dockland Dave

I suspect if we had a West African consortium taking us over you would have little black sambo as your aviator, or German irt would be Hitler. I just find it slightly stange you are being that offensive to someone who is attempting to the club.

Mole, I find your aviator quite offence. I only hope you are about 12 years old

As a reasonably infrequent poster on here I suspect I am going to make myself unpopular on here. Although I see 19C has the ability to wind people up, I do se a line of truth behind what he says and start a reply by insulting someone says more about the yourself than the person you are replying to. I don't see the Rupert Lowe debate as black and white. I see Rupert Lowe as an arrogant, socially inept (when it comes to to fans) individual who gained too much pleasure in seeing himself in the limelight. I also think that his unwillingness to lose the purse strings was part of the reason behind our fall from grace, but there are enough examples of clubs doing so and still failing (Charlton and Ipswich come to mind). I do not however think he would have made the mistakes of Wilde, and "gone for bust!" I do not think the club would have gone under if Lowe had stayed in charge. I agree we would have been a divided club, with fans and chairman at loggerheads. Lowes bottom line was always the balance sheet, and the large wages and fees sanctioned by Wilde would not have been allowed. As for the Dutch experiment which ultimately failed. Would Pearson have stayed on under the financial constraints imposed on JP? Would many managers have done better?Should we have sold a number of players in the last transfer window, yes i suspect so, bt not even Lowe was willing to mange the vittrol of the fans by doing so. I also believe Wotte should be given a chance. He took over a ship that was already sinking with two hands tied behind his back, a very young squad whose confidence had been shot to pieces, and next to no ability to bring players in when needed. What he has done is remain loyal to the club when he has had the option to walk away to something more stable. He is attempting to plan for next season, even when at our darkest hour, most of us really started to question whether the club would actually survive. Too many posters on here expect instant gratification. There was a general consensus on this board that we would struggle last year and the team would blow hot and cold. This happened, but instead of supporting the players posters started to slag them off. We need to remember how old these kids are and the fact that they are only just beginning their careers. Take James, slagged off to heaven before Xmas, but gradually finding his feet. Or MS, who many of you think is "****". I would prefer to take the view the view of the French coaches who make him their under 20 captain. How would most of us lot cope with moving away from home at 18 to a new country, play in a league far more physical league, in a struggling team, and a diveded fan base! Can we all except that we have no preordained right to be in the prem or the champ.. If we finish mid table next year can fans stop shouting how poor we are and except that we are starting again, and the likes of Yeovil are playing us as equals. We do have a past and a heritage to be proud of, but that is the past. Lets go into next season with a smile on our faces, with realistic expections, knowing we are lucky to be here.

Well what do we expect? Michael Owen? Would anyone with any ability or any other choice of club want to join us? Mr Thompson we may be able offer you a contract next week if we are still in business. Sad state of affairs, but we have to be realistic

I think Aviva will take the highest bidder currently on the table. Would be interesting to look to see what the Sheffield Development plan says about the land around Staplewood, would development be allowed on it? It would take a brave planning committee to grant planning permission on a football ground or a training ground, but saying that it has been done before! Looking at Ipswich Fc, I think they were brought out of admin for approx 7mm, I suspect we will go between 8 -10mm, perhaps with add ons. Bottom line is that no English football club has any value until they are in the prem. The only people who buy them are fans, publicity seekers or those very few that have deep enough pockets to take us there. As Morph would say , all IMHO

Coming from a regeneration back ground. I suspect that we are valuing a football club and any potential sales are relevant to the price. I don't think the council will allow house building on Staplewood or SMS, it is not in their interests to see the club fold. So in MHO I would state that we can only value Saints and its seperate entities as a football club (Jacksons farm excepted). Anyway how many builders have the cash to land bank at the moment?

I think we are all too emotionally involved in this one to make an honest apprasail. TL is only mouth piece for an invisible investor, I suspect to blame him for the prolonged negociations would be unfair. If you saw that you had a real case against the FL, and were not being allowed to challenge it, wouldn't you push the issue?? Remember how much money an extra year in Div 1 may cost that individual. How would we feel if at the end of the seson we are one point off the playoffs with the deduction?? I think TL and co is expecting to pay the wages this month, and I see that as a statement of intent. I suspect once this is all resolved the board, manager etc will fall into place almost imediately. I think we all have to be patient, and wait for this mess to resolve its self. Remember the alternative is MJ, a delusional idiot, who I wouldn't trust to purchase a used car off !!(or a used photocopier)

Pap, because what the FL have done is "an abuse of power". I don't neccessarily belive that we should get the 10 points back, because in all bar a technicality we are administration, but we should have a right to appeal. However if we can get off on a technicality, then let it happen. I suspect the -10 points will gaurentee an extra season season in league one and cost our prospectiver owner millions. I suspect our owner is a very rich individual because he has looked after his cash and fought decisions like this!

