Administration timing

[sadoldgit]

Can someone who knows what they are talking about help me out here please?

 

I have seen lots of posts blaming Lowe for deliberately timing administation so that we would lose 10 points this season along with relegation.

 

My understanding when it happened was that the timing had nothing to do with Lowe and that it came about because the bank pulled the plug on us at that particular point in the season.

 

So who instigated it? Lowe or Barclays?

[Ponty]

Barclays but they're bigger than Lowe and could put up a bit of a fight back.

[rpb]

I suspect it was Barclays but there are many on here happy to blame Lowe for anything from AIDs to World War 2.

[ericb]

Surely as the director of the club lowe could've taken us into admin before he did, and more importantly before the cut off date for this season. Instead he protected his assets (knowing they'd collapse when we went into admin) and dragged it out looking for a buyer before the banks said we had to do it.

 

So technically Barclays put us into admin, but the toff could've done it earlier.

 

Still would we have had Marcus without admin? Every cloud and that.

[Smirking_Saint]

I really couldn't give a toss any more, we have come out the other side with a much brighter path to walk on.

 

I suspect it was probably Barclays, however i would suspect that there was some communication before they pulled the plug, we all know how much of a stubborn tw*t Lowe was, if he did it a week earlier we would be fine.

[RedArmy]

The ruling that was given to us still angers me and should only be used when clubs use VOLUNTARY admin to try and escape the -10 ruling. E.g - what Leeds did.

 

Having the bank sh1t on us isn't grounds for making us take the -10 this season.

 

Did we agree to never appealing? I'd love to beat those "make it up as we go along" *****s.

[so22saint]

Even though I can't stand the ruddy faced idiot - it was Barclays that called in the loan. Having said that, if Rupes hadn't hung on in their for so long then we would have had the -10 last season.

 

Having said that, I can honestly believe that in that case we would somehow still have him. Let's be happy with what we've ended up with eh!

[Panda]

The argument is meaningless surely as we would have been relegated anyway and so the -10 would have been carried over to the following season in any event. It was Barclay's who put us into administration not Rupert Lowe. To say RL should have done so voluntarily before the deadline is stupid; until the day Barclay's bounced that cheque he had no idea it was about to happen. What would we have all said if he put us in to administration and Barclay's had responded with - Why? I am no lover of what RL did to the club but I still think we should be fair rather than just blame him for everything regardless, and with the wisdom of hindsight too.

[sadoldgit]

Surely as the director of the club lowe could've taken us into admin before he did, and more importantly before the cut off date for this season. Instead he protected his assets (knowing they'd collapse when we went into admin) and dragged it out looking for a buyer before the banks said we had to do it.

 

So technically Barclays put us into admin, but the toff could've done it earlier.

 

Still would we have had Marcus without admin? Every cloud and that.

 

This is what I am trying to get my head around. Again my memory is hazy on this point but I thought that Lowe wasn't expecting us to end up in Administration and was running the club as if the plug wasn't going to be pulled. If you think you re afloat and trading and don't know that the bank are about to pull the plug, why would you put the club into administration?

 

And yes, it did work out well in the end (although we dodged a bullet with Pinnacle!!).

[sadoldgit]

The argument is meaningless surely as we would have been relegated anyway and so the -10 would have been carried over to the following season in any event. It was Barclay's who put us into administration not Rupert Lowe. To say RL should have done so voluntarily before the deadline is stupid; until the day Barclay's bounced that cheque he had no idea it was about to happen. What would we have all said if he put us in to administration and Barclay's had responded with - Why? I am no lover of what RL did to the club but I still think we should be fair rather than just blame him for everything regardless, and with the wisdom of hindsight too.

 

Sorry Panda, I was writing my post when you had made yours, but this pretty much answers my question.

 

I keep hearing other clubs referring to us a "cheats" for going into Administration which is pretty weird as we had no say in the matter!

[HILL HEAD SAINT]

Can someone who knows what they are talking about help me out here please?

