Secret Site Agent

That is the point I am making. Lallana and Surman are still here 'because' of the grand plan.

Please, one quarter of my management team are Poles, and half the Subbies boys are East European. And trust me, they aint cheap anymore!!!!!!!

Whilst sitting here in my lunch break and having a heated discussion with my QS, (which is a construction money man, or in my case a woman) and then reading this thread: http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1240 I realised that some of my choices in my job actually reflect some of Lowe and Jans'. Let tell you a quick story. I am on a construction job. I have a limited workforce that are the wrong side of fifty, and a few in experienced youngsters, so I have 'bought in' a number of labourers from a sub-contractor to finish a section of the work. My QS wants to get rid of them all as they are a little expensive, and there are other sites with bigger budgets than mine that want them, as the subbie boys are pretty experienced and work really hard. As I explained politly, if I get rid of them all I will be reliant on older and less experienced operatives and I will not be able to complete on time, within my budget as the quality will go down, and the cost go up. Suddenly I had a bit of a lightbulb moment. Now, I don't really like Lowe or Wilde, to be fair, and I am a long way off forgiving or forgetting. But this is my revelation. Just like Saul on the road to Damascus it hit me. If Lowe is the proported financial wizz that he is supposed to be, and Jan is the 'I can work within a shoe string and youngsters to grater glory' master he is supposed to be, doesn't it boil down to the fact that Saints, even though they have to cut costs, would have an EVEN bigger financial problem if they got relegated? Therefore my conclusion is this: Lowe may want to sell all and sundary to make money, and clear debt, but if you reduce the capability of the 'workforce', you reduce the ability to keep to your projected cost target. In other words if the target for Saints is to reduce costs they CANNOT afford to be relegated, therefore a comfortable mid table place would be needed, and you cannot achieve a mid table place in the CC with Div 1 and past their best players. Is this the plan? Is this what they are aiming for? Please discuss using rational, cogent and well thought out constructive remarks. And also please remember, I could build you a bridge/Road/Sewage Treatment Works/Tunnel/House/office block/sports standium etc. any where you like, within time,within budget and with minimum defects, but I can't predict the scoreline on any Saints match in the last year.

And add this to my answer as well.

The way I see it, (and I have commented on this several times,) is that i compare it to the game, FM,(insert your favorite year here). You can choose to play one of the big 4, with plenty cash, and become bored because you win most games and it is too easy. Or you could pick a team like Eastliegh and, with a real challenge and no money, try to improve and expand, and find it more enjoyable. In the CC anyone can win, there are six slots to play for, four of which need another push. There is plenty to play for, more fun and a young lad can come onto the stage and wow the crowd. It is also more enjoyable than the premiership. If only a cable channel, properly organised, could, with assistaqnce from the CC clubs, have a go at promoting proper TV rights. Also, with all the money in the Premiership, there should be a BIGGER levy of money to filter it down to grass roots. I know it is a dream, but it isn't a bad dream, and it is mine. So be nice.

And may i say JAN POOVLIET'S RED AND WHITE BIRIANI

I have been saying this for years and years. And a manager with the guts to drop players who don't perform and not choose them based on reputation and popularism. Take it upto England level. (OH no, how DARE he not choose Owen. I say YES Bdrop the bastard because he is not performing on the international stage. And drop bloody Rooney as well, and give McG a chance.) Wow, high on Fumes.

Precisly the way I feel. Thye need to be encouraged not shouted down. This is a different set of rules we are playing with now, and we ALL, including those that have a perpensity to boo and cat call, need to get a bit of perspective of WHO our team now contains and to do their bit to try and keep confidence high. A quick analogy, if you will. Your child is learning to walk. S/He has been toddling along for a few days now walking from one end of the room to the other. You say, 'Well done, keep going' and you tell everyone how well your child is walking and your family see it. The you invite evryone to see it again and, on this day, your child has problems standing and when he falls over, you of course say, ' You stupid ****ing little ****, How dare you fall down in front of everyone, I going to kick the **** out of you for that, you little *****. I ****ing knew you would let me down. I hate you you little bastard'. No you don't. You give your child encouragement to do well, and when they fall, you encourage them to pick themselves up and try again. If you are the former, go and join another team, you are not welcome. If you are the latter then please carry on. And this doesn't include constructive critisism, and venting feelings of disappointment, and upset at those who are being lazy, as these are still valid. It just a case of giving the team the chance to bounce back. I'm Frasier Crane, good mental health to you, Soputhampton

So we are not only a bunch of short term ingrates who embarrass the team on National Television, we are also fickle. Well that makes all the difference.