Thanks David in Sweden, always try and keep an eye out for the Swedish exsaints. I was in a sports bar in Norkopping about 4 years ago and was amazed to find it was showing Saints vs Wolves (CCC match). I was even more amazed when two Swedish saints fans came in to watch the game in Saints shirts, and how knowledgable they were about are beloved team. Ps to the idiots who think this whole thread is pointless, stop being idiots and just don't read it

The boy was playing his first full season for us. He scored 14 goaks in the second worst team in the league. He will learn from last season and get better. Some of you lot expect a striker to come out of the box a finished article. I suspect with a MCG we will have one of the best strikers in div 1. We will not get anyone as good as him in, because if they were any better they will b playing in a higher league. IMHO it is an imperative to keep the likes of MGD and co, lets see how they can do when there confidence isn't hot to pieces and they aren't losing each week! Everybody seems to quote some hot shot striker from the lower leagues, but look what Billy Sharp did when he moved up a level, not alot. Or How good Matty Fryatt was in league one, but the previous season hw was woeful in a CCC side. Remember gents the grass is always greener, and we won't be able to attract the players of MgG quality in this league.

I am sorry Solentstar, but would have to disagree with you here (I am a Saints fan), But football has a short memory, and for 5 long years they have been the bigger club. I think we showed we weren't one of the big boys when we got 23k when the clubs future depended on it. That would have been a sell out out at a Leeds or Forest. I thought in the premiership years we had move on into a middle ground, being the same size as a West Ham or an Everton. But the reality is that we are an Ipswich / Charlton or Norwich. If we have the big boys in town we can sell out, but out of the average 30k fans that went to SMS week in week out I suspect 18-20k were proper hard core fans, the rest went to see Prem football. I sadly suspect we may see the firt sub 10k attendance at SMS if we ever make league one.

5K a day sounds about right. I doubt if there are any more than 4 people working on Saints, we aren't a particularily large business.

If that is true, I can go to bed with a smile on my face (usually takes something a bit different!). I need to be able to be productive at work again, I haven't been able to stop looking at this stupid forum for the past month. My boss asked me yesterday if everything was ok at home! I can hardly say may biggest worldy concern at the moment is the tate of my beloved football club.

Like most of you I have found this whole takeover business horrendous, and I just want it sorted. I only hope that is being played out is a game of brinkmanship, and Mr Fry is waiting until the last possible moment for an improved bid, before he accepts what’s on the table (I can't blame him for that, its his job). I do however hope (and somewhat naively believe) that we will find new owners, who even if they can't afford to pump large sums into the club, can create some stability to our club. I hope the fact that Mr Fry has not come out in the press and stated that talks have broken down irretrievably, means that both sides are still willing to negotiate. If the difference between offer and asking price is 1m, I am sure both parties can come to some agreement and split the difference somewhere in-between. I cannot see Mr Fry going back to the major creditors with no deal, and then spending a small fortune in splitting a club up and having a huge fire sale, for the sake of 1m. If the club goes under, players can leave under freedom of contract (no revenue to creditors). The ground, staplewood, and Jacksons Farm may all have limited development value, but only to be land banked for future use. I suspect we will be all right, I just think it will go down to the wire.

Some people on here really irratate me. McGoldrick at 21 in his first full season in properly the poorest Saints team in 50 years scored 13 goals. I have to admit his attitude at the beginning of the season wasn't great, but the lad has alot of talent and will get better, and if we sell him for peanuts, it will come back to haunt us. Take a look at K.Jones at the same age, alot of fans would have taken 500k for him the season before we sold him. Rasiak on the other hand has failed at the top level. The Rasiak I remember couldn't run, tackle and wasn't particularily good in the air, but had a nack of scoring a few goals in a much better Saints team. I personnally believe that MCG will, if we can keep him hit 20+ next year in div 1.

Can you blame the lad for joining a manager he already knows, and to play for a team closer to his home. Dont think this one can be pinned on Lowe or VP

Alpine Saint and St Marco you are complete idiots

16,500 as of 11am this morning had been sold