From 'On the Cross'

[sidthesquid]

A fair summary of my feelings towards Mr Crouch - part of the problem, NOT part of the solution

 

It is almost impossible to quantify how bad the last season has been. Even worse than the season that preceded it. At best, Saints will start League One next year bottom of the table at a score of -10. At worst, we may be "Wimbledoned".

 

 

The people to blame, of course, are those who have managed the club to this position. Not poor Mark Wotte- who is an excellent technical coach, and has the guts to look the fans in the eye.

 

 

If this year has been like watching a car smash in slow motion, then we need to retrieve some scrap metal from the wreckage.

 

 

But the most salient point I can make is that Leon Crouch must be removed immediately from any sort of decision-making or public role at Southampton Football Club.

 

He must be ruled out entirely as the next Chairman and must have the apparent platform granted to him in the club's programme and access to corporate hospitality guests swiftly and permanently removed.

 

 

I have no doubt that Mr. Crouch is a devout Saints fan. And some elements of the fan-base may even have encouraged his absurd actions. But you can't continue to trade on the fact that you are a walking-talking human being whose only key attribute is that you are NOT Rupert Lowe.

 

 

He is now wandering around as a Walter Mitty character.

 

 

Turning up at the end of the game in the hospitality suites - with Nick Holmes and Mark Dennis in tow - wielding buckets to "save our club" is a sign of how inappropriate and embarrassing Mr Crouch has become

 

 

This is not about bucket collections (you'd need to fill about 5,000 buckets with tenners just to pay off the obscene financial mismanagement of Crouch's chairmanship).

 

At present market rates, if you're willing to donate a spare kidney, this will pay Bradley Wright -Phillips's salary for a week.

 

We're beyond that now.

 

 

There's still something of a semblance of a team on the pitch. But God save us from all the people who have overseen this great club's downfall. When Matt Le Tissier names you in the Times as one of the guilty men (that's you...Lowe, Wilde and Crouch), please just go away.

 

 

If we are going to get out of League One, it will be because smarter and brighter people won't put up with the insane antics of the likes of Messrs Crouch and Lowe.

 

 

It's time for a major change. And if you were part of the farcical, unedifying spectacle that brought us to our knees, then your are part of the problem. Not part of the solution.

 

I'm talking about you, Leon Crouch.

 

Please just leave now, with whatever dignity you can still muster.

[Roger]

You are taking out of you backside mate. Leon crocuh has bankrolled this club and not taken a penny. How you can say this is beyond me. Matty was wrong about that as he doesnt know what really happened. Crouch was not incharge and didnt have a say when the execs made those terrible decisions. When he was incharge he cut costs and appointed pearson, a good manager. wAKE UP MATE.

[St Paul]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/apr/27/southampton-future-threat-buyer

 

 

"Turning up at the end of the game in the hospitality suites - with Nick Holmes and Mark Dennis in tow - wielding buckets to "save our club" is a sign of how inappropriate and embarrassing Mr Crouch has become"

 

 

 

 

What a plank.

[Saint J 77]

You are taking out of you backside mate. Leon crocuh has bankrolled this club and not taken a penny. How you can say this is beyond me. Matty was wrong about that as he doesnt know what really happened. Crouch was not incharge and didnt have a say when the execs made those terrible decisions. When he was incharge he cut costs and appointed pearson, a good manager. wAKE UP MATE.

 

agreed!

[miserableoldgit]

You are taking out of you backside mate. Leon crocuh has bankrolled this club and not taken a penny. How you can say this is beyond me. Matty was wrong about that as he doesnt know what really happened. Crouch was not incharge and didnt have a say when the execs made those terrible decisions. When he was incharge he cut costs and appointed pearson, a good manager. wAKE UP MATE.

Hmmmm......... who has a better idea of what has really gone on at Saints - MLT or Roger??:confused: Can you please explain how Leon has bankrolled the club? I am aware that he funded the Ted Bates statue, that he possibly helped fund Andrew Davies transfer, and that he has donated a fairly big amount to the current SOS Appeal, but I am not sure how he has bankrolled the Club.

[NickG]

don't think he had anything to do with Andrew Davies did he?

