SaintRobbie

He's had his car and himself pelted with things in the past. Matter of time. But you know what... I said it on another thread and I really am beginning to believe it.... especially as Lowe wasnt there of Saturday... I think Lowe may just be gone for good. If he does dare to return then Mrs Lowe needs to give him a jolly good talking to!

Yes! At last! Hope and just a little sense from a non-defeatist! I agree. NEW MANAGER...... NOW.

Have they? If not they will.

COME ON! With a new manager there's at least HOPE! ...with JP and Lowe I agree... we're fooked.

Sure its not about 69?

It bloody well should be. How about a poll?

I would hate to see Hoddle back here... but I'd kiss him if he returned to replace the dumb cloggy.

Irrelevant as the fans would just sit elsewhere and do the same thing.

cos they forgot we already had some?

Yes.

Originally Posted by Nick Illinsworth Lets nail a few things down from the start of this piece, so there can be no doubt as to my thoughts on several matters. Firstly I dont think it is the fault of the supporters as to the situation that Southampton Football Club finds itself in today, its in this mess not just because of the actions of one man but those of a number of people all of whom have served on the board of the club in the past decade or so. Agree Fully. Secondly as I have just said, I dont blame Lowe completely for this mess, but that doesnt mean that I am in any way sticking up for him, I am merely calling it as I see it, I blame Lowe for those things that he is responsible for, not for that which he isnt and i apply that to every other director of Southampton Football Club past and present. Fair one... but out of 10 I think we can blame Lowe for lets say 7/10 of the fatal mistakes that have led this Club to another relegation under his leadership So to cover the protests at the Doncaster game, once again I fully support the rights of every supporter to protest against this regime or indeed any regime running the Club, however i do content that there is a place and time for such protests and the timing yesterday was, lets say, not great. Irrelevant. It happened. And it happened later than it should have done. I have spoken to a few supporters today and several of them have said the same thing, that when the first Doncaster goal went in it was the final straw and that was why the fans turned so quickly, I dont buy that, the team is on the back of a victory at Barnsley and a credible home draw with Reading, when Forest scored a month ago at St Mary's I could have concurred with it being the straw that broke the camels back, coming after a string of defeats, but until that Doncaster goal the form for the past two games has been good and with 45 minutes of the game left we still had every chance to get back in the game and a win would have dragged us out of the relegation zone, the time for protesting was after the game not in the middle of it. I think I am with the supporters you spoke to Nick. We've supported this rubbish for about 10 games longer than we should have and now we're almost certain to relegate. Had the fans lost it 10 games ago we may have seen a change by now. But I do understand what supporters are feeling and their frustrations, however its difficult to see what can be changed in the short term, of course the ideal thing would be for the major shareholders to all get together and work towards getting the club on an even keel, but the blunt facts is that all of them are glazed over with hatred for those in the other camp and are past the stage of putting the Club before their own agendas. Agree 110%. Goot Point. That being the case there are only two ways for lwoe to leave the club, that is to be bought out by other shareholders or a complete and utter takeover, fact is the latter is the only truly workable option, it needs a complete change within the club no more no less, last season we were on the very brink of disaster, in some respects it would have been better for Lowe that we were relegated, fans would have blamed Crouch & Pearson and he could have then came in with no real alternative options, luckily we didnt go down, meaning that we find ourselves with the same old boardroom arguments. Lines 1-3 Most sensible thing I have read from Nick for a while - well said. Personally Im sick of it and change has to be made, but make no mistake unless we want to go on repeating the last couple of seasons endlessly we need that change to be drastic, with no director curent or past involved with the club. Starting to like Nick again... But if there are no buyers out there how can we move forward, simply speaking it would only be possible if Lowe, Crouch & Wilde agreed to work together on the PLC board, but did not involve themselves with the day to day running of the fotball club, that would mean appointing a Chief Executive to be responsible for the day to day running of the club, reporting back to the major shareholders on the PLC Board, I reiterate, Lowe, Crouch & Wilde would then have no say in running the club, appointing managers or signing players, all they would be responsible for would be appointing this Chief Executive, setting him a budget and then monitoring his performance to ensure he was doing his job properly. errrr... not likely. Someone has to be Chairman, so who Nick? Even in the interim tell us who... because I say CROUCH is the only man there with the fans vote now. Fully agree about appointment of a CEO simultaneously though. OK for some supporters it wouldnt be the total removal of Lowe from Saints, but it would remove him from the day to day running of the Club and accusations of interference. Not good enough. Lowe is regarded as bad luck - let alone incompetent. He must NEVER be part of this club in any capacity ever again. You must demand that Nick. If supporters want to protest they need to do it with a united front and before and after games, not during, this was the tactics during the Branfoot protests of 93/94 and it worked well on several fronts, firstly it focused the fans on the true targets and secondly the energy unleashed in support of the team won us several points that really mattered come the end of the season long after Branfoot had gone, it meant that Alan Ball had a base to build on, surely we want that today, we may want the removal of Lowe and the rest and ultimately a takeover, but do we want to be so far behind if and when it happens that relegation is a certainty. Too late. Protests have started during games and will continue. If you wanted to make this point you should have made it 3-4 weeks ago. So as it WILL happen during games, accept it and at least try and make it constructive. The Saints Trust offfers fans a central point to rally round, the aim of the Trust is to encourage fans ownership in the Club, although you dont need to be a shareholder to join, I have said this many times, but if every season ticket holder and member had ticked the box on the season ticket renewal forms last season and joined the Trust then we would now own a nice chunk of the club, however if we scroll back three year to the trust formation and the departure of Lowe, if for the past three years 20,000 Saints fans, roughly half the data base had joined then, at a rough estimate using the share price over th past year we would now on behalf of the supporters own 10% of the Club, enough to tip the balance of power. But a large majority of fans view you as a club stooge. So you're barking up the wrong tree there. If you were to hand it over to someone else who was prepared to hold the club more accountable you may stand a chance. You are quite correct in your general point...but not whilst you're there Nick unless you are far more vocally anti Boardroom. The real message here is supporters can really change things, we have missed a big opportunity, but we have a chance to rectify it. You missed the opportunity Nick. You did. It was last summer that Lowe was allowed to return without protest....and now it is probably too late.

