dubai_phil

I keep telling the story, for me the journey started at 11:30pm on the Thursday, checking in for a BA flight at Dubai airport in my shirt (somewhat worse for wear after blaggin an invite to a Hello Magazine free Cosmo's party) The BA Station manager said - oh a Saints fan in Dubai - we'll have to make your flight more comfortable - and there I was in Business Class in the shirt sipping Champagne and having a flat bed and pillow all the way home on a freebie airmiles economy ticket. Straight out the airport down to a B&B in the Valleys chilling out with sheep jokes during a walk in the countryside and then Full Welsh breakfast and the game. Still sends shivers down the spine when I see that huge photo of us all that they sell in the shop The way we stayed at the end and applauded BOTH teams was also special, shame the Arsenal fans were such arrogant twerps but hey And then the whole night out in Cardiff in that huge Aussie bar..... ahhhhhh Wouldn't have been such a great day IF I'd known it would lead to standing in the rain in Bucharest being colder and wetter than anyone could ever imagine it possible to be! One day we'll do it properly again Oh - and they let me put my flag up in both Cardiff and Bucharest. But not SMS....

Two minor flaws in otherwise sound logic. You added your assumption to something that MAY have happened at a meeting where we don't know the facts. A more reasoned argument would have been to say "I think it is highly unlikely that Lowe used figures as low as 19,000 - because 1) We have no idea what he said and 2) he may have been able to do an excel sheet as well as I can (And I'm krap at them!) 1) The earlybird season ticket sales figures were in place when Lowe & Wilde returned, maybe not exact but enough to allow an experienced Finance Director to extrapolate 2) I produced an excel sheet last season tracking the trend line of our attendances since relegation in case it was needed at a meeting I had been asked to attend. The trend line showed two things - 1) there were no significant changes when the Board changed (Lowe out and Execs out) and 2) the probable average gate for this season would likely be in the 18/19,000 range. With regard to the wage earners - bad news about Euell being injured, fully agree that made a dent in the plans but then Davies went for money (and the rumours I heard were that he wasn't on 50 quid a week) plus the loan window is STILL open, WAY too early to panic about the wages bill YET. Putting it simply, if we ARE in a mess because the earners don't go and there is no slack THEN we can always loan out a Surman or Davis with a loan fee and a buy option in January - after all, that's how we got Davies! (and no I HOPE that DOESN'T happen as much as everyone else does!) I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am NOT happy and I think Lowe has played one gamble too many, BUT I also said I would wait and see at the end of September before I start to feel as if the sky is falling or start celebrating a golden age of revolution in World Football. It is TOO early to call, the ONLY thing I do know is that the ONLY people at the moment who CAN make a positive contribution to keeping the squad together are the fans. We get 22,00+ every game we'll be pretty close to being ok financially, and we can add experience on loan come January. The football against Blackpool on tv was dire but it was a HELL of a lot better than I saw live last year against Charlton & Bury at home, so can't say Saints fans demand good football because they haven't responded yet this year. At least this year we don't have the same mindless platitudes from Burley/Hone/Crouch beamed at us after every game, at least JP shows he is learning as much as the kids are....

Ah, some good news, we are obviously clear underdogs and internet media are predicting a 3-1 walk over for QPR http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=862745 I was getting worried it was just us being pessimistic

All I know is that FF posted that he did not know what would happen to him if Lowe came back (it was on TSF but before the actual day of the return) I sure wouldn't try and interpret his thoughts/position since:-) But we HAVE to stop this "all being friends again" -LM and LC go to SMS still and LM still going is a surprise stuff - it's killing us with boredom - nothing to fight about on here:-)

Careful...... don't put a chink in that armour and give him any ideas Not yet and probably not for a couple of years:-) You can see it now - How I changed the world of Football - The Rupert Biography by FF.... Later chaps, later....

What is more he only EVER posted with caveats saying it was what he was being TOLD, unlike the early incarnations of the ITK's who posted as if it was THEM doing the takeovers. Being used as a pawn is plain wrong, he never posted as an angle, only what he was told. Everyone on here would have blasted him IF he acted as a censor or an analyst on what he was told. It's a bit like saying that News at Ten or the Press are pawns for reporting stories or eye witness accounts orf events Duncan said he didn't expect to be around because of the row he had had on the phone with Rupert and he has kept his word.

As with the team, I said at the start of the season that I won't make any judgements until AFTER the loan window closes or at the end of September. Much can still go wrong with the finances and the squad in the next few weeks. As for Lowe, some VERY wise heads who know him well all made the same strong suggestions. So far he appears to be heeding that advice, but also we should not mistake accepting wisdom for expecting him not at some point to want to say something along the lines of "I told you so". So let's wait and see, and let us only be arrogant enough to keep the advice to him along the lines of "it's a long season, it needs 110% effort, focus and commitment, and above all, let the team do the talking on the pitch" please. (Oh and letting him know that negotiating a takeover by a RESPECTABLE Sovereign Wealth fund would be the way back to "almost" full redemption by the fans - as long as we sign Cesc Fabregas, Theo and Bale with the petty cash!)

