MarkSFC

Well done to all 475 of you who have pledged on this thread. On behalf of Save Our Saints could I please ask everyone who has already pledged on this thread, to visit our page on Saints Web and pledge again. Two reasons for this; 1. There are more options so a bit more accurate. 2. We really need to excellrate the TOTAL showing so that we have as good a view of the potential as possible, and it will have a snowball effect. We need to ready should there be no other option. Also spread the word, maybe email everyone in your contacts this link http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/saveoursaints/ Steves put a lot of work into this and we need to make it work for us!!! Keep the faith and thanks for your positive support!! Mark

SOS are not considering the Ebbsfleet model. As I understand it they make mass fan decisions on the net. SOS is advocating a model of fan ownership, with elected fans who have the skills to do the job...NOT just whoever is popular!! Team selection, player purchase, systems, training methods, coaching team appointments, academy ethos, should be made by the Manager that the Board employees. Who runs the "football" at every successful club? The Manager!! No fan or CEO should ever get involved in this. The board should have people able to set policy, and oversee the vision and development of the Club. An appointed CEO (preferably from within football) should oversee the day-to-day running of the business and manage the senior management team. Hope that helps Mark

My understanding (from an accountant mate) is that the creditors would create Administration when it suits them. He atually predicted this might happen in January - if only "the great businessman" RL and his Fd could have had the forsight back then. If we (SFC) need "only" £500,000 or so to get to the end of the season, why didnt we sell a player or two, to guarantee solvency or put other plans in place as there is now with the fundraising activity. They could then have put SLH/The Club up for sale with no 10 point concerns. And surely its not really forsight to understand and plan your budget for the next 6 months. Lowe cannot pass the blame for this mess soley on to others, even if they created alot of it. His errors in the early 00's ended up in others taking a gamble to get us back to the promised land and the £30-40million jackpot!! He chose to come back, and would surely have taken the glory had things turned out positively. They didn't so Mr Hubris should take the rap and move on! He makes my blood boil!!!:smt086

Well worth a read....time for unity and pro-activeness

Thanks..said it was controversial!! If he'd never been given the Managers job (sorry, Head Coach role) he may still be here doing a good job with the Academy!!!

what we need is a manager with real potential who would get us out of L1 and could also be good enough to manage us in the Prem for years to come. What we dont want is someone who is good in the lower leagues but may not be good enough for CCC and Prem. This would just cause disruption again. A manager who would be happy to be here for 5-10 years building us up to a top club again. IMO Paul Tisdale fits that bill. Ex-player who stayed for years without playing, indeed played less than 100 game sin his career. He has already achieved 4 promotions with Team Bath and Exeter and may get another this year. He only has 1 year left on his contract I think so would be relatively cheap to get. But hes probably the most important signing for the club. We should also identify a "long-term" academy manager, and then send him to work with GeorgesProst if Lyon would allow it in order to gain his knowledge. Might be controversial, but maybe Wigley! Whatever happens with the takeover, plans must be put in place to promote stability, and a structure that will drive the club forward. In a way, this may just be the best thing for us, new owners, new start......

If the "loophole" is there, maybe Mr Browne wasn't savvy enough and is now just trying to save face?!!!

Just to back up what Derry has said...The Echo piece will be positive about the reasons we are announcing our proposal/idea. It is a mix of an article I provided Simon Carter and several conversations I have had with him this week ( and over the last 4-6 weeks). The purpose is multi-pronged.... 1. To publically "announce the initiative" 2. To open minds to the fact that (maybe) we (the fans) could be the only option 3. To set the wheels in motion, so that if we do have to act we are as ready as we could be 4. To show that there is substance to our initiative and its not simply a "pledge your money" exercise. That IS very important though, to understand the possible levels we could reach 5. To show "potential investors" that the fan base is passionate and united. 6. To potentially partner with another bid if it was suitable or necessary etc and there are probbly more!! All I would ask is that you all read and digest the article and proposal and open your minds to the idea. We by no means have ALL the answers or have come up with a perfect solution, but it has stemmed from an idea I had 2 months ago and has gone from there. There has been lots of number crunching and debate and what we have is the result of that. So by all means ask questions, because if we do end up having to act, the more ideas we have the better. Ideally, I would love to see a BIG investor come in and develop our fantastic club back to the Premiership quickly and stay around for years and years. BUT, it may not happen, and given the choice of the last 5 years or giving "Fans Ownership" a try, I would go for the latter every time!!! I hope you enjoy the article and more importantly enjoy watching us win 3 points tomorrow!!!! Mark

