Why have the Echo suddenly turned on Lowe?

[Mole]

Naturally i'm delighted that the Daily Echo have finally started singing from the same song sheet as Saints fans but their sudden anti Lowe stance is a bit .... er .... sudden.

 

Any thoughts on why they've done a u-turn?

 

I've long said that we've not heard the last of Leon Crouch and my own view is that he's about to make his move and the Echo are doing what The Sun always do - backing the winner.

[Panda]

May be they just want to sell more newspapers?

[John B]

Naturally i'm delighted that the Daily Echo have finally started singing from the same song sheet as Saints fans but their sudden anti Lowe stance is a bit .... er .... sudden.

 

Any thoughts on why they've done a u-turn?

 

I've long said that we've not heard the last of Leon Crouch and my own view is that he's about to make his move and the Echo are doing what The Sun always do - backing the winner.

 

It is about time they reported other things than those that are pasted from the OS site.

 

With regard to Cork if he said he wanted to stay with us and Watford wanted him more by paying more the club had a serious Dilemma

[Mole]

May be they just want to sell more newspapers?

 

Quite possibly. Newspaper circulation is on the decline due to the internet and the recession so it's only natural they should try to appeal to their readers. Their stance will probably result in Lowe retaliating by withdrawing certain privilidges (his removal of Lawries photograph demonstrates his spite) but they've probably weighed this against what they're losing in sales revenue with their previous stance and come to the conclusion that their readers (Saints fans) are more vital to them than a cosy relationship with Rupert Lowe.

[brmbrm]

Maybe they have done the tiniest bit of journalistic investigation and found out, totally objectively, that Lowe is shattering the fan base, driving the club to obscurity and is a self-appointed, disasterous, megalomanic Director of football. Maybe also they either care about theor local team or have noted that SFC is indeed the local team for much of their readership.

[John B]

Maybe they have done the tiniest bit of journalistic investigation and found out, totally objectively, that Lowe is shattering the fan base, driving the club to obscurity and is a self-appointed, disasterous, megalomanic Director of football. .

 

 

Or maybe he is trying to carry out an extremely difficult task with a fanbase many of which are deluded and will not accept the reality of the situation

 

It is easy to make comments with hindsight and without knowing all the facts.

[Badger]

Interesting as a post from Ladysaint I think,after the AGM said the Echo editor had pulled the rug from under his sports editor,and declined to run a Lawrie feature about Lowe.

He may of course considered it potentially libelous,but at the time I assumed it was merely not wanting to sour their relationship with the club ( or Lowe,who as we know regards himself AS the club.)

[Fowllyd]

It is about time they reported other things than those that are pasted from the OS site.

 

With regard to Cork if he said he wanted to stay with us and Watford wanted him more by paying more the club had a serious Dilemma

 

I agree with your first point, but it'd be interesting to know what's changed to make them do so. On your second point, there's no mention of money in the piece quoted elsewhere - Cork simply states that Watford seemed keener to get him than we were to keep him.

[saintwarwick]

Naturally i'm delighted that the Daily Echo have finally started singing from the same song sheet as Saints fans but their sudden anti Lowe stance is a bit .... er .... sudden.

 

Any thoughts on why they've done a u-turn?

 

I've long said that we've not heard the last of Leon Crouch and my own view is that he's about to make his move and the Echo are doing what The Sun always do - backing the winner.

 

When? Same old question I know but still no answers from you.

[Scudamore]

Naturally i'm delighted that the Daily Echo have finally started singing from the same song sheet as Saints fans but their sudden anti Lowe stance is a bit .... er .... sudden.

 

Any thoughts on why they've done a u-turn?

 

I've long said that we've not heard the last of Leon Crouch and my own view is that he's about to make his move and the Echo are doing what The Sun always do - backing the winner.

 

Where exactly is this anti Lowe stance of which you speak?

 

I know you've got a hard on for him...and thus see the man everywhere you go...

 

But i just can't see any anti Lowe articles on the site...

 

One critique of a sh:t season...and a slightly damning verdict on the Dutch 'experiment' but hardly anti Lowe...

[trousers]

Naturally i'm delighted that the Daily Echo have finally started singing from the same song sheet as Saints fans but their sudden anti Lowe stance is a bit .... er .... sudden.

 

Any thoughts on why they've done a u-turn?

 

I've long said that we've not heard the last of Leon Crouch and my own view is that he's about to make his move and the Echo are doing what The Sun always do - backing the winner.

 

Belated congrats on the new job at the Echo. Keep up the good work.

[Topcat]

The Echo is suffering in the advertising down turn. It had clearly decided from the summer to treat Lowe as if there was no past and give him the benefit of the doubt. Bearing in mind the fact that "good news does not sell papers" that was brave of them if a foolhardy business decision. The Editor does have some explaining to do to his bosses at Newsquest.

 

The economic reality is that Newsquest in this area is in trouble and the Echo desperately needs more readers. Now that they see that the former Prem Club is being driven into a L1 or L2 status they have to turn on Lowe and report the bad news.

