The club is no longer run FOR the fans...............

This is going to be a slightly controversial post, but imo since the Liebherr family took over, the club stopped being run "for the fans". Instead it is run for the good of the "business". Normally the two go hand in hand but occasionally, there are times, like yesterday when there is a conflict of interest or a diversity of ambition.

The events at the Stadium of Light have most probably thrown up the most discord on this forum since a Cortese inspired Liebherr bandwagon trampled the flawed Le Tissier dream ticket consortium into oblivion and swept into town to take over. Gawd we were all so grateful. Me included.

I said at the time it is great to be rescued and to have real money at our fingertips (and what a five years we have had), but gone forever are the days where the fans priorities and dreams are a priority. Even Lowe had to keep one eye on keeping the fans happy.

No one in charge at SMS really genuinely cares about our stripes, our traditions or our history. It remains a money making machine that will be sold or kept according to market forces. The fans dreams and hopes are mere side issues. We are supporting a company who happen to be based in our city and there is no going back.

So who is going to Upton Park?

It was like that long before the Liebherrs were here just like most other clubs.

The Fa cup decisions will cost the club as tickets sales will now suffer.... Our season is over

Mopo will try to secure top 8 collect his precious bonus and then no doubt **** off to which ever club offers him the most money

There is one club driven by the fans we all are aware of........say no more.

It was like that long before the Liebherrs were here just like most other clubs.

Disagree - before Marcus Liebherr bought the club Turkish, the people who ran it were accountable. Ok not to the fans wholly, the shareholders were the gods, but some of them were fans and that is why Lowe finally faltered. I think the Liebherr family have been good owners, no great owners but the truth remains, as fans we no longer have any influence. Cortese could not give a **** about us and I doubt Katharina is losing too much sleep over yesterday's events.

It was like that long before the Liebherrs were here just like most other clubs.

But there were only 13 of us then according to you though Turkish.

Just driven past St Mary's.

Just watched three members of staff coming out of the Saints shop carrying huge piles of heavy-looking books. Chucked the whole lot into their wheely bins. Before rubbing their hands together and going back inside.

Anyone know why?

There is one club driven by the fans we all are aware of........say no more.

This .

And to avoid it, like all clubs at our end of the league , we require the big investors like the Liebherrs.

Clubs like Manure have 'suffered' for years and even set up an alternative club which hovers around the leagues below the conference; Chelsea accommodate laundered monies, Citeh and Arsenal are owned by wealthy global players etc etc.

It's either support Saints or a club like Eastleigh, and judging by the numbers through their respective turnstiles, Saints win. You can drop into plenty of local clubs' matches , but from my experience it isn't quite the same gut feeling.

This is going to be a slightly controversial post, but imo since the Liebherr family took over, the club stopped being run "for the fans". Instead it is run for the good of the "business". Normally the two go hand in hand but occasionally, there are times, like yesterday when there is a conflict of interest or a diversity of ambition.

 

The events at the Stadium of Light have most probably thrown up the most discord on this forum since a Cortese inspired Liebherr bandwagon trampled the flawed Le Tissier dream ticket consortium into oblivion and swept into town to take over. Gawd we were all so grateful. Me included.

 

I said at the time it is great to be rescued and to have real money at our fingertips (and what a five years we have had), but gone forever are the days where the fans priorities and dreams are a priority. Even Lowe had to keep one eye on keeping the fans happy.

 

No one in charge at SMS really genuinely cares about our stripes, our traditions or our history. It remains a money making machine that will be sold or kept according to market forces. The fans dreams and hopes are mere side issues. We are supporting a company who happen to be based in our city and there is no going back.

 

So who is going to Upton Park?

The Club has never been run for the fans. Never has and never will. Clubs are run for the good of the Club. Supporters (note use of the term rather than fan) support the club financially and in other ways so that it can survive and prosper. Running clubs for the fans is a pipe dream. And as for the nonsense of the Le Tissier dream ticket, I doubt we would even now exist if we had gone down that road. Lowe thought we were all oiks, and never gave a toss about the fans.

Just driven past St Mary's.

 

Just watched three members of staff coming out of the Saints shop carrying huge piles of heavy-looking books. Chucked the whole lot into their wheely bins. Before rubbing their hands together and going back inside.

 

Anyone know why?

