rallyboy

another cheery thread, thanks for reminding me that we are in trouble, I had forgotten. Could go several ways - 1. Same board, same protests, relegation - 7,500 dotted about. 2. Change at the top, stay up but struggle - 18,000. 3. Changes that satisfy the stayaways plus relegation, but a good start and top of the table clashes against Leeds and the like - 23,000. 4. Unlikely this one! Change at the top, stay up and launch promotion bid -28,000. 5, A dream I had - Change, stay up, ten points clear at Easter plus two domestic cup triumphs - 30,000. We are all only guessing, but whatever you personally think of him, it is clear from a fanbase point of view that Rupert is damaged goods and people will not pump more money into his plans. That change could alter attendances more than the division we end up in.

doesn't that just mean that our safety margin is lower?... Derby has always been a must win, nothing has changed, didn't expect anything today so no surprise, but next week? That has great potential...onwards and upwards.

I'd take a point but let's look at the big picture, time to be sensible and tactical.... WE musn't go risking injured players against a top team away when we have two winnable home games round the corner. 'We can fight and win every game!!' shouts the village idot as the squad hobbles off nursing injuries and red cards.... I'm not saying surrender up there if they are there for the taking, another 9 points by next week would be great but we have to prioritise and keep the best players fresh and non-suspended. No point in getting in a battle with Brum if it leaves the squad stretched and gets us two 0-0 draws at home. We might even lose 2-0 up there if the squad is tired, BUT we can then blow Derby and QPR to bits next week - 6 out of 9 would do for me. Panic ye not if we get nothing tomorrow.

if we are talking about Mr Wotte's homemade humble pie - yes he has proved me wrong. So a small bit for me please, and Mr Lowe will have the other 31 slices.

Calm down everyone! Brum are up there on merit, we could get done by the odd goal at St Andrews but Derby will be crapping themselves coming to us. Turn them over, QPR are already on holiday, the train wreck is back on the rails and going direct to Safety Central. hopefully.

Fantastic night. And if we are slightly disappointed with the other results, imagine how quiet it went in the Forest and Norwich dressing rooms when our result came in!! Get in there! Well done Mr Wotte and the players. Again.

Let us not forget that Rupert's dealings pre-Saints gave us the clue that he was the Frank Spencer of the business world so we shouldn't be surprised that his judgement is still 'a little shaky'....

I just saw the panicky look from Perry to Davis as the ball came down, from the Northam I didn't see the handball so the tv replay was a revelation. I can only imagine the officials were similarly unsighted as it was a blatant arm back to the keeper - technically a backpass! Now I feel quite bad about it, oh hang on, I've got over it already!

My understanding is that Lowe hasn't changed anything other than eventually giving in to the inevitable when the first dutchman failed horrifically. He then appointed a cheap alternative and the frustration was that nothing changed.... However, protests/uproar/boycotts, and a couple of games in, Wotte realised that the missing 12,000 fans and the patient 12,000 fans were all calling for a change of style. This he delivered, and here we are, in a long tunnel with a little dot of light. Though with the upcoming fixtures the table is likely to get worse in the next ten days so hold tight for a bumpy ride. Wotte looks like he is on track, let's give him time even though we don't have much of it, he and the players have earned it. But the board hasn't, so let's not pretend that there was a masterplan all along.

If Wotte was plan B it would have happened six months ago, he wasn't, he was a cheap alternative and luckily for us, thus far it has helped.

No way can Rupert take any praise for the change in fortune. Under pressure from fans, or as a result of his own analysis, Wotte has performed a complete U turn and has made us competitive again. Fair play to him for either taking criticism on board, or for being shrewd and brave. By changing things he has earned respect, though he will have a very delicate political time behind the scenes explaining to Rupert how he has ditched his mad dream. So was Rupert right all along? - don't make me laugh, he was at the helm of a train wreck. Twice. And we aren't safe by a long way but Wotte and the players have given us hope by taking action. And let's not forget, without the massive U turn we would now be below Charlton and just about down.

A great gritty performance with steel and passion. Not pretty at times but hard-earned points, well done Mr Wotte and all the boys, you are allowed to party tonight, at home! Don't underestimate Davis - astonishing saves to keep us in front. And the crowd did our bit, the noise that went up when the poor bloke got hit by the ball was enough to earn the penalty, god knows where it hit him and I don't care!! And well done to both linesman, they gave us everything 50/50. On that form we ain't going down, but if we do, we are going down fighting. Life is good.