 

I have seen lots of posts blaming Lowe for deliberately timing administation so that we would lose 10 points this season along with relegation.

 

My understanding when it happened was that the timing had nothing to do with Lowe and that it came about because the bank pulled the plug on us at that particular point in the season.

 

So who instigated it? Lowe or Barclays?

dont tell me lowe didn't know what was going on of course he's to blame.and then that ****** millwhinney stuck it to us to make an example of us!it must of stuck in his throat to be presented to him at wembley!and then to win!going back to lowe remember he came back to save us(what crap)and fans believed it,the only reason he came back was to further feather his nest,the man got wealthy off our back make no mistake on that and nearly finished us in the process,lets not forget we were days away from the paddlocks goinig on the gates(fact)

[aintforever]

Clubs up and down the country have timed the admin to suit their circumstances, yet many on here think Southampton and poor old Rupes are a special case.

 

Lowe could easily have put us in admin before the deadline, the administrator said so himself.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

This is what I am trying to get my head around. Again my memory is hazy on this point but I thought that Lowe wasn't expecting us to end up in Administration and was running the club as if the plug wasn't going to be pulled. If you think you re afloat and trading and don't know that the bank are about to pull the plug, why would you put the club into administration?

 

And yes, it did work out well in the end (although we dodged a bullet with Pinnacle!!).

 

Barclays pulled the final trigger, while Lowe was doing a "Lord Nelson".

About 3 weeks before we went into admin, Salz told me he had bumped into Lowe on the tube in London and Lowe had admitted to him administration was likely!

 

I don't think RL could accept he had failed is my honest opinion, and he was hanging on for a miracle that never materialised.

 

In the overall picture there were many worse than Lowe. I think Lowe wanted what was best for Saints but he also wanted what was best for Lowe and sooner or later the two dreams were bound to splinter.

 

When you look at the shysters at Fratton over the last 12 months they make Lowe look positively angelic.

[EastleighSoulBoy]

Barclays pulled the final trigger, while Lowe was doing a "Lord Nelson".

About 3 weeks before we went into admin, Salz told me he had bumped into Lowe on the tube in London and Lowe had admitted to him administration was likely!

 

I don't think RL could accept he had failed is my honest opinion, and he was hanging on for a miracle that never materialised.

 

In the overall picture there were many worse than Lowe. I think Lowe wanted what was best for Saints but he also wanted what was best for Lowe and sooner or later the two dreams were bound to splinter.

 

When you look at the shysters at Fratton over the last 12 months they make Lowe look positively angelic.

 

You're getting soft in your old age mate!

[VectisSaint]

Clearly it was Barclays that put us into Admin, thats the way it is. Lowe could not do that, but he could have forced the issue, but as we know he was too pig-headed to admit he was wrong. Of course he was also pig-headed enough to think that the FL would not shaft us with a 10 pt deduction because it was SLH that went into administration. he didn;t count on there being an equally unpleasant character in charge of that organisation who leaped at the chance of shafting us.

 

In the end although Lowe is fairly and squarely to blame, in some ways it may have been a blessing in disguise. Would we have been bought by Herr Liebherr if we had not gone into Admin, no. I suspect that Markus may have also paid less for SFC as a result of the 10 point deduction. That said I will always hold Lowe responsible for the relegation, administration and the 10 point penalty.

[Fowllyd]

The argument is meaningless surely as we would have been relegated anyway and so the -10 would have been carried over to the following season in any event. It was Barclay's who put us into administration not Rupert Lowe. To say RL should have done so voluntarily before the deadline is stupid; until the day Barclay's bounced that cheque he had no idea it was about to happen. What would we have all said if he put us in to administration and Barclay's had responded with - Why? I am no lover of what RL did to the club but I still think we should be fair rather than just blame him for everything regardless, and with the wisdom of hindsight too.