[krissyboy31]

Hmmmm......... who has a better idea of what has really gone on at Saints - MLT or Roger??:confused: Can you please explain how Leon has bankrolled the club? I am aware that he funded the Ted Bates statue, that he possibly helped fund Andrew Davies transfer, and that he has donated a fairly big amount to the current SOS Appeal, but I am not sure how he has bankrolled the Club.

 

He also paid the costs and the wages of the Guthrie loan, a couple of seasons ago.

[Gemmel]

I am not sure how he has bankrolled the Club.

 

My understanding is that in addition to the 50k donation, he is continuing to fund the club and keep it alive. Which if true, is a fantastic gesture and is owed a huge thank you from ALL Saints fans regardless of any personal views on the man.

[Kingsland Red]

Hmmmm......... who has a better idea of what has really gone on at Saints - MLT or Roger??:confused

 

Mmmm - I would say Roger.

[Window Cleaner]

He also paid the costs and the wages of the Guthrie loan, a couple of seasons ago.

 

Doubt it, execs said he didn't anyway..

[miserableoldgit]

He also paid the costs and the wages of the Guthrie loan, a couple of seasons ago.

I heard from a fairly reliable source that "Crouch and one other" paid for Davies` transfer fee. Could well be the case.

 

I am not arguing that Crouch hasn`t put a fair bit of his money into the club, and fair play to him for that, but we are, what, £30M in debt? I think that the amount that he put in pales into insignificance when compared to the debt which he is partly responsible for. As far as I am concerened, Lowe, Wilde and Crouch hold a degree of responsibility for the mess that we are in. It is the proportioning of that blame that is open to debate.

[miserableoldgit]

Mmmm - I would say Roger.

Obviously.

[alpine_saint]

I sense a diversionary tactic in play.

 

I really wonder how many PR plants are on here.

[SaintDonkey]

While I disagree with the tone of the article, and applaud Crouch for his efforts to keep the club alive I do agree it would be wise if he took a step back from the club when this is all over. He is far too much the 'anti-Lowe' impersonified and as such divides the fans almost as much as Lowe does. If any one is in any doubt of this just read this thread!

[NickG]

I asked Jim Hone about this, he said that Crouch had not put any money into the club but offered a loan with difficult terms which the club turned down.

[Big Bad Bob]

He also paid the costs and the wages of the Guthrie loan, a couple of seasons ago.

 

No he didn't. He wrote a cheque to cover the costs which was never cashed!!

[miserableoldgit]

My understanding is that in addition to the 50k donation, he is continuing to fund the club and keep it alive. Which if true, is a fantastic gesture and is owed a huge thank you from ALL Saints fans regardless of any personal views on the man.

If that is the case then I whole-heartedly agree with you.

[NickG]

for the £50k donation, if its going to make a difference, then he should be commended, but as someone put above, time for unifying figure and that doesn't appear to be him.

[aintforever]

Why don't people do research before writing crap like that.

 

Crouch was chairman for a few months, in which time he loaned out some high wage earners and brought in a good manager that kept us up and can hardly be blamed for the club's situation.

[Window Cleaner]

Why don't people do research before writing crap like that.

 

Crouch was chairman for a few months, in which time he loaned out some high wage earners and brought in a good manager that kept us up and can hardly be blamed for the club's situation.

 

He also brought in an extremely doubtful duo that turned our faint play-off hopes into a real relegation drama.

[hamster]

He also brought in an extremely doubtful duo that turned our faint play-off hopes into a real relegation drama.

 

Made a typical 'fans' error in thinking it may have worked with Doddsy (look at Shearer), obviously learnt just in time to not let his heart rule his head and on the advice of Big Mac got one of the most promising English managers seen in recent times in. I would not have a problem with him personally and as long as he stayed out of footballing decisions and we could do well, and he could soon redeem himself.

 

Probably won't happen though

[manji]

A fair summary of my feelings towards Mr Crouch - part of the problem, NOT part of the solution

 

It is almost impossible to quantify how bad the last season has been. Even worse than the season that preceded it. At best, Saints will start League One next year bottom of the table at a score of -10. At worst, we may be "Wimbledoned".

 

 

The people to blame, of course, are those who have managed the club to this position. Not poor Mark Wotte- who is an excellent technical coach, and has the guts to look the fans in the eye.