Hope he is OK. All the best, Mick.

No he's not!!!!!!!!!!! Jan is vindicated, and the youngsters are showing that not using them was the big mistake. We are still here in the Championship because of Lowe and until he commits to getting us back to the top flight, proves he has the clubs best interests at heart and is not on some ego trip to reek revenge and prove he shouldn't have been oisted, then I will not give any credit his way. I still personally believe he blocked investment to ensure his return. Do the above, and I will support him again.

I have said this before, especially with regard to the overpaid pampered shamefull England team we have, so I should really follow this through. I would prefer, and be prouder, of a team filled with youngsters who played their hearts out, showed some decent football and promised, and put 100 % into playing for their team, and fail, than a bunch of lazy underperforming expensive glory boys who only get picked because of who they are, not how they play, i.e. if they are playing ****, drop them and make them prove they deserve their place in the first team. Also I would like a manager with the guts to do the above, and drop those that don't perform, and peanuts to anyone who moans about what he is doing, to do what he thinks best. make up your own mind to whom I refer. Now please discuss using only well thought out and cogent arguments please, but remember to be constructive boys and girls.

Even if he was fit I doubt if he would. Trouble being split loyalties would be playing on his mind.

****** and piffle. Don't try and re write history. They, (Wilde Hone and Crouch) weren't in charge when we got relegated, they didn't sell the family silver they were just misguided and actually thought they could make a difference, and tried and failed. If this is what you choose to believe, then I choose to believe that Lowe and his cabal put the stops to the many take over bids we recieved, and if he wasn't hoisted we definatly would have been relegated last season.

Hopefully a bit of good news. God knows we need some

I have. Lets go into administaration and then we can all support Eastleigh. Not you though. Your not invited.

A quick roll of the dice 2-1 to us.

Hey Stu, I always wanted to make up a take over thread. Kudos to this one.

Just watched the Virgin highlights and, unless I'm mistaked it looks like bloody hand ball, or upper arm ball. Definatly robbed. Bastardoses. Or as my greek landlord used to say, bastajess, fargin bastajess

Can I come??????? Truth to tell I have wrangled a CORPORATE outting, and I didn't even know it. I might do the lottery too.

I am only glad he is here is because someone has to make a lot of ****ty decisions to be very tight with the purse strings and I hate him anyway, so there will be no love lost. On the matter of staying away, I don't agree. The club needs the cash and it is stupid to deny them that. We can all protest in other ways. As for the season, my thoughts are this. we have a young squad, and unproven manager, we are predicted in the press to finish 23rd and to be relegated. Well, it can't get any worse for us unless we go into administration, so what have we got to lose. The season hasn't even started yet and we are a dead duck, (thanks Rupe). So I will act in the way i always do, and fight againstv the odds with a smile on my face and my head held high. If everybody tries their hardest, and we fail, then so be it, but at least we tried. Or maybe we should just go into administration now, sell all our players and turn SMS into a housing estate, which will also lose money, and then go and support Chelsea or Man United because we are not true fans but wannabe plastics. we can also support Brazil in the world cup, and the All Blacks in rugby, and the US and Russia in the olympics. No, I say no. We love our club and we must try and do what we can, and expect others to do the same. On the back of that, anyone want to follow me into battle or up Everest or to race to the North pole or something, I think I did a ralling cry in my lunch break. I forgot to say, COYR.

My turn. John is suspended. Saints 3 Cardiff 2 Come on you first colour of the rainbow, (but not of the light spectrum)

What do you get if you put 20 skates in a room? A full set of teeth. Apparently

I paid my 5 squid, and with pleasure. I've missed you all and it's good to be back. Lots of backslapping to the admin type people et al.

We will also have to remember that if they do, 'want away' then they have to prove that they are worth something, so they need to play, and play well. if Skacel starts banging them in, working his little socks off and peforming well, he would get his chance. As it is he is, in their terms, not worth THAT MUCH.