 

The bit I've highlighted is wrong. If we'd gone into administration before the deadline last March, the penalty would have been applied last season, regardless of our final league position. The penalty only gets carried over if a club goes into administration after the deadline, and would have been relegated without the penalty. If this weren't the case, what exactly would the deadline be for?

[krissyboy31]

The bit I've highlighted is wrong. If we'd gone into administration before the deadline last March, the penalty would have been applied last season, regardless of our final league position. The penalty only gets carried over if a club goes into administration after the deadline, and would have been relegated without the penalty. If this weren't the case, what exactly would the deadline be for?

 

Correct and we would be challenging for automatic promotion now, let alone the play-offs.

Water under the bridge now though!

[alpine_saint]

Wow, the cadre of Lowe Luvvie apologists is alive-and-well.

 

And...wow, look ! Who started the thread ???

 

It doesnt matter who swung the final axe. Lowe knew it was inevitable, knew the Leagues timing rules, felt he knew something they didnt (despite the League being their membership club), and made the worst decision in this clubs history by not taking the club into admin before the cut-off date.

 

Anyone who disagrees with this assessment is a luvvie revisionist.

[alpine_saint]

Clearly it was Barclays that put us into Admin, thats the way it is. Lowe could not do that, but he could have forced the issue, but as we know he was too pig-headed to admit he was wrong. Of course he was also pig-headed enough to think that the FL would not shaft us with a 10 pt deduction because it was SLH that went into administration. he didn;t count on there being an equally unpleasant character in charge of that organisation who leaped at the chance of shafting us.

 

In the end although Lowe is fairly and squarely to blame, in some ways it may have been a blessing in disguise. Would we have been bought by Herr Liebherr if we had not gone into Admin, no. I suspect that Markus may have also paid less for SFC as a result of the 10 point deduction. That said I will always hold Lowe responsible for the relegation, administration and the 10 point penalty.

 

Good post.

[sadoldgit]

Wow, the cadre of Lowe Luvvie apologists is alive-and-well.

 

And...wow, look ! Who started the thread ???

 

It doesnt matter who swung the final axe. Lowe knew it was inevitable, knew the Leagues timing rules, felt he knew something they didnt (despite the League being their membership club), and made the worst decision in this clubs history by not taking the club into admin before the cut-off date.

 

Anyone who disagrees with this assessment is a luvvie revisionist.

 

Wot? Alpine in slagging someone off who is trying to get a balanced view shocker!

 

You seem to know an awful lot about what went on inside the club for someone so far away.

 

Source?

[alpine_saint]

Wot? Alpine in slagging someone off who is trying to get a balanced view shocker!

 

You seem to know an awful lot about what went on inside the club for someone so far away.

 

Source?

 

Yaaaaawwwn..................

[sadoldgit]

Barclays pulled the final trigger, while Lowe was doing a "Lord Nelson".

About 3 weeks before we went into admin, Salz told me he had bumped into Lowe on the tube in London and Lowe had admitted to him administration was likely!

 

I don't think RL could accept he had failed is my honest opinion, and he was hanging on for a miracle that never materialised.

 

In the overall picture there were many worse than Lowe. I think Lowe wanted what was best for Saints but he also wanted what was best for Lowe and sooner or later the two dreams were bound to splinter.

 

When you look at the shysters at Fratton over the last 12 months they make Lowe look positively angelic.

 

I suppose where there is life there is hope - and stranger things have happened so maybe you can't blame him for hoping something would come out of the woodwork. As you say Duncan, we think we have had problems but when you look elsewhere it could have been worse. I'd rather be us than Portsmouth, Cup Final and all!

[Weston Saint]

When Lowe came back in we were a club heading for Administration and as FF says Lowe expressed his fears to Salz some weeks before.

 

To give Lowe his due when he came back he knew the game was nearly over and he and Cowan tried everything to try to save the club from liquidation. I am reliably informed that including offering to convert much of the stadium debt into equity from Aviva, something I understand they rejected, an attempt to get investment from Hoddle's academy principlals but highjacked before it got off the ground by a ruling at the top of football.