oops... just seen this! http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=8419 Will post my analysis on that thread!

I think the Trust should be leading the cries for change. I think Illingworth hates Lowe but has been close to the centre of the boardroom for too long now to be regarded as anything other than another stooge. So theoretically, yes. But, I dont think Illingworth wants Lowe either. Read his A-Z of Saints, a super little book to be fair, well worth buying. Really super. He makes his real feelings about Lowe clear in there. I am split. But I want Illingworth off the fence one way or another within 24 hours to make a judgement.

You might be right. But trying to SELL this Club cannot do any harm only the slightest chance of success... but by god it's worth it. It takes nothing to tell the media we want a buyer. If we did it with a bunch of legends, Crouch and local dignatories it would have even more impact. It just has to be better than doing nothing. By the way, Paul... where's the wake going to be? Sounds like a right good party!

I said we'd be relegated last summer... but we MUST FIGHT.

Exactly. It makes a visual statement against the board, whilst the fans can chant support for the nippas at the same time. So it should satisfy those who want to support AND those who want to make a statement that they want Lowe out.

I am sure he'll rethink though. Jason - we need to tempt a buyer - not turn one off. Work for that aim constructively.

An instant and easy win for this campaign... that people could start doing at Norwich... would be to start wearing black arm bands. Sends a message AND we can get behind the team at the same time.

Just like the old Saint Mary's then!.... allegedly!

Jason, I know where Steve is coming from and he is right to remind people during this very passionate and frustrating time. You can say whatever you like as long as you are not tempted to advocate illegal acts. I am sure that you would not. BUT, for those who are so angry and frustrated that you may, I would suggest to you all that Saints fans are one of the few saleable commodities left to a potential buyer who may be interested in this Club. Militant action may turn off a buyer and send the wrong message about the nature of this football club - which has always been mellow and family oriented. Violence, illegal activity etc will do more harm to your (everyone's!) cause than constructive protest. We need a buyer - we need to see the back of this boardroom and the plc method of running the club. Lets find that buyer....CONSTRUCTIVELY.

I like the idea for the protest but fundamentally if we want to be both constructive and milk the media coverage we need to tell the world the club is FOR SALE. If we protest we risk putting off buyers. If we protest FOR a buyer we may, may, interest someone. Our fanbase is one of the few saleable commodities this club still has. It has to act responsibly. It has to appeal to buyers. FOR SALE signs everywhere. SFC WELCOMES NEW OWNER. etc etc.

Couldnt agree more Duncan. People know my line so I'll not over explain myself again but... We must unite under a simple aim - removal of this board by selling the club. That may come in stages I grant you eg Crouch in at first etc. But enough is enough. The system of running our club has failed for too long due to egos and lack of unity. If the board are unable to declare the Club is for sale then I believe we should. We simply cannot sit on a fence any longer and roll over thinking confirmed failures will sort out the problem, they wont. Let's sell this club.

Agreed.

Wouldnt be my first choice, but Dowie would certainly engender a will to win. Might work in a relegation battle. Certainly a better option than the current coach. EXTERMINATE! (sorry couldnt resist it!)

Yes.