Saint Fan CaM

Well said...the agony it seems is far from over yet and the silence from the club is telling.

Surprise, surprise...although I would be happy for Leon to take a place, its no surprise that this story has been manufactured by some mischief maker. What is taking the time I wonder? It would be good to know when everything is done and dusted just how much turmoil Lowe left behind. Lessons learnt and all that. :confused: If true, that tends to suggest that Wotte is manager then - not a particularly awesome start to a new regime. This was my one big fear for the incoming Board - not showing from the offset that a new level of ambition and vigour was to be the norm. If true, it seems we're set for another rubbish season of Wotte style football. Good - I hope these idiots get locked up. :mad:

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~1688752,00.html Great to see one of my boyhood heroes finally get an honour he deserves. What a pity though that SFC is in such turmoil still that Saints can't host him at SMS to allow the fans perhaps just one more chance to show him how much affection is held for him. It really would be a chance for the new owner(s) to show recognition and respect for Saints great history.

I think it will have less to do with MLT and new owner, than the first few decisions made regarding (a) the managerial appointment, (b) what new signings are made to replace the inevitable leavers and © the results over the first five games of the season (especially if the -10 is overturned by the courts).

Remembering that Leon's involvement in Saints new dawn came AFTER administration, I think he has served the club and its supporters tremendously well and shown how much he really cares. As someone else said, how many other ex-Directors were going to put their own money into a potential lost cause? So yes, Leon fully deserves his place on the Board if indeed the rumour is true and I am confident that his involvement will only be positive alongside MLT's and Lynam's.

I like this post...it's like finding a chilled bottle of your favourite cold drink in a vast desert of sun-baked poop. Or something like that.

I know exactly what you mean! I have just been away on a stag weekend - got back to check the OS and here for news and what is there? A big fat nothing - not even a decent rumour. And to cap it all, I am expecting to be severely underwhelmed when deal is done and the pre-season actually starts. I just have a feeling it will all be done on the cheap still and little or no ambition will be shown. Here's hoping for some news soon.

Yeah, I know - the list just sits there in isolation though. Its like a little sorry, solitary nugget of news amid a vast expanse of emptiness that exists in the newsfeed from the OS. Talk about chicken and egg - we're playing Eastleigh, but we don't know if a deal has been tied up yet. Or perhaps this is a sign of good news about to come? I am drained.

I wish I could get a bit excited about those fixtures (except Ajax). Dunno - just seems to remind me of how far we've fallen. How long before we're playing these teams in the league? Will they actually help prepare the side for what will be a really ****ty tough season ahead? (OK its fine - I admit I'm feeling a bit low right now...leave me to wallow...)

If Ted Rogers of Winchester is proven to be a wind-up merchant, I hope he gets tracked down and flogged to within an inch of his life.

1. Employ a manager that has a good combination of experience in the English leagues and innovation. 2. Ensure the squad is lean and mean, made up of the best possible players that our budget will allow, but also ensure investment in playing staff is matched with high ambition. 3. Make sure you treat your faithful customers - the ST holders - like they are your most precious commodity. They will then remain supporters who feel valued.

“To an extent we were used as a negotiating tool.” Mmm, TOOL being the operative word here I think...

Shall we assume Mr Hearn has never had a mortgage on his house? I think he probably has and therefore he can consider himself a cheat. People in glass houses and all that... (d1ck).

Please God NO! Hate to post something negative on an otherwise positive thread, but for goodness sake we've only just got rid of a hugely fragemented and divided organisation and you want another?!? Look we're not out of the woods yet - let's have our takeover...try and get out of L1 with our potential owner and be thankful we've got a club to support. Leave the running of the club to others and when we climb back into the Prem somewhen in the future perhaps an even wealthier benefactor will buy us out. Please - no weird utopian socialist dreams here - keep it real. Who knows, perhaps Matt and his backer will be able to take us to the promised land such that the club will not need to be sold on our lifetime and we can unite behind them. Now THAT is a worthy dream.

Snap.

Excellent post Yorkie - echoes my thoughts entirely. I will be buying an ST though.

As I said on TT's thread - the Saints story meanders on and I feel we will be privelaged to witness the re-birth and new success of our great club. Thanks Tony for a wonderful message of hope - more in tune with the supporters than any transmitted from the Boardroom over the last ten years I would venture. I feel sure that 1,000's of fans like me will be renewing their ST's, buying matchday tickets and merchandise at the very first opportunity. Yours and Matts efforts WILL be recognised for MANY YEARS to come. Thank you. PS: I want a statue of Matt outside SMS alongside Ted! Let's start a campaign!

