Big Ron fan Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 A number of people over recent months have suggested that Andrew Cowan should replace Lowe as Chairman, as a way of starting to resolve the splits within the club (from shareholders down). Why is this? As far as I am aware, he has always been a close cohort/sidekick of Lowe and has been implicit in all the terrible decisions Lowe has taken in the last 5 years. He may be a more pleasant bloke than Lowe (not difficult!), but what else would his elevation achieve? Those more in ITK than me please explain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzhugh Fella Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 A number of people over recent months have suggested that Andrew Cowan should replace Lowe as Chairman, as a way of starting to resolve the splits within the club (from shareholders down). Why is this? As far as I am aware, he has always been a close cohort/sidekick of Lowe and has been implicit in all the terrible decisions Lowe has taken in the last 5 years. He may be a more pleasant bloke than Lowe (not difficult!), but what else would his elevation achieve? Those more in ITK than me please explain. Perhaps to help you out I can use a political analogy. If Rupert Lowe is Southampton's Maggie Thatcher then Andrew Cowen is Southampton's John Major. Incidentally I hear Andrew Cowen is heartily sick of the present situation and is looking forward to "getting out" asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Perhaps to help you out I can use a political analogy. If Rupert Lowe is Southampton's Maggie Thatcher then Andrew Cowen is Southampton's John Major. Where does Edwina Curry fit into all this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Incidentally I hear Andrew Cowen is heartily sick of the present situation and is looking forward to "getting out" asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Andrew Cowen is highly respected and regarded by most people linked to the club. However it is my understanding he only came back reluctantly to try to help rescue the situation and is far too busy with other projects to give any more time than he is to SLH. Like Fitzhugh Fella, I am hearing he is fed up with it all. The next few weeks are going to be very important to SFC both on and off the field. In my personal opinion unless we strengthen the team in that period and win the games coming up we will be relegated. SLH is holding on by its fingertips on a very slippery ledge. Unless someone grabs its wrist and pulls in back from the brink very shortly it will slip away and the safety net of Administration will be the only thing to break its fall but not without many broken bones and years of rehabilitation. The prognosis is not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toomer Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Where does Edwina Curry fit into all this? Michael Wilde he has got into bed with both Lowe & Crouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulip Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 i thought wilde was supposed to be the football club chairman,strange we haven't heard a thing from him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 i thought wilde was supposed to be the football club chairman,strange we haven't heard a thing from him Maybe we will when we start playing football again? There's nothing for him to comment on at the moment... p.s. doesn't he still write in the match-day programmes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stthrobber Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Michael Wilde he has got into bed with both Lowe & Crouch. But if the analogy is to stand, I don't recall Edwina Currie ever being a rugmuncher, particularly as far as Thatch is concerned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmel Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Andrew Cowen is highly respected and regarded by most people linked to the club. However it is my understanding he only came back reluctantly to try to help rescue the situation and is far too busy with other projects to give any more time than he is to SLH. Like Fitzhugh Fella, I am hearing he is fed up with it all. The next few weeks are going to be very important to SFC both on and off the field. In my personal opinion unless we strengthen the team in that period and win the games coming up we will be relegated. SLH is holding on by its fingertips on a very slippery ledge. Unless someone grabs its wrist and pulls in back from the brink very shortly it will slip away and the safety net of Administration will be the only thing to break its fall but not without many broken bones and years of rehabilitation. The prognosis is not good. Hi Weston. In my personal opinion we are already relegated and whilst that's very defeatist, I just can't see anything that suggests we will turn the corner. Infact even changing Jan and the kids would probably be too late even now. What i can't work out it wat that means for us administration wise, as i just can't see it is in either Barclays or Avivas best interests, to put us into administration. Are there other major creditors we should be aware of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 But if the analogy is to stand, I don't recall Edwina Currie ever being a rugmuncher, particularly as far as Thatch is concerned I feel quite ill now at the thought of it. :smt078 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRobbie Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 I think Cowan would be a very minor improvement, but it wouldnt last long as he's tarred with the same brush as Lowe. If we have to pick from the current bad bunch then I'm afraid only one at least has the footballing interests of the club at heart. That is the outspoken and somewhat clumsy Leon Crouch. So if an interim change is needed to bring the fans behind the club, a manager in and some men (and lets face it he's the only one who has offered £2m of his own money to help bail out some of the debt) then Wilde needs to hand over to Crouch. But Rupert cant do the damage he did last time he was removed. He held on and on and on and reduced our ability to do any meaningful