Promotion Is A Realistic Achivable Objective - Wilde

[St Marco]

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/display.var.2416481.0..php

 

Wondered what our chairman had been up to recently, a really long bender by the looks of it

[Saint Martini]

I like him less then I like Lowe and now he comes with this. This kind of pressure should not be put on the players and he should have stayed in his cave if this was all he was going to add.

[Master Bates]

One of my labourers looks like Wilde, true story.

[Colinjb]

It is though, the Championship is so bloody random that it could happen!

[stevegrant]

It is though, the Championship is so bloody random that it could happen!

Exactly.

 

The vast majority of people had Bristol City and Hull down to be pretty much where we were for most of the season, and yet they both ended up at Wembley.

[Saint Martini]

It is though, the Championship is so bloody random that it could happen!

 

But it could also very easily not happen. To set this as an objective is stupid at this point. Maybe we will get promotion, who knows, but that doesn't have to be our objective.

[Iowsaintsfan]

Id say most of the 24 teams could proberbly be in with a shout of going up this season the championship is so bloody tight

[Colinjb]

But it could also very easily not happen. To set this as an objective is stupid at this point. Maybe we will get promotion, who knows, but that doesn't have to be our objective.

 

Better to aim high and fall slightly short then aim low and still fail.

 

As Strachan once said, 'Down negative man, down!'

[funkymojo44]

I agree with him - it is a real possibility given how this league usually shapes up. I don;t see how it adds undue pressure to the players though, the players should believe in themselves and im sure the coaches are drilling this into them pre-season. A bit of self belief can go a long way just look how a lack of belief has cost us in recent years....

[ottery st mary]

At least The Football Chairman is now back in the fold and showing a belief in the set up and most importantly in the team. Let us all aim for the sky and get behind the Saints and go for it. We can do it and prove a lot of people wrong. Why not us this season?

[Victor]

One of my labourers looks like Wilde, true story.

 

My butler looks like Rasiak, but one of the gardeners doesn't.

[Torres]

Football has been plagued, for far too long, by the minority who take pleasure in playing the blame game and deriding other people's efforts.

 

There is no place for this attitude at Southampton FC.

 

We need to look beyond this, to be constructive, committed, to work hard, play hard, and then together, just maybe, we can achieve all that we desire.

 

Spot on, Mr Wilde.

[St Paul]

"Football has been plagued, for far too long, by the minority who take pleasure in playing the blame game and deriding other people's efforts."

 

"There is no place for this attitude at Southampton FC."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How does this sit with the PLC Chairman's quote in yesterdays Sunday Telegraph, running down some of the players and the people in charge "the 2 years that I was away".

[Wes Tender]

Wilde said in the Echo

Football has been plagued, for far too long, by the minority who take pleasure in playing the blame game and deriding other people's efforts.

 

"There is no place for this attitude at Southampton FC.

 

Did I dream it, or did he actually ally himself with other major shareholders and force out the old board? Presumably that was OK and excusable because at that time they were not the minority, but I'm also pretty sure that at the time they did it because they derided the efforts of the previous lot. Now the two failed Chairman form an alliance the main objective of which until I can be convinced otherwise is to protect their shareholdings and he has the brass neck to say that there is no room for that attitude at Southampton. There was room for that attitude when it was you that had it, Michael, but not apparently now that you are friends supposedly with your former bete noir.

 

I'm afraid that you lost any respect I might have had for you when you turned Quisling. A bit rich attempting to hold any moral high ground now when most would wish that you, Lowe, Askham et al could all sell up and leave our club to others with no baggage.

[Pongo]

A turncoat traitor like Mike Wilde lecturing fans on their moral obligations to the club is rather rich This is the man who installed the likes of Ken Dulieu, Jim Hone and Lee Hoos and then did his usual vanishing act. This is the man who jumped on the Lowe Out bandwagon when it suited his agenda. Maybe Wilde was just saying what Rupert instructed him to say.

[Victor]

.......and jumped on the Lowe in bandwagon when it suited his agenda.

[JustMike]

if we play anywhere as good as we did v West Ham then i agree with him

[Pongo]

.......and jumped on the Lowe in bandwagon when it suited his agenda.

 

The OkeyKokey was written for our Michael.

