Mr X Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Is it a real possibility SMS may be sacrificed to save us? Its a terrible thing to say but I cant help feeling it all went downhill when we moved from the Dell. Would u be prepared to lose it/sell it for the good of the club? Where would we play then?........... thoughts? :smt102 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysaint Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Never liked the place anyway would love to go back to the Dell but its not going to happen is it. Saying that we still need a home dont want to be homeless for long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waggy Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Is it a real possibility SMS may be sacrificed to save us? Its a terrible thing to say but I cant help feeling it all went downhill when we moved from the Dell. Would u be prepared to lose it/sell it for the good of the club? Where would we play then?........... thoughts? :smt102 not according to what Mark Fry has been saying, he reckons that the council may not now be required, if they ever were gonna, to buy sms as the consortiums in talks may have the necessary readies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonsaint1604 Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 I wouldn't call reaching the FA cup final 'going downhill' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 I wouldn't call reaching the FA cup final 'going downhill' But we won the cup when we were at the Dell, so finishing runners-up could be called 'going downhill'. It is stretching it a bit, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr X Posted 24 April, 2009 Author Share Posted 24 April, 2009 I wouldn't call reaching the FA cup final 'going downhill' Agreed that was the one gem in a sea of fake gold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Is it a real possibility SMS may be sacrificed to save us? Its a terrible thing to say but I cant help feeling it all went downhill when we moved from the Dell. Would u be prepared to lose it/sell it for the good of the club? Where would we play then?........... thoughts? :smt102 We can already "potentially" lose the stadium. But we won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRobbie Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 We will always play at SMS. There I said it. Someone else may own it like the council, but who cares? Might be worth doing that to raise some more capital to support team reconstruction and promotion. I dont care if we own SMS, but I am pretty sure we'll play in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
once_bitterne Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 We aren't going to lose the stadium, it's on a pretty low value piece of land for housing and it's not as if it can be sold to another club to play their games on. The mortgage payements are manageable even for a L1 club so the new owners probably will want to take ownership of the stadium and even if they didn't the council seem ready to step in which again would make sense as they could easily make more that the yearly mortgage payment by using the stadium more concerts and other non-footballing things. There really is a 0% chance of the club surviving but ending up not playing at SMS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Technically, haven't we already lost the stadium? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissyboy31 Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Technically, haven't we already lost the stadium? Technically if SFC and SMS Ltd are different companies, we never had it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank's cousin Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Thats all clutching at straws really - sure when we moved it meant we were attractiing a different kind of player, possibly some who would have stuck tehir noses up at us had we still benn a club at the dell, and yes not perhaps having as many layers who genuinely cared about the is bound to have an impact. But the DELL was always going to limit what was possible - there was simply not enough revenue nor shoudl a club ignore the fact that they have a huget ST waiting list or even membership waiting list - NO investing in SMS was the right thing to do.... our decline has been primarily about bad investmnet since - multiple managers buying quantity to get tehir team rather than quality to augment someone elses - simply put we wasted money on dross signings that did not improve the squad - and in te premiership you need to improve each year just to stand still - in mitigation we did not have the financial backing most other clubs had from rish owners or backers, but mistakes were made - SMS was not one of them though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Is it a real possibility SMS may be sacrificed to save us? Its a terrible thing to say but I cant help feeling it all went downhill when we moved from the Dell. Would u be prepared to lose it/sell it for the good of the club? Where would we play then?........... thoughts? :smt102 1. In the years following our move, we reached the cup final, finished 8th in the League, had a short excursion into europe and got 2 players in the England squad. How is that going downhill? 2. Our decline since then is nothing to do with the stadium. It was poor management at boardroom level, which lead to poor performance on the pitch. Pure and simple. 3. Why wouldn't we be able to play at SMS just because we don't own it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Technically if SFC and SMS Ltd are different companies, we never had it. I take your point. What I was wondering was at what stage the freehold would revert to the mortgagers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 1. In the years following our move, we reached the cup final, finished 8th in the League, had a short excursion into europe and got 2 players in the England squad. How is that going downhill? That's an interesting question. Bridge, Beattie, Walcott? Any others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissyboy31 Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 I take your point. What I was wondering was at what stage the freehold would revert to the mortgagers. I guess it's once the administrators have finished their job, sold what they can and wound up SLH Plc (presuming no buyer for SMS has been found). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um Bongo Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 That's an interesting question. Bridge, Beattie, Walcott? Any others? Crouch. Played over in america just after we were relegated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelpie Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Technically if SFC and SMS Ltd are different companies, we never had it. A thought. Shouldn't SFC have charged the director of SLH rent for his office? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingeletiss Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Never liked the place anyway would love to go back to the Dell but its not going to happen is it. Saying that we still need a home dont want to be homeless for long. You can't...there are signs up saying'No Ball game', so St Marys it will have to be I'm afraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eelpie Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 That's an interesting question. Bridge, Beattie, Walcott? Any others? Not as many as played for England before we went to SMS: Shilton, Channon, Paine, Shearer, Keagan, Ball, Osgood, Le Tiss etc Name the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 A thought. Shouldn't SFC have charged the director of SLH rent for his office? It's little details like this that determine whether or not the two bodies are 'inextricably linked' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Not as many as played for England before we went to SMS: Shilton, Channon, Paine, Shearer, Keagan, Ball, Osgood, Le Tiss etc Name the others. Steve Williams? How far back are we allowed to go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_Jonny Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 One of the greatest things about Southampton F.C is the stadium it plays in, the fact that Saints own there very own 32,500 seater stadium is something to be ****ing proud of IMO. I love going to SMS for games, and I love the fact that followers of teams with sheds for grounds love to visit SMS. Its a fantastic facility and we need to ensure that its stays CLUB PROPERTY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissyboy31 Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Not as many as played for England before we went to SMS: Shilton, Channon, Paine, Shearer, Keagan, Ball, Osgood, Le Tiss etc Name the others. Not trying to be pedantic but Ball and Osgood never played for England after signing for Saints. You did miss out (from 70's-80's) Armstrong, Flowers, Wallace, Watson, Williams and Wright though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 surely retention of SMS is a formality. It can't be used by anyone else for anything else really and if it was knocked down and the land sold to developers how much would that land be worth - hardly anything in comparison to the £24M outstanding on the mortgage. In my opinion AVIVA are going to do everything in their power to restucture (or even reduce) the mortgage to suit any new owner and every man and his dog knows this. I don't think the council has made any statements suggesting they would step in if required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintDonkey Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Agreed that was the one gem in a sea of fake gold I think you're being a bit down on Saint Mary's. Look at our Premiership position 4 years before and after: 97/98 - 12 98/99 - 17 99/00 - 15 00/01 - 10 01/02 - 11 02/03 - 8 03/04 - 12 04/05 - 20 So average postion at the Dell 14th, average at Saint Mary's 13th even with the relegation season thrown in. If we are ever to aspire to return to the top flight it is essential we retain Saint Mary's. We wouldn't be admiteed to the Football League ground sharing with eastleigh let alone the Premier League! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 surely retention of SMS is a formality. It can't be used by anyone else for anything else really and if it was knocked down and the land sold to developers how much would that land be worth - hardly anything in comparison to the £24M outstanding on the mortgage. In my opinion AVIVA are going to do everything in their power to restucture (or even reduce) the mortgage to suit any new owner and every man and his dog knows this. I don't think the council has made any statements suggesting they would step in if required. Alan Whitehead said as much yesterday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfred Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 I seem to remember just after the stadium was built the poopey builders saying they had laid a curse on the ground by burying one of their shirts under the center circle? Blame them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amesbury Saint Posted 24 April, 2009 Share Posted 24 April, 2009 Is it a real possibility SMS may be sacrificed to save us? Its a terrible thing to say but I cant help feeling it all went downhill when we moved from the Dell. Would u be prepared to lose it/sell it for the good of the club? Where would we play then?........... thoughts? :smt102 no - despite the continual bad news at the moment Saints will play at SMS next season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghq Posted 25 April, 2009 Share Posted 25 April, 2009 Not as many as played for England before we went to SMS: Shilton, Channon, Paine, Shearer, Keagan, Ball, Osgood, Le Tiss etc Name the others. CBFry,Ted Drake, Alf Ramsey, Bill Ellerington. George Curtis(possibly), Ian Black.(Scotland),Hugh Kelly (Eire) Fred Keirnan (N.Ireland) I didn't see Fry or Drake play at all, even I'm not that old, but I did see all the others at the Dell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingsbridge Saint Posted 25 April, 2009 Share Posted 25 April, 2009 We will not own SMS - never did, probably never will. If a buyer can't be found then it will revert to the mortgage holder. They will look to maximise revenues from it by renting it out to a number of parties, including a League 1 football club based in Southampton. Now who might that be...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorgiesaint Posted 25 April, 2009 Share Posted 25 April, 2009 If we are ever to aspire to return to the top flight it is essential we retain Saint Mary's. We wouldn't be admiteed to the Football League ground sharing with eastleigh let alone the Premier League! The ideal world is that we do keep SMS as part of the club. Second best option is someone buys it & we get a long term lease agreed with them. The nightmare option (other than the club folding) is that the club survives & the stadium is sold to a proprty developer who promptly pulls it down. Groundsharing is ok, but how many grounds within easy reach of Southampton are up to L1 standard & would be capable of holding 12-14k (at a guess of what our regular L1 attendance might be). If we get promoted, the situation is even worse. This has massive impacts on revenue generation so, combined with the fact that Aviva will probably accept much less than whats owed, itis vital we retain SMS. Lets face it, if we have to build another stadium, how long is that going to take? We don't have a great record it that regard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derry Posted 25 April, 2009 Share Posted 25 April, 2009 It's a no brainer, at the price NU/Aviva would settle for it is an absolute snip. If a football match was never played there it could pay for itself and turn a profit. The new owners will buy it, the football club shouldn't have to find a penny let alone the £2.4m a year we are paying at the moment. It is really a new start whoever buys the club and no millstones. If we do well the stadium will be packed and we will be able to afford good players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Lightjaw Posted 25 April, 2009 Share Posted 25 April, 2009 It's a no brainer, at the price NU/Aviva would settle for it is an absolute snip. Is that assuming that the new owners can buy it outright (out of their own pocket), without the need to pay interest to a finance company or investor returns? Do we know much about who these consortiums are and what, if any, conditions are being placed (ie investors want a % of profit or payments at set times). Or are they just "giving money away"? Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere. Lots of threads and posts to get through !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 25 April, 2009 Share Posted 25 April, 2009 (edited) Is that assuming that the new owners can buy it outright (out of their own pocket), without the need to pay interest to a finance company or investor returns? Do we know much about who these consortiums are and what, if any, conditions are being placed (ie investors want a % of profit or payments at set times). Or are they just "giving money away"? Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere. Lots of threads and posts to get through !! People are assuming Aviva would settle for a price around £12-15m - about half the debt. The number of possible permutations are endless - everything from pulling down SMS and building flats, through to Aviva offering an impecunious purchaser the finance needed to take it off their hands like Barclays did with IShares. Edited 25 April, 2009 by buctootim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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