transfer deals to nearly nothing. He has to go now. Dont really want Crouch in a governing role. But we do know we need a VERY RAPID sweep out in order to try and recover the situation. It ISNT working and never had a chance of working... and IMHO never will work. English manager and 4-5 men now, retain the likes of Skacel, attracted by a new club policy of staying in the league, and we stand a small chance - small chance - of avoiding relegation. Mike - you have got to do something VERY VERY soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliemiller Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Andrew Cowen is highly respected and regarded by most people linked to the club. However it is my understanding he only came back reluctantly to try to help rescue the situation and is far too busy with other projects to give any more time than he is to SLH. Like Fitzhugh Fella, I am hearing he is fed up with it all. The next few weeks are going to be very important to SFC both on and off the field. In my personal opinion unless we strengthen the team in that period and win the games coming up we will be relegated. SLH is holding on by its fingertips on a very slippery ledge. Unless someone grabs its wrist and pulls in back from the brink very shortly it will slip away and the safety net of Administration will be the only thing to break its fall but not without many broken bones and years of rehabilitation. The prognosis is not good. Sadly Andrew is fighting against intense pressure from both the bank and the bond holder , additionally it seems anything that could go wrong has recently ( think thats a historic saints thing ) You are right about the next three weeks absolutely definitive for the future of the club in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topcat Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 If Cowen was any good at running a Club why has he supported Lowe and his mistakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRobbie Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 I think 3 weeks is too long for a change at the top though. We need a decision by the end of this week if we're to reverse this nonsense and have a chance of putting a new British manager in and keeping hold of our experienced players, potentially recalling one or two loanees as well as attracting some old professionals in to fight their way out of this hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonToo Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Andrew's comment at the AGM ("There’s very little we can do other then what we are doing") suggests there is little to be gained by him becoming chairman and allowing Lowe to revert back to full time coaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzhugh Fella Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 If Cowen was any good at running a Club why has he supported Lowe and his mistakes? You make a valid point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Hi Weston. In my personal opinion we are already relegated and whilst that's very defeatist, I just can't see anything that suggests we will turn the corner. Infact even changing Jan and the kids would probably be too late even now. What i can't work out it wat that means for us administration wise, as i just can't see it is in either Barclays or Avivas best interests, to put us into administration. Are there other major creditors we should be aware of? There is one other major creditor I think but they will not likely put the club into Administration. Aviva are very aware of the precarious position we are in and I do not expect them to act to put us into Administration. Barclays will try to control the situation but unlikely to act either. In my opinion that leave the Directors of the plc. If they no longer feel we are a going concern and have exhaused all avenues they have a legal/fiducial duty to call in the Administrator. Voluntary Administration is what I would expect but it will be a last resort and whilst not a certainty it is very much moving from the possibiliy to the probability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint1977 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 There is one other major creditor I think but they will not likely put the club into Administration. Aviva are very aware of the precarious position we are in and I do not expect them to act to put us into Administration. Barclays will try to control the situation but unlikely to act either. In my opinion that leave the Directors of the plc. If they no longer feel we are a going concern and have exhaused all avenues they have a legal/fiducial duty to call in the Administrator. Voluntary Administration is what I would expect but it will be a last resort and whilst not a certainty it is very much moving from the possibiliy to the probability. Pretty accurate summary and tallies with what I have heard recently. Basically, I think January's results are going to have to contain some home wins, if it doesn't and we are 5 points or more adrift in February the board are highly likely to opt for VA. They can't seem to raise money, Lowe and Wilde have lost a ton on the stock-market and are severely discredited both locally and nationally. I agree with you that Aviva and Barclays don't gain anything by putting us into administration but I did hear as far back as the autumn when the team was holding it's own that if we got adrift this season the board would go for a VA before the Football League sanctions kick in so that we had a clean start on points in League 1 but administration is not clean in any sense with SMS almost certainly sold and Surman and Kelvin at least loaned to promotion-chasing CCC sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliemiller Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 There is one other major creditor I think but they will not likely put the club into Administration. Aviva are very aware of the precarious position we are in and I do not expect them to act to put us into Administration. Barclays will try to control the situation but unlikely to act either. In my opinion that leave the Directors of the plc. If they no longer feel we are a going concern and have exhaused