saint1977

Sadly this is true and a fair point and although far from certain to happen in a CVA, is well within the means of the possible as well.

1970s?

I will identify posts as I see them and no, I don't believe that you are one. This is a site for Saints FANS which is why Wilde was a bit naughty in the way he used S4E and got the ball rolling. Rupert was totally out of order using club money to hire PR companies and their posts were and are as subtle as a brick. Look at Village's post on us not making the CCC play-offs and you'll see the type of gaga stuff that is being posted again! No Saints fan with a clue about football would have posted that and you'll also notice that although they are not intending to, they talk about the club in a third party way. It's insulting on the fans to post spin that is clearly inaccurate (there is no way the team is going to suddenly pull away with a string of wins in an even weaker state, especially if Kelvin goes), we fans do no doubt post things that are speculation and conjecture because we are in the dark on what is happening. I suspect we'll go into a CVA shortly but I have few facts to base this on. There are a lot of posters on there that have a different take on boardroom matters but I get on well with the vast majority of them as they are fellow fans and I respect their opinion even if it is very different to mine. What I have no time for is people paid by the current regime invading a leisure site and posting blatant spin which fans can see through. It stirs people up and creates further divisions in a time of inflamed opinions.

Totally right and even in 2004/5 we still didn't lose that many games at home (5 I seem to recall) although we draw too many to fellow strugglers and mid-table teams under Wigley. Our inability to even get draws away from home (and one solitary away win at Boro) cost us. Without SMS, we wouldn't have been able to build the excellent 2002/3 and what wonderful memories they gave us.

No, I think there's some truth in that. Perhaps 3-4 more experienced players would make us competitive again but we've just signed one of them.

Excellent post.

There are definately PR plants on here again and I noticed it pre-XMAS. They are using a variety of usernames and tactics - some come on here wanting to pick a fight and are very aggressively pro-board and others like Village are peddling a softer line but nevertheless commnunicate in a very OS-type way. One of the user names I am 99% sure made an appearance as a plant on S4E in 2006 so they are not very smart with it. The mods really need to get on top of it - debate and differing opinions are healthy but Wilde really started it by using S4E as a propaganda tool so Rupert countered it (not making excuses for him either) and it really made me distrust the club as a fan and I know I'm not alone on this point. It leads to a downward spiral of mutual suspicion that only an 100% fresh start can break. Personally, I'm still trying to cling to the hope that we get a 11th hour buyer before administration however unrealistic that probably is in the current world climate.

Lowe and his Dutch experiment is the only way to survive? Please tell me that you are not serious and this is a tongue in cheek post? Or that you have a sense of irony. At the very least you aren't at SMS regularly - we have won ONE home league game this season and that was only thanks to a fluke goal from Robertson and a highly debatable penalty. OK, we played well twice V Reading but one swallow doesn't make a summer. The League 1 play offs look beyond us, let alone the CCC ones.

To be fair to the board, I don't think the overseas money which really came in with Chelsea in 2003 helped at all. What I will say is that we should have been going for investment THEN, not trying desperately via Seymour Pearce much later on as the walls and roof were falling in. I think we peaked in 2003 and whilst I'm not of the opinion that the board should not have gambled money in 2003/4 we didn't have, we were a very attractive prospect for proper investment at that time. WGS and the players knew this as well and we ran out of steam badly in the first half of 2004 despite a mini-revival under Sturrock.

Look at Luton who are stuck with a really antiquated old hole of a ground with no way of generating any income bar ticket sales. We've messed up on football, the SMS mortgage should have been doable but various boards since 2004 have made stinking football decisions. That's not SMS's fault and I'm not sure that the Dell would have held it's intimidation factor much longer anyway. The Skates have a similar type of ground and their record at Fratton Rust Bowl over the last 2 seasons hasn't been that clever.

I was converted a long time ago. Charlton were paying Luke Varney £23k per week when he hadn't even played at CCC level and hasn't set this level alight either. The Skates would go straight into administration if Adams doesn't keep them up this year - Crouch was good for us but £75k per week anyone? The average Premier League weekly wage is well beyond what the Prime Minister and Governor of the Bank of England earn combined and I know who I want to see succeed more and feel is more important (clue not the footballers!). I even saw a rumour that Scott Parker was going to be offered £100k per week by Man City. He's not even worth a quarter of that, he scored 2 great goals at SMS but his biggest achievement is still playing keepy-uppy on a McDonald's advert.

That is superb! Great stuff.

I take your point but some very average players have U21 caps, it's no guarantee of quality. Even Franny and Gordon Watson got regular U21 caps.