 

Even at the deadline date for Administration, to take the points drop that season, the board still thought they had the support from Barclays and were very shocked when they withdrew their support.

 

It was on that day they sought an Administrator. The shares were immediately suspended and the few hours between the suspension and Admin being announced was spend persuading Lowe to step away from the business with immediate effect, something he did with reluctance but understanding.

 

Lowe & Cowan were in the driving seat but Wilde and his appointees fatally damaged the business.

 

I did not like Lowe. He was arrogant, he could not communicate and he did not listen but anyone who suggests he delayed Administration on purpose purely out of spite really do not understand what went on in the club in recent times.

[dune]

You two should be on stage as a double act.

[dubai_phil]

Can someone who knows what they are talking about help me out here please?

 

I have seen lots of posts blaming Lowe for deliberately timing administation so that we would lose 10 points this season along with relegation.

 

My understanding when it happened was that the timing had nothing to do with Lowe and that it came about because the bank pulled the plug on us at that particular point in the season.

 

So who instigated it? Lowe or Barclays?

 

It was voted for by the Board as I recall the press statements.

 

There is a story that was told, something along the lines that a meeting was held with Barclays by somebody who was not an officer of the club. The story implies that notice was given of a reduction in the overdraft limit soon after that causing a last minute scramble.

 

That is the story I heard.

 

There is only one piece of fact that I do know but could never prove which is that on the day of the Press Announcement of the appointment of the Administrator, the actual Press Conference was delayed. During that time there were frantic efforts being made involving a well known professional organisation of specialists in The City.

 

Sadly, those efforts came to nothing. Luckily we got Markus.

 

The "we were popped because of a 4 grand bounced cheque theory" is pretty close to the truth IMHO, but it should be realised that Wages were due very soon after admin was announced, so our position appears to have been untenable.

 

Dave Jones is still around, why not ask him on match day?

[alpine_saint]

When Lowe came back in we were a club heading for Administration and as FF says Lowe expressed his fears to Salz some weeks before.

 

To give Lowe his due when he came back he knew the game was nearly over and he and Cowan tried everything to try to save the club from liquidation. I am reliably informed that including offering to convert much of the stadium debt into equity from Aviva, something I understand they rejected, an attempt to get investment from Hoddle's academy principlals but highjacked before it got off the ground by a ruling at the top of football.

 

Even at the deadline date for Administration, to take the points drop that season, the board still thought they had the support from Barclays and were very shocked when they withdrew their support.

 

It was on that day they sought an Administrator. The shares were immediately suspended and the few hours between the suspension and Admin being announced was spend persuading Lowe to step away from the business with immediate effect, something he did with reluctance but understanding.

 

Lowe & Cowan were in the driving seat but Wilde and his appointees fatally damaged the business.

 

I did not like Lowe. He was arrogant, he could not communicate and he did not listen but anyone who suggests he delayed Administration on purpose purely out of spite really do not understand what went on in the club in recent times.

 

In all seriousness, I dont think it was out of spite. But it was out of arrogance.

[sadoldgit]

Yaaaaawwwn..................

 

If you can't be bothered to engage in a sensible discussion do us all a favour and go somewhere else will you? For someone who thinks he knows so much you actually know very, very little.

 

Tell you what, go and draw up a list of all of the managers that you would like to replace Pardew and when you have a top three come and tell us who they are. That should keep you busy for a while.

 

Then we can have a meaningful discussion about their merits and your reason for wanting them over Pardew.

 

Ok?

[dickyhale]

Can someone who knows what they are talking about help me out here please?

 

I have seen lots of posts blaming Lowe for deliberately timing administation so that we would lose 10 points this season along with relegation.

 

My understanding when it happened was that the timing had nothing to do with Lowe and that it came about because the bank pulled the plug on us at that particular point in the season.

 

So who instigated it? Lowe or Barclays?