So you going to Upton Park CB? .... or just content to be an anonymous wag behind a screen keeping us all in stitches?

Went yesterday and will be at West Ham no doubt he will play his strongest available team, shame he didn't yesterday . I feel sorry for players like Fonte, Morgan, Cork , Jay Rod who had the opportunity of winning a medal taken away from them.

The Club has never been run for the fans. Never has and never will. Clubs are run for the good of the Club. Supporters (note use of the term rather than fan) support the club financially and in other ways so that it can survive and prosper. Running clubs for the fans is a pipe dream. And as for the nonsense of the Le Tissier dream ticket, I doubt we would even now exist if we had gone down that road. Lowe thought we were all oiks, and never gave a toss about the fans.

I did say the Le Tiss consortium was flawed. But I disagree Vectis, there was a time when the fans opinion counted. Remember the sacking of Branfoot? That was totally because of the fans when voting with their feet scared the **** out of the board. In other words gate receipts ruled the day.

I feel sorry for players like Fonte, Morgan, Cork , Jay Rod who had the opportunity of winning a medal taken away from them.

By their colleagues who ****ed up at least 3 glorious chances....no one else so don't be so melodramatic.

To be fair to the owners, they have almost certainly put more money into the club than they have taken out.

I did say the Le Tiss consortium was flawed. But I disagree Vectis, there was a time when the fans opinion counted. Remember the sacking of Branfoot? That was totally because of the fans when voting with their feet scared the **** out of the board. In other words gate receipts ruled the day.

Therein you have hit on the problem at the top of the English game - the TV income far exceeds the gate income.

Went yesterday and will be at West Ham no doubt he will play his strongest available team, shame he didn't yesterday . I feel sorry for players like Fonte, Morgan, Cork , Jay Rod who had the opportunity of winning a medal taken away from them.

They should blame their teammates then.

FF you're a strange one.

MoPo owes the fans an apology.

FA Cup means something. Something more than mid-table mediocrity. He's let the fans down AND he let the players down - all of whom seemed just as surprised that we weren't going for the FA Cup.

If they don't learn from this then frankly I'd rather take my chances with an English manager. Sorry, but I feel quite strongly. Feel as if the season just ended like a wet fart.

I'm not sure what prompted this FF? I'm as annoyed as anyone at the team and attitude yesterday but I fail to see how that is extrapolated to mean what you have said? If anything, club legends being allowed back in, ticket promotions being more frequent and more generous hospitality offers suggests the opposite.

Let's just see what happens in the summer before panicking. The early things I have seen and heard from Katherina are all positive.

Disagree - before Marcus Liebherr bought the club Turkish, the people who ran it were accountable.

 

 

 

 

before Markus the people who ran iit, ran it to the bottom of the third league and to bankruptcy

My following of the club did not begin through knowing anything about who owned it, as I became an adult (ish) I became more aware and developed genune concerns that we were being run in a way that I could also still not give a sh*t about who owned it.

That all changed when it looked like we may have lost the club for good...for the first time I may not have had a club, I could no more switch affections than remove my own legs so I became grateful to a man called Liebherr and the man who directed him toward St Mary's. Once this was done I could then continue my love affair (as deeply illogical as any other love affair) with my club...and enjoyed the ride as much as any time during my 50+ years of supporting.

My point is - the club, the team that I follow can wear pink,drop leagues, lose the odd away cup game even but they'll always be 'my' team and that is not going to change. The game itself has changed enormously, we no longer play at The Dell, everything about the experience has changed...but my feeling for Southampton FC hasn't. Yes, I could be ripe for exploitation it could be argued - happy to be so as long as I have 'my' club.

I feel like going to West Ham.

If I'm really honest, I cannot think of anything worse than having fans have an influence over how the club runs. We had that with Wilde, Crouch and so on.

We're run by a rich family who are looking after our club. They've written off millions and millions of pounds to get us where we are, and they've allowed us to enjoy 5 of the best years I've ever experienced as a saints fan.

All this fan-owned club nonsense doesn't' work in this country, and god help us if anyone on this forum had a say on club business. (that's not directed at you FF).

I'm not sure what prompted this FF? I'm as annoyed as anyone at the team and attitude yesterday but I fail to see how that is extrapolated to mean what you have said? If anything, club legends being allowed back in, ticket promotions being more frequent and more generous hospitality offers suggests the opposite.