I hope you are right and that he is a later developer. I certainly want him to succeed as I do with all Saints players but time will tell and hope my early observations are proven wrong. I think the fact we are bringing this Dutch guy in tells us that he isn't ready yet but hopefully will improve from his exposure to first XI.

You may well be right, I can only go on the opinions of those I know in the game who have been involved in that side of it for many years. I was always led to believe that the facilities were an attraction for parents but then Bristol Rovers seem to have a team built from their partnership with Filton College. I suppose it depends what calibre of youngster we want but then good players still develop in the lower divisions.

The thing is Minty, I don't think the major shareholders do either. Administration is what is LIKELY to happen but to call it a solution would be very dangerous and messy and there is no guarantee of a buyer and it would be sickening to see what few semi-decent players we have left going for mere buttons as the bank claw back what little they can. Plus I'm yet to see a club that have prospered after it. The other options could be: Investment - looking highly unlikely in a world downturn and we couldn't even get our act together in boomtime. Generating other external revenue - again, very difficult as the brand is the first team. Cutting ticket prices might get a few more fans in and spending money but it's a drop in a very big ocean. Further player sales - we're well below CCC standard already. One or two big earners are left like Euell and Skacel and Davis that will be out of contract - well perhaps not Rudi - in the summer so that might help. Cutting the academy's size - already happened with natural wasteage and people going. If we cut it any more we won't be allowed to have one and no more Bales or Theos. Not sure if we own Staplewood or not Selling SMS - but who would want it and we're only going to end up paying rent plus interest so the cash we'd generate wouldn't last long. Not much of a strategy from the information above. Administration is horrible but a VA I reckon it will be.

Why is it stupid? I was one of those that thought Kenwyne Jones would come good when others were slating him because I could see the superb athlete. Bennett got better but what level is he playing at now? (give you a clue, it's below CCC). Who is Williams? The only Williams we've had playing for us is Paul (ex-Cov) who was steady for a season, Steve (who was brilliant but v.early on in my following Saints so couldn't tell you what he was like as a youngster) or the Welsh winger who went to Swindon. Lancashire just IMO doesn't have the attributes to be successful at CCC level although with the right coaching and management he might be late developer in League 2 say. John Terry proves you don't have to be quick as a CB but you do have to read the game, you do need to have some control and ball skills to distribute and you do need to be decent in the air. Perry has carried Ollie and even then he's collected 2 red cards from less than a dozen games and given away an awful lot of free kicks and we all know how vulnerable we are from those. If you look at another one of our youngsters, Gobern, he's raw but you can see the potential and I think Mills is another one that will go on and do well, albeit they've been exposed a bit soon.

Brilliant! Wonder if we can create a "mini-Mike" to keep Rupert company? He'd even attack Leon and Lawrie.

Why we are helping those muppets after the sick Andrews seaplane chants is beyond me. If we're paying the wages couldn't a decent club with semi-decent fans like Aldershot have had him?

Sad but true unless we put Askham, Wilde, Lowe, Crouch and their hangers on in a dinghy out from Calshot in a Force 9. Hone can go in there as well for past crimes.

The bit that astonished me was Euell automatically getting £200k p.a - I was sickened to read that. The Execs really did let things slump and thought "It doesn't matter if we get a buyer" but if you don't succeed, it leaves a real mess. I agree with Weston that we should look beyond blame but that means Wilde pulling the choke chain on Rupert and many of Rupert's statements WHICH HAVE CONSISTENTLY APPORTIONED blame and very inaccurately too. Trouble is Mike, YOU appointed the Execs so the hypocracy is stunning! I'm not a fan of Crouch's either for the record but many of his attacks this season have come in response to Rupert and Mike gobbing off. Personally, I agree with MLT, ALL the major shareholders are a waste of space and SFC will continue to slip into a coma and die whilst they are involved.

Westmalle is the pick of those. Not that I've had a beer for a while, blasted flu but on the mend now. Means I have a fair old beer stock left over that I couldn't touch over XMAS though!

See what you mean and the good on the ball description from Martini fits that as well. If he's signed that's good, he really cannot be worse than what we've been using. We should have 3 or 4 of the best youngsters in the side and the rest should be players like this given our relegation fight.

He looks like a big animal which is what we need though. A few more at RB, CM and CF would help as well, wonder if Arsenal want to buy Morgan S yet? It certainly beats having to put 10 pansies out.

Brilliant! After the story in the Echo on wages, I wonder if Rupes has installed a trap door for Dave Jones with a pool of sharks underneath?