 

 

If this year has been like watching a car smash in slow motion, then we need to retrieve some scrap metal from the wreckage.

 

 

But the most salient point I can make is that Leon Crouch must be removed immediately from any sort of decision-making or public role at Southampton Football Club.

 

He must be ruled out entirely as the next Chairman and must have the apparent platform granted to him in the club's programme and access to corporate hospitality guests swiftly and permanently removed.

 

 

I have no doubt that Mr. Crouch is a devout Saints fan. And some elements of the fan-base may even have encouraged his absurd actions. But you can't continue to trade on the fact that you are a walking-talking human being whose only key attribute is that you are NOT Rupert Lowe.

 

 

He is now wandering around as a Walter Mitty character.

 

 

Turning up at the end of the game in the hospitality suites - with Nick Holmes and Mark Dennis in tow - wielding buckets to "save our club" is a sign of how inappropriate and embarrassing Mr Crouch has become

 

 

This is not about bucket collections (you'd need to fill about 5,000 buckets with tenners just to pay off the obscene financial mismanagement of Crouch's chairmanship).

 

At present market rates, if you're willing to donate a spare kidney, this will pay Bradley Wright -Phillips's salary for a week.

 

We're beyond that now.

 

 

There's still something of a semblance of a team on the pitch. But God save us from all the people who have overseen this great club's downfall. When Matt Le Tissier names you in the Times as one of the guilty men (that's you...Lowe, Wilde and Crouch), please just go away.

 

 

If we are going to get out of League One, it will be because smarter and brighter people won't put up with the insane antics of the likes of Messrs Crouch and Lowe.

 

 

It's time for a major change. And if you were part of the farcical, unedifying spectacle that brought us to our knees, then your are part of the problem. Not part of the solution.

 

I'm talking about you, Leon Crouch.

 

Please just leave now, with whatever dignity you can still muster.

Superb.

[miserableoldgit]

Made a typical 'fans' error in thinking it may have worked with Doddsy (look at Shearer), obviously learnt just in time to not let his heart rule his head and on the advice of Big Mac got one of the most promising English managers seen in recent times in. I would not have a problem with him personally and as long as he stayed out of footballing decisions and we could do well, and he could soon redeem himself.

 

Probably won't happen though

Someone saying something positive about McMenemy shock:shock:

Agree with you sentiments.

[RinNY]

I agree, and have been of the opinion for a long time now, that EVERYONE who has been involved in the club's decline over the past few years should go: not just Lowe (who gets far more blame than he deserves, though he deserves quite a bit), and Wilde (who seems basically ineffectual), or Askham ( bit of a rat, imo), but Crouch too (too much bluster, too much associated with the divisive past few years), and Mary Corbett (see under Wilde), and all the directors/execs (Jones, Cowen, Richards, Wiseman) who have been part of these years. We need a totally clean sweep, and a completely new start, in my view, for what it's worth. Anmd I feel there is hope that we will get it.

 

The only people from these past years I'd like to see stuill involved with Saints in the future, are the likes of McMenemy and Dodd, and so on: people involved on the coachiong/playing side in our better days. And they should have strictly amabassadorial roles at that.

[obelisk]

I'd be ok with Crouch involvement to some degree, not necessarily as chairman though. Not sure why the luvvies have a problem with a man that actually puts his money where his mouth is, unlike their hero.

[eelpie]

My understanding is that in addition to the 50k donation, he is continuing to fund the club and keep it alive. Which if true, is a fantastic gesture and is owed a huge thank you from ALL Saints fans regardless of any personal views on the man.

 

There surely can be no doubt that as a fan Leon Crouch has donated more of his own cash to the club than anyone else. For that alone he deserves appreciation. I thank him for that.

 

But that is a different issue to his competence at directorial level.

I think we should recognise the difference between the two.

 

With this exception. After attempting to control costs with the ill-fated Gorman/Dodd episode (which even Lowe would not have opposed) he appointed Pearson as manager, which was a brilliant decision, alas.

 

I do agree though that he should not be involved in the running of the club. We need a completely new start.

