Badvoc

EXACTLY! Agent Niemi, your mission should you choose to accept it is...

TBH, Saints & Scumpey are almost identical in terms of size of support, loudness, loyalty etc etc. If we had won the league in '57 (or whenever it was) Saints would definitely had 50-odd thousand attendances. If Scumpey had a 35,000 stadium I could eaasily see them packing in 33,000 on a regular-ish basis. Fact is, both clubs are in that swathe of footy clubs such as Cov City, Palace, Ipswich, Norwich, Derby, Forest, Leicester, WBA etc etc. I think attendances for either club is based on recent success, recent support for the game (we were scuppered of larger gates in the mid 80s by the weekly spectre of violence IMHO). All of these clubs are capable of pulling in 35,000 and all of us are well capable of sinking to 11,000. If anybody wanted to make an arguement for 'size' of club I would probably look at the size of away followings. That, I believe, it the real litmus test of support levels. In that respect, that's why the Toon and Mackems have spectacular support and are proper 'big' clubs, wheras the likes of Chelsea are just shhiiite. Now, I have no idea what Scumpey numbers are like away from home, but what I can say is that taking my mates from London to away games, every man jack of them has a very, very healthy respect for Soton in terms of numbers and voice. And, every independent London based fan of all clubs rates us as bigger than the Blue Few. TBH, I don't buy it, but that's what they tell me. So, in short, I think Saints and Scumpey are much of a muchness. Despite last season, Saints support has been really good, and proves that we are a decently supported outfit. No way in the league of Arsenal, Utd, Citeh etc but still damn good. The stats over the last 50-odd years don't lie, and we have very much held our own. Whether we could get 50-odd thousand if we won the Premiership today, I know not. But I rather suspect Scumpey couldn't. Best of luck to us both anyway, as a previous poster said earlier it would be a travesty if there was no representation in the Prem south of the Putney Bridge; a real travesty..

David Defty was definitely a name that I had heard about. All I know is he was a former FD of Guinness and had some connection to Tauntons College in Soton. Not sure what his position was but he was involved in the takeover in some respect.

Adam Leitch of the Echo due to be interviewed on talkSPORT in a bit

Exactly Nick, no categorical denials, although my gut instinct is still AS as manager with KK in some other role. In the interview I have seen MLT says: "...the papers get hold of the pictures, the stories get plastered and everyone puts 2 and 2 together and occasionally come up with 5" Well, if 5 = Saints Manager, then surely 4 = something just slightly different (ie DOF). Ah f**k, I don't know....could go round all day with this. Will just see what happens..

KK as DOF and AS as Manager is, in my opinion the plan Pinnacle have had from the start. Interestingly, MLT never denied KK as NOT being sounded out to have a position at St Marys. He merely said he was not being considered as Manager. I believe MLT spoke to KK about his thoughts of working with AS, bearing in mind their close relationship at NUFC. Interestingly, unless somebody else knows different, Shearer has not been formally given the Manager's job at St James Park yet, which strikes me as rather odd bearing in mind they are going into a crucial season in their history. Could AS be holding out for the Saints situation to resolve itself? Have KK or AS actively denied having any talks with Pinnacle/Saints about the SFC situation, despite the media speculating on both being lined up on different occasions? Would appreciate if anybody could confirm. For me the active silence is deafening, bearing in mind the recent media speculation. If I was KK or AS I would have categorically come out and said "I have no interest in the possible Southampton situation" IF I had just had a chat with MLT about football advice OR I was the current manager of a Championship club. The fact that they have said nothing on record would denote they are holding their cards very close to their chest. Tomorrow or Tuesday will be a very intersting day indeed.

Yeh, the funds issue is what is bugging me. Surely Fry saw that Mr Fialka and co had the money to satisfy the creditors? So, if he has seen it and been assured that it is available, then this in its own must prove that Mr F (and or his mob) are the real deal. Surely? Semi in Barnet or not! The confusing bit for me is what people have dug up info about the NW8 Holdings (or whatever it's called) and what looks to be a tin pot outfit. If I can get the address I'll take a 5 minute drive across to Barnet/Southgate/Oakwood and check out this semi detached place and report back!! I trust Tony will give of this his very best. He is a 110% genuine bloke and since I initially spoke to him about this whole issue on one of the Monday 5th May, his message has been consistent throughout. Since day 1 he has assured me that this chap (and I was always told it was one single person) had the means to buy the club and take us forward. Whether it was Mr Fialka I know not, but had been assured that the person had been involved in massive purchases of properties in the past; hence how Tony came to know him (through his job). A specific other name was mentioned as part of the party, but I don't know now whether he is still part of the 'team'. All I can say is that this other chap had a definite connection to Soton and may have been teh conduite for Mr Fialka approaching Tony initially; I just don't know.