[VectisSaint]

Pure Wilde spin. The poodle has no credibility yet he comes out with this sort of crap. To be fair, in the online version at least nowhere does Wilde say promotion THIS SEASON though. No-one really thinks Wilde knows what he is talking about do they? The pro-Lowes hated this man for getting rid of their Lord and Master, and the anti-Lowes hate him because he is a Judas, so who are the ones that support him? I don't like Lowe but accept that we have what we have, but Wilde should not have anything to do with this Club. But we can all dream of promotion can't we, just that some of us have a healthier dose of realism that our supposed Football Club Chairman

[Saintmike666]

I agree with the sentiment that anything can happen in this division but realistically I think mid-table is just about we can hope for. Personally I would be pretty happy with that!

[John B]

Wilde said in the Echo

 

Did I dream it, or did he actually ally himself with other major shareholders and force out the old board? Presumably that was OK and excusable because at that time they were not the minority, but I'm also pretty sure that at the time they did it because they derided the efforts of the previous lot. Now the two failed Chairman form an alliance the main objective of which until I can be convinced otherwise is to protect their shareholdings and he has the brass neck to say that there is no room for that attitude at Southampton. There was room for that attitude when it was you that had it, Michael, but not apparently now that you are friends supposedly with your former bete noir.

 

I'm afraid that you lost any respect I might have had for you when you turned Quisling. A bit rich attempting to hold any moral high ground now when most would wish that you, Lowe, Askham et al could all sell up and leave our club to others with no baggage.

 

You could of course look at the situation in a different way.

 

Michael Wilde who is probably pretty clever and successful thought after relegation that because of the hatred held against Lowe by many of the fans that he could do a better job.

 

This of course proved not to be the case although large numbers of fans were please that he had ousted Lowe.

 

With the club failing miserably both on and off the field as the major shareholder he decided something had to be done and getting Lowe involved seemed to be a reasonable approach.

 

He and Lowe have put a plan together which needs our total support and that I think is behind his statement which seems quite reasonable and sensible to me.

[Wes Tender]

You could of course look at the situation in a different way.

 

 

No, that is the way that you can look at it. I already said how I could look at it. He failed and Lowe failed before him. This isn't following some laws of physics or maths where two minusses make a plus, or two negatives make a positive. The possibility is that two failures running a business together will make an even bigger failure of it than the one, but we'll just have to wait and see on that one.

[John B]

No, that is the way that you can look at it. I already said how I could look at it. He failed and Lowe failed before him. This isn't following some laws of physics or maths where two minusses make a plus, or two negatives make a positive. The possibility is that two failures running a business together will make an even bigger failure of it than the one, but we'll just have to wait and see on that one.

 

I agree Lowe failed to keep us in the Premiership but I dont think he really failed in running the football club but that is only my opinion as if he had not invested heavily in the Academy where would we be now.

 

I also agree that Wilde failed miserably in his role of Football Chairman.

 

 

I dont know how long you have been watching the Saints but I was at Goodison Park in 1974 when we got relegated witl Lawrie in Charge and with a reasonable squad of players I think we were sixth at Christmas but Bob Wilson saved a Channon penalty on Boxing Day and we never recovered.

 

Lawrie was not hounded and called a failure he was left to get on with the job we won the Cup and got promoted .

 

So I think we should give both Lowe and Wilde the benefit of the doubt and continue supporting the Saints with out putting the blame onto anybody with regard to our current situation.

Edited 4 August, 2008 by John B

[Wes Tender]

I agree Lowe failed to keep us in the Premiership but I dont think he really failed in running the football club but that is only my opinion.

 

I also agree that Wilde failed miserably in his role of Football Chairman.

 

 

I dont know how long you have been watching the Saints but I was at Goodison Park in 1974 when we got relegated witl Lawrie in Charge and with a reasonable squad of players I think we were sixth at Christmas but Bob Wilson saved a Channon penalty on Boxing Day and we never recovered.

 

Lawrie was not hounded and called a failure he was left to get on with the job we won the Cup and got promoted .

 

So I think we should give both Lowe and Wilde the benefit of the doubt and continue supporting the Saints with out putting the blame onto anybody with regard to our current situation.

 

Well, we've been watching the team for almost exactly corresponding terms. My first match was in April 1974 when I watched from the Milton End as we held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw and both us and Tommy Docherty's United were relegated.

 

The difference with your analogy and current circumstances is that you are talking about the manager not being sacked at that time, but currently we are discussing the Chairman who ought to be given another chance in your eyes. If it were not the board that we are discussing, I would gladly have given Pearson another chance even had we been relegated under him as I see many of Lawrie's attributes in him.