 

Meanwhile Barclays will read all this in the Echo and wonder how safe the millions lent to Saints are under Lowe's Chairmanship.

[alpine_saint]

Where exactly is this anti Lowe stance of which you speak?

 

I know you've got a hard on for him...and thus see the man everywhere you go...

 

But i just can't see any anti Lowe articles on the site...

 

One critique of a sh:t season...and a slightly damning verdict on the Dutch 'experiment' but hardly anti Lowe...

 

And how do you think Lowe perceives these articles ?

 

The man who gets one of our few experienced players, only here 3 months, packed off to Brighton for dissent ?

 

The man who forced one of better talented players to miss the beginning of the season because he wouldnt be forced out of the club on lesser pay ?

 

The one who replaces a photograph in the boardroom of the most successful manager the club has ever had with one of a mouldy old steam train from a club which most of us only expected to be playing in early cup rounds, but soon has a chance to really twist the knife in our humilliation by being the latest team to beat us at home in the league ?

 

You will see how Lowe regards this as the communication between club and Echo dries up..

[JohnnyFartPants]

And how do you think Lowe perceives these articles ?

 

The man who gets one of our few experienced players, only here 3 months, packed off to Brighton for dissent ?

 

The man who forced one of better talented players to miss the beginning of the season because he wouldnt be forced out of the club on lesser pay ?

 

The one who replaces a photograph in the boardroom of the most successful manager the club has ever had with one of a mouldy old steam train from a club which most of us only expected to be playing in early cup rounds, but soon has a chance to really twist the knife in our humilliation by being the latest team to beat us at home in the league ?

 

You will see how Lowe regards this as the communication between club and Echo dries up..

 

If that photo of the train was mouldy then it is an outrage. I was led to believe it was a photo of a really fresh train.

 

Lowe out!!

[Secret Site Agent]

May be they just want to sell more newspapers?

 

As said above. Perhaps it's a case of providing what their customers want!!!!!!

 

ARE YOU LISTENING MASTER LOWE

[hughieslastminutegoal]

If that photo of the train was mouldy then it is an outrage. I was led to believe it was a photo of a really fresh train.

 

Lowe out!!

 

JFP, you are still having problems with AND/OR.

 

Was it a mouldy picture of a train, or a picture of a mouldy train, or was it a mouldy picure of a train and the train was mouldy?

 

Perhaps the picture has been infected with the mould of decomposition infecting everything at St Mary's?

[JohnnyFartPants]

JFP, you are still having problems with AND/OR.

 

Was it a mouldy picture of a train, or a picture of a mouldy train, or was it a mouldy picure of a train and the train was mouldy?

 

Perhaps the picture has been infected with the mould of decomposition infecting everything at St Mary's?

 

I see your points, and very well raised. If the train was actually mouldy then maybe it was made of brass or bronze and therefore covered in green verdigris. Having said that, it might have just been a green train such as The Flying Scotsman and wrongfully considered mouldy. We need to know.

[hughieslastminutegoal]

I see your points, and very well raised. If the train was actually mouldy then maybe it was made of brass or bronze and therefore covered in green verdigris. Having said that, it might have just been a green train such as The Flying Scotsman and wrongfully considered mouldy. We need to know.

 

Can't be brass - there is none at St Mary's, we are told. Plenty of muck, though, which disproves the adage.

[hughieslastminutegoal]

I see your points, and very well raised. If the train was actually mouldy then maybe it was made of brass or bronze and therefore covered in green verdigris. Having said that, it might have just been a green train such as The Flying Scotsman and wrongfully considered mouldy. We need to know.

 

Or maybe Lowe thought he was getting a jock right winger when the man at Donny said "Would you like loan of a flying scotsman?"

[Wade Garrett]

Or maybe he is trying to carry out an extremely difficult task with a fanbase many of which are deluded and will not accept the reality of the situation

 

It is easy to make comments with hindsight and without knowing all the facts.

 

 

Fans fault then is it?

 

Nothing to do with a ****e team (many of whom are not nearly good enough), a perfectly good managers given his cards and a 'total football' experiment instigated by the most divisive figure in the club's history.

 

The facts are there if you are willing to look for them.

[Wade Garrett]

Where exactly is this anti Lowe stance of which you speak?

 

I know you've got a hard on for him...and thus see the man everywhere you go...

 

But i just can't see any anti Lowe articles on the site...

 

One critique of a sh:t season...and a slightly damning verdict on the Dutch 'experiment' but hardly anti Lowe...

 

I take it you're being sarcastic...

[Scudamore]

I take it you're being sarcastic...

 

Not at all...

 

Being negative about a football team in 23rd isn't difficult...

 

Where are the specifics aimed at Lowe? I can't see them...but as i say i'm not obsessed with all things Lowe so i sometimes miss these things...

[lordswoodsaints]

Naturally i'm delighted that the Daily Echo have finally started singing from the same song sheet as Saints fans but their sudden anti Lowe stance is a bit .... er .... sudden.

 

Any thoughts on why they've done a u-turn?