 

I do remember Lord Lowe could have sold the club to Ray Rerdon (took over Coventry) but he did not even want to talk to him. I aslo remember Lowe did not even talk to Leon Crouch (major share holder about going into administation). But so what that all part of are history and as mum says "Its no good crying over spilt milk"

[dubai_phil]

In all seriousness, I dont think it was out of spite. But it was out of arrogance.

 

Will challenge you on that one.

 

The arrogance wasn't what led us in to admin at the end of the season....

 

The arrogance was believing he could come back at the START of the season and save us. We were already a basket case and should never have started the season, BUT what he did was to buy us time.

 

Whether we would have got a better solution at the start of the year is really debateble, BUT by lasting until we did, Cortese found Markus and the rest as they say will be our new history.

 

He should never have come back, that was the arrogance, but he was a part of the sequence of events that have left us on the start of this new journey.

 

Maybe one day when we get back to the PL we can at least understand that whilst still calling him an %@#$( %%^^%

[sadoldgit]

When Lowe came back in we were a club heading for Administration and as FF says Lowe expressed his fears to Salz some weeks before.

 

To give Lowe his due when he came back he knew the game was nearly over and he and Cowan tried everything to try to save the club from liquidation. I am reliably informed that including offering to convert much of the stadium debt into equity from Aviva, something I understand they rejected, an attempt to get investment from Hoddle's academy principlals but highjacked before it got off the ground by a ruling at the top of football.

 

Even at the deadline date for Administration, to take the points drop that season, the board still thought they had the support from Barclays and were very shocked when they withdrew their support.

 

It was on that day they sought an Administrator. The shares were immediately suspended and the few hours between the suspension and Admin being announced was spend persuading Lowe to step away from the business with immediate effect, something he did with reluctance but understanding.

 

Lowe & Cowan were in the driving seat but Wilde and his appointees fatally damaged the business.

 

I did not like Lowe. He was arrogant, he could not communicate and he did not listen but anyone who suggests he delayed Administration on purpose purely out of spite really do not understand what went on in the club in recent times.

 

Ron, thanks for this. I did have some recollection of Barclays pulling the rug out of the blue. Trouble is, as time passes and as more people put their interpretaion on what happened, or what they think happened, things get clouded. There is a fascinating book to be written about our decline and fall (and hopefully rise!). Duncan, you up for it?

[Legod Third Coming]

In all seriousness, I dont think it was out of spite. But it was out of arrogance.

 

Incompetence and greed are the words you're looking for.

[sadoldgit]

I do remember Lord Lowe could have sold the club to Ray Rerdon (took over Coventry) but he did not even want to talk to him. I aslo remember Lowe did not even talk to Leon Crouch (major share holder about going into administation). But so what that all part of are history and as mum says "Its no good crying over spilt milk"

 

There were all sorts of worries over the hedge fund though weren't there?

[ART]

You're getting soft in your old age mate!

 

 

I was thinking exactly the same thing. For me it's nice to read Duncan being objective and fair minded. I could even believe he's learned what a wonderful thing the power of forgiving is.

[alpine_saint]

Incompetence and greed are the words you're looking for.

 

Greed ? no. Dont reckon he made that much out of us second time around (though maybe he felt he would...)

 

Incompetence ? Oh, yes.

 

An overbearing belief that he is always right and in his infallability ? Deffo.

[sadoldgit]

I was thinking exactly the same thing. For me it's nice to read Duncan being objective and fair minded. I could even believe he's learned what a wonderful thing the power of forgiving is.

 

After his run in with Willy and the BA big guns he probably sees Rupert as a pussycat now!

[Windmill Arm 2]

Can someone who knows what they are talking about help me out here please?

 

I have seen lots of posts blaming Lowe for deliberately timing administation so that we would lose 10 points this season along with relegation.

 

My understanding when it happened was that the timing had nothing to do with Lowe and that it came about because the bank pulled the plug on us at that particular point in the season.