all avenues they have a legal/fiducial duty to call in the Administrator. Voluntary Administration is what I would expect but it will be a last resort and whilst not a certainty it is very much moving from the possibiliy to the probability. Hi Ron , Avivia are as you say very aware of the situation , However what will be making them more nervous is the PLC structure and asset liability in the event of the PLC going to admin , just take a look at West Ham , the club is viable admittedly with debts of 60m but the holding company in Iceland has gone bust..... now the icelandic goverment no less are threatening to repocess upton park. Stadium Ltd is trading under SLH in much the same way so its not cut and dried sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 A number of people over recent months have suggested that Andrew Cowan should replace Lowe as Chairman, as a way of starting to resolve the splits within the club (from shareholders down). Why is this? As far as I am aware, he has always been a close cohort/sidekick of Lowe and has been implicit in all the terrible decisions Lowe has taken in the last 5 years. He may be a more pleasant bloke than Lowe (not difficult!), but what else would his elevation achieve? Those more in ITK than me please explain. I was thinking the same way. All him replacing Lowe would achieve is eliminating most of the personal animosity. The succession of crap business decisions causing negative consequences to the football side of things would continue, since we all know that Lowe would still be pulling the strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkiesaint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 do we owe Her Majesty any money? it always seems to be the tax man that puts clubs into administration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmel Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 but administration is not clean in any sense with SMS almost certainly sold quote] Sold to who? This has always been my big concern over administration, given the clubs debt on the stadium. Technically we don't own it and even if we did, we would be in the same situation as Aviva, in terms of who the hell is going to buy a football stadium? Southampton City Council, absolsutely not, they are skint, super skint. The debt is 23 million, let say Aviva cut their losses and sold it for 15 million, there is not a company or person out there that would buy the stadium and lease it back to us on the revenue we could afford to pay. It would take so many years to see a minimal return that in todays current economic climate, where cash is king they could get a 100 times better return in a much shorter period of time. Aviva could lease it back to us, but then they would only be getting the same amount of money as we can afford to pay them at the moment, probably less, as relegation will almost certainly see a further reduction in revenues. I hope i am wrong, but i can't see where selling the stadium comes into the equation. However selling staplewood will almost certainly happen and we will be back to training on the common..... well if it was good enough for Keegan, i'm sure mcgoldrick wont mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Hi Ron , Avivia are as you say very aware of the situation , However what will be making them more nervous is the PLC structure and asset liability in the event of the PLC going to admin , just take a look at West Ham , the club is viable admittedly with debts of 60m but the holding company in Iceland has gone bust..... now the icelandic goverment no less are threatening to repocess upton park. Stadium Ltd is trading under SLH in much the same way so its not cut and dried sadly. Hi "charlie" Hope things are well with you. Have to meet up sometime again To be honest I do not know how the stadium loan will be dealt with. I am assuming they could reposses at any time if there was a loan payment default. If we go into Admin I am assuming they wold take possession outside of any other creditor and then lease back to the new administration and hold in their property investment porfolio. I thought the West Ham parent were taken over by the Islandic governement so are in effect now the owners of the stadium! My overall knowledge of the situation is very limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowballs2 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 A number of people over recent months have suggested that Andrew Cowan should replace Lowe as Chairman, as a way of starting to resolve the splits within the club (from shareholders down). Why is this? As far as I am aware, he has always been a close cohort/sidekick of Lowe and has been implicit in all the terrible decisions Lowe has taken in the last 5 years. He may be a more pleasant bloke than Lowe (not difficult!), but what else would his elevation achieve? Those more in ITK than me please explain. As he is Lowes puppet it would achieve nothing at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 do we owe Her Majesty any money? it always seems to be the tax man that puts clubs into administration That I am not sure of and have left them out of the equasion. Rumour is that we do not owe them but of course that could change! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint1977 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 That I am not sure of and have left them out of the equasion. Rumour is that we do not owe them but of course that could change! Supports what I've heard - that we don't owe HMRC. I agree with Gemmel above that Staplewood will be sold - assuming we own the land. I hope Rupert reflects on the folly of spending millions on the Dome and the facilities after relegation when the focus for 2 seasons should have been getting back up where such a development was sustainable. Some good points of the stadium but do remember that it is a large fixed asset. Pity that there isn't a decent Rugby Union team in the area as that would be a revenue-sharing option to make the venue sustainable. London Irish were still looking for a permanent home until recently and the sport is popular locally. After all, Saracens have shared at Watford and Richmond at Reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliemiller Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Hi "charlie" Hope things are well with you. Have to meet up sometime again To be honest I do not know how the stadium loan will be dealt with. I am assuming they could reposses at any time if there was a loan payment default. If we go into Admin I am assuming they wold take possession outside of any other creditor and then lease back to the new administration and hold in their property investment porfolio. I thought the West Ham parent were taken over by the Islandic governement so are in effect now the owners of the stadium! My overall knowledge of the situation is very limited. Keeping busy with a few "projects" as you do , I dont have your Mob anymore maybe send it to my email that you have , was looking for you and frank on sunday but couldnt see you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint1977 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Given the transfer window, would administration not be strange shortly afterwards? If it was to come to that, any players of worth would need selling and this can only be done in January or May. So surely these are the two most likely months for admin? If the club opted for a VA then Feb would make sense. May would lead to League 2 as we'd be -15 in a competitive League 1. However, this would mean that we'd only be able to loan players to CCC rivals with an agreed fee built in the loan contract which would almost certainly be less than we'd get in January. The board won't wait until May if they are going to go for a VA. The administrators would be looking for a buyer fairly quickly but the question is, is there one there that is genuine? Sadly, I think we will find out sooner rather than later, SLH is on borrowed time and taking some last gasps of air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Keeping busy with a few "projects" as you do , I dont have your Mob anymore maybe send it to my email that you have , was looking for you and frank on sunday but couldnt see you. Text sent to your MOB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmel Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 I agree with Gemmel above that Staplewood will be sold - assuming we own the land. I could be wrong but i think the land was given or sold to us for a very minimal fee, by one Richard Chorleys Uncle (Or other relative) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so22saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 I hope Rupert reflects on the folly of spending millions on the Dome and the facilities after relegation when the focus for 2 seasons should have been getting back up where such a development was sustainable. Didn't he spend it with his own (or his family's own) building and electrical contracting firm in which case I don't think he minds spending those millions? It's a question by the way, not an accusation if there are any lawyers on - I've heard rumours to this effect. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint1977 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Didn't he spend it with his own (or his family's own) building and electrical contracting firm in which case I don't think he minds spending those millions? It's a question by the way, not an accusation if there are any lawyers on - I've heard rumours to this effect. Jim Not aware of this Jim but thanks for sharing. Probably best that we don't comment on this further as in the current climate you never know who may be reading posts on this site! Mike Wilde has been known to log on here and some of the posters pre-XMAS although not so much at the moment reminded me of those on Saints4E at the time of Wilde's "taking power", even down to the user names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint1977 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 I could be wrong but i think the land was given or sold to us for a very minimal fee, by one Richard Chorleys Uncle (Or other relative) That's what concerns me Gemmel, the club have historically had a lot of goodwill from the local community (bar HCC and EBC) which will dry up when we need it most due to the irresponsible actions of the likes of Askham and Wilde. Lowe has made plenty of mistakes and I suppose I'm an "anti-Lowe" poster but at the end of the day he's an employee with a 6% stake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastleighSoulBoy Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 If AC wants out, as suggested by more than one poster here, why has he not done so? Does RL have a hold over him via legal agreements or other? Maybe he can't find a buyer for his (AC) shares? Although I understand some 100,000 changed hands recently! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestSaint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Supports what I've heard - that we don't owe HMRC. I agree with Gemmel above that Staplewood will be sold - assuming we own the land. I hope Rupert reflects on the folly of spending millions on the Dome and the facilities after relegation when the focus for 2 seasons should have been getting back up where such a development was sustainable. Some good points of the stadium but do remember that it is a large fixed asset. Pity that there isn't a decent Rugby Union team in the area as that would be a revenue-sharing option to make the venue sustainable. London Irish were still looking for a permanent home until recently and the sport is popular locally. After all, Saracens have shared at Watford and Richmond at Reading. I thought Staplewood was rented/Leased from the Barker Mill Estates but stand to be corrected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr X Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 As he is Lowes puppet it would achieve nothing at all I agree, we would just be swapping Lowe for a Lowe puppet, pointless. In order for this club to move on we need all of them out Lowe, Wilde, Cowen, poorvliet, Woote, basically everyone linked with Lowe and maybe crouch too the slate needs to be wiped clean with a system in place, so these muppets can never again seize control of the club, then and only then will the club ever be able to move