 

Let's just see what happens in the summer before panicking. The early things I have seen and heard from Katherina are all positive.

Ticket promotions, drumming up business through gimmicks thats all I see.

MoPo owes the fans an apology.

 

FA Cup means something. Something more than mid-table mediocrity. He's let the fans down AND he let the players down - all of whom seemed just as surprised that we weren't going for the FA Cup.

 

If they don't learn from this then frankly I'd rather take my chances with an English manager. Sorry, but I feel quite strongly. Feel as if the season just ended like a wet fart.

Do you honestly think any players in the squad think so little about their teammates that they blaim the manager when he picks a few others?

That team yesterday should´ve been more than enough to beat the Sunderland side and players can only blaim themself.

My following of the club did not begin through knowing anything about who owned it, as I became an adult (ish) I became more aware and developed genune concerns that we were being run in a way that I could also still not give a sh*t about who owned it.

 

That all changed when it looked like we may have lost the club for good...for the first time I may not have had a club, I could no more switch affections than remove my own legs so I became grateful to a man called Liebherr and the man who directed him toward St Mary's. Once this was done I could then continue my love affair (as deeply illogical as any other love affair) with my club...and enjoyed the ride as much as any time during my 50+ years of supporting.

 

My point is - the club, the team that I follow can wear pink,drop leagues, lose the odd away cup game even but they'll always be 'my' team and that is not going to change. The game itself has changed enormously, we no longer play at The Dell, everything about the experience has changed...but my feeling for Southampton FC hasn't. Yes, I could be ripe for exploitation it could be argued - happy to be so as long as I have 'my' club.

 

I feel like going to West Ham.

Good on you, life goes on and it's our club, regardless of the comings and goings of owners, players, results etc.

If I'm really honest, I cannot think of anything worse than having fans have an influence over how the club runs. We had that with Wilde, Crouch and so on.

 

We're run by a rich family who are looking after our club. They've written off millions and millions of pounds to get us where we are, and they've allowed us to enjoy 5 of the best years I've ever experienced as a saints fan.

 

All this fan-owned club nonsense doesn't' work in this country, and god help us if anyone on this forum had a say on club business. (that's not directed at you FF).

Why does it not work in this Country? Thats the question as the principle is right, we are wrong.

Do you honestly think any players in the squad think so little about their teammates that they blaim the manager when he picks a few others?

 

That team yesterday should´ve been more than enough to beat the Sunderland side and players can only blaim themself.

By default can we then blame the manager for picking such a weak side?

They should blame their teammates then.

Do you support southampton fc or just mopo? After yesterday (after every defeat) you just cruise the threads posting random nonsense, but ive never seen you upset or annoyed about a defeat.

Very odd that you dont care (ever) when Saints lose?

Went yesterday and will be at West Ham no doubt he will play his strongest available team, shame he didn't yesterday . I feel sorry for players like Fonte, Morgan, Cork , Jay Rod who had the opportunity of winning a medal taken away from them.

Don't worry, they'll console themselves by framing a picture of the final league table this season and putting their 8th placed finish where their cup winners medal might have been.

Liebherr's have been brilliant owners IMO. Ff is a glass half empty kind of guy as he would freely admit.

Still livid about yesterday but I put the blame at pochs door mainly, no rant at the everyday running a IMO.

Ticket promotions, drumming up business through gimmicks thats all I see.

At least it shows they CARE about the contribution of the fans unlike before. How does Cortese leaving mean that the club now cares LESS about the fans than before? Where is the evidence? We didn't give a cr*p about the cup before Cortese and that appears to be continuing so I see little difference so far.

This about 5 mins after the club decided to stock his books which was all he cared about a couple of weeks ago. The guy seems to look for division everywhere he goes.

Disagree - before Marcus Liebherr bought the club Turkish, the people who ran it were accountable. Ok not to the fans wholly, the shareholders were the gods, but some of them were fans and that is why Lowe finally faltered. I think the Liebherr family have been good owners, no great owners but the truth remains, as fans we no longer have any influence. Cortese could not give a **** about us and I doubt Katharina is losing too much sleep over yesterday's events.

So what Input did the fans have when Lowe was here?