 

You say that Lowe and Wilde should be given the benefit of the doubt and we should support the Saints regardless, but one can perfectly well hold a position whereby one supports the team but not the board. And that is what I will continue to do.

[FloridaMarlin]

I dont know how long you have been watching the Saints but I was at Goodison Park in 1974 when we got relegated witl Lawrie in Charge and with a reasonable squad of players I think we were sixth at Christmas but Bob Wilson saved a Channon penalty on Boxing Day and we never recovered.

 

Lawrie was not hounded and called a failure he was left to get on with the job we won the Cup and got promoted.

 

Lawrie was not hounded and called a failure? Really?

 

He often referred to his walk from the tunnel along the West Stand touchline to the dugout as "The Walk of Fear" and recalled how he had to wipe the spittle from his ubiquitous leather trenchcoat.

[John B]

Well, we've been watching the team for almost exactly corresponding terms. My first match was in April 1974 when I watched from the Milton End as we held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw and both us and Tommy Docherty's United were relegated.

 

The difference with your analogy and current circumstances is that you are talking about the manager not being sacked at that time, but currently we are discussing the Chairman who ought to be given another chance in your eyes. If it were not the board that we are discussing, I would gladly have given Pearson another chance even had we been relegated under him as I see many of Lawrie's attributes in him.

 

You say that Lowe and Wilde should be given the benefit of the doubt and we should support the Saints regardless, but one can perfectly well hold a position whereby one supports the team but not the board. And that is what I will continue to do.

 

 

Yes I was there in 1974 too when we drew 1 1 at the Milton Road End

 

but I dont really understand the other contents of the post.

 

I know it is usually the manager gets fired when relegation occurs but blaming the Chairman soley appears bizarre to me.

 

I am fed up of all this discussion of Lowe it is the team and the future we should be discussing not the past.

Edited 4 August, 2008 by John B

[sfcjmcsfc16]

hopefully cmon!!

[South City Si]

It is achievable, of course it is. Look at Hull for example, or Bristol City.

[dubai_phil]

After a short stoppage for normal pro-anti actitivites, back on topic.

 

Of course he should say we aim for promotion. Imagine the outcry on here if he had said, we aim one place above the relegation spot.

 

And there is history to support this (ludicrous) idea that we could go nuts and get promoted. The last few years have seen teams in financial poo just hang on at the botttom of the CCC and then get promoted the following season. Derby & Hull spring to mind, then you can add in the turn-arounds at places like Palace & Sunderland. So it COULD be done and sport is largely about MIND SET.

 

The youngster by their very nature aren't old enough to have learnt of heartbreak, despair and deceit like so many of us fans. They'll probably find out this year, but, by the same token, they MAY just be young and naive enough not to notice that they shouldn't be good enough.

 

That's the fun of it this year - not knowing WTF is gonna happen!

[northants saint]

A Sunday paper I read has us down for relegation. We'll possibly end up somewhere in mid table, but I'm looking forward to the season with renewed anticipation.

[70's Mike]

Get a good start and who knows ?

 

But a bad start may make it a long season

[dubai_phil]

Gosh, this new forum is so serious. It must be a whingeing pom thing

 

You say that this season is could be F U N properly and the nasty word police type in **N for you.

 

Gosh. Does that mean there is no future?

[dubai_phil]

nope see that worked.. cool

[derry]

We've got a new young team that need supporting. About 9000 people came away from SMS on friday hardly believing the quality they had seen, after the abysmal dross of recent years.

 

I can't remember a performance of such quality. (since 1954)!

 

It is time to forget Lowe/Wilde/Crouch/takeover etc and just get on and support this young team and see where they can take us.

[Charlie Wayman]

The word ***** comes to mind as in ***** that bubble

[Under Weststand]

Have to say my initial reaction to Wilde's statement is he is a sanctimonious *****. Saying in different words we should forgive & forget. But having said that & normally being a half glass empty sort of guy, I'm feeling more of a glass half full at the moment. And as for Wilde & Lowe I suppose they are dammed if they say nothing & dammed if they do.

I do think we are going down the right lines with this system but to even contemplate promotion is ridiculous at the moment. I think it will take at least 6-months for this to system to settle in & start to bear fruit. I hope we can pull enough points together to keep the majority of fans on side. But who Knows we could do a Bristol City/ Hull city & surprise even ourselves Here's Hoping

[Toomer]

Wilde could well be Scott Tracy from Thunderbirds with the strings attached to his back.

