Saint Fan CaM

Please God NO! Hate to post something negative on an otherwise positive thread, but for goodness sake we've only just got rid of a hugely fragemented and divided organisation and you want another?!? Look we're not out of the woods yet - let's have our takeover...try and get out of L1 with our potential owner and be thankful we've got a club to support. Leave the running of the club to others and when we climb back into the Prem somewhen in the future perhaps an even wealthier benefactor will buy us out. Please - no weird utopian socialist dreams here - keep it real. Who knows, perhaps Matt and his backer will be able to take us to the promised land such that the club will not need to be sold on our lifetime and we can unite behind them. Now THAT is a worthy dream.

Snap.

Excellent post Yorkie - echoes my thoughts entirely. I will be buying an ST though.

As I said on TT's thread - the Saints story meanders on and I feel we will be privelaged to witness the re-birth and new success of our great club. Thanks Tony for a wonderful message of hope - more in tune with the supporters than any transmitted from the Boardroom over the last ten years I would venture. I feel sure that 1,000's of fans like me will be renewing their ST's, buying matchday tickets and merchandise at the very first opportunity. Yours and Matts efforts WILL be recognised for MANY YEARS to come. Thank you. PS: I want a statue of Matt outside SMS alongside Ted! Let's start a campaign!

As others have said, budget will mean a lot, but I think also the choice of manager will (should) influence who we keep on. If for example Wotte stays, then BWP may as well go - he is not a winger and not suited to the style of play Wotte dictates. Kelvin Davis - Keep for sure. Loves the club which is a big plus IMO. JPS - Keep if a L1 contract is acceptable to him. BWP - See above. If played alongside a targetman as striker, better than DMcG IMO and will score plenty of goals. Mule - Strange one - he's not a great midfielder IMO, but is a good leader and strong. Could do a job, but L1 wages??? Stern John - Best striker we've potentially got, but he will not play at L1 level I suspect and will not take L1 wages, so we'll see him go. Greg Rasiak - Per Stern. Michael Svensson - Let's move on - no playing contract likely.

Tim - thanks for your message - while you suggest it is downbeat, I would argue that there is a significant uplifting undertone. Reading your memories of Paine, Davies and Channon brought a tear to my eye and made me remember there is a longevity to our great club. Supporting a football club is not like finishing a 100m sprint - its about being a part of a lasting story that has its ups and its downs, its twists and turns, its characters. A story that generations can enjoy in different ways - my part of the story started about the same time as yours. Your message has reminded me that loving my home City and Saints is not PRIMARILY about the silverware, the instant success etc - its about being a part of something that matters to 1,000's of likeminded others. That's surely what a CLUB is supposed to promote right? Sounds simple, but its very easy to forget that when you see the infrastructure of that club become more and more fragmented. My reflections start in the mid-60's - I followed Leeds Utd with Lorimer and Bremner being two of my hero's from that team (as a midfielder, I loved the way Bremner played). But I also supported the Saints - my home team - and in those days in seemed much more acceptable to have two teams to support. We would play football in the playground every break and not being too studious, it was my focus and I couldn't wait to get out and play. We were a poor family (although I didn't really think that way then) and so I could not afford to go to The Dell for 1st team matches. My Dad liked footie, but never was one to go to games. I scrimped whatever pocket money I could get and went to see the reserves play at The Dell occassionally. The thrill of not knowing who would be playing was intense - i.e. it could be a 'big star' coming back from injury to gain match fitness! THAT was my highlight. I had to cycle from Swaythling to The Dell as I couldn't afford the bus fare as well as a match ticket. By about mid-70's I had lost some interest - girls and music filled my life more. But I worked part-time in a store in town and that's where I saw us win the cup in '76 - the town centre was dead! I remember riding my push-bike up the avenue and all over following the team bus when it did the celebration tour. What joyful days. Then I settled and had a family - with four kids I still had no spare money to buy a ticket and even if I did, there were none to be had as Saints were on the march and tickets were like gold-dust. I missed much of the 80's-90's era sadly, although I always kept a watching brief - e.g. I took my eldest Son (7 at the time) to Wembley to see the ZDS Cup final against Forest. Fast forward to 2005. Kids grown-up - divorce and happy 2nd marraige all have had an effect, but noteably my personal and social circumstances have changed considerably. The bass player in my band is an ST holder and I start buying the odd match ticket to see Saints at the SMS - I was back in the fold and I knew this time it would last. Two seasons later I had my first ST, some shares, did some away games too. But of course like everyone reading this, I've seen my club almost die which has not been exactly pleasant. I want to take this opportunity of thanking TSF and TSW for providing me with a place to chat Saints. I would like to thank you Tim for pulling me back from the brink of losing the plot. Supporting Saints is not about the glory - its about being a part of a long and great story. And long may it continue.

