first come-first served basis in the ground on matchday, thus cutting out the need to book and post tickets. This means peeps get to the ground earlier and spend more money in the Megastore and on the new hospitality (i.e. food/drink etc).

OK, so thanks for info about what's happening at the club, but hey ho it's not really surprising that NC wants the best set-up he can muster. It's the building blocks to more and more success and if staff don't want to be on the train then they can jump off at the next station as far as I'm concerned.

Electronic swipe card entry system for ST holders.