[Window Cleaner]

The word ***** comes to mind as in ***** that bubble

 

I don't think I would have wasted one of my three daily posts to say that.

[Window Cleaner]

Wilde could well be Scott Tracy from Thunderbirds with the strings attached to his back.

 

 

Now Scott,was he the one who drove/flew Thunderbird 2 or was that Virgil?

Scott was the sort of athletic astronaut/submariner wasn't he?.I loved that series, hurried home from schoolboy kickabouts on Bitterne Park rec, games of 28 et to eat marmite on toast and watch Thunderbirds, Still don't get the Lady Penelope connection though.Poetic licence I suppose.

[offix]

 

Did I dream it, or did he actually ally himself with other major shareholders and force out the old board? Presumably that was OK and excusable because at that time they were not the minority, but I'm also pretty sure that at the time they did it because they derided the efforts of the previous lot. Now the two failed Chairman form an alliance the main objective of which until I can be convinced otherwise is to protect their shareholdings and he has the brass neck to say that there is no room for that attitude at Southampton. There was room for that attitude when it was you that had it, Michael, but not apparently now that you are friends supposedly with your former bete noir.

 

I'm afraid that you lost any respect I might have had for you when you turned Quisling. A bit rich attempting to hold any moral high ground now when most would wish that you, Lowe, Askham et al could all sell up and leave our club to others with no baggage.

 

My sentiments exactly.

[aintforever]

Striking similarities to Lowe's Champions League speach prior to our relegation season.

 

Whilst it is correct that we should aim high, coming out and purposely making a statement about it in the press only increases the pressure on the manager. ath from bottom will be a good achievement at the end of the season making dumb-ass statements about promotion is not going to help achieve that.

 

I remember when Sunderland went up Roy Keane banned the "P word" even when they were top of the league, now we have our chairman banging on about it in August despite us being favourates to disapear out the other end.

[buctootim]

Its difficult to imagine anything Wilde could say without being slated for it. If he aims too high he's putting pressure on, if he aims too low he's being unambitious and if he says nothing people say "where is he?"

[tttdcs]

Its difficult to imagine anything Wilde could say without being slated for it. If he aims too high he's putting pressure on, if he aims too low he's being unambitious and if he says nothing people say "where is he?"

 

Good!

[Wes Tender]

Its difficult to imagine anything Wilde could say without being slated for it. If he aims too high he's putting pressure on, if he aims too low he's being unambitious and if he says nothing people say "where is he?"

 

Well, what he did say about unrest at the club, was hypocritical, as he was the architect of one of the biggest upheavals in the club's history. There are plenty of things that he could comment on and in such a manner that he could gain agreement for. As the alleged Chairman of the Football Board, comment on matters regarding the team, players leaving or arriving, results of matches are all matters that are in his domain. But there have been several instances already that Lowe has stolen his thunder, giving rise to questions as to his whereabouts.

[Mole1]

A certain mystery poster on TSF wrote:

 

"As Brian Bennet said in the Echo today

 

"Right now I would say come back Michael Wilde, as most of us really believed that you would be good for this club"

 

Ever since he resigned the Board have gone downhill, with in-fighting and internal politics, destroying the spirit of our Club. IMO Wilde has been badly let down by all those currently on the Board, most of whom he brought in, both Executives and Non-Executives. I am sure he is looking on in dismay at what is happening - particularly with the Executives seizing control of the PLC Board with a flagrent disregard for his Manifesto.

 

I echo Brian Bennet's sentiment - Wilde was always crucial to the success of our club post-RL and we are now starting to see why. I only hope he steps up to the plate once more and delivers the Club from this ridiculous situation (yet again) as I can't see anyone else out there capable of sorting this out and certainly not anyone on the current Board."

 

Well it was Wilde who installed the execs and Crouch was left with the mess to sort out, so i see nothing Wilde can claim as an achievement there.

 

And since the return of Lowe he's been nowhere to be seen aside the odd comment in the echo.

 

Obviously the mystery poster was misguided and more importantly wrong to voice his concerns. As Wilde put it:

 

"Football has been plagued, for far too long, by the minority who take pleasure in playing the blame game and deriding other people's efforts.

 

"There is no place for this attitude at Southampton FC."

[Professor]

Yes I was there in 1974 too when we drew 1 1 at the Milton Road End but I dont really understand the other contents of the post.

I know it is usually the manager gets fired when relegation occurs but blaming the Chairman soley appears bizarre to me.

