rallyboy

if they try and force through a dodgy case they risk serious legal action so the league will have to be 100% confident to proceed. And surely they have no power to do a forensic investigation into the SLH accounts? (Which as we all know is a completely different company to SFC...) Let's just get a new owner in quick and pretend nothing has happened.

Yes the banks have certainly done us proud in the last year, especially Barclays when they jeopardised the whole club for £6K beyond the overdraft. Their management of the club's situation has been appalling, they had the power to lean on Lowe long ago, and a succesful club is in their interests if they want to see any of their money. And to put our overdraft into a banking context - Barclays last week confirmed that president Bob Diamond's 2009 income is capped at £250,000 - plus £7.4m bonus.

I just caught the last couple of minutes in which the toughest question in the interrogation was something like, where are you going on holiday this year? Not so much investigative journalism, no dragging facts out of the arch villain, more like a PR love-in between old chums. Was it any more interesting or relevant before that?

yeah you are right, Flybe coming along and giving us money, the sooner we chase away those sort of companies the better. We don't need their poxy sponsorship, keeping us afloat and offering hope in a financial crisis, we can easily find 250,000 people to stick a quid in a bucket. And why should they be told anything, it isn't like they are the official club sponsor and their logo has been used illegally on a financial debacle announcement is it? Fans as well, they keep coming along and wanting stuff like value for money, let's get the ****ty stick out of the cupboard, wave it about when they come up to the ticket office. The sooner we drive all financial support out of SMS the better things will look, it has been lack of debt that has held us back.

I can't see that a delay is a bad thing. If we keep on losing it will be easier for them to let us off any misdemeanours thus avoiding any possible legal action from our switched on legal aid team. And it also gives us time to get a buyer in place as Derby did. Then it might just look like our masterplan of shifting the club ownership between businesses was in place all along and the failed holding company was nothing to do with anything..... Also it saves us dropping 13 points in one day.

you are ALL losers and plastic, because I am STILL at the stadium booing, and let me tell you, it gets cold and scary here in the night, but YOU lot wouldn't know because you all quit and walk out between games!! so could someone pop in with some Lockets and perhaps a thermos, my throat is a little sore and I have plenty more booing to do. (important note for the dim people - I'm not there really so no need to point out that I am trespassing and that you don't understand how security haven't removed me, or that I have missed a comma etc)

There seems to be confidence at SMS that the rules clearly state that the club is a different entity. There is no grey area, if that is the case then the league could be on the wrong end of a legal claim by Saints if they try and impose it, might be our best chance of getting some money in.... That aside, we all know that this rule was put into place for this precise scenario and I would be very surprised if we don't cop the penalty. So we could be heading for the greatest double escape of all time, or another step forward in our attempt at joining the 92 club in the shortest possible time.

This is a new era and there is a bigger picture (not the train one) Forget getting a point here or a point there, the number one priority is to save the club. Once that is done we can worry about getting out of whatever division our current team and accountancy practices leave us in.

with yesterday being more about reclaiming our club in front of potential buyers and demonstrating unconditional support for the team no matter how much they let us down, I personally think that walking out when things got tough was unforgivable. Yes it is your choice, you are allowed to walk out when the going gets too tough for you, but to quit yesterday when the club needed you most?? Don't even bother to try and justify it. Yes there were some idiots misbehaving as well, but there were a hell of a lot of loyal fans who didn't quit, and that's what made them angry. sing up - 'Southampton til I die, or until it doesn't suit me and I decide that Man Utd wear a nice strip' And I am sure the Northam and loyal Kingsland fans apologise to those who chose an unfortunate time for a toilet break!

we have carefully assembled a very poor team who are played out of position and as a result can have no complaints if we go down. I would love to point at referees and misfortune but we are not good enough. Let's save the club, this current team is beyond help.

No big deal today, just a reality check for the maths experts who keep telling us everything is fine. I am beyond disappointing now, and certainly beyond being surprised at such a performance, I can confidently say that nothing that the team produces could upset me more than, leaving the Dell, dropping down in 2005, or watching Lowe's final suicidal train wreck. So we lost three points to the worst team in Europe, but hey, it's our club again and wherever we end up, it's a fresh start, survival of the club as a club is key. But one little point, assuming the players are well paid and come in to work during the week, have they thought about practicing things like corners or shooting, rather than sitting on their fat arses comparing bling and convictions? It's not total football I know but it might be worth looking into....we could call it 'training'.

the only ugly scenes I witnessed were when myself and the rest of the Northam abused the twenty Kingsland quitters who jacked it in and gave up on the team, walking out at the 70minute mark. Yes the performance was woeful but this week is about the club surviving, not three points surrendered, and that's why the players today benefited from far more support than they deserved. Well done to those that kept the faith despite the team's appalling showing. We are stuck with a very poor team but new investors can see the potential and that could allow us to rebuild in Lg One. Keep the faith - and as for those twenty quitters, I don't want you losers in a trench alongside me when things get tough.

