shurlock

We did have a massive clearout in the summer/autumn 2008 (Viafara, Idiakez, Safri, Licka etc while high-wage earners Rasiak, Saganowski and John were loaned out). I think Lowe genuinely thought that he didn't need to get rid of anyone in January (not only wolves and forest were interested in our players). He took a calculated decision that keeping our best players together was the best way of preserving our championship status and the money that went with it. I dont think it was a reckless gamble given Barclays cried wolf over 6K and we always had the option of selling our higher-profile players in the summer anyway (as we have done). I would go further and say that by waiting a few months for summer rather than selling in the Jan transfer window, teams as a general rule can get more for a player, because, as you say teams are more certain about their prospects and there are more buyers.

delete

Not really when set in the context of a year. When Lowe returned last May, recall that SLH were overdrawn by £1.3m on a facility of £5m -that was no problem for R. Fry; in November, Fry unilaterally reduced the overdraft to £4m and effectively forced us to get rid of players (hence John's departure - of course, no fans showed any sympathy then but now blame Lowe for not getting rid of players in Jan). Nonetheless, we did make credible efforts to stabilise our debt. In April Barclays bounced £6,000 worth of cheques on a £4m overdraft - crumbs given the way Barclays had been happy to act. If you don't think that's inconsistent and aggressive on the part of Barclays, you're blinded by Lowe hatred (I cant stand the man either but can see Barclay's role in events). I know that behind the scenes MPs had been writing to Barclays to hold off given the looming sale of STs etc but to no avail.

Bouncing cheques isn't far off the same thing...

Maybe little micky has found some money down the back of the couch. Issue's always been about the 10 point deduction. Le Tiss said as much over the weekend and Monday when he said he would be prepared to the 10 point deduction and move on. Of course, the FL is not blameless. In its arrogance and imperiousness, the c**ks never felt a need to clarify the issue in public; had they done so, we would have been spared alot of needless doom-mongering among fans and time-wasting by Pinnacle.

Pretty incredible I know but jacko's reputation has possibly come out of this better than TL's.

But wasn't this the league's position all along? Wednesday's Echo piece didn't contain any new revelations. The FL were only restating their position/coming out in public/covering their backs in case they were subsequently criticised for derailing the Pinnacle bid. So why the change in Pinnacle's position? To me, it doesnt make sense.

Great game - if i remember we were 3-2 up and they -chris kiwomya- get a last minute goal in front of the milton and what seems a draw but only for le tiss to pop up at the other end to get a fourth.

Neville Southall and Peter Beardsley

1997 Derby away at the Baseball Ground. First time to drive to a midweek game (with my younger brother in cahoots)- indeed, first time to drive at night fullstop, having just got my licence. Balmy april evening- they were flying high and partying we were solemn and battling against the drop. We were absolutely hammered first half - dean sturridge tore us to shreds but somehow a combination of maik taylor and doddy kamikazes on the line kept them out. Second half was a complete transformation as we attacked in wave after wave: Berkovic, Magilton, Egil - each pass, run and attack building off the intensity and momentum of the fans. Out of the blue, however, they score. Our heads didnt drop though. We continued to come agonisingly close -I believe Berko hit the crossbar. Alas, in the 90th min, a final, dribbly shot comes in and deflects off Darryl Powell's shin and bobbles over the line. Pure carnage, a completely different buzz to anything I had experienced before at a game.

slut

SSN: Wotte spoke about the importance of continuity. Met the Swiss group four weeks ago, showed them around sms and staplewood. Said they were a very respectable group. Strange how he opened the interview - sounded as if they had already taken over! Interviewer had to clarify things at which point Wotte said that he met them a while ago. Hopefully nothing's changed in that time.

nah, probably back at his day job:)

The longer this dragged on, the more likely it would be the case. Make sense for now.

Poisoned chalice - bulls**t. If it works out, there will be plenty of goodwill - more than at most other clubs. A clean break, new faces and a chance to put the past few years behind us means that the owners will have considerable backing. This is especially true if we end up surviving what is akin to a footballing near death experience. TL squandered and took liberties with that goodwill (even if well-intentioned) and in so doing made the same mistakes as previous fools (Wilde etc) -that's why people are ultimately angry- not because of something rotten in the club.

Relax mate:cool:

A very good mutual friend met him in London on Monday afternoon. Was told that a positive announcement was imminent and that Salz had had a hand in things. No reason for the friend to BS me- a household name in his own field and not a Saints fan i.e. no reason to see an empty glass brimming full. Even with the collapse of the Pinnacle bid-and Salz's public announcements suggest he knew nothing of it- part of me remained pretty confident yest (though obviously shocked). Dont want to push - just let professionals get on with it.

Good luck to him but had a strange old time since Burley left. Played as LB under Pearson, though thought he was excellent with Cork in the first half of last season. Then tailed off spectacularly - christ, those sitters against Derby and QPR still haunt me. Wolves are describing him as a winger! Don't think he has the pace for the prem.

A Salz connection, I'm pretty sure.

Be careful what you wish for - too much of that thinking and we'll have people posting chummy messages or mystery moneyment coming out on SSN next...

Spot on- it took them ages to go into exclusivity, even though they had an open goal. People dropped out and TL recklessly took a punt that he could herd together a new group -from MF's credentials, anyone it would seem. In the meantime, god knows what he was telling the prospective moneymen - no doubt, the populist touch of MLT and KK helped. It was only a matter of time before the plans and promises came unstuck. Undercommit, overdeliver, TL. Anybody professional knows that.

If Crouch got sucked in, so did alot of people - dont forget that. Still remember chatting with him last season at Sheff U on a cold tuesday night. Not many people put their money where their mouths are and are down to earth at the same time. have alot of time for the guy.

"We appreciate that the sale may appear to have been protracted but it is a complex transaction which involves numerous stakeholders and a satisfactory solution for all parties is not simple to achieve". Simple enough to complete by Friday then!!!! Assuming that negotiations reopened on the 19th and Fry has needed to deal with more than one party, that's not alot of time. He's implicitly admitting he's shot himself in the foot.....

they may not have http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=14302

That's just speculation. If we were going to get hit by further penalites, presumably that's because Pinnacle delayed and delayed (as it scrambled for funds), ensuring we didnt pay players and staff wages ontime. In other words, the additional 17 points would have been the result of Pinnacle's actions. But I agree to the extent that the FL should have been much more public.