Well, as far as most on here are concerned maybe this is the end.... http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/3670918.Youngsters_want_to_follow_Theo_s_example/ Jan suggesting that the best youngsters should leave us and go to the PL so they can become England players....... Is one way to read this, the other way is that he is motivating them to bounce back after a flat performance and a spell of 7 games in 21 days which will strain the squad and no doubt the supporters

I assume from that comment that you interviewed him for a DoF position at another club and rejected him?? :-) TBF I don't think it is so much a Dennis Wise thing as a personality issue with regard to Mike Ashley being a self made man. Entrepreneurs like him are driven hard arsed and more often then not lucky to have the right ideas at the right time and the energy to make it work. What they often are very BAD at is delegation, communication skills and processes. While "consensus" is a bad management tool, open and clear communications is a good tool. You simply CANNOT employ a "Big Personality" and then put handcuffs on them. I think Ashley is just out of his depth, a hard arsed egotist in a world of ego's angles and media luvvies. He COULD have shared his structure and vision and processes with Keegan, but didn't, he just appointed Wise and sort of forgot to tell King Kev, and why? because he doesn't trust anyone person to spend his own money..... Whether Wise is any good or not is irrelevant, the damage had been done long ago and this was always going to be the outcome.. (To be honest there are quite a few parallels between the "coming into football from business so make bad decisions approach" made by an arrogant, self made, media savvy chairman with another club back in the late 90's and early 2000's. One of them seems to have learned a bit but needed a good kicking. Think Ashley's about to get his)

Which is, without a doubt, why, despite supposedly being broke, the Board and Management of the club sanctioned a bid for a Centre Half on the last day of the transfer window. Gerrard is not a Lancashire, and is not a Perry, but is someone in between who will learn from the old hands and grow. Perry at his age will not be with us for that long, one maybe two seasons, so bringing in cover who will improve seems to have the situation under control. Andrew Davies was 22/23 when we signed him with limited PL experience, often at FULL BACK, a similar age to Gerrard. Davies has become a "TSW legend" but Gerrard is too young and inexperienced or insignificant because he plays for Walsall..... The LOAN window is still open, it is not all doom and gloom, there is absolutely NO reason why we cannot sign a CB anytime in the next 3/4 weeks with an option to buy. The point of lack of specialist depth is valid but the "near hysteria" or "political hype" over it is nonsense. The club HAVE noticed and hence too much of the opinion on here is actually wrong as it is being posted as if the POSTERS are the only ones who know what is right and wrong and THEY are the only ones who can see a possible problem. Having ENOUGH cover in ANY position is not a new issue at this or any other club. How many PL games did Jason Dodd or Francis Benali play at CB?? Quite a few I recall. Was the world going to end then? No, it wasn't satisfactory but it happens. Our squad is a lot stronger than many others in this league, and a lot weaker than many others. We've been told why often enough.

Pint of 6X says a loan in by the end of the week, and if we can afford it, probably Gerrard Any takers?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/sunderland/2824202/Fifa-vice-president-Jack-Warner-is-a-clown-says-Sunderland-manager-Roy-Keane---Football.html That about covers it matey

We don't have storm seasons - just one or two wet days a year. However a word to the wise, somebody in Dubai is recommending Vietnam or Key Largo........ Too much construction still around the nice beach hotels and the traffic getting to and from them is just ....... But if anyone comes this way let us know we have the "must do list"

It's all perfectly safe. Nothing can go wrong, we are in complete control. OH NO YOU'RE NOT! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/09/12/scicern312.xml Let's get our TSW wizards on there, hack in and get that black hole moving over to farton prak. We could do millions of pounds of improvements

Just tell that boss you have to go - leave the rest to the professionals, you'll be rich and empty in no time. Bring your camera - should keep us in pm's for a while. My "committmentally challenged mate is now on his 5th hostess in two weeks, the man needs HELP, he's running on empty!

Ashley must have sobered up then after that binge last week

Pakistan is such a fractured society, that it is probably more important to wonder which side THEY will go with, the Tellitubbybans raping the north, the local nutters or the normal good people. Civil war when you have nukes around is far more dangerous than nutter Bush knocking off a few Al Qaeda types by remote control

FWIW, I had a "mini revelation" when I came out here, and quite simply it is that World War 3 started ages ago and we just never noticed. The excessive preaching of BOTH sides means that to them, Islam and Christianity are mutually exclusive, you have one or the other. To the normal, rational and aware humans amongst us on both sides (ie the majority) we don't see it that way. But ONE single factor is ALWAYS the same whenever extremism is looked at. Namely that almost every country in this part of the world had SOME preachers who went too far or were too extreme. They preached a return to the Medieval ages, when everyone lives in mud huts (except them of course). Those countries tried to balance the hatred, tried to reason and often arrested them to remove that bile and hatred from being preached to what in reality is a peaceful society. And guess what? almost without exception, those deemed too radical for the "radical" Saudis, the aggressive Yemeni's or even the theocratical Iranians ALL ended up being given welcome, State money, Passports, AND a vehicle to continue to spout their hatred in ONE country. Yep good old fookin Blighty took all of the extremist nutters and let them preach. Political and Religious freedom is a given right to all people and the asylum system has a great deal of good in it. However a country that allows Political Correctness to get to SUCH an state that when countries full of extreme religous nuts think that some people are TOO extreme even for THEM are allowed to flourish are then allowed into the UK and KEEP spouting their hatred, then the unatics have truly taken over the asylum. It isn't about being aware WW3 already started, thanks to the morons in the Home Office who let these people in, we already LOST it (and I include the normal Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews in that - but not sk8tes). rant over.