I only joined recently, mainly to let off steam about how crap 'Saints World' is with like-minded people. There is no point in telling a Chelsea/Aberdeen/Weymouth fan that life is crap, they have their own worries, so coming on here seemed a good outlet for frustration and annoyance. It is, but sadly the club is in such a state that there are far too many ill-informed threads about shares, admin and the board, would be nice to have some more football threads. I want serious change, but I am getting fed up reading crap threads about it, especially when it is 'I know a bloke who has a mate itk who heard from blah blah....' Facts and football would be great.

Three points earned in any manner will do me fine. At the cup semi final the bloke next to me went to the loo and missed our first goal, on his return he said 'was it a good goal?' Did we care? No. Take the points against their third team if required, just take them, even if it is the worst performance ever, just take them.

I know if I ever want complex financial advice or the details of administration and the consquences to listed companies explained, I always turn to Mark Dennis first.

so players who didn't perform or who weren't committed enough were tortured? Mmmmmm....Interesting idea........

The sheep issue is covered by musical licence, and you can buy them from most newsagents, as long as it is in a song it is okay. You wouldn't go up to someone in the street and ask them where their caravan was but you are allowed to sing old folk songs, it is tradition. Inviting your children to shoot our near neighbours and hanging the chairman from a bridge are okay as long as they are in song....I think....maybe get the lawyers onto that one....can of worms, too late.... On a serious note - incidents that have crossed the line are the gas chamber noises and Munich references at Spurs and United, most other stuff is taken in the spirit of banter, and that is what you should expect if you go to a football stadium.

So administration after the deadline would be punishment-free until next season?...is that correct? If that is the case then we have a new masterplan - scrape out of the bottom three, have a summer firesale and restructure, scrape enough together next season fuelled by big crowds and overcome the ten point penalty - job done, ready for a promotion season in 2010/11. What could be simpler?....other than brain surgery or astro-physics.

if Wotte keeps us up he will have earned the Chelsea job and the decision will be out of our hands! The key is Lowe and I'm not going to harp on about it because we all know the score, he has alienated thousands of fans, worth millions of pounds in income. Simply he would need to leave or perform the biggest U turn of a public apology in history for the club to move forward with him at the helm. I think that is unlikely, so the bank and shareholders will need to protect their dwindling money by inviting him to step down or the business is a dead duck... There are complicated elements to the club BUT playing without your best strikers makes it difficult to win games and having someone unpopular at the top costs you customers.

the sensible approach has always been, never go to war with anyone who buys print ink in bulk, and remember you will meet them on the way down as well. Local papers and clubs need each other but I have yet to see a club that doesn't think it has a divine right to rose-tinted coverage - see the case of Ferguson versus the BBC. Abusing the media while you are in charge is easy, but when Rupert falls, which he will, they will be waiting and it will become a public shaming, fuelled by his own arrogance. And I haven't forgotten how fans were treated when we had full houses and tickets could be hard to come by, so revenge on those that treat fans with contempt works for me .

the sensible approach has always been, never go to war with anyone who buys print ink in bulk, and remember you will meet them on the way down as well. Local papers and clubs need each other but I have yet to see a club that doesn't think it has a divine right to rose-tinted coverage - see the case of Ferguson versus the BBC. Abusing the media while you are in charge is easy, but when Rupert falls, which he will, they will be waiting and it will become a public shaming, fuelled by his own arrogance. And I haven't forgotten how fans were treated when we had full houses and tickets could be hard to come by, so revenge on those that treat fans with contempt works for me .

One swallow don't make a summer but yes, it is a good time to go on a run. Would also have been a good time at any point in the last seven months if only we had thought of it. (mental note for next season, start winning as soon as possible, try and play strikers, gather points....)

Well done Mr Wotte, and the players, a great display. I like many have been critical but points are everything and today you delivered. Whether todays sudden tactical U turn was about fan pressure or you just saw the light yourself doesn't matter, the fact that it has taken until now to establish a good tactical approach also won't matter if we stay up. Let's go get more points and stay united behind a team and coach that has finally delivered!

The sun's shining, I feel lucky! By now the Preston players will be recovering from food poisoning/travel sickness/five false fire alarms and may not even have enough subs. By lunchtime a bout of flu will be flowing through their squad and we will cruise to a glorious victory. perhaps.

Hey new boy, less talk, more action! Put the points on the table and then you can be as arrogant as you like. I hope he is more tactically-astute against Preston than he was the day he gave this interview as it is a PR gunshot to the foot.