[saintinlondon]

You are taking out of you backside mate. Leon crocuh has bankrolled this club and not taken a penny. How you can say this is beyond me. Matty was wrong about that as he doesnt know what really happened. Crouch was not incharge and didnt have a say when the execs made those terrible decisions. When he was incharge he cut costs and appointed pearson, a good manager. wAKE UP MATE.

 

wow how blind are you??? he may well not have taken a penny but the amount he has lost certainly outweighs anything he put in... granted with pearson we may not be in this problem but crouch, even as a saints fan, is not in a position to run our finances. he had one chance, messed it up, and should now be nowhere near the decsion making table..

could not really agree more with the original post. Crouch is popular because he is the 'anti lowe' if you like. FACT!

[Plumstead_Saint]

No.

This thread stinks of the usual suspects rehashing the usual drivel IMO.

[Stirchleysaint]

A clean start is needed as is obvious from this and many other threads. Roll on that new start please.

[Greenridge]

Superb.

 

Now there's a surprise. Any particular elements?

 

...and before you come up with a witty retort I'm no Crouch supporter but he clearly has tried to support the Club in a number of ways, including financially, that others in his position have not.

[70's Mike]

STILL see all answers are based on whether you are a luvvie or a lunatic.

as i see it he is still putting his hand in his pocket, as is Guy and Mike Richards but there are some notable ommissions from the £1000 club

[Big Bad Bob]

STILL see all answers are based on whether you are a luvvie or a lunatic.

as i see it he is still putting his hand in his pocket, as is Guy and Mike Richards but there are some notable ommissions from the £1000 club

 

See I have no problem with LC putting money into the club to 'save' it and fair play to him for that. Although it's got to be a drop in the ocean compared to £2M he kept flashing about.

 

What I have an issue with is this Superhero image that's been built around him and how he didn't do any wrong in his time in charge.

 

Maybe he didn't but HE bought Wilde and all that followed into play and for that and his recent foot-in-mouth episode, I wish he would go the same way as the rest of them!!

 

And why the fook cannot he donate money quietly instead of playing the big I am??

 

As big an ego as RL IMHO

[Window Cleaner]

Now there's a surprise. Any particular elements?

 

...and before you come up with a witty retort I'm no Crouch supporter but he clearly has tried to support the Club in a number of ways, including financially, that others in his position have not.

 

Many people have supported the club of late. A bloke who earns 200K a week and puts in a tenner is doing more than Crouch who put in 50K from an annual income of over 2 million. Each to his own possibilities. No one should be lauded

more than all the others.

[corky morris]

Maybe we should keep paying Mr Lowe to ***** us up some more & tell Mr Crouch to ****** off?

Of course he has a proportion of responsibility for where we are. A lot smaller than Lowes & Wildes in my opinion, but he is doing a whole lot more than those two muppets to help what is left.

I tell you one thing this club is not the same as the club I started to support as a 5 year old in 1975. The fans were different, the game was different. Maybe it is time to start watching non-league stuff where grass roots people actually make a difference? I am so sick & fed up of all this f'ing bickering & point scoring.

Saints are *****ed & we need to unite - not post inane drivel like sid the squid.

For reference - what integrity has Lowe ever had? Answer: None whatsoever!

[alpine_saint]

If we had to have one of the old crowd associated with the club and board still, I choose Crouch by a mile. I just wouldnt give him the PR/media role..

 

I would rather none were involved, but I suspect it aint going to turn out like that.

[Greenridge]

Many people have supported the club of late. A bloke who earns 200K a week and puts in a tenner is doing more than Crouch who put in 50K from an annual income of over 2 million. Each to his own possibilities. No one should be lauded

more than all the others.

 

Really

 

Yes you're absolutely right of course and as I've said I'm no supporter of Crouch and he has had many cringe-worthy moments both during and since his tenure. However he comes across as a fan first and foremost and for that he has my respect as opposed to many others who have had dividends, share benefits and other financial rewards (IT contracts etc) that have not put some of that money back into the Club when it is really needed. And like many I'd like to see a clean sweep but in the meantime if his funds keep the Club afloat then hats off to him.

[alpine_saint]

Many people have supported the club of late. A bloke who earns 200K a week and puts in a tenner is doing more than Crouch who put in 50K from an annual income of over 2 million. Each to his own possibilities. No one should be lauded

more than all the others.

