NSS

:smt046

I'm not saying either, and I wouldn't profess to know the answer to your question. However, I'll attempt to draw a more everyday comparison. Say you were buying a house with an adjacent plot of land on which you would expect to be able to build a second property. Following extensive research and receipt of information from the seller you are led to believe that, subject to local council approval you could submit an application to build a five-bedroomed detached house on that plot, with a reasonable expectation of gaining the necessary approval. You then agree a price with the seller that leaves you sufficient budget from which to build (and hopefully make a profit on) that second property. You even go so far as to pay a hefty deposit. However, the day before you're due to complete the purchase, the local council write to you and state that they've decided to place a covenant on that piece of land that will only ever permit you to build a two-bedroomed bungalow on it. Are you then going to sit back and say "okay, that's fine, we won't make a profit on the deal now but we'll still go ahead at the agreed price", or are you going to consult your solicitor to see if the new condition being imposed by a third party is lawful before handing over the cash?

Typical reply John, twisting what was said to suit your own agenda. Nowhere have I suggested that Tony Lynam in person, nor a Pinnacle business run by him, has stomped up £500k plus. As for a report on Radio Solent claiming that it was paid by Crouch, why exactly should what one media organisation said be any more believable than any other? As has been suggested by others on this forum, your repeated attempts at character assasination of a man who is trying to save the club you claim to love come across as those of someone who is desperate for the bid to fail, just so that you can say, "I told you so". Well if you turn out to be right, and it does fail, I just hope you enjoy the moment - and remember to swallow.

Jeez, you lot (with a few exceptions) are sounding more and more like lemmings, and your expectations of what might be possible "as long as it's done quickly" are sounding less and less realistic. For example, in the above post, the assumption of grammy is that a five-year plan to return to the Premiership would in fact see Saints, even with a 10 point penalty next season, return to "where you belong" in four years. Surely, a five-year plan is a five-year plan, not a four-year plan. Now consider that point and then answer the following, purely hypothetical, question. If, prior to placing a significant non-refundable deposit, you had spent a sizeable amount of money on legal opinion which led you to believe that you stood a VERY good chance of overturning a 10 point penalty, and that the FL had publicly announced that the club had a right to appeal that penalty, and that you then proceeded with a bid based on that premise at a figure that satisfied the administrator/creditors and with an allocated operating budget based upon funding the club for a season (or perhaps two) in League 1 (as part of a five-year plan) with revenue streams based upon that status for that period, and then having agreed that price you found at the 11th hour that the goalposts (the right to that appeal) had been moved, and that the potential effect of that change could negatively impact your chance of escaping League 1 in your budgeted timeframe (let's not even consider the impact of such a penalty leading to you dropping another league) and hence add a year to your five-year plan, and that the projected cost of such a potential effect could amount to a reduction in revenue of several million pounds, but having previously reached that agreement on the purchase price there was no opportunity to revise the bid price to reflect that potential reduction in revenue caused by this last minute change, wouldn't you want to explore every possibility of ensuring that the model upon which your bid and business plan was based remained intact, or would you just walk away and forget that you'd already spent several hundred thousand pounds? I know what I'd do, but then I'm a Pompey. So perhaps you should think yourselves lucky that TL and team are not, and that they're still intent on completing the purchase. Apologies for the longest sentence ever, but for ****s sake get real, and get realistic while you're at it!

One doesn't wish to elaborate.

Maybe the FL are holding a full house, Aces over Kings. But there again, Pinnacle may be holding a Royal Flush.

John, nothing short of the deal being completed will convince you. Whether that will happen remains to be seen and nothing I can say on here will make a jot of difference as to whether it will or not. Frankly, none of the discussion and speculation on this board today/tonight is going to change the outcome, and none of you (nor indeed I) know the full details of what exactly is at the root of the delay. Of course, we all have our opinions and, for what it's worth, mine would be that, as is often the case in such circumstances, some sort of compromise will be found that will permit both parties to claim a moral victory, and to save face. But there again, perhaps you have been right all along. Indeed, perhaps Pinnacle's client is a Pompey fan who has never intended to buy the club, but simply saw this whole process as an opportunity to spend a few bob hurrying Saints toward oblivion. But don't spend too much time mulling that last idea, or your Horlicks may be cold before you remember to drink it

What! GM? Confrontational? Surely not :smt046 Oh yes, and if GM does sincerely hope to be able to use that apology, then surely the thread title should be "What exactly IS Pinnacle buying?"

Actually, who has whom by the short & curlys may not be quite so clear cut

I've not spoken to TL since the weekend (in Guernsey) but at that time he was still confident that the deal would be concluded this Friday. Of course, things may have changed since then, but I have no reason to believe they have and so far as I know they've been very busy putting various things in place to enable them to move forward rapidly as soon as they take control formally. Sorry I can't be more specific than that, but with a deal to conclude and, no doubt, numerous meeting taking place this week, TL is hardly going to stop every five minutes to give me a running commentary on progress.

Dreams more like.

I come into the fold whenever Mrs NSS permits me, but it has absolutely nothing to do with decency, intelligence, the lord or even supporting Pompey. As for forgiveness, she begs for it every time... ... and eventually I shall grant it.

Not that I'm suggesting there's anything in the Ince rumours, but the finances required to build in League 1 are not the same as the finances needed to build in the Premier League. If £10M were spent assembling a side next season then my guess is that it would be possible to build a team capable of pushing for at least a play-off place. Outside of Leeds, Norwich and Charlton, which other teams are likely to have those sorts of funds at their disposal? You need to stop thinking Prem/CCC budgets.