I am fed up of all this discussion of Lowe it is the team and the future we should be discussing not the past.

I was there also, having by then been a Saints' suppporter for 14 years. Lawrie took over when the team was doing well but when we needed to shore up the defence he bought Peter Osgood, and down we went. But it was the manager and the players who took us down, although they redeemed themselves when they won the cup 2 years later.

In the same way, it was the players drawing too many games in 2004/05 that caused relegation, not the chairman. The constant blaming of the chairman in the last four years has been totally ridiculous, but because Sturrock left, Wigley failed and was sacked, and Redknapp couldn't improve things enough, there was no one except the chairman for the more neandrathal faction to blame. Football fans expect simple solutions, and some don't understand that the world is not that simple. We see the same names on here opposing anything that Lowe is connected with, and for them, the anti-Lowe stuff has become an obsession. John B is quite right that what is needed is for people to bury the past and get on with supporting the club. This means not just supporting the 11 players representing the club in any one week, but supporting the whole club. Wholehearted support for the club from the fans is the bit we can do to help the team perform to their maximum potential.

[Delmary]

I was there also, having by then been a Saints' suppporter for 14 years. Lawrie took over when the team was doing well but when we needed to shore up the defence he bought Peter Osgood, and down we went. But it was the manager and the players who took us down, although they redeemed themselves when they won the cup 2 years later.

In the same way, it was the players drawing too many games in 2004/05 that caused relegation, not the chairman. The constant blaming of the chairman in the last four years has been totally ridiculous, but because Sturrock left, Wigley failed and was sacked, and Redknapp couldn't improve things enough, there was no one except the chairman for the more neandrathal faction to blame. Football fans expect simple solutions, and some don't understand that the world is not that simple. We see the same names on here opposing anything that Lowe is connected with, and for them, the anti-Lowe stuff has become an obsession. John B is quite right that what is needed is for people to bury the past and get on with supporting the club. This means not just supporting the 11 players representing the club in any one week, but supporting the whole club. Wholehearted support for the club from the fans is the bit we can do to help the team perform to their maximum potential.

Having three managers in one season says it all for me. Please remind me. How many managers did Leicester get through last season?

[Professor]

Having three managers in one season says it all for me. Please remind me. How many managers did Leicester get through last season?

What exactly does having three managers in a season tell you? That Sturrock should have been forced to stay on against his own stated wishes? That Wigley should not have been sacked? That Redknapp should not have been appointed?

Colchester had the same manager (Geraint Williams) for the whole of last season, and the season before but it didn't stop them finishing bottom. Proves nothing.

[Delmary]

What exactly does having three managers in a season tell you? That Sturrock should have been forced to stay on against his own stated wishes? That Wigley should not have been sacked? That Redknapp should not have been appointed?

Colchester had the same manager (Geraint Williams) for the whole of last season, and the season before but it didn't stop them finishing bottom. Proves nothing.

The company failed in its recruitment process big-time. Corporately it was nothing short of a disaster. Lowe had six months to find the best man for the job but he failed. If SLH plc had followed a proper hr recruitment selection process, then I doubt Sturrock would have ever got an interview. Therefore I can only conclude that Lowe's self-motivated recruitment process was floored, unprofessional and dam right incompetent. Sturrock should have never been offered the job. Wigley was a fish out of water, the fans knew it, the players knew it and so did the footballing world. By the time Lowe realised his second mistake the damage had already been done and we were heading towards the relegation trapdoor.

[Wes Tender]

What exactly does having three managers in a season tell you? That Sturrock should have been forced to stay on against his own stated wishes? That Wigley should not have been sacked? That Redknapp should not have been appointed?

 

What having three managers in a season tells me is that the club went through such a period of instability that the end result was that we were relegated. And we did the same thing this last season and almost suffered the same fate again. What it tells me is that Wigley should not have been appointed at all. It tells me that the time to have appointed Redknapp was when he first left West Ham, when we had a vacancy here and before he got involved with Pompey. It tells me that having a new manager a year for whatever reason, regardless of the rights and wrongs of it all, is a bad thing. What we needed was stability, not a constant revolving door manager policy.

 

I don't care how you dress it up, ultimately the number of managerial changes we had caused our downfall and everything since our relegation has led directly to our current parlous position.

 

You can get behind everybody at the club if you like. I'll get behind the team and support the players provided that they give their all, but I'll never forget or forgive the people who have run the club into the ground this past decade. It is eminently possible to support the players at matches without supporting the board, you know.