 

I've long said that we've not heard the last of Leon Crouch and my own view is that he's about to make his move and the Echo are doing what The Sun always do - backing the winner.

 

there has been an undercurrant of rumblings going on at the echo for a couple of weeks,it has something to do with the wotton thing.i am not 100% sure but in some way the echo was prevented from reporting the full details.

[corsacar saint]

They have probably started to realise that he is a pompous, arrogant prat, who knows

absolutely nothing about football.

[FloridaMarlin]

there has been an undercurrant of rumblings going on at the echo for a couple of weeks,it has something to do with the wotton thing.i am not 100% sure but in some way the echo was prevented from reporting the full details.

 

Explain 'prevented'.

 

The only way the Echo or any paper could be 'prevented' from running a story would be on a legal issue.

 

That would either be because the paper was not confident itself in standing up the story and risking a libel suit, or because the paper was legally prevented from running it by an injunction taken out.

 

We can probably discount the second (injunction), while the first would not be beyond the realms of possibility if people orginally prepared to back the story and stand it up, suddenly got cold feet.

 

I would think either of the above scenario was unlikely in terms of 'preventing' the story being published.

 

What you probably really mean is the Echo might have been 'persuaded' or 'pressured' into not running the story. That's a different issue where you enter the realms of politics and the acts of tightrope walking that local papers have to perform in order to maintain a balance of retaining its credibility while having a relatioinship with the club.

 

No paper likes to be seen to be a stooge, or in the pocket of a football club, but at the same time, it has to enjoy a reasonable working relationship

 

Football clubs are notoriously *****ly organisations, who do not like criticism, and when it comes to scraps with its local media, hold some pretty strong cards, in the shape of access.

 

A newspaper's prime concern is how to best retain its readership, and many editors feel it is not worth compromising the readers they obtain through the regular coverage of games, etc, for an expose story that will cost them entry to the ground, and access to the training ground and players as the chairman spits his soother and cuts all ties.

 

The key is to pick the battles you know you can win.

 

Any paper also has to consider its advertising, and even a journalistically strong and campaigning editor (and you could not put Ian Murray in that bracket!!) has to think about the effect the stories he might run has on those who have commercial tie-ins to the paper (how many provincial newspapers -esepcially those owned by US companies such as Gannet, run stories that are critical of those companies who place big lucrative ads with them. As far as The Echo is concerned, the 'Affair of the Naughty Tesco Employee Punished By Being Locked In The Freezer' springs to mind).

 

The Echo does have all sorts of commercial tie-ins with the club, but there comes a time when an editor has to consider the paper's credibility and weigh it against the commercial implications.

 

The people at The Echo aren't complete dimwits. They know which way the wind is blowing, and they're also aware of their standing and reputation.

 

If they have decided to change tack (and from the distant viewing of the website, I'm not noticing any sea-change in their stance) then it is because they FEAR LOSING READERS who feel they can no longer trust the paper to bring them insightful, objective reporting on the affairs of Southampton FC.

 

Even then, I suspect there would be plenty of internecine rumblings between the news floor and the suits, bean counters and envelope-lickers upstairs, who are not only concerned about the future of advertising and the Saints Magazine (is that still published?) but also about their table in the corporate hospitality suite.

 

I've burbled on ad nauseum on this forum about the constant power struggle between the media and football and football clubs.

 

Joe Kinnear's spectacular foul-mouthed blast when he went into his first presser as Newcastle manager was an attempt to mark out his territory and put some markers down.

 

The North-east media is a formidable edifice, and Newcastle Utd meddle with it, or take it on at its peril.

 

The Echo, for whatever reason, has long since been the sort of thundering, roaring media giant that would have the club shaking in its shoes and dreading to cross.

 

I've had dealings with Lowe in the past, and his attitude with the media (and he once said these exact words to me) is: "If you are not with us, you are against us."

 

He sees no such animal as objectivity. For a would-be politician who stood on a ticket of freedom from the shackles of European control, he cannot accept a media with a free voice which could aim some barbs of criticism his way.

 

In a mellow off-the-record moment, he once told me that he accepted and indeed welcomed a degree of personal criticism as it kept him humble, and caused him to reflect on his actions, but that he would not countenance any adverse publicity of the club as it could affect the share price (a common fear among those who stalk The City).

 

I found it difficult to believe the first bit then, and although I was never the recipient of the sort of telephone tirade that Duncan Holley and others have had to endure, rabid red-faced rants were aimed in my direction.

 

Time was (and he may still do it) when the press office's first job of the day was to scan every paper and media outlet cut out every item written about Saints and take them to Rupert's office.

 

He'd need a magnifying glass to see our coverage in the national newspapers these days, and although he might not have enjoyed the 15 minutes of fame the Man Utd cup tie gave Lawrie over the weekend, he would have ridden that out in the knowledge that now the national spotlight is off SFC, he only has to battle the local media.

 

It will be interesting to see how far the Echo decide to run with this particular ball. Are they prepared to risk Adam Leitch being banned from the ground? Or would Rupert refuse to nibble at the bait, fearful of the resulting hoop-la that would inevitably follow from that course of action?