SaintJackoInHurworth

Hmm, Jim Ratcliffe could be our man, but this article sugests most of his wealth is tied up in INEOS who have made huge losses in the recession. Consequently he is no longer listed in the rich list: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/business/4326015.Question_marks_over_fortune_of_Hampshire_s_richest_man/

Hehehe!! And most definitely, no!! lol Just a clue here - if they knock at your door holding a big bible, the chances are that they are not Christians, but Jehova's Witnesses or more likely Mormons. And before anyone writes in saying that those are Christians, neither of those groups accept that Jesus is God, so they can't really be called Christians! If I were to knock at your door (and since I live near Darlington that is probably highly unlikely!) I would be more likely to be accompanied by a group of young people, encouraging them to make a positive difference in their local community by doing free gardening, litter-picking or other community action stuff. It's all very well to go and tell people what you believe, but I think it is more meaningful to live out what you believe and then if people want to ask about my beliefs then great, I will tell them, but like I said before, I don't want to throw that down anyone's throats! But at the same time I am not going to stay quiet about what I believe either - if I am asked about it, like I have been, then I will answer the questions - after all I do think that it is good news (not bad news as some people seem to make it appear!!) Anyway... enough! Don't let me start wittering again!! lol

In my opinion (and I believe we all need to work out what we believe for ourselves, so I am happy to say what I believe and put a case for it, but I'm not going to try to force anyone to believe it!): 1. Yes. 2. Omniscient, omnipotent and the only God. The issue of God's gender is a red herring so I will leave that one! 3. Jesus is 'probably' the main example of this! Also, actions of Christians serving God in all sorts of caring activities, charities, etc. Also the acts of others - who's to say God only uses those that believe in him to achieve his works? And then there's people who have been healed and stuff. Plus many people will tell of their own experiences of God at work in their lives and the lives of others around them, etc. 4. If he is omniscient that means he is everywhere, if he is omnipotent, that means he is all powerful; on the basis of those two things, where would the "scarcity of remedial prowess and the need for some sort of rationing mechanism" be? There would be no such scarcity and there would be no need for a rationing mechanism. And God is just as concerned with the trivialities of everyday life as he is with macro-level disasters. The bible has numerous examples of God providing food, etc. for nobodies (like a widow and her son who had run out of food; like some shade so that a rebellious prophet could have a rest out of the sun, etc.) so yes, God is interested in SFC! 5. As explained above there would be no such trade off, but if there were, yes I would! IMO Shankly was wrong - there are many things that are far more important than football, including life and death. As I say, these are just personal opinions. I know there are a whole load of difficult issues around this and would not want to say that they are easy to get to grips with! It is really tough to get to understand how a God of love can allow suffering, for example, and frankly while I can offer some explanations to questions like that, I also get to point where I have to hold my hands up and say 'I don't really know'. All I know is that I think he is real and that I have experienced 'God' for myself and believe that he hurts too when we hurt. I also believe that he experienced some pretty bad stuff himself when he came into the world and ultimately got killed on the cross (a pretty brutal way to die by all accounts!) In terms of where my faith interacts with my passion for Saints (and I will try to bring things back to football as this is a football forum!) I would say that I pray to God for Saints from time to time, although sadly he has been saying 'no' an awful lot recently for whatever reason! Fortunately today's prayers for a takeover to emerge got a 'yes' answer! I would also say that I believe that Saints has an important spiritual status in terms of the city of Southampton and therefore concern for the club is beyond just private tribal interest. And so it is right and proper that I am concerned for the club's future as the standing of the city of Southampton is to some degree intrinsically linked with the fortunes of the club. I don't know if any of that makes sense or if I just sound like I am wittering rubbish, so I will shut up now, but as I say these are just my opinions. I hope that they do not in any way offend anyone. Thanks, Neil

No incoming!! I agree with you... but... that doesn't mean Christians aren't interested in praying for the club. I'm sure there are plenty of Christians in Southampton who, like my pastor friend, support Southampton and would be happy to pray for the club; and, yes, I don't just mean praying about some stupid allegations about cursed ground, but actually praying about meaningful stuff like getting a new owner, etc. After all, as another thread on here alludes, there is a link between the welfare of a football club and the welfare of the town in which it is based, especially in a city like Southampton.