 

What about the bloke who someone had estimated has taken 3million out of the club, including a big severance pay-off in 2006, and whose name is STILL conspicuous in its absence from the 1000+ list ?

 

Oh...

[corsacar saint]

Spot on Corky boy.

[NickG]

What about the bloke who someone had estimated has taken 3million out of the club, including a big severance pay-off in 2006, and whose name is STILL conspicuous in its absence from the 1000+ list ?

 

Oh...

 

this tit for tat is why they all need to go

[saintstr1]

A fair summary of my feelings towards Mr Crouch - part of the problem, NOT part of the solution

 

It is almost impossible to quantify how bad the last season has been. Even worse than the season that preceded it. At best, Saints will start League One next year bottom of the table at a score of -10. At worst, we may be "Wimbledoned".

 

 

The people to blame, of course, are those who have managed the club to this position. Not poor Mark Wotte- who is an excellent technical coach, and has the guts to look the fans in the eye.

 

 

If this year has been like watching a car smash in slow motion, then we need to retrieve some scrap metal from the wreckage.

 

 

But the most salient point I can make is that Leon Crouch must be removed immediately from any sort of decision-making or public role at Southampton Football Club.

 

He must be ruled out entirely as the next Chairman and must have the apparent platform granted to him in the club's programme and access to corporate hospitality guests swiftly and permanently removed.

 

 

I have no doubt that Mr. Crouch is a devout Saints fan. And some elements of the fan-base may even have encouraged his absurd actions. But you can't continue to trade on the fact that you are a walking-talking human being whose only key attribute is that you are NOT Rupert Lowe.

 

 

He is now wandering around as a Walter Mitty character.

 

 

Turning up at the end of the game in the hospitality suites - with Nick Holmes and Mark Dennis in tow - wielding buckets to "save our club" is a sign of how inappropriate and embarrassing Mr Crouch has become

 

 

This is not about bucket collections (you'd need to fill about 5,000 buckets with tenners just to pay off the obscene financial mismanagement of Crouch's chairmanship).

 

At present market rates, if you're willing to donate a spare kidney, this will pay Bradley Wright -Phillips's salary for a week.

 

We're beyond that now.

 

 

There's still something of a semblance of a team on the pitch. But God save us from all the people who have overseen this great club's downfall. When Matt Le Tissier names you in the Times as one of the guilty men (that's you...Lowe, Wilde and Crouch), please just go away.

 

 

If we are going to get out of League One, it will be because smarter and brighter people won't put up with the insane antics of the likes of Messrs Crouch and Lowe.

 

 

It's time for a major change. And if you were part of the farcical, unedifying spectacle that brought us to our knees, then your are part of the problem. Not part of the solution.

 

I'm talking about you, Leon Crouch.

 

Please just leave now, with whatever dignity you can still muster.

 

 

 

Having been a Saints supporter for some 60 years I think this posting by "Sid" is the biggest load of Ballacks I have read on this site for many a long a day. Whilst I think that new owners with none of the previous board room chumps is preferable, to slag off Crouch like this is totally out of order.

 

Crouch may not be everyones cuppa, but there is no denying his love and enthusiasm for all things Southampton FC. Crouch was only chairman for a few very difficult months and whilst I will agree mistakes were made he still achieved the correct end to the season by us staying up on the final day.

 

Whilst you are launching this attack on Crouch you seem to have forgotten it was the Lowe/Wilde combination that forcefully removed a blossoming partnership of Crouch and Pearson and sent us spiraling to the position we find ourselves in today. Personally I am 110% sure that had Crouch been left at the club with Pearson in the managers chair WE WOULD NOT NOW BE A DIVISION ONE CLUB.

[4737_carlin]

What a load of old rubbish !

 

If Crouch goes around with fans picking up money then who gives a toss.

 

He after all has put a six figure sum into Saints to stop its closure in recent weeks.

 

He has done more than anyone else networking to try and get finance into Saints.

 

It just reads like someone who hasnt got a clue what hes talking about and makes judgments from made up gossip on internet forums.