 

So who instigated it? Lowe or Barclays?

 

 

Apart from you, who gives a sheet? I couldn't, he's gone, job done and good riddance to the snooty nosed, red faced, hockey loving, personalised team tracksuit wearing ***** !!

[saint_stevo]

serious question- who gives a flying ****?

[sadoldgit]

Apart from you, who gives a sheet? I couldn't, he's gone, job done and good riddance to the snooty nosed, red faced, hockey loving, personalised team tracksuit wearing ***** !!

 

Don't sit on the fence Windmill, tell us what you really think!

 

Seriously though, the cr*p might have been worthwhile if ML stays the course and rebuilds this club without debt and on solid foundations.

 

Just think without "him" this would not have happened!

 

To quote the dear departed Mr Dury, "Reasons to be cheeful"

[brmbrm]

The way things are, Lowe could have put us in admin any time he wanted. Any debtor can try to force admin. To that extent the timing is very much in the hands of the board of directors, hence Lowe.

 

He chose to wiat until finally pushed. Sort of like a man gioven a bottle of whisky and a loaded pistol - people come back the next day to find a drunk who is still alive, and he gets dragged to the firing squad. he could/should have done the decent thing, but he didn't. Hence you, me, the club and everyone else suffers from his

 

We are so much better off now than a year ago i don't really care any more, but i wouldn't ****** on Lowe if he was on fire.

[brmbrm]

The way things are, Lowe could have put us in admin any time he wanted. Any debtor can try to force admin. To that extent the timing is very much in the hands of the board of directors, hence Lowe.

 

He chose to wiat until finally pushed. Sort of like a man gioven a bottle of whisky and a loaded pistol - people come back the next day to find a drunk who is still alive, and he gets dragged to the firing squad. he could/should have done the decent thing, but he didn't. Hence you, me, the club and everyone else suffers from his

 

We are so much better off now than a year ago i don't really care any more, but i wouldn't ****** on Lowe if he was on fire.

 

How come p i $ $ gets 6 stars?

[krissyboy31]

How come p i $ $ gets 6 stars?

 

You get a bonus 2 for using it in that context!

[Arizona]

I do remember Lord Lowe could have sold the club to Ray Rerdon (took over Coventry) but he did not even want to talk to him. I aslo remember Lowe did not even talk to Leon Crouch (major share holder about going into administation). But so what that all part of are history and as mum says "Its no good crying over spilt milk"

 

How anyone can make that claim I do not understand.

 

Lowe had nothing to gain from putting into admin earlier. As soon as that happened, he lost any control over the club and as such had no interest in future points deductions. It was plain selfishness really.

[sandwichsaint]

Not really bothered who dunnit but a big 'thanks' to whoever did!

 

Admin was the best thing to have happened to this club in a long time, where would we be now without it?

[Gemmel]

When Lowe came back in we were a club heading for Administration and as FF says Lowe expressed his fears to Salz some weeks before.

 

To give Lowe his due when he came back he knew the game was nearly over and he and Cowan tried everything to try to save the club from liquidation. I am reliably informed that including offering to convert much of the stadium debt into equity from Aviva, something I understand they rejected, an attempt to get investment from Hoddle's academy principlals but highjacked before it got off the ground by a ruling at the top of football.

 

Even at the deadline date for Administration, to take the points drop that season, the board still thought they had the support from Barclays and were very shocked when they withdrew their support.

 

It was on that day they sought an Administrator. The shares were immediately suspended and the few hours between the suspension and Admin being announced was spend persuading Lowe to step away from the business with immediate effect, something he did with reluctance but understanding.

 

Lowe & Cowan were in the driving seat but Wilde and his appointees fatally damaged the business.

 

I did not like Lowe. He was arrogant, he could not communicate and he did not listen but anyone who suggests he delayed Administration on purpose purely out of spite really do not understand what went on in the club in recent times.

 

A lot of what you say is correct, but nothing was "Done" on the day support was withdrawn.