Evidently, the Pompey takeover deal could go pear-shaped: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/28/portsmouth-takeover-premier-league I thought there were some quite amusing comments in the Times too (especially the bit about their new ground ending up under water!) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/portsmouth/article6382896.ece

What a BAD BAD idea! The nickname of this football club is SAINTS and there is a very good reason for that. It was founded originally as a church football team from St Mary's Church. To suggest confounding the whole history of the club by doing something so stupid is beyond words! It is like an insult to our founding fathers!! If you really believe in occultic ideas then it is a bad idea beacuse to so go against your history must have some sort of bad karma (or whatever you would call it), while those that hold to Christian beliefs would point out that the bible urges people to steer clear of occultic practices like this. Either way, you're onto a loser! And if you are not religious then of course you are not going to want to waste even more of the clubs money on bringing in some white witch! But if anyone really thinks it is an issue, why not invite some of the leaders of the local churches to hold a prayer meeting of local Christians in the stadium? I am sure they would jump at the opportunity and they wouldn't even charge to do it! If I remember correctly Kriss Akabussi goes to a church just up the road from the stadium so perhaps he could be involved in some way? Also, a friend of mine is the pastor of one of the bigger churches in Southampton and he is a big Saints fan too, so I am sure he would help out!!

Boy, I still haven't found what I'm looking for on this thread. It could all end in War. Still, let's hope we're not still here in October, with Sunday as the new Friday... cos you know what they'll be saying then don't you: "Sunday, Bloody Sunday!" Hopefully instead they will have the grace to get it done in a little while, or we will just be stuck in a moment you can't get out of. Anyway, with or without you and your support (and you know, sometimes you can't make it on your own) I wonder if it would result in the unforgettable fire-ing of Mark Wotte. And how much would it cost? But how much more might we be worth in a few years? 40 million maybe. That would surely bring a lot of Pride in the name of love for the saints badge. Yes! The Saints are coming! Let's just hope that the Electric Co. don't switch off the lights before it all goes through, cos it really could turn out to be a beautiful day and each day is one step closer to when we sing our adulation in God's country to the city of blinding lights that is southampton and also to Bono, declaring that it's 'all because of you'. Yes, when I look at the world, that really could be a great outcome! (U2 can waste ur time quoting song titles from songs!!!)

Whether or not the Leon Crouch on Facebook is the real Leon Crouch, I notice that among his friends is Dave Merrington. Is that the real Dave Merrington? And among Dave Merrington's friends are a number of Saints players and staff past and present including: Josh Dutton Black Danny Wallace Ray Wallace Reuben Agboola Claus Lundekvam Theo Walcott Mark Wotte Also Nick Illingsworth's name is there too! So... are any of those genuine or are they all fakes?

Shocking thing is that having been the highest placed team in the south a few years ago, we will start next season as one of the lowest placed league teams in the south (assuming we are still in the league of course!) Ranked ahead of us (and ignoring the clubs in London or further north than London) will be: P*mpey, Reading, Bristol City, Plymouth, Bristol Rovers, Swindon, Brighton, Yeovil, Exeter, Wycombe and now also Gillingham. (nb based on league position at the end of this season and our starting position for next season, plus I include Swindon and Wycombe on the basis that while they are further north than central London, there are parts of London that are further north than them!)

I was wondering that too... what DID happen to SaintDavid? And there were some others too weren't there? Rhonda or something one of them was called if I remember correctly! Anyone know what happened to the other jokers? Are they involved with the MJ bid? Are they the owners of Pinnacle?(!) Are they members of this forum, but with different identities? As to what I think of MJ, while I have concerns like everyone, we are currently beggars and, like they say, beggars can't be choosers! In the first instance I care only that our club is saved. Beyond that, of course I want to see Fry doing a deal that is going to result in the possibility of us quickly starting along the long road of rebuilding the club - rebuilding us into a club that can begin to move upwards towards the Championship and then hopefully on to the Prem.