Rob Steele is Bristol Roverrrs fan. Thoroughly nice bloke.

Just read this thread and some of the comments made about Pinnacle and Tony Lynam; one of which alluding to the use of stalling tactics, or worse some sort of underhand dealings from Tony. I know the guy personally (as do a number of loyal Saints and Pompey fans), although I haven't seen him for some time. I used to play football with him over a couple of years and what I can assure everybody is that Tony is 110% the real deal, and not a BS merchant. He is a great guy and I trust him implicitly with his comments to date about his assurances of his man purchasing the club. I am convinced it will happen. This is a scarey time for us all, but I know Tony and his representative are working their balls off to secure this deal. So, I would urge patience and support at this time because it would seem we are very near to finding out the whole story, with (hopefully) a terrific ending for us all.

I understood Alan Shearer was in the frame. Maybe he still is with King Kev. That would be an awesome management pairing if true.

In my opinion, IF he wants it Shearer has got it. Keep your eye on the national press in the coming week or so because IMHO this story will grow. And, if AS decides to come back this way we should be grateful too. We are a 3rd Div outfit now so need to recruit accordingly. I believe IF AS comes here as his first proper foray into full-time management he will be a phenomenon for us. With a 5 year financial plan to help us move up the leagues, along with a potentially astounding manager at the helm, St Marys will be rocking again; and soon.

We may be speaking to NUFC about a present member of their staff possibly taking over at Saints, but in my opinion it is not Dowie. Having said that, should I be wrong then Dowie would be a good appointment for a Div 3 club.

Great stuff, David. Some cracking memories there. Hopefully we'll be able to emulate those Cup replay epics in the near future! Personally I can't wait to take the trip over to Brentford & Leyton Orient next season. And who knows, if either turns out to be an end of season game maybe we'll have the opportunity of emulating another of those great Saints away days and get a result that sends us back up?

Hi David, appreciate what you said about Saints-Spurs encounters of the past (1930s, 50s & 60s) but as I think you said on an earlier thread they were top draw opponents and were the best team in London (and the country?) at that time. In a similar way, it could be argued we have had similar 'history' and 'rivalry' with Man Utd and Liverpool over the years when we played them; simply because they were the 'Big Guns' who suffered a few spankings down at the Dell (not forgetting '76). The point being though that aside from a few skirmishes with Spurs in the leagues over the years, THEY have never regarded US as rivals. From a personal point of view I have lived in traditionally strong supporting Spurs territories over the last 5 years (indeed am currently in an area that was known in the dim and distant past as 'South Tottenham') and have met and worked with many Spurs fans. At no point ever have they regarded Saints as any rivals, or mentioned us in any historical context. It was always, and always will be the Arse, Chelski and West Ham, along with the North West Giants. You & Duncan make some really interesting points though about the two clubs from the past. Have you any memories though of when Saints invaded WHL in that Cup Semi Final (replay?) game against Forest back in the 1960s? That must have been an impressive sight of all those cars going up the Seven Sisters Road and the c20,000 Saints fans filling The Lane!

Saints fans may feel there is a 'rivalry' there (not entirely sure why, despite the points made above), but I can assure you we don't appear anywhere on their radar. I would say that all the London clubs + Utd, L'pool, Leeds, Newcastle would be way ahead of us, followed by the likes of Citeh, Everton, Sheff Weds and Utd etc etc Other than Poopey (and possibly Bournemouth) we have no rivals. I would not even class Reading, Swindon or Brighton on their level...and as somebody said above Spuds would p*** themselves laughing if they knew we were having this discussion. In short, I think it would be fair to say that everone hates Spurs.

Saintstr1, I said I knew Tony Lynam; nothing else. And I am just passing on what I have heard. Don't give a s88t if you think I am ITK or not. Quite frankly this will all come out in the wash anyway. Probably fairly soon, but just not today. If you read my previous posts I said it was my opinion we'd hear something by Friday. Today is Thursday. Somebody else has been spouting bo*****s about press conferences etc at 2pm, but not me.

