Guided Missile

....the tough get going. In the case of many Saints fans, they just stop going. It's probably in their blood, to be honest. When the East End of London was withstanding the Nazi onslaught during the War, the King and Queen decided to stay put, to show solidarity with many of the population of London, who had no way of escape. As the Queen Mother said at the time, "I am glad the Palace has been bombed - it makes me feel that I can look the East End in the face again." What happened during the Southampton blitz? Many of the population "trekked" into the countryside to escape the bombing. I can understand the fear that may have led to this and the sight of tonnes of bombs raining down on our town must have been a terrible experience for the population. The shame we never speak of, though, is that the mayor of Southampton and many of the ARP's, joined this procession, leaving the town without the leadership and emergency services that were so badly needed. They watched from the safety of the New Forest, while the town burnt to the ground. This shame is being revisited on our football club, during it's darkest hour, the blood of those "trekkers", coursing through the veins of the "fans" that seek to justify their desertion. Like the "trekkers", they will, in better times, return. How many will feel shame? Probably the same number that still believe the myth, that the population of Southampton bravely withstood the Nazi threat. The sad truth is that many, including our mayor, did not...

American Football, teaches us exactly why everything in the US is driven by money and success. Failure on the field is not a part of the franchise system that infects US team sports. Relegation battles are not part of the equation. The only way that the fans suffer "relegation" is when the owner decides to move the franchise to a city where he can make more money. Franchises that are fed players by a college system that produces millions in revenue to support their football programs and crowds of 70,000 plus to watch college football. A college system that encourages the belief that being big, dumb and good at bullying others equates to success in life. Little wonder that this produces a country that is big, dumb and good at bullying others... Mind you, I can already see the effects of the Premiership, populated by players who never went to college and are encouraged in the belief that being small, dumb and good at whining at the ref., equates to success in life. Little wonder this produces a country that is small, dumb and good at whining...

Pompey ending up a league below us and we then get a couple thousand of their glory hunters returning to spend money at St Marys would be good news to me.... ....pure guff that will sustain me through our dark days....

....we are in a better position than many think, to survive. The pain we have gone through will be ten times worse for the "bigger" clubs over the coming months. It will happen soon and the pigs who have been at the Sky Sports trough will find that it will soon be empty. The balance sheets of these mercenary armies(or their banks) will soon be found to be nothing more than a mirage of creative accounting, that the Premier League have ignored for too long. Ashley has lost over £300M on HBOS shares, allegedly. A firesale of Newcastle is on the cards and relegation is not out of the question. If we found it hard, how will they cope? Even Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal are not immune to the firestorm engulfing the world's economy. Massive debts built on the assumption that there is an inifinite apetite for overpaid foreigners kicking a ball around at a strange time on the weekend (ie not 3:00pm on a Saturday) are going to be unsustainable and with many of the property assets (£10M for Fratton Park, anyone???) underpinning the balance sheets, a slight nudge that propelled some of the biggest financial institutions into oblivion, will be all it takes. Live with the pain at Southampton Football Club, turn up to as many of the games as possible, because soon, our model of sustainable football covered by income from the pockets of the real fans will be the daily diet of many of the clubs in the Premiership. As they sink, we will rise again, on the back of a vision of the economic reality that so many people are having to face in the financial community, but few inside football can see. Just be glad we are facing up to it now. Those in denial, not a few miles down the M27 will soon be jolted into a world of pain, along with a few others and their journey will go downhill far more rapidly than ours.....

Not according to Ashley: "Ashley issued an emotional defence of his 16-month stewardship, claiming that the club “might not have survived” without his £244 million investment, £110 million of which, he said, was to reduce, if not clear debts." (The Times - September 15th) It was £134 million to buy the club and £110 million to reduce the debt. He wants £481 million for it.....

Is this the same Mike Ashley the ****ney wide boy who, according to the Times "sold the City a pup with the flotation of his company, Sports Direct, one of the most overpriced share issues since the dot-com bubble burst, and remains a hugely divisive presence, frequently dismissing the predictions of experts and calling Philip Dorgan, a critical analyst at Panmure Gordon, a corporate and institutional stockbroker and investment bank, a “moron”? The same Mike Ashley, the diehard Newcastle fan who "has informed the proposed buyers that the club is priced at £481 million. This is in stark contrast to the £130 million he bought the club for back in 2007. Whilst Ashley has since ploughed funds into St James’ Park, thought to be in the region of £100 million, the valuation is certainly an enormous figure and one that may detract any potential investors." I can only imagine the reactions if Lowe did that to Saints....

...was it just me, or has the pitch at St. Mary's been narrowed by a metre or two? Was it all a cunning plan to prevent visiting sides from attacking our flanks and allow our midfielders to cover our attacking full backs. I think we need to be told....

That pretty much sums up how I feel Steve. What I hate is the total bullsh!t people give for not going, trying to justify their stance on a point of principle, when the real reason is far more mundane and pathetic.

....and you seem to have re-integrated very successfully...

Yeah, I'm Sure Pol Pot, Robert Mugabe, Osama Bin Laden, Charlie Manson, and the late Saddam Hussein were wonderfull people Read the above carefully, wipe the dribble from your chin and then read it again. I was taking a wild guess that you were trying to justify hating people you have never met and this thread was about hating Lowe. Then again, it was probably a random set of keystrokes, as you were trying to access the "Re-integration into society for ex-squaddies" self-help website....

I'd not enter into a "better fan than you" competition with Hacienda, if I was you, Prof. He goes to all Saints away games and no home games, despite being a Villa fan.

Buy tickets to home games and avail ourselves of the excellent catering facilities at St. Marys, while you're doing the dishes and worrying about your neighbour's extensive cellar, to be exact...

So......you're suggesting that the reason you hate Lowe, despite never meeting him, is justified by the fact that you hate Pol Pot, Robert Mugabe, Osama Bin Laden, Charlie Manson, and the late Saddam Hussein, despite never meeting them. It thus follows that you equate Lowe with Pol Pot, Robert Mugabe, Osama Bin Laden, Charlie Manson, and the late Saddam Hussein. You need help or you will never thrive in normal society...

I will from now on, be using DC as the lowest form of insult, as in: "You know, alpine, you're a real DC" I trust it won't attract an infraction...

I understood what you meant, alpine. Basically you'll only consider going to Saints games that immediately follow a win... Hardcore....

I think it's always better to read a thread, than to make yourself look like a total tool....

Quality..... ....now, as you're logged into your Paypal account, how about a couple of million for a CB?

I don't think Michael Wilde has to worry too much about money:

You'd think he'd kick in a fiver.....

47 goals in Senior 1, the season we won it and I turned 40.... Half-decent? I was f***ing magic....

Interesting to read the comments about the Derby and Pompey haters amongst the fanbase and yet the word hate seems to be an acceptable description of the feeling of many about Lowe, a fellow Saints fan....

You obviously weren't at the Derby game either and have a strange choice of name for an adult poster....

I read it as 19th..... Re-read it and am none the wiser....

It is doubly ironic that you're blaming me for this....

...is very popular on this site, but it has unfortunately been focusing on those that were responsible for our relegation. Now, I don't think that particular pastime will be settled or concluded. In an effort to move on, I think that posts on this site, rather than predictably degenerate into who caused our relegation, should now concentrate on who was responsible for our failure to gain promotion. My initial list is not exhaustive, but in some order of where I think the blame should be aportioned: Michael Wilde Leon Best Jack Daniels George Burley Steve Howard Leon Crouch Keith Wiseman The Saints Trust A random selection of Championship referees My Wife (on the basis that in the absence of a scapegoat, things are always her fault)