on However it just isn't going to happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint1977 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 I thought Staplewood was rented/Leased from the Barker Mill Estates but stand to be corrected. You may well be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridge too far Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 I agree, we would just be swapping Lowe for a Lowe puppet, pointless. In order for this club to move on we need all of them out Lowe, Wilde, Cowen, poorvliet, Woote, basically everyone linked with Lowe and maybe crouch too the slate needs to be wiped clean with a system in place, so these muppets can never again seize control of the club, then and only then will the club ever be able to move on However it just isn't going to happen If this article in today's Guardian is to be believed, there won't be a knight on a white horse charging our way any time soon http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/07/premier-league-money-keith-harris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
so22saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Not aware of this Jim but thanks for sharing. Probably best that we don't comment on this further as in the current climate you never know who may be reading posts on this site! Mike Wilde has been known to log on here and some of the posters pre-XMAS although not so much at the moment reminded me of those on Saints4E at the time of Wilde's "taking power", even down to the user names. Yeah, there's a good chance that it was total ******** being posted as part of a smear campaign and I don't want to be accused of that - though as per my previous posts I'm not a fan of the current regime and *nothing* surprises me any more. Well, appointing an experienced manager and loaning a spine of 4 players over 26 into the club would surprise me, but we all know how likely that is to happen (and the reasons, all of them, why). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint1977 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Yeah, there's a good chance that it was total ******** being posted as part of a smear campaign and I don't want to be accused of that - though as per my previous posts I'm not a fan of the current regime and *nothing* surprises me any more. Well, appointing an experienced manager and loaning a spine of 4 players over 26 into the club would surprise me, but we all know how likely that is to happen (and the reasons, all of them, why). I'm no fan of the board either and I've no time for any of the major shareholders although Leon is probably the least worst option out of them. Then again, he doesn't inspire me with confidence either. SFC has been a closed shop for many years despite the PLC window-dressing and there's not much that would surprise me. The closed shop meant that when the economy was booming, the prospects for bringing in external investment were badly reduced. I remember seeing a programme in summer 1997 on the reverse takeover which highlighted the different potential parties that were interested in buying SFC. Not only did you have Frost's consortia but also Sanderson, our then sponsors and at least 2-3 other consortias. Secure Retirement did not emerge as anywhere near the best option but made Guy Askham (and LM) a few quid and allowed him to still keep a significant element of control via the proxy. How accurate the journalism was is hard to say as the programme was a long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belgiansaint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 As he is Lowes puppet it would achieve nothing at all Perhaps he's got a less superinflated ego and he might be prepared to listen to people who know something about football? Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Mockles Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Michael Wilde he has got into bed with both Lowe & Crouch. Yep, he’s definitely more of a Peter Mandleson. No-one likes that c**t!! I thought Wilde was supposed to be the football club chairman, strange we haven't heard a thing from him Indeed, Wilde is the most inept, incompetent, cowardly idiot to grace the doorsteps of our forlorn club. At least Lowe has some brass, even if he is a complete t*sser! Cowen is an old school chum of Lowe and he has, in effect, supported and kept him at the club so I’d not see any benefit for managerial changes. To be fair, it’s all too late. Digressing slightly – I was pondering this morning (as you do) about company assets. I wondered, do transferrable assets need to be declared if you’re under a PLC structure?! Maybe our business types could help. I am talking about key assets – land and property. Despite having no knowledge whatsoever about football, Lowe does understand contractual law and has some business savvy (football club, credit card companies, radio stations and entertainment industry aside). Southampton has key assets like Staplewood, Jacksons Farm, The Academy, Property for temporarily housing new players, etc. Lowe will be well aware of this. Ignoring some totally unsubstantiated rumours I have heard, would it be possible for Lowe to transfer assets away from the main body of SLH, into another owned company so it was protected from administration?! I am hoping not and it would surely need to be declared to the LSE but the law always has loop holes and no-one is better at dodging, dividing and diving than the effervescent Rupert Lowe. It would tie in with a lot of ongoing concerns I had, back to his largely muted tenure, twinned with a possibly murky and surreptitious agenda (but this could be pure hypothetical nonsense on my part for which, if wrong, I apologise). God help our club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowballs2 Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 Yep, he’s definitely more of a Peter Mandleson. No-one likes that c**t!! Indeed, Wilde is the most inept, incompetent, cowardly idiot to grace the doorsteps of our forlorn club. At least Lowe has some brass, even if he is a complete t*sser! Cowen is an old school chum of Lowe and he has, in effect, supported and kept him at the club so I’d not see any benefit for