Confirm no press conference re' new owners, but there may be some sort of announcement concerning the bids. Nothing more than that.

There is no spin; certainly not from me. I don't really go in for the rumour mill, and as a rule just enjoy gauging the opinions of others. Just reiterating the fact I know the Pinnacle guys, and know they are close to MLT. If the deal is good enough for Matt, then with our current precarious predicament then it's good enough for me. You will hear everything in due course anyway.

Thanks for clarifying the Harringay/Haringey confirmation Saintbletch. Indeed Haringey is the London Borough, which has the district of Harringay within. We are N London, mid way between the Emirates and White Hart Lane if it makes it any easier for you to get a feel of the location. I am a London based Saint. Season ticket holder between 01-08 and originally from the Western Wards of Fareham. If you doubt my credentials I'm sure even Lowe would verify my identity because I was the guy that created the "Saints is the South" strapline for him/SFC back in 2000/01 as a simple supporter who was fed up with the lame promotional material served up by the club at that time. So, in terms of credibility, I hope that satifies you that I am totally SFC. FWIW I have been a lurker on here since it started and its previous incarnations. Indeed I first read this website from its very old existence when Keith set up the message board as part of the TOSSA website. Been reading the various incarnations of this since 1999... Anyhow, I happen to know the MD of Pinnacle and contacted him last night after reading the start of this thread. He is a top chap and I know for a fact he is a good friend of MLT. Other than state that one offer is on the table and the Pinnacle bid for their representative is in the process of being formally made, there is not much else to be said. However, I believe that both offers will be worthy of satisfying admin and I understand that we will all hear positive news by the end of the week. If what I understand is correct, this could be a great week for Saints fans everywhere. i really hope so because this club deserves to get its heart back.

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere else as I have not read this entire thread but I had a conversation tonight with somebody close to the current situation, and the long and the short of it (as I understand it) is that 1 firm offer has been tabled. Another offer is due very soon from a second party. I know nothing of the firm tabled bid, but the second is definitely one which will satisfy the administrators and creditors. I have been assured that the second party do not just want to purchase SFC, but to turn the club around within 4 seasons; with a view to the club being able to make a push back to the Premiership within that period. That is pretty much the outline summary of what I have been told. Either way, it is my opinion that we may find out some positive news regarding the future of SFC by Friday. I have been a big believer in talks of take-overs in the past, and felt let down over various rumours, but it is my belief now that the long wait is nearly over. This is a fantastic club with loyal and passionate supporters. Here's to a very positive future...

Definitely Keggy Keegan. We could be the project that defines him after years in the wilderness following his only successful period with NCFC (first time around). Saints would be ideal for him as there is no pressure now. We are so in the s88t that anything he brings would be a benefit. Above all now though, SFC needs a figurehead to get behind. As fans we haven't 'owned' a manager since Strachan, and have been orphaned ever since; although with Pearson I believed we actually 'had' someone for a while. In short, we need someone to call our own. If KK wants a challenge with a huge upside SFC would be an ideal opportunity. We have the historical connection too, so if assuming he is financially secure and doesn't need the cash Saints could be an ideal opportunity to resurrect his (somewhat) tarnished managerial image. IMHO

Just looked at the website and I think I know Tony. If he's the same guy then he is a great chap from the Emerald Isle. Used to play 5-a-side with him in Fareham about 10 years a go. Super fella, but not a Saint. Really surprised he has anything to do with an SFC takeover, but there you go.

If this theory has any legs could it have something to do with our own Mr Singh? Former Southampton resident Sarwan Singh controls a 6% shareholding bought purely as a piece of Stock Market speculation, from his base in India. Could there be a connection?

Not one that I sang with much gusto, but I remember this little ditty from the late 80s. Needed a lead singer and a chorus repeat... Everywhere we go *Everywhere we go* People Wanna Know *People Wanna Know* Who we are *Who we are* So we tell them *So we tell them* We're the boys in red and white *We're the boys in red and white* Love to sing and love to fight *Love to sing and love to fight* Ohhhhhhhhhh *Ohhhhhhhhhh* or something like that...

Keggy Keegan. If he wants a challenge without the big pressure of a Prem side Saints would be ideal. Big club at a low ebb. He could resurrect his name and enjoy himself agaain in the process. Please, please we need the passion of King Kev to give us something to cheer about...