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It could have been all so different


SimonRichards
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Just imagine if Lowe had taken a gamble and given WGS the required funds to take the Saints to the next level.

 

Where do you think SFC would be NOW if this had happened?

 

During 01-02 season there was talk of extending SMS. Lowe said that he wanted a minimum of 25K + season tickets sold per season over the next 3 seasons.

 

Do you think we would be playing in Europe every season and home attendances in excess of 45K?

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Of Lowe's many awful mistakes, possibly one of the worst was his complacency (parsimony) after the Cup Final which ultimately led to relegation and the current mess we are in.

There was a scenario with the right signings where we could have been looking at 40,000+ crowds and continued top-half Prem football. (Some Prem away teams would take 5/6k to SMS) Unfortunately Lowe didn't and never will understand football.

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Who knows how it would have panned out, but sport is about giving it a go, taking a chance, having some balls and trying. Lowe bottled it and opted to budget for safety and blow it all.

 

Lowes tenure in charge is characterized by budgeting conseratively and trusting on bucking the system by innovation, sports science, total football, rugby coaches et al,

But to successfully buck the system in any realm needs charismatic leadership, and a deep and profound understanding of the subject, and a whiff of genius.

 

Sound like Lowe?

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There were strong rumors that WGS were after. Steed Malbranque, Louis Saha, Drogba, Rosiky and Adabayour.

 

2 of these players are 2 of the best strikers in Europe.

 

WGS said in his book he wanted to bring in Malbranque and Saha after the cup final but Lowe said he didn't want to strengthen another Premiership team financially. Adebayor came over for talks but Lowe didn't like his attitude.

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still trotting the same old stuff out eh? Who we would have signed, we didn't they are now amazing we are now crap, that's life.

 

Too many If's and But's and they make sod all difference to what is going on now

 

The trouble is the lack of buying the 2 players, was the turning point in our downfall. I recall a figure of £6M was mentioned by WGS to take us on with these 2 players. That is all, but how much have we lost since then ?

 

I just hate to see our club crumbling before our eyes and realistically we cannot stop it.

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I dont think anyone would argue that had Strachan stayed and if he had been given 15 Mil + to spend (DONT FORGET WAGES) we might have been better quiped to avoid tye drop... BUT and I will say it for the 100th time, can someone please explain how this wouldhave been funded.. the accounts for that year show as small profit of about 1.7 mil after all the win and performances bonuses were paid out to players etc... the only way we could have funded this WITHOUT selling the likes of Bridge and Beattie, would have been borrowing.... some wilol no doubt feel it was worth the risk and blame LOwe for being crap because he did not risk this cash, others would have loved to see the squad develop with such additions but are pragmatic enough to recognise the pitfalls of such borrowing when we already had 25 mil of SMS debt.... funnily enough Strachan was one of them - no hard feelings, no rants, just realsim.

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I dont think anyone would argue that had Strachan stayed and if he had been given 15 Mil + to spend (DONT FORGET WAGES) we might have been better quiped to avoid tye drop... BUT and I will say it for the 100th time' date=' can someone please explain how this wouldhave been funded.. the accounts for that year show as small profit of about 1.7 mil after all the win and performances bonuses were paid out to players etc... the only way we could have funded this WITHOUT selling the likes of Bridge and Beattie, would have been borrowing.... some wilol no doubt feel it was worth the risk and blame LOwe for being crap because he did not risk this cash, others would have loved to see the squad develop with such additions but are pragmatic enough to recognise the pitfalls of such borrowing when we already had 25 mil of SMS debt.... funnily enough Strachan was one of them - no hard feelings, no rants, just realsim.[/quote']

 

i think people are probably suggesting IT COULD HAVE been funded by allowing WGS more control on what he could spend...drop the small wage structure which made the club attract alot of average players..

 

I bet WGS would have prefered to be given a POT and how that is divided up was pretty much his call on most issues....ie, get in a free (out of contract) and pay him alot more...still spending the same overall amount of money...

 

of course you will say other players would have wanted more, but then did we need so many average players...??

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i think people are probably suggesting IT COULD HAVE been funded by allowing WGS more control on what he could spend...drop the small wage structure which made the club attract alot of average players..

 

I bet WGS would have prefered to be given a POT and how that is divided up was pretty much his call on most issues....ie, get in a free (out of contract) and pay him alot more...still spending the same overall amount of money...

 

of course you will say other players would have wanted more, but then did we need so many average players...??

 

The problem is that at the time our wage pot was something like 26 mil approx 55% of turnover that year. I agree that we could have done with leaner squad but Strachan himself was guilty of adding to it with average players, who we all wondered about at the time. I disagree about the wage cap - It think this was important and believ its something FIFA, UEFA, FA need to consider very soon - trouble is they just pander to the big clubs anyway.... Baring in mind that say having a 26 man squad on 20K a week each is 26 mil a year and you see how even our budget was would have been stretched to breaking point by abandioning the way sructure....

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Just imagine if Lowe had taken a gamble and given WGS the required funds to take the Saints to the next level.

 

Where do you think SFC would be NOW if this had happened?

 

During 01-02 season there was talk of extending SMS. Lowe said that he wanted a minimum of 25K + season tickets sold per season over the next 3 seasons.

 

Do you think we would be playing in Europe every season and home attendances in excess of 45K?

 

didn't even need to take any bigger gamble than NOT WASTING money on

Delgado and Chala. We had money, spent wisely at that time it would have certainly ben fructous.Strachan didn't want Delgado, he virtually said so every time the subject was broached.I'm sure we could have wheedled our way out of that deal when Strachan was signed up.Maybe with a little fiscal penalty but the rest of the 6 or 7 million we wasted on those two idiots would have gone a long way in 2001.