sorry Chi but for me he has proved that he cannot be believed, and as for this myth of financial acumen, before he stumbled into football he was the Frank Spencer of the stocks and shares sector and he has just resided over two train wrecks in four years, so I am sorry but I wouldn't trust him to sit the right way on a toilet let alone look after a fiver. A very poor businessman with an arrogant attitude towards fans, former players and local businesses - not a good combination, and the main reason he could have his birthday party in a phone box. Byebye Rupert, hello anyone! COYR

so as he points out, having driven the club to the brink, if a buyer comes in now he will have achieved his aim. I think that means the deluded man still thinks he is a success..... He says he doesn't care what fans say about him, well if he would kindly roll up tomorrow, I for one would love to test that theory out. The final hollow lies from a man who brought our once great club into disrepute. Bye Rupert, hopefully hello new era and new owners. We have our club back, it may be in Lg One but it will be ours again. COYR

Newport and Saints? The9 you really are a lucky charm! But fear not, a new club can rise and be called Rupert Rovers, wearing a traditional red and white shirt and yellow cords, nickname - 'the financial whizzkids', and a new club badge, a flying duck atop a bloke with ruddy cheeks sucking on the barrel of a twelve bore.

Woodward built an infrastructure for English rugby world domination that lasted three days and he is now kicking his heels on the Olympic sidelines as he has been found out. Hoddle showed everyone with his post-Saints coaching results in the Premiership and Championship that he was a great singer.

don't underestimate the damage that can be done to finances by big dividends and director's expenses. The one year I did study the figures, that amount was huge and unjustifiable. Is there anyone out there who has studied the accounts over the last few years and knows what sort of amount has gone out via the boardroom?

admin and the removal of Lowe could leave us as the next Leeds Utd who crashed spectacularly and have never recovered... Or should that be, a club currently making a healthy profit and with every chance of swapping divisions with us quite soon.

It's very simple Mr Wotte, go out there and collect the three points, no I don't want excuses or your lifestory, just the points. No, 0-0 doesn't count, it must be all three - and remember, less chat more points - that's all we need, off you go now....

I thought we established long ago that Lowe mainly returned to keep his own faltering shares alive, in case Crouch had taken the club under? And if his shares were going to lose their full value he could always recoup some losses via director's expenses en route to administration.

anyone who has seen games in the last three years will already know that lack of talent is no barrier to pulling on the shirt and playing on the hallowed pitch, if a few dreams are realised and Rupert gets a new suit out of it then I can't see the harm. I like to believe that there is something special about running out at St Marys and don't start me on the Wembley semi-final situation, but the fans have been starved of 'fun' for too long so if a few people have a great day, it would be a bit miserable to object. But then again most of us are!

I recall the 4-1 win, hardman Burns was left in a tangled heap in the build up to one of the goals, most amusing, we just hassled them off the ball. It was nice to see the champions of Europe frightened of coming to the Dell, and when we could beat Liverpool and Man Utd over the next couple of decades it was a test for visiting teams, and here we are now, praying for a solitary goal to see off the whipping boys of the second tier. I guess the golden era is officially closed for refurbishment.

Just got round to watching it this morning, what a great game, and what a crap pitch! I had forgotten how good both our goals were, and that run where Curran looked like the fastest man on earth... They should bring the seating policy back so Benitez and Ferguson have to sit next to each other on a bench!! And is there anyone else out there who has a silk scarf in the loft that reads 'Southampton - league cup WINNERS 1979'?

With the Charlton game we are well beyond 'must win' territory. It is now a personal thing, an acid test of the season. The message to Wotte and all the players is - If you end up drawing 0-0 at home to the division's whipping boys you may as well just put dresses on and dance for us, all the way down to League Two. Alternatively, find some fight from somewhere and show everyone that we are good enough to stay up. Nail the Charlton coffin lid on and bury them!

cheers for the 'Frank' answer FC, it is possible to see other points of view. My main concern is that Rupert has lost the fanbase and that makes him damaged goods. He has lost me, I don't trust him, and I think he has demonstrated very poor business skills. The business cannot move forward with him at the helm, I think he has unrealistic views on how much the club is worth, I suspect he would ask potential investors to jump through hoops and they will look at it and wonder how the man who has driven the business to the brink has the cheek to make demands. He may well be keeping us out of administration, a situation that he has at least half the responsibility for, but at what cost? We are on life support, slipping away with every day. I still think he doesn't understand that what goes on out there on the pitch is hugely influential on the rest of the business, he seems to think they are different depts. He has chased away 10,000 off the gate, and saved the cost of three stewards. I also think his judgement has shown to be flawed too many times. Partner this with the disdain he has demonstrated to his customers and what are you left with? A once great club heading for the third tier under his watch, and if that occurs then he will have to accept the blame. Accusing Crouch of mismanagement may have some truth, but when you have a whole year to turn it round and you fail this miserably? The simple thing is that we don't always know the exact state of affairs or who has been to blame on some occasions, BUT what we all saw ages ago was the flawed dutch experiment that ran on six months too long. That has been his most recent public mistake, and finances cannot be the reason - are Doncaster etc richer than us? Can we not compete with Swansea and Barnsley? The mistakes are stacking up. Is it wise to loan out your best striker to one of your relegation rivals? No, it would be money better spent paying him not to score the goals that could relegate you and cost you further income. That was mental. The last thing the bank wants us to do is go down, they will lose the lot, why have they allowed it to get to this? Too many poor decisions, often things that fans could identify as incredibly obvious mistakes. Rupert has turned us into a small club, Wilde and the rest have fiddled as it all burned around them, and if the boys have a bad day in Blackpool we could get even smaller by 5pm tomorrow. coyr