As others have said, budget will mean a lot, but I think also the choice of manager will (should) influence who we keep on. If for example Wotte stays, then BWP may as well go - he is not a winger and not suited to the style of play Wotte dictates. Kelvin Davis - Keep for sure. Loves the club which is a big plus IMO. JPS - Keep if a L1 contract is acceptable to him. BWP - See above. If played alongside a targetman as striker, better than DMcG IMO and will score plenty of goals. Mule - Strange one - he's not a great midfielder IMO, but is a good leader and strong. Could do a job, but L1 wages??? Stern John - Best striker we've potentially got, but he will not play at L1 level I suspect and will not take L1 wages, so we'll see him go. Greg Rasiak - Per Stern. Michael Svensson - Let's move on - no playing contract likely.

Tim - thanks for your message - while you suggest it is downbeat, I would argue that there is a significant uplifting undertone. Reading your memories of Paine, Davies and Channon brought a tear to my eye and made me remember there is a longevity to our great club. Supporting a football club is not like finishing a 100m sprint - its about being a part of a lasting story that has its ups and its downs, its twists and turns, its characters. A story that generations can enjoy in different ways - my part of the story started about the same time as yours. Your message has reminded me that loving my home City and Saints is not PRIMARILY about the silverware, the instant success etc - its about being a part of something that matters to 1,000's of likeminded others. That's surely what a CLUB is supposed to promote right? Sounds simple, but its very easy to forget that when you see the infrastructure of that club become more and more fragmented. My reflections start in the mid-60's - I followed Leeds Utd with Lorimer and Bremner being two of my hero's from that team (as a midfielder, I loved the way Bremner played). But I also supported the Saints - my home team - and in those days in seemed much more acceptable to have two teams to support. We would play football in the playground every break and not being too studious, it was my focus and I couldn't wait to get out and play. We were a poor family (although I didn't really think that way then) and so I could not afford to go to The Dell for 1st team matches. My Dad liked footie, but never was one to go to games. I scrimped whatever pocket money I could get and went to see the reserves play at The Dell occassionally. The thrill of not knowing who would be playing was intense - i.e. it could be a 'big star' coming back from injury to gain match fitness! THAT was my highlight. I had to cycle from Swaythling to The Dell as I couldn't afford the bus fare as well as a match ticket. By about mid-70's I had lost some interest - girls and music filled my life more. But I worked part-time in a store in town and that's where I saw us win the cup in '76 - the town centre was dead! I remember riding my push-bike up the avenue and all over following the team bus when it did the celebration tour. What joyful days. Then I settled and had a family - with four kids I still had no spare money to buy a ticket and even if I did, there were none to be had as Saints were on the march and tickets were like gold-dust. I missed much of the 80's-90's era sadly, although I always kept a watching brief - e.g. I took my eldest Son (7 at the time) to Wembley to see the ZDS Cup final against Forest. Fast forward to 2005. Kids grown-up - divorce and happy 2nd marraige all have had an effect, but noteably my personal and social circumstances have changed considerably. The bass player in my band is an ST holder and I start buying the odd match ticket to see Saints at the SMS - I was back in the fold and I knew this time it would last. Two seasons later I had my first ST, some shares, did some away games too. But of course like everyone reading this, I've seen my club almost die which has not been exactly pleasant. I want to take this opportunity of thanking TSF and TSW for providing me with a place to chat Saints. I would like to thank you Tim for pulling me back from the brink of losing the plot. Supporting Saints is not about the glory - its about being a part of a long and great story. And long may it continue.

Some good news and on a Friday to boot - who would have guessed it. And who knows, perhaps there's some Irish behind Pinnacle too?

Such as? Look you may mean well, but posting such a loose bit of supposed ITK gossip that even a skate could dream up, is hardly going to make you Mr. Popular is it? We're well past this - the club is in grave danger - posting weak rumour from some stranger in a taxi is poor form now IMO.

Administration was an inevitable action following gross mis-management of the business...i.e. abject failure of the Board of Directors. Absolutely sweet f-all to do with fans thoughts or deeds and anyone who thinks otherwise is living in some kind of parallel universe IMO. To turn now on fellow supporters only serves to highlight the mess the entire club is in. You expect some kind of action from others - what have YOU done? Please enlighten us.

I wouldn't put money on this club managing to clear administration, so thinking about promotion or otherwise is thinking way too far ahead. Having studied some of the better L1 teams, compared with our sorry bunch from last season we will struggle IMO. Can see us finishing lower half of the table. It's going to be very tough to get anything from L1, but we will fail badly with Wotte.

So - I go away to do some useful stuff - come back here to find out who's in the end game for takeover and its all changed again with no result. You couldn't make this stuff up. There must be some big problems with the books for it to take this long FFS. One things for sure - the ITK's are NOT ITK. I do not believe anything put out by Radio Solent, The Echo or the forum ITK's anymore because we're all being fed a load of inaccurate tripe. If we ever get to see someone buy the club it'll be when we're least expecting it. IMHO.

Well I am NOT going to be sucked into wasting another day of my life oggling the OS and this forum for news. Too many false dawns - I am sick of it. Good news that there's some positive news though eh?