[TNT]

Whoever wrote that needs to speak to Leon Crouch and ask him when exactly did he have any powers to do anything at SFC. Going on whats written on this forum and others it lasted from late December 2007 to May 2008. Nothing before then was anything to do with him regarding money being spent.

 

Im amazed how misinformed people are when its written in black and white in PLC documents that are public.

 

I would agree with others that looking at recent events Crouch has acted with amazing dignity considering the actions of Lowe and Wilde.

[eurosaint]

Many people have supported the club of late. A bloke who earns 200K a week and puts in a tenner is doing more than Crouch who put in 50K from an annual income of over 2 million. Each to his own possibilities. No one should be lauded

more than all the others.

 

I take it that maths is not your strong point then ??

[Window Cleaner]

I take it that maths is not your strong point then ??

 

 

I meant 200£ of course.

 

10£ is 5% of 200£

50000£ is 2.5% of 2M£

[Frank's cousin]

Classic Thread which once again highlights how so many see everything as black or white - Crouch - you must either Loathe him or be bending over backwards gripping your arse cheeks in anticipation for his 'donation'

 

Jeez, cant we just accept that these guys like most mortals have pros AND cons? They all do, does not make them evil, does not make them gods, yet some of the sychophantic hyperbole on here is cringeworthy, as is the rather daft total dismissal of the first post. Cant we look at these guys logically, give praise for the positives such as his donations (although we could do with the 2 mil now ;-)) and criticise the crass and embarrassing such as his bucket shaking and radio interviews about the 10 points....?

 

The question we should then ask is does the good outway the in terms of future involvement.... for me its a clean slate, his gaffs just too costly.....

[cambsaint]

It would appear that even the most blinkered lowelife apologists now realise that his position is indefensible and in a final act of revenges are turning on Crouch

[St Marco]

I love stories like these. The thing which makes me love thim is the line about Crouch spending too much money and getting the club into even more financial difficulty. His spending was out of control etc.

I personally would love to see how people come to that conclusion. How they came up with it being Crouch who spent that money.

 

Because the reality is he was Chairman for 4 months. In those 4 months he appointed a manager on LESS money then the manager was on when he took the job. Got COMPENSATION for that manager. He loaned out supposedly the TWO HIGHEST wage earners at the club. Put money from his own pocket into the club to help with certain peoples wages and the final nail in the coffin had backing from Barclays for the following season. Add to that he was not on a salary unlike two others we know.

Now if he was someone who was "out of control" would a bank support him knowing at that time how bad the books were? Obviously not.

 

My view is people need to let it go.

Crouch put Dodd and Gorman in the position of Caretaker managers. Nobody was to know they would go on to feck up. Dodd was/is a Saints legend and Gorman has experience of being assistant manager at National level. That is slightly different from appointing Stuart Gray or Steve Wiggly.

If it had turned out fine people would not have given a ****.

But when it went wrong he rectified his decision and replaced them. With the guy now considered one of the top prospects for management in the country. But of course the bashers don't want to mention those things do they.

Crouch lost £1.6m when Saints went into admin.

The guy is trying to get cash together to keep the club going. He is supported by a lot of the old legends in doing this. If he can use his contacts and profile in gaining money which keeps us going if even for just 1 more week then whats the problem?

 

Crouch has lost a lot of money in trying to help this club. This time last year you had idiots saying the same ******** they are saying now and this thread is full of them. Lowe and Wilde would save the club remember? They would be bringing in investment with them because they wouldn't return otherwise remember? And all the rest of the crap people tried to justify their view of bringing Lowe back.

Roll on 12 months and here we are. The same idiots saying the same stupid stuff but this time having a go at him carrying a bucket.....

 

People should just tell it like it is, say you dislike Crouch because you dislike Crouch nothing more nothing less. Don't make it out he made these financial errors that put us where we are because that is not true. When he and Wilde were in together Crouch was one of few to go against Wildes spending spree, Wilde lied and said he had the money coming in.

But hey it's all Crouch's fault. The one thing i do know about Leon is that he won't give a **** what people think he lookslike holding a bucket. He cares more about this club then most of you do by the looks of it.

[NickG]

I love stories like these. The thing which makes me love thim is the line about Crouch spending too much money and getting the club into even more financial difficulty. His spending was out of control etc.