So Svennson, Perry & Thomas aren't experienced enough for you? We have CB's out for (at the moment) ONE game, one first choice the other is ONLy cover and not that popular amongst this forum even in THAT role And we DID try to buy a more experienced player but with longer term POTENTIAL....

Well let's examine their choices 500 mil for Liverpool and they are already 250 down on what Abu Dhabi paid BEFORE they start to play let's buy everyone, plus they have to build a stadium..... or go the slow Arsenal way and start at the bottom with an Aldershot or some club with a revolutionary vision but no money Doncaster maybe?

We all know both versions are wrong.... Roswell.... :-) But to follow BTF's point, with my work I've been lucky enough to travel extensively in the Middle East and it is sort of freaky driving past the Mount of Olives, seeing a road sign to where Christ was baptised, seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls, meeting a blaoke from Samaria, seeing Monastries in Syria and visiting Amaraeic (sic) shrines, swimming in the Dead Sea, driving past Mecca (not allowed in of course), seeing Buddha's tooth in Sri Lanka and the whole temples thing in Asia.I know others feel stuff like that when they visit some of the shrines and temples in Greece at stuff IMHO the problem is the lack of understanding between the religions, as each one has it's proponents who (to be fair) are driven by self interest in the positions they have achieved or the life style they enjoy each ramming down our throats that they are the one way to enlightenment. When you understand each one better your attitude to people is changed, and the ONE thing I hate in life are those people who are ALWAYS convinced THEY are right ALL the time.... (they're all fookin mad! and enough of this - off to watch Battlestar Galactica - oh bugger that's gone all religous as well doh!) Oh and we ALL know that there is only ONE person who is right all the time The wife.....

Oh an alternative.... Key Lime Sailing Club, Key Largo, Florida http://www.thefloridagetaway.com I know you don't like yanks but this place is amazing - little huts on the waterfront, an ex America's cup crewman as Sailing instructor and a real family atmosphere. each hut gets a 22ft cabin Sailing Boat and lessons are $50 per hour. We were buzzing around after two hours... totally not like the yanks I expected and the second best holiday I ever had, barbequed American Supreme Rib Eye for dinner and a great red wine sitting watching the sunset. Didn't actually do much else while there except drink beer & wine, sail, eat, and that other thing you do with a cute chick oh yeah, washing up

I was not keen on the "tour thing either" but have to say apart from a couple of hours at "Government House" in HCMC the sightseeing they put together was immense. I normally HATE the "tourist trap" souvenir places, but we went to this factory where they had disabled kids making pictures out of mother of pearl or duck egg shells and the quality of the stuff was awesome. I still have a picture on my wall that people dismiss as a photo of a fisherman until they get up close and OMG is always the reply. And IF you do Hanoi - you have to visit the Museum of Anthropolgy - I admit I rolled my eyes at that one until we found the museum of life under the communist rule. OMG, period Agree with Ankor, but then that needs a separate visa and stop over to get to. When we went to Vietnam it was a 2 days of factory visits for work then had 10 days for the touring, on the way back stopped at Koh Samui - don't like it so much these days as it has grown very fast in the last 8 years, but for a honeymoon I would REALLY recommend you check out the Imperial Boathouse and book one of their converted Rice Barge suites..... and the little beachside restaurants there ahhhhhhhh Air France probably the most western airline, or go via Hong Kong - Cathay have a code share to get in and out and that is a great 2/3 day stop over for the more complicated thinsg that Vietnam shops can't do! Thai airways is not the greatest to do a long haul flight with but gives you the option of Ankor

Interestingly..... Once you move abroad and live in a different culture you start to see "the preaching of religion" in a different light. What SHOULD be taught in schools is the "understanding" of religion and the ways to explore and learn more and make your OWN choices. What I have seen as very wrong is when ANY "preacher" instills a doctrine that "their way is the only way". In the US it leads to weirdo's, in the UK it leads to narrow mindedness but over here it leads to kids who are 'programmed' to believe that they will have access to Virgins and Milk & Honey for blowing themselves up. The basics of all the main religions are actually fairly close, it is simply "one man's" interpretation that makes them different and who knows whether that one man is right or wrong. sorry sound a bit like Prince Bl**dy Charles there, but I actually found that being able to understand the basics of ALL the different religions has helped me understand the whole meaning of life so much better.......... 42 of course

Have DIC bought Liverpool yet? No? hmmmm