 

Support was withdrawn in two ways

 

1) The reduction in the overdraft facillity. Which was if my memory served me right, was just after the transfer window closed and we hadn't sold any players, but had infact taken on loan an extra player, which effectively increased our spending. The crowds were getting lower, the fans were very restless with lowe and it must have been very difficult for anybody to see how revenue could or would be increased.

My guess is that Barclays were severely hacked off with Lowe for not selling anybody and the reduction in the overdraft was effectively a means to an ends.

 

2) The second and killer blow was a bounced cheque, which to all intents and purposes meant the club no longer had support of the bank and as a PLC, continued trading could have led to the Directors becoming personally liable for the debts.

Another guess is that lowe was playing chicken with Barclays and didn't think they would risk what was owed to them for such a small amount of money.....either that or his calculator was broken that day and he didnt realise issuing that cheque would put them overdrawn.

 

Four days before we went into admin, Mark Dennis announced on the radio we would be going into admin (In four days) and that they would structure it, so we wouldn't get a points deduction. Which as we know was exactly how it played out.

 

What is not lost on me, is that had lowe not ousted Crouch, I dont think we would have ever gone into admin and therefore never found Markus.

Crouch could keep the bank happy and susequently proved he would bankroll it when needed and I don't think his ego would have let him be at the helm, when the ship went down and we would have probably gone on to struggle for years.

 

The bizarre series of events ultimately led us to Markus and it's all turned out ok, but we simply just got lucky.

I wasnt a fan of lowe and thought he made some very very bad decisions, but as Duncan has said, take a look up the road and you realise he could have been worse.

 

Time to confine , Lowe, administration and points dedcutions to the history books and enjoy the new ride. We've been through enough pain and division, bring on the good times.........

[corsacar saint]

We have ML, who cares a dam about that pompous, self righteous prat RL.

[trousers]

One thing I've never quite understood is where Richard Fry fitted into all this? As in the "Saints fan" who was the club's account manager (?) at Barclays who, a couple of months after we went into Administration, moved from Barclays to Begbies Traynor (where the coincidently (?) named Mark Fry of course worked) but not before his Begbies website profile was 'mysteriously' removed when it was spotted by someone on here...

[trousers]

We have ML, who cares a dam about that pompous, self righteous prat RL.

 

As many have inferred, we ultimately have Lowe to thank for Markus becoming our owner, albeit indirectly...

[Thedelldays]

As many have inferred, we ultimately have Lowe to thank for Markus becoming our owner, albeit indirectly...

lowe, gave us SMS and a billionaire

 

the man is a legend...:prayer:

[John Boy Saint]

Barclays did not wake up on the morning that the said cheque entered the clearing process and said "Hey lets bounce this bugger and watch Southampton FC squeal". The writing was on the wall and like the man who could not tell his wife who enjoyed the high life that he had lost his job 6 months ago, correspondence was metaphorically hidden down the back of the sideboard. Mr Lowe in his notable arrogance probably figured that a Knight on white horse would come and save the day at the 11th Hour, not accepting that he was the reason said Knight would not appear. Lowe naively (despite the city world from whence he came) hadn't accounted for the Football League having a flexible rule book that closed loopholes behind teams who had maximised the loophole in a similar situation. Also naively he failed to realise that by taking the 10 point hit last season before the deadline having a blank canvas to start the next season in league 1 might have made Southampton Football Club more attractive to a buyer which would have resulted in him walking away with a damn sight more money in his pocket that he ended up without.

 

As has been already said its happened, we have moved on to a better place, no one has died: unfortunately when Huddersfield hit that 79 points on the last day there will be a lot of bitterness centred around the question "What if??".

[gonzo]

Although, I can see Charlton losing all of their remaining fixtures, and if that happens and we win all our ours, then we go ahead of Charlton and what Huddersfield do is irrelevant. Same applies if Charlton only gain one point.

 

Of course, one win for the addicks and we kiss that hope goodbye!