I seem to remember you used to slag him off too. I see we've got a 'you can say what you like about Lowe but at least he had a tellrupert@saintsfc.co.uk email where we could talk to him' type thread going on.

This is going to be a slightly controversial post, but imo since the Liebherr family took over, the club stopped being run "for the fans". Instead it is run for the good of the "business". Normally the two go hand in hand but occasionally, there are times, like yesterday when there is a conflict of interest or a diversity of ambition.

 

The events at the Stadium of Light have most probably thrown up the most discord on this forum since a Cortese inspired Liebherr bandwagon trampled the flawed Le Tissier dream ticket consortium into oblivion and swept into town to take over. Gawd we were all so grateful. Me included.

 

I said at the time it is great to be rescued and to have real money at our fingertips (and what a five years we have had), but gone forever are the days where the fans priorities and dreams are a priority. Even Lowe had to keep one eye on keeping the fans happy.

 

No one in charge at SMS really genuinely cares about our stripes, our traditions or our history. It remains a money making machine that will be sold or kept according to market forces. The fans dreams and hopes are mere side issues. We are supporting a company who happen to be based in our city and there is no going back.

 

So who is going to Upton Park?

Save your I-have-a-dream histrionics for the picket fence.

Perhaps having a wurzel in charge who looked and sounded wonky like you has clouded your memory but I don't really remember the pre-Liebherr days as some garden of Eden for the ordinary fan.

Of course, perhaps you're just xenophobic.

It was like that long before the Liebherrs were here just like most other clubs.

have to agree,the sky generation Im sorry to say

I'll be at west ham and all away games till end of the season.

Save your I-have-a-dream histrionics for the picket fence.

 

Perhaps having a wurzel in charge who looked and sounded wonky like you has clouded your memory but I don't really remember the pre-Liebherr days as some garden of Eden for the ordinary fan.

 

Of course, perhaps you're just xenophobic.

The most ironic post of the night award........................

The most ironic post of the night award........................

Admittedly, I have been a bit unkind to a few monkeys on here but that's not xenophobic, is it pal?

Do you support southampton fc or just mopo? After yesterday (after every defeat) you just cruise the threads posting random nonsense, but ive never seen you upset or annoyed about a defeat.

 

Very odd that you dont care (ever) when Saints lose?

I will put my disappointment in the right direction and I´ve said numerous times that the performance was sh*te.

That is down to the players, cause the team that was put out there would/should be more than enough to beat that Sunderland side.

We basically rested one or two players (depending if the reports of Boruc being ill is correct or not).

By default can we then blame the manager for picking such a weak side?

I dont think the side was weak, if anything not any weaker than the Sunderland side and I dont buy the humbug about if we only played them or those.

Team was selected, should´ve been more than enough to beat Sunderland yesterday, they didn´t because they performed like sh*t.

FF you're a strange one.

Why don't you concentrate on what I have posted rather than me. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of anonymous posts.

I dont think the side was weak, if anything not any weaker than the Sunderland side and I dont buy the humbug about if we only played them or those.

Team was selected, should´ve been more than enough to beat Sunderland yesterday, they didn´t because they performed like sh*t.

Do you think mopo's attitude towards the game may have affected the players performance?

Mopos didnt move from his seat yesterday, looked totally bored througout. Take a look at the below and tell me mopo didnt influence that horror show

Who cared more about yesterday? Mopo or Poyet?

If I'm really honest, I cannot think of anything worse than having fans have an influence over how the club runs. We had that with Wilde, Crouch and so on.

 

We're run by a rich family who are looking after our club. They've written off millions and millions of pounds to get us where we are, and they've allowed us to enjoy 5 of the best years I've ever experienced as a saints fan.

 

All this fan-owned club nonsense doesn't' work in this country, and god help us if anyone on this forum had a say on club business. (that's not directed at you FF).

Yea I appreciate that. I am not advocating fan on the board or anything like that. What I am saying is the past has gone. There is no point us all getting our knickers in a twist and moaning about managers, players etc because no one has to listen.

So what Input did the fans have when Lowe was here?

 

I seem to remember you used to slag him off too. I see we've got a 'you can say what you like about Lowe but at least he had a tellrupert@saintsfc.co.uk email where we could talk to him' type thread going on.