I was playing football for my school team, in goal, and the team was up the other end and my mate came running along telling everyone!!! I got so excited I didnt see the opposition coming toward me and let a goal in...didnt matter when everyone else realised the game stopped briefly while everyone cheered etc!!! Good times! I may not have been clear...BATES IS MR SAINTS, always was always will be

Didnt LM and John Mortimore start what is now our academy???

still the ONLY english team (I think) to sign the current Europen Player of theYear!! I still remember where I was when Iheard we'd signed KEVIN KEEGAN!!! As someone who grew up watching his teams McMenemy deserves his place behind Bates ( my grandad knew him and rated him as a man big time) in the top echelons of Saints legends but he isnt squeeky clean. But then how many of us never make any mistakes?!! The trouble is some people (RL) make far too many!!!!

Steve..good point well made. I agree £15 for too long wouldnt necessarily have benefited. My main point really is that they did far too little far too late!

The virtual ticket is a brilliant idea and its great to see the positive respones. I am also concerned with Dave Lukers performance in his role. Positive radical action was needed in January at the latest, but any suggestions for reducing ticket prices were met with "season ticket holders wouldnt welcome this or would want money back" type of responses. The posts on here and the reality is that season ticket fans in the main would not have worried one iota if prices were as Charlton.......for most "the experience" is the main attraction for going to games and the atmosphere generated by 25K + is (usually!) far superior to that of 15K!! It may also of helped the (freezing-performance wise) players - Im thinking Forest as well - to actually get used to larger crowds and perform. The "CLUB" have missed so many opportunities!!!!!!!:smt115

Lets put this to bed now... the thread quoting a company being set up has come from a facebook message and is an error on my part. "group" should hsve been used. I am totally and utterly genuine in everything I am doing in order to SAVE OUR SAINTS. There is no motive other than to form a fan based trust/foundation/co-operative or whatever is best in order to raise funds and be a completely democratic operation run for the fans of Southampton Football Club BY the fans of Southampton Football Club. The email address is purely for contact and is not linked to SAVEORSAINTS other than I set it up a few weeks ago when discussions (particularly around our name) were ongoing. Its dissappointing that some fans feel it neccessary to doubt but I totally understand your caution. I promise everyone that I am doing everything possible to genuinely make this happen. The administrator (Mark Fry) put me in touch with "derry" this morning and this is how I have come to join this forum. The poll being run is great and has backed up my belief that Saints fans will dig deep to support this initiative. I have already recieved many emails of support, please keep them coming!! Until next week...heres to 3 points tomorrow! MSFC

Excellent!!

I am a lifelong fan of 35+ years....who are you?

You make a great point SW11 Saint. A "figurehead/well know supporter" would definitely add credance. We have already spoken to one or two who fit this bill , albeit a few weeks ago, when plans were being made to run with this after the Forest game. As said before we are now working quickly to make this happen so will be contacting people over the next few days! The Gavin Davies factor intrigues me, because if he was interested in supporting "us" then I would question why isnt he doing it himself?? In many respects, an Investor would be better financially, but you never know who youre getting and more importantly ,what their motive is?!

To everyone who pledged their time and expertise, may I suggest that you email me at saintsfansconsortium@yahoo.com stating what you have to offer?! It will be easier to have this info in one place should we need to call upon you. At the moment we have a group of people well placed to make this happen. There will no doubt be times when others will be needed!!! Spread the word, keep the faith and SAVE OUR SAINTS

As the representative of SAVE OUR SAINTS that met with "derry" earlier today, I thought I would share some thoughts and plans. My colleagues and I have been working on a proposal for a "Saints Fans Consortium" of some sort for a few weeks now. When you look into the details it becomes very interesting and a bit "chicken and egg" scenario. Our initial strategy was to acquire a major shareholding of SLH and go from there (the detail is not important now!) We were planning to "go live" after the Forest game but now SLH has gone into Administration the goal posts have moved!! We are effectively working as quickly as possible to launch this initiative and are 99.9% set to go public next week. As Im sure everyone will agree, we have one chance at this and as such must get it right. All I would ask of all fans is to support the team on Saturday, and watch out for more imformation next week. The vision is for a Fan based "body" to own and run the club, in a totally democratic, transparent and accountable manner. The emphasis of "our vision" is also to build attendance levels, galvanise support, build the team, and sustain the club. Without going into detail, donators/investors would get reductions on tickets prices and other "rewards". For anyone who has doubts, thats fair enough. All I would remind you is that we are potentially facing the choice of "club" or "no club". I know what I want.... Together we can and will SAVE OUR SAINTS If anyone wishes to get in touch directly, please email saintsfansconsortium@yahoo.com