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Posts like this do nothing more than strengthen Lowe's position. By all means critisise him for things that hare his fault but stuff like this is utter rubbish. It's been posted many many times that the club spent all the money it had available in WGS's time. What might be questioned was how what WGS did with the money he had available to him. Mccann and Crainey anyone?? Bar the big 4 we spent as much as other clubs in that time.

 

To push on to this mythical next level would have taken at least £30m. As were/are a plc with no rich sugar daddy to pump in the cash as happened at Wigan, Reading, Pompey, etc where was this money to come from? Beans? A money press? The arguement put forward in this thread is total rubbish.

 

The reason why we are where we are is that we did not appoint the right manager after WGS left. And when a club over achieves with a manager and then that manager leaves then the team struggles, need proof, then just ask Charlton fans and the lot down the road are going the same way too.

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The problem is that at the time our wage pot was something like 26 mil approx 55% of turnover that year. I agree that we could have done with leaner squad but Strachan himself was guilty of adding to it with average players' date=' who we all wondered about at the time. I disagree about the wage cap - It think this was important and believ its something FIFA, UEFA, FA need to consider very soon - trouble is they just pander to the big clubs anyway.... Baring in mind that say having a 26 man squad on 20K a week each is 26 mil a year and you see how even our budget was would have been stretched to breaking point by abandioning the way sructure....[/quote']

 

 

you say that WGS was guilty of having a squad full of average players...but it could be said he could only work with what he was given...

 

Im sure any manager in the position WGS was in with us would have gone for quality over large quantity any day of the week

 

we did get it right on alot of parts...it was a good thing when we signed prutton and higgy...two u21 (prutts was captain) and two very CCC players at that time and they were in and around the first team..and finally signing phillips who was a good player for us..

 

but so many average players were signed and many believe due to the wage structure which could have been different without spend any more..

 

but delgado...come one, anyone could see WGS was not happy with that

 

but it is all if's.. but's... and in hindsight

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So he got Delgado instead who's attitude he did like. :smt044

 

Adebayor wanted to go to Monaco, he just came to see us as an insurance policy...or so they say. Probably had a pi*ss poor attitude if that was the case.

At that time Monaco were above all footballing law (they've since been taken down a peg or two by the DNCG) money grew on trees and nobody asked questions about the whys and wherefores. That's how they got to the Champions League final.

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Who knows how it would have panned out, but sport is about giving it a go, taking a chance, having some balls and trying. Lowe bottled it and opted to budget for safety and blow it all.

 

Lowes tenure in charge is characterized by budgeting conseratively and trusting on bucking the system by innovation, sports science, total football, rugby coaches et al,

But to successfully buck the system in any realm needs charismatic leadership, and a deep and profound understanding of the subject, and a whiff of genius.

 

Sound like Lowe?

 

In a nutshell. Why I always think of Lowe and Titanic simultaneously. Complacent and catastrophic..

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Posts like this do nothing more than strengthen Lowe's position. By all means critisise him for things that hare his fault but stuff like this is utter rubbish. It's been posted many many times that the club spent all the money it had available in WGS's time. What might be questioned was how what WGS did with the money he had available to him. Mccann and Crainey anyone?? Bar the big 4 we spent as much as other clubs in that time.

 

To push on to this mythical next level would have taken at least £30m. As were/are a plc with no rich sugar daddy to pump in the cash as happened at Wigan, Reading, Pompey, etc where was this money to come from? Beans? A money press? The arguement put forward in this thread is total rubbish.

 

The reason why we are where we are is that we did not appoint the right manager after WGS left. And when a club over achieves with a manager and then that manager leaves then the team struggles, need proof, then just ask Charlton fans and the lot down the road are going the same way too.

 

Charlton did exactly what many on here are advocating and made that big leap of faith with Curbishley, investing heavily during his last season. That heavy investment is the reason they are currently in a worse position that us in a shorter space of time

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you say that WGS was guilty of having a squad full of average players...but it could be said he could only work with what he was given...

 

Im sure any manager in the position WGS was in with us would have gone for quality over large quantity any day of the week

 

we did get it right on alot of parts...it was a good thing when we signed prutton and higgy...two u21 (prutts was captain) and two very CCC players at that time and they were in and around the first team..and finally signing phillips who was a good player for us..

 

but so many average players were signed and many believe due to the wage structure which could have been different without spend any more..

 

but delgado...come one, anyone could see WGS was not happy with that

 

but it is all if's.. but's... and in hindsight

 

Uhm

 

Telfer, Crainey, McCann....all WGS

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Who enforced the wage structure on the club and then sanctioned the signing of christ knows how many mediocre players by the countless number of managers he had appointed??

 

Less players, higher wages, better players.

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NO one doubts the benfits of a leaners squad of better players better paid, but the problem is it takes 2-4 years possibly to get rid of dead wood that is eventually out of contract, that cannot be sold on even at a low fee as these players refuse to take a wage cut at another club... so we would ahve been adding to the wage bill at the time. the theory is great, its putting it into proctise given employment legislation and contracts.

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Perhaps footballers should be engaged on indefinite contracts, like most other employees. That way if you're crap at your job and continually f*ck up they could simply get the boot, like everybody else.We have created a race of demi-gods,above all normal sanctions for poor performance and questionable behaviour.Once you go into the realm of defined period contracts you make trouble for yourself.

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