Yea I was no fan of Lowe but - and this is important - even he had to face an AGM and a bank manager, the latter of which pulled the plug. You get my drift - our future is completely at the beck and call of someone who has no affinity. And that is not knocking her.

Do you think mopo's attitude towards the game may have affected the players performance?

 

Mopos didnt move from his seat yesterday, looked totally bored througout. Take a look at the below and tell me mopo didnt influence that horror show

 

Who cared more about yesterday? Mopo or Poyet?

The manager equivalent to "at least Daivd Prutton gave a fight cause he ran around a lot".

Only football dinosaurs thinks that players fight more because some manager is standing by the sidelines screaming.

Or maybe Di Canio and Stuart Pearce should be considered as manager wizards.......I mean they stood by the sidelines and screamed a lot...??

I see the morons are crawling out of the woodwork again.

We lost one game in the cup. Yeah, we had a decent chance of getting to the final, but the team we put out should have won - the loss was down to a really poor performance and missing some gilt-edged chances. It's f*cking laughable that people think Poch should make a public apology, and even more laughable to suggest that a squad rotation and a defeat means that our owners don't give a f*ck about the fans at all. We really do have some proper planks among our fans...

Yea I was no fan of Lowe but - and this is important - even he had to face an AGM and a bank manager, the latter of which pulled the plug. You get my drift - our future is completely at the beck and call of someone who has no affinity. And that is not knocking her.

Exactly, he wasn't answerable to the fans. He was answerable to the shareholders and the bank manager. What you seem to be saying is a PLC is better than being privately owned.

Yea I was no fan of Lowe but - and this is important - even he had to face an AGM and a bank manager, the latter of which pulled the plug. You get my drift - our future is completely at the beck and call of someone who has no affinity. And that is not knocking her.

You seem to be confusing accountability and affinity.

The manager equivalent to "at least Daivd Prutton gave a fight cause he ran around a lot".

 

Only football dinosaurs thinks that players fight more because some manager is standing by the sidelines screaming.

 

Or maybe Di Canio and Stuart Pearce should be considered as manager wizards.......I mean they stood by the sidelines and screamed a lot...??

MP usually spends a lot of time on the touchline in league games and we've not turned in a performance like that. Coincidence?

This is a bit over the top. Whilst it would be nice to think that clubs represent fans and whomever owns them are just custodians, the reality is that ship sailed a long time ago when the sport of football became money orientated. Saints have adapted to be a part of that. We weren't complaining when we were spending millions on players. We weren't complaining when we had plans for a new £30m training complex approved. We weren't complaining when our owners kindly wrote off a £40m investment which helped us go from the bottom of League 1 to the Top 8 of the Premier League.

We aren't owed an explanation for yesterday, and the club should never be accountable to the fans. The club will realise soon enough if the fans are unhappy and I guarantee they are aware of the fan reaction. However, I don't want them to come out and respond to it because it sets a dangerous precedent. The club need to be strong and stick to what they believe they should be doing. They haven't done badly at all and whilst there have been bumps along the way they have been pretty driven at getting better and done a good job of that.

As a fan I am gutted about yesterday, I cannot fathom why we didn't give it a better shot. From the team selection right through to the general performance of those who did play it felt like a massive opportunity scorned for a reason that doesn't appear logical to me. But after a few days I will get over it and we move onto the next game. But lets not allow this one thing to undermine everything that has been achieved this season. We had a similar reaction in the Capital One Cup (although admittedly it was not as big) and that was soon forgot about after we got a few results in the league afterwards to push ourselves up the table. There is a bit of pressure on the West Ham game now. Lose or even draw that and people will point to this weekend. Win it and people start looking at how some of the teams above us in the table get that little bit closer.

I will put my disappointment in the right direction and I´ve said numerous times that the performance was sh*te.

That is down to the players, cause the team that was put out there would/should be more than enough to beat that Sunderland side.

We basically rested one or two players (depending if the reports of Boruc being ill is correct or not).

So why did Pochettino replace Lallana (always a goal threat) with McQueen with 10 mins to go when there was only one goal in it.

And why was Gallagher played on the Friday night in a U21 game when he could more usefully be employed at the SoL?

Sorry mate - I think us fans are being played like pawns and we all argue on here like our future depends on it but the reality is - no one is really listening and they never will