managerial changes. To be fair, it’s all too late. Digressing slightly – I was pondering this morning (as you do) about company assets. I wondered, do transferrable assets need to be declared if you’re under a PLC structure?! Maybe our business types could help. I am talking about key assets – land and property. Despite having no knowledge whatsoever about football, Lowe does understand contractual law and has some business savvy (football club, credit card companies, radio stations and entertainment industry aside). Southampton has key assets like Staplewood, Jacksons Farm, The Academy, Property for temporarily housing new players, etc. Lowe will be well aware of this. Ignoring some totally unsubstantiated rumours I have heard, would it be possible for Lowe to transfer assets away from the main body of SLH, into another owned company so it was protected from administration?! I am hoping not and it would surely need to be declared to the LSE but the law always has loop holes and no-one is better at dodging, dividing and diving than the effervescent Rupert Lowe. It would tie in with a lot of ongoing concerns I had, back to his largely muted tenure, twinned with a possibly murky and surreptitious agenda (but this could be pure hypothetical nonsense on my part for which, if wrong, I apologise). God help our club. All the assets are saleable in the event of Administration, any Administrator is legally duty bound to get the optimum value for any disposable asset Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Mockles Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 All the assets are saleable in the event of Administration, any Administrator is legally duty bound to get the optimum value for any disposable asset No, I think you’re misunderstanding me. I realise that. Is it possible, for instance, to transfer assets from SLH PLC to another company owned by Lowe? (i.e. in the likely event of administration, SLH is a mere husk and put into admin., with the core contents/assets moved across to another company) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weston Saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 No, I think you’re misunderstanding me. I realise that. Is it possible, for instance, to transfer assets from SLH PLC to another company owned by Lowe? (i.e. in the likely event of administration, SLH is a mere husk and put into admin., with the core contents/assets moved across to another company) No he cannot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr X Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 If this article in today's Guardian is to be believed, there won't be a knight on a white horse charging our way any time soon http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/07/premier-league-money-keith-harris Interesting article, it seems our downward spiral couldn't have happened at a worse time with the finacial recession. I seriously believe should we not win two of the next three we will be playing in leauge one next season, possibly in administration too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SP Saint Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 There is one other major creditor I think but they will not likely put the club into Administration. Aviva are very aware of the precarious position we are in and I do not expect them to act to put us into Administration. Barclays will try to control the situation but unlikely to act either. In my opinion that leave the Directors of the plc. If they no longer feel we are a going concern and have exhaused all avenues they have a legal/fiducial duty to call in the Administrator. Voluntary Administration is what I would expect but it will be a last resort and whilst not a certainty it is very much moving from the possibiliy to the probability. Aviva and Barclays may well not be the ones to put SLH into Administration. However the bank will have capped the overdraft and PAYE, VAT and salaries are paid in arrears. The club could feasibly get into the situation where they have reached the overdraft limit and are relying on player sales this month to meet tax, VAT and wage bills. If that did happen it would probably be HMRC who called in the bailiffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 If this article in today's Guardian is to be believed, there won't be a knight on a white horse charging our way any time soon http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/07/premier-league-money-keith-harris yeah, like he was really successful during the good times as well eh! Anyway - he only cut and pasted what I posted back in late September about billionaires and football - nobody has the cash today, billionaires all have assets and they either use those to borrow cash for takeovers or they sell something else. they ain't gonna do that when there is no lenders or buyers around and we saw what's happening to them with that German guy jumping under a train this week :yawinkle: On the admin points - admin only works when you cannot raise cash by any other means. We aren't THERE yet, we still have assets on the playing staff. Obviously it is a last chance saloon if you have to have a fire sale (eg Sk*tesmuff & West Ham) but it does buy some more time for either restructuring OR the recession to ease and people to start looking at clubs again. In our case it would be the final cast of the dice but in THEORY at least it could be argued that a few loans and freebies MAY be enough to keep us up again. But it would NOT be a course of action anyone SHOULD take unless their back was so far up against the wall that there was no other choice.... After all, in Admin the liquidator would sell them anyway so at least you have SOME hope.... Bad though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 7 January, 2009 Share Posted 7 January, 2009 If this article in today's Guardian is to be believed, there won't be a knight on a white horse charging our way any time soon http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jan/07/premier-league-money-keith-harris I wonder how much has the club has paid Seymour Pierce over the last 3 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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