I can't believe there are so many people on here who would dump our manager so quickly... it rather reminds me of someone else who had that attitude... now what was his name again? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Oh yes, now I remember... wasn't it something like Rhubarb Lowe or something like that?!! Oh.. and one other thing about this: if we get rid of Wotte, it will also effectively mean getting rid of Hockaday and Svensson as well since any new manager is likley to want to bring in his own backroom staff. How do people feel about THAT??

If we could sell him for a milion quid we should definitely accept the offer. (Don't tell Forest, but if we could sell him for a tenth of that or perhaps even less I think we should accept!!!) I'm 'sure' we will find someone of similar quality somewhere. (er... no, much better I hope!)

OK... you claim to be vaguely ITK as does Saint77, so let me put to you my hypothesis for what is going on... The Pinnacle bid failed because they could not match the guarantees required (possibly a lack of funds). Consequently, Fry has introduced the bidders to each other to go away and see if between them they can come up with a combined bid, based largely on the same model as the Pinnacle bid. As a result of Leon Crouch's support for the wages of the club, there is now a bit more time, so in order to allow time for the various parties to meet and redraw ther plans or else find extra finance, a bid is expected in a few weeks time. Is that a possible/likely scenario?

Surprised no-one has taken up the challenge with that one. Perhaps I can oblige with a prayer for our club to get the 'ball' rolling...(!) Dear Lord, I lift up to you our once proud football club. Lord we bear the name 'Saints' - a description of those that follow you, and so Lord we seek your blessing in place of despair and disgrace. Lord, may this club which stared out as a church project to witness to your name, once more bear witness to your mercy and grace. So Lord, specifically we pray that a good buyer for the club and stadium will be found quickly - someone who will take the club forward and restore its fortunes and with it the fortunes of the City of Southampton. Lord, we ask this in your name, AMEN! No... Smithfield are not lawyers, they are specialist financial consultants. Their specialisms include mergers and takeovers, including football club takeovers and mergers. They were involved in the takeover of Man Utd and are involved in seeking buyers for Arsenal. Why they are involved with Saints I do not know - maybe Fry has brought them in. But with that background in this sort of thing I would guess their involvement is good news! Here's my sources: http://www.burson-marsteller.com/Newsroom/Lists/PressReleases/DispForm.aspx?ID=705&nodename=Press%20Releases%20Archive&subtitle=Burson-Marsteller%20and%20Smithfield%20Enter%20Strategic%20Partnership%20Agreement - it says somewhere in that one about their previous involvement with the takeover of Man Utd. http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/673167/Smithfield-swallows-Gresham-PR/ - That one says about their involvement with Arsenal

I live just a couple of miles from the Darlington Arena. The Darlington situation is a bit different than Saints, though it has some resonance. Hopefully they too will find a buyer. Basically, a few years ago the club was bought by George Reynolds and he managed to gain planning permission to build a large Premiership/Championship quality stadium on the edge of the town. However, a fraud investigation revealed that the money used to build the ground and develop the club had been gained illegally, so the stadium and the club's assets were seized and eventually came to be owned by George Houghton, while Reynolds was thrown into prison. Since then Houghton has invested heavily in the club to keep it going, but with tiny crowds it cannot cover its costs and so he has finally decided he cannot continue to fund the cost of running the club (though quite why he decided to do that when they were on the brink of at least a play-off place with the potential of larger crowds in league 1, I do not know!) Anyway, that resulted in the club going into administration, but the ground is a seperate entity and remains his property. One likely/possible outcome is that if/when the club is liquidated he will opt to have the ground demolished and housing or offices built on the land in its place. I just hope that Saints don't end up getting to this stage too. It would be awful if both Saints and Darlo go out of business.

LOL - why does that STILL cause me to explode into spontaneous laughter?! Thanks for posting that - something has got to cheer us all up!!