Some good news and on a Friday to boot - who would have guessed it. And who knows, perhaps there's some Irish behind Pinnacle too?

Such as? Look you may mean well, but posting such a loose bit of supposed ITK gossip that even a skate could dream up, is hardly going to make you Mr. Popular is it? We're well past this - the club is in grave danger - posting weak rumour from some stranger in a taxi is poor form now IMO.

Administration was an inevitable action following gross mis-management of the business...i.e. abject failure of the Board of Directors. Absolutely sweet f-all to do with fans thoughts or deeds and anyone who thinks otherwise is living in some kind of parallel universe IMO. To turn now on fellow supporters only serves to highlight the mess the entire club is in. You expect some kind of action from others - what have YOU done? Please enlighten us.

I wouldn't put money on this club managing to clear administration, so thinking about promotion or otherwise is thinking way too far ahead. Having studied some of the better L1 teams, compared with our sorry bunch from last season we will struggle IMO. Can see us finishing lower half of the table. It's going to be very tough to get anything from L1, but we will fail badly with Wotte.

So - I go away to do some useful stuff - come back here to find out who's in the end game for takeover and its all changed again with no result. You couldn't make this stuff up. There must be some big problems with the books for it to take this long FFS. One things for sure - the ITK's are NOT ITK. I do not believe anything put out by Radio Solent, The Echo or the forum ITK's anymore because we're all being fed a load of inaccurate tripe. If we ever get to see someone buy the club it'll be when we're least expecting it. IMHO.

Well I am NOT going to be sucked into wasting another day of my life oggling the OS and this forum for news. Too many false dawns - I am sick of it. Good news that there's some positive news though eh?

OK, so in that case we must be at a point where MJ's bunch have been given the green light to proceed to final DD with a bid that has been accepted in principle by Fry et al. That also means that if they're really serious they will win through and take-over will happen very shortly. But then will have nothing to spend on re-building the squad to something worthy of a play-off challenge. Not really sure whether I want to believe any of this, but frankly I am starting to think Salz's people may have a better mid-term view.

I would tend to agree with this estimate, however it could be factored up or down depending on (a) who the manager is and (b) whether some decent players are signed. There will be a honeymoon period for an incoming new owner I suspect, so it will be critical to win over the fans and get results before Xmas otherwise I think early optimism will be replaced by a renewed exodus from SMS. All of this of course assumes there will be a club come Xmas and I am still of the opinion that is far from certain at this stage.

Exactly! I rest my case...

DMG has not really shown the promise we needed. Whether this is down to bad luck given the rubbish management he has had to endure is questionable, but frankly there are umpteen 21 year-old strikers out there waiting for a chance to shine at a decent club. BWP might be a better option if played centrally frankly - has more pace and will probably shine IF played in his proper position.

Why was there no "I have no fecking clue" option? That surely must apply to nearly everyone who has posted a reply to this somewhat pointless poll - myself included.

No **** Sherlock. But undeniable - I guess you're bored right?

The guy has sunken in my estimation of him frankly. There is no excuse whatsoever for getting behind the wheel of a car after drinking in excess of legal limits. You might as well have a loaded gun in your hands. Claus enjoyed all the trappings of success at Saints and many youngsters look up to their football heroes. He has acted in a manner that does nothing to enhance his profession or his continued status at the club. Its yet another episode in the sad times the club is experiencing and I wonder whether Claus enjoyed Burleys company at a bar or two? Can't understand anyone who attempts to condone or support this guys actions and I hope he gets put away and never returns to SFC frankly.

I seriously would hope that Wotte will not be offered the job on the basis that if we get a new owner they will have higher ambitions and will want a manager that has considerable experience in the English leagues. However, if beggars are to be choosers and there's no money to find a better individual, then I think we could do worse than keep some consistency and hope Wotte understands what is needed to re-build a good team capable of stringing quite a few wins together.

Excellent news - I think I read his family love it here and he is very settled. I think he is a very genuine bloke who has a taken the club to his heart and is not a person to shrink from his duty as Captain to help repair the sinking ship. Just hope there's a club left for him to ply his trade with...

+1..

Never was going to happen though was it? LOL. I suggest you give it up - your hero has gone - he's done his best, which was ultimately rubbish and enough to kill the club potentially. You need to move on or see an analyst.

The point is 19C we are way beyond the point where your opinions on LC's past performance matter. Can you not see that, or are you really just on a wind-up? You say you have no connection with the club - well that's an interesting statement - I had you down at least as a supporter - do you not attend games and provide funds via the gates then? If you want to remove spite and pettiness from the club, then understand the gravity of the situation we're in and the hurt that most supporters are feeling right now. If you don't want to provide a message of thanks to LC, then fine, but don't criticise or judge others by trying to argue that conditions to Leons gesture are necessary. You just serve to distance yourself and your wishes for 'peace' from most posters.

Well said.