I personally would love to see how people come to that conclusion. How they came up with it being Crouch who spent that money.

 

Because the reality is he was Chairman for 4 months. In those 4 months he appointed a manager on LESS money then the manager was on when he took the job. Got COMPENSATION for that manager. He loaned out supposedly the TWO HIGHEST wage earners at the club. Put money from his own pocket into the club to help with certain peoples wages and the final nail in the coffin had backing from Barclays for the following season. Add to that he was not on a salary unlike two others we know.

Now if he was someone who was "out of control" would a bank support him knowing at that time how bad the books were? Obviously not.

 

My view is people need to let it go.

Crouch put Dodd and Gorman in the position of Caretaker managers. Nobody was to know they would go on to feck up. Dodd was/is a Saints legend and Gorman has experience of being assistant manager at National level. That is slightly different from appointing Stuart Gray or Steve Wiggly.

If it had turned out fine people would not have given a ****.

But when it went wrong he rectified his decision and replaced them. With the guy now considered one of the top prospects for management in the country. But of course the bashers don't want to mention those things do they.

Crouch lost £1.6m when Saints went into admin.

The guy is trying to get cash together to keep the club going. He is supported by a lot of the old legends in doing this. If he can use his contacts and profile in gaining money which keeps us going if even for just 1 more week then whats the problem?

 

Crouch has lost a lot of money in trying to help this club. This time last year you had idiots saying the same ******** they are saying now and this thread is full of them. Lowe and Wilde would save the club remember? They would be bringing in investment with them because they wouldn't return otherwise remember? And all the rest of the crap people tried to justify their view of bringing Lowe back.

Roll on 12 months and here we are. The same idiots saying the same stupid stuff but this time having a go at him carrying a bucket.....

 

People should just tell it like it is, say you dislike Crouch because you dislike Crouch nothing more nothing less. Don't make it out he made these financial errors that put us where we are because that is not true. When he and Wilde were in together Crouch was one of few to go against Wildes spending spree, Wilde lied and said he had the money coming in.

But hey it's all Crouch's fault. The one thing i do know about Leon is that he won't give a **** what people think he lookslike holding a bucket. He cares more about this club then most of you do by the looks of it.

this is key bit - and why we need someone new to give us optimism

[Frank's cousin]

Crouch was chairman of the football club when the then PLC board approved the spending for Burley - The present 'speculatyed' understanding is that Wilde was ousted by Crouch and the board because this spending was only ratified on the grounds that Wilde promised investment which would amke sense - how you feel about Crouch's role in this mess is then down to how much influence you think the football club chairman should/could have had in vetoing this spending in the first place because it was unaffordable - how much did he really believe Wilde would bring in the readies and was he taking Wilde at his word without any due diligence?

 

Personally, I admire his passion, and committment to the cause personified by the donations, but dont believe he is cut out for FC chairmanship, due to his public and media naivety and his gung ho style wwhich can be both embarrassing and damaging IMHO.

[saintjay77]

I heard from a fairly reliable source that "Crouch and one other" paid for Davies` transfer fee. Could well be the case.

 

I am not arguing that Crouch hasn`t put a fair bit of his money into the club, and fair play to him for that, but we are, what, £30M in debt? I think that the amount that he put in pales into insignificance when compared to the debt which he is partly responsible for. As far as I am concerened, Lowe, Wilde and Crouch hold a degree of responsibility for the mess that we are in. It is the proportioning of that blame that is open to debate.

 

I think some of the problem is the fan friendly stuff crouch may have done in the past only compunded the problems we had further on. crippling wage bill for some of the players that crouch had a hand in bringing here have turned out to be pretty serious.

 

Personally I dont like crouch any more than Lowe and Wilde and it makes me sick that one of the people heavily involved in the club we love while it went down the pan can stand there and ask us to bail the club out.

 

But if what has been said in recent weeks about what crouch has done recently is true then I dont think he deserves as much of a bashing as the others. He alegedly has put his hand in his pocket to keep the club alive long enough to get a buyer in while the others slipped off to hide in there corners. If true then thanks from me but I still would rather he wasnt so public in his appeals as there is enough there that see's him as part of our downfall. All IMO of course