The potential overseas bidders... they don't include Paul Allen do they?!! If not(!!), I wonder has anyone speculatively sent him an e-mail to point out that Saints are in administration in case he wants to renew his alleged former interest? Actually, who else could we send such an e-mail to? Bill Gates Michael Jackson The owners of Barcelona CF ???

Less than an hour of today to go... ...is the Pinnacle bid dead if it isn't sorted by midnight?

ok - I keep refreshing this forum, I keep refreshing the OS and I keep refreshing Saints news on the Echo's website... ...any other sites that I should have up to catch the earliest possible news??!!

Is there any possibility that the delay is because the different parties that are wanting to make bids are now actually talking to each other to create a bigger consortium with better backing, etc.?

Some good points made here guys. Before reading them I had just been on the Football Focus website posting some commenst in the hope that the issue might be raised on their programme. Here is what I wrote: "As a Saints fan, I am shocked by the ridiculous decision reached this week by the Football League investigation into Southampton Football Club. Whatever the links may be between the club and the PLC, that is not the issue and Lord Mawhinney's attempts to suggest it is are laughable. Like it or not, the rules clearly state that any FOOTBALL CLUB going into administration should be deducted 10 points. No mention is made of these 10 points applying if a holding company goes into administration as is the case here. While the rules may have been intended to penalise cases like this, the fact is that the wording of the Football League's own rules does not support this decision. I would venture to suggest that they are on perilous legal ground. It looks like this is going to be yet another example of footballing authorities living in ivory towers out of touch with the real world. I envisage that once again we will see an appeal against a footballing authority decision which will ultimately result in the football club in question receiving substantial compensation, further undermining the game of football. I call upon Lord Mawhinney and co. to reverse this decision forthwith or to resign before facing the inevitable humiliation that will result from a legal appeal. Furthermore, I call upon the Football League to sit down around the table and re-evaluate what is anyway a ridiculous ruling. To penalise football clubs that are in serious financial difficulties in a way that will further jeopardise these clubs cannot be a logical thing to do. A more sensible ruling would see football clubs penalised for clearly cheating the system - i.e. NOT for going into administration, but rather for using administration as a means to make unfair footballing advantage. Such an accusation cannot be levied at Darlington, Rotherham, Bournemouth, and Southampton - to name but a few clubs affected by this ridiculous rule. Why should the cheating of a few clubs be used to affect the financial livelihoods of clubs with genuine financial problems? I hope that you will be able to highlight this issue in your programme." Perhaps Chapel End Charlie's ideas should also be posted to the BBC/Sky/Talksport, etc. as Gingeletiss has suggested.

Let's hope so - we don't want Rupert screwing things up any further thank you very much!!!

This has probably been asked and answered elsewheer so apoogies if it has but... ...will any potential buyers be buying the PLC or the club? I assume the club. And if they are just buying the club, does this also include purchasing the stadium? Cheers

I still hope that we can beat Burnley and still be in with a shout by other results going our way. I then hope that we can go on to beat Forest... ...But if I'm honest I don't think it's gonna happen. I just hope that there's a big crowd there on Saturday and that we will actually be able to limp on to the end of the season... and then, most importantly, that a buyer will come in and save the club. I think it would be great too if we could have a decent following at Forest even if we do get relegated before then. I would love to be there myself, though, sadly I don't think it will be possible.

I don't get all the arguents on here scouring over past disagreements, but let's just leave that now can we?!!! The fact is our club is at risk, but there is still hope. So let's hold on to that hope and do all we can to fan the flames of interest from those can make a genuine difference. Let's get behind all the different campaigns to save our club as best as we can, whether that be buying merchandise from the club shop, giving to support the daily cash flow of the club, becoming part fo a supporters group lobbying to raise financial support, joining a group like the 'Save our Saints' group on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/group.php?gid=67729837464), voting in the poll to pledge financial support, suggesting ideas on this or other forums...etc. Together, maybe, just maybe... we can see our club rescued and able to fight another day!!! COYR!!