Greenridge

What is the timeline for this?

It''s all very well talking about the 'team' ethic and how much better it is this year but if the players are not good enough then they're not good enough. I'm not saying they are by the way I'm just pointing out that playing as a team is not the be-all and end-all of things. If we wanted a truly integrated team to fight for one another then look no further than the local youth team leagues. These guys would die for one another but I doubt they'd do too well in the CCC. Despite his cracking start to the pre-season / season I too worry that we will rely on DMG and it would now appear that JP is perhaps sensing the same as he has brought John back into the frame and talked him up somewhat. Let's hope the club can balance the real longer term economies of maintaining CCC status with a marginally higher wage outlay (in keeping John) than having false short term economies.

Now Nicholas I would have thought you would know better than to bite like that. You obviously don't read my posts if you feel that your flippant statement in bold is accurate. As I have said many times and will say it again for you in case you are having a little memory trouble I see it like this.. Firstly, I do not believe Crouch and Co were heading in the right direction however I do believe they were acting as 'fans' in the way they ran the Club. It was clearly not a sustainable policy however. Wilde to me is the biggest gremlin in the whole equation who rode in on his trusty stead announcing how he would save the Club from the evil Lowe. It didn't work out, his board decided he was not up to the job and he left. Five minutes later he's aligning himself with Lowe. It could only happen at SFC. The man can have no credibility and I think Lowe realises this which is why he remains the mouthpiece of the club both on football and more corporate level matters. I'm sure you will point to the occasional press release from Wilde but they are on pretty minor matters. As for Lowe then I believe he is a good businessman and with football becoming a 'business' in recent years then the fit is there. If, however you believe he has returned to SFC for any other reason that to protect his investment (share holding) then I'm 100% sure you are sadly mistaken. Athough he has been trumpeted for his cost cutting skills this is really a very simple task. A more difficult task is to make those needed cost reductions and in parallel maintain a team that is competitive. The Holy Grail is the Premiership and that must be the objective. Only last weekend the TV pundits were discussing the real possibility that League 1 and 2 clubs may need to go part time in the not too distant future. Football is in danger of imploding but that's another thread altogether. I try and consider all the available information when I form an opinion and I have no allegiance to any of the previous or current leaders of our club. I do however want to see the very best outcome for SFC as I'm sure we all do. What I do object to however is that some are so unwavering in their support of certain regimes that they become blinkered and unable to make objective considerations and see the wood from the trees.

It's no surprise that you appear to be the only ally he has now. Unfortunately he appears to be causing more harm to your idol than good but it's good entertainment for the majority. Keep it up Scoobs.

Scooby you really are a classic. Even the most ardent hardline Lowe supporters have started to distance themselves from your ramblings (well, most atleast). You do more harm than good for the poor man.

The OS suggests (from JP) the same team as Saturday with the exception of Svensson. The Daily Echo seems to have been playing 'pin the tail on the donkey' for a couple of years with regards to the teams they come up with in Friday's paper for Saturday's games. It used to be relatively accurate but not any longer.

I have heard this from a variety of different people including two Derby season ticket holders I know very well. What's the view from those who have seen him in pre-season or at Cardiff? He seems pretty low on the radar in terms of references on the OS or match reports from the friendlies and Cardiff.

Based on that I forecast a 10-0 win to Saints.

Think you're giving him too much credit there. His strategy is based on the situation the club finds itself in and nothing else. We didn't have the same strategy when we were in the Premiership did we. Times and circumstances change and you have to cut your cloth accordingly. I'm not a Lowe fan (in football terms) but in business terms he knows his onions. Whether the two can be combined to give the level of on-the-pitch performance remains to be seen. Don't be under any illusion that if any of the youngsters reach the required standard they will remain with us as they won't. They'll be sold to support the future of the club. That is the future until a white knight appears over the hilltop.

Source? If the Spiderman is as good as is being trumpeted then it's a good piece of business (as per Rebel's comments) but don't expect him to be around too long.

Sorry to take this thread off topic a little but I heard a piece of comedy gold on Saturday afternoon whilst listening to the radio coverage (Hampshire Radio?) in the car. The commentator guy is talking about Andrew Surman and how he's going to be a Dad etc and says 'Andrew Surman a Southampton man through and through. Born in South Africa.....' I know what he meant but the way it came across gave me the chuckles

Whoops, thanks Hugh. I'll go and sit in the corner with my back to the class :oops:

I hope I'm not reading too much in to the complete lack of updates from the club regarding Andrew Davies. He's a massive element of our cause.

That of course is completely subjective, I don't think he's a patch of Saga.

Thanks, some encouraging comments there. Strength and experience are two areas a number of people have highlighted over recent weeks so if we can do something in those areas then hopefully we can have a season to look forward to.

And you can't seem to grasp that sliding down the league table(s) with associated diminishing income is a false economy.

ditto

Well it will be interesting to read some reviews from people who actually saw the game. Comments from this thread so far include things along the line of.. '..if it was for Kelvin we'd have lost by 7 or more....' '...saints on the backfoot for much of the game according to SSN..' '...saints the better team according to Hants radio...' '...Radio Cardiff says Cardiff were the better team...' 'We did well, I don't care what anyone says. We could have just as easily got the 3 points. ' So which is really true?

Well by 4:45 we should have a feel for where we are as a team. One swallow won't make a summer and by the same token we shouldn't be too concerned at this stage if it ends in defeat although a big deficit could be damaging. Whatever happens in this first competitive fixture we will all have some facts to base our opinions on.

Sorry Nick but that's exactly what many posters are implying if not stating in black and white. We are being continually fed information that a number of players aren't interested etc etc. They just happen to be the higher wage drawers in the Club. Coincidence? As with most things on this forum, the views are dictated by pro or anti-Lowe opinions and not on the reality of the situation at hand.

Even by your own wildly distorted views Scooby I doubt even the most ardent of Lowe supporters will buy-in to this classic statement.

I don't disagree with anything you've said there. However, do you not have even the slightest suspicion that we are 'leaked' information that the same senior players whose hearts aren't in it and don't want to be here just happen to he the higher wager earners in the club? Quite a coincidence.

Not suggesting it wasn't however you were stating Saga ran around alot and basically didn't achieve a great deal. This is BWPs forte is it not, so my point is not redundant. Thanks for reminding of the thrust of this thread, it was actually started to highlight he had gone on loan. No more, no less, but thanks. If we can replace Saga (if required) with a similar standard of player at lower cost then fantastic, if we can't and find ourselves relying on DMG or BWP and it doesn't happen for them then it's a false economy.

I'm sure everyone in the football world knows of our financial state and that pretty much any reasonable offer will be accepted so I doubt making this public will have too much of an impact on their market value. Like many things in life at the moment it is a buyers market.

I take it you're referring to BWP. Maybe it is you with blinkers.