Thanks for that Ron. To further clarify this discussion, TL played in the Guernsey Smile4Rich Golf Day on Friday, attended the dinner on Friday evening, and returned to Southampton first thing on Saturday morning. As has been pointed out, this does not conflict with his assertion that he'd be working on the deal over the weekend. As has been mentioned previously, Tony is a very generous supporter of the Smile4Rich Appeal, both in terms of his time and financially, and I believe that he has made no secret of the fact that it's a charity that is "close to his heart". For those of you who don't know, the Smile4Rich Appeal was actually named in memory of a young Saints fan, Richard Bowler (aged 15), who passed away suddenly following a brain haemorrhage in July 2002. Tony had committed to playing in the Guernsey event some months ago, well before his involvement in the rescue of SFC. It would have been an understandable and easy option for him to drop out of the event given his current workload, but he was adamant that he still wanted to take part. I've seen plenty of criticism on here for previous regimes' failures to honour promises over Southampton Football Club, and yet it now seems a small minority of you are quick to criticise TL for being 'a man of his word' with respect to a charity event that actually honours the memory of a Saints fan. I know football fans can be fickle, but.........! Anyway, if you want to read a bit more of the history of Smile4Rich, try visiting http://www.smile4rich.co.uk/about-smile4rich/our-history

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, particularly after all the positive vibes that have been circulating, but I feel it is only fair that you guys and girls should be among the first to hear that Tony Lynam and his team have failed in their attempt .... to win the Guernsey Smile4Rich Golf Day. Sorry, couldn't resist it

Sorry, as good as this forum seems to be, it just doesn't seem right to me for a Pompey fan to be contributing to the running costs of a Saints forum. If that makes me a tight G1t in your eyes, then so be it, but would you cough a fiver to post on a Pompey forum? No, I thought not. Anyway, it appears nobody is prepared to post my suggested poll as a new thread (and yes, I do appreciate that some 'plastics' will be swayed by such decisions as new manager, new players, how well the team is performing, etc.) but I just figured that such a poll may give the new owner and his team a better feel for how fans may respond next season than the poll options in this thread. You never know, they may be considering season ticket and match day ticket prices as we speak. Having some evidence of fans' intentions may help them decide what a fair price may be.

This is not an 'official' request, merely something that I believe would be of interest. I appreciate that data from any poll on such a forum will contain a degree of skewed data, but this can be allowed for. The fact is, with one vote only per registered user, the hope would be that the vast majority would give a realistic indication of their intentions. I appreciate that, for some at least, their answer will be price dependant, but I cannot give you a steer on what ST or Matchday Ticket prices will be, other than to say I would expect them to be in line with what most supporters expectations are likely to be for League 1. Unfortunately, this is my last permitted post today so I cannot reply to any further queries until a similar time tomorrow. However, certain posters (Weston Saint, Saint Lindford, Frank's Cousin) do know how to contact me if necessary.

Any chance of posting it then please?

I don't wish to be scornful of this poll but, as it is just an expression of opinion as to whether crowds will increase, decrease, or stay roughly the same, exactly how is it useful? Of course, the prospective new owners may well be interested to hear whether or not individuals are more or less likely to attend next season, but in order for that data to be useful it would need to be more specific than this current poll is likely to establish. However, a poll which asked the following would be considerably more useful but, unfortunately, I am not allowed to create new threads. Which of these best describes your recent and anticipated attendance at St Mary's? 1) I was a season ticket holder last season and I DO expect to renew that season ticket for the new season. 2) I was a season ticket holder last season but I DO NOT expect to renew that season ticket for the new season. However, I am likely to attend more than 8 home games on a casual basis. 3) I was a season ticket holder last season but I DO NOT expect to renew that season ticket for the new season and I am UNLIKELY to attend more than 8 home games on a casual basis. 4) I was NOT a season ticket holder last season but I DO expect to purchase a season ticket for the new season. 5) I was NOT a season ticket holder last season and I DO NOT expect to purchase a season ticket for the new season. However, I am likely to attend more home games on a casual basis than I did last season. 6) I was NOT a season ticket holder last season and I DO NOT expect to purchase a season ticket for the new season, but I am UNLIKELY to attend more home games on a casual basis than I did last season. Thanks for your help

Yep, as are we. Should be a cracking night. See you as arranged. Cheers, Neil

Well I had a pint with TL last night and am having dinner with him this evening. Last night he was in VERY good spirits. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that he was the most relaxed and cheerful I have seen him in months. Hardly indicative of a man who was staring down the barrel of a deal that is about to go tits up.

I wonder which team Marc Jackson will be supporting

To know that, I would myself have to know the name.

Evening all. I see you're all still busily playing blind man's buff on the question of who the new owner will be. I suspect that very few outside of TL, MLT and MF actually know the name, and would be very surprised if anyone posting on here has such knowledge as I just can't imagine that they'd not have been tempted to claim ultimate ITK status by now. Out of interest, are Saints even covered by the FA requirement to disclose ownership, or do the Football League have the same requirement? If not, then I wouldn't be surprised if it remains under wraps for a while yet. As for that 'Ted Rogers' stuff, it's absolutely true.... .... his comments are indeed a wind-up.

Yes, I am that NSS, but you have me at a disadvantage. Who are you?