where did it all go wrong...

[lordswoodsaints]

with this forum.

it has become very stale and boring and not much is being discussed.

is it because of the £5 fee?

is it because there is nothing interesting to talk about?

is it because the sensationalist rumour mongers have been assassinated?

i paid the £5 fee but find myself not logging on as much as i used to mainly because there seems to be little to log on for.

posts seem to linger on the 1st page for days rather than hours.

[Toadhall Saint]

International break doesn't help

[simo]

Only the hardcore survive!

[rocknrollman no2]

Agree with you Lordswood,but to be fair theres not much happening at SFC at the moment.

Im sure if Rupert leaves,we sign John Terry or Scooby starts a "Get Lowe out" campaign, there will be thousands of people on here posting their views.

Suppose we should wait till then.

[saintkiptanui]

I blame baj and his over the top policing.

[OldNick]

Ladysaint put up a similar post today, and then disappeared for a time without posting. There does seem a lack of enthusiasm. We need a GB thread or a takeover nad then we will get back to the more lively debates.

[Thedelldays]

paying for less..

one or two of the mods still being arses with people

international break

some of the more interesting posters have not paid up

the predictions by the doom merchants have not simply come true

burley is no longer here ()

[OldNick]

paying for less..

one or two of the mods still being arses with people

international break

some of the more interesting posters have not paid up

the predictions by the doom merchants have not simply come true

burley is no longer here ()

DD who are they?

[Amesbury Saint]

a few more defeats and things should liven up again. We can all start moaning about Lord Lowe and Portaloo.

[Toadhall Saint]

It could be that no ones got anything to moan about.

[Dogs]

I think the international break,plus losing at home to Blackpool has ruined the momentum to what is going to be an interesting and exciting season.I am sure it will pick up in the next few days.

[OldNick]

It could be that no ones got anything to moan about.

I wouldnt put money on it.

Listen to this one that got round to me and I was told this seriously. It was said to have come from one of the players hairdressers.

 

'Things are so bad and finances so tight, the players have to take their kits home to wash.'

People actually beleieve it as it comes from a person who cuts players hair.

These rumours are taken up and believed, Im amazed no one has put it up here.

[Toadhall Saint]

Ah that old chestnut!

[VectisSaint]

I wouldnt put money on it.

Listen to this one that got round to me and I was told this seriously. It was said to have come from one of the players hairdressers.

 

'Things are so bad and finances so tight, the players have to take their kits home to wash.'

People actually beleieve it as it comes from a person who cuts players hair.

These rumours are taken up and believed, Im amazed no one has put it up here.

Do the FlyBe logos come off in the wash when the players wash their kits?

 

Do they have to iron it as well? This is a pressing matter, I think we should be told.

[OldNick]

Do the FlyBe logos come off in the wash when the players wash their kits?

 

Do they have to iron it as well? This is a pressing matter, I think we should be told.

Im not privvy to that but the players do like a short back and sides

[Redondo Saint]

As there is not much gossip and the recent break, maybe we can start another Soul Cellar thread?

 

I think the main reason for less activity on this site is the fact most people realise the board, management and players are doing the best they can in the current environment.

 

Personally I am looking forward to being back in Soton at the end of the month and watching a game.

[Johnny Shearer]

Its the international break and with the advent of the transfer window closing there's just less news/rumours/gossip to talk/argue and slate each other about!

[scooby]

It could be that no ones got anything to moan about.

 

Nail. Head. Hit.

 

We have the professionals back in charge.

We have a dynamic, exciting brand of total football.

We have one of the best management teams in the country in the guise of the Golden Duo.

 

The contingent who backed the insect Crouch to the hilt are running scared right now.

[Thedelldays]

always makes me smile..

[aintforever]

The "ticket office opening hours" thread hit an all time low.

[Guest Hacienda]

blah, blah, I'm a trolling mong.

 

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

There, fixed it for you.

[saintcrris]

Nail. Head. Hit.

 

We have the professionals back in charge.

We have a dynamic, exciting brand of total football.

We have one of the best management teams in the country in the guise of the Golden Duo.

 

The contingent who backed the insect Crouch to the hilt are running scared right now.

 

1 You mean Doyle and Brodie?

2 Yes total football with one league win in 4

3 Yes I do like the new guys, but just like all the rest he looks clueless when we go a goal behind or chasing the game.

 

4 Yes Crouch was far from perfect but on the whole he is far more blameless for the mess we are in then the other two.

[DaveyR]

I blame the Credit Crunch, no-one can afford the internet anymore.. Gotta go, this is costing me an arm and a leg!!!

[Long Shot]

In all honesty what is there to get excited about?

 

We have 2 unpopular chair people, no money, dwindling crowds and little chance of promotion.

 

We have had 18 months of idle speculative crap about being taken over.

 

Fans are fed up and a lot of them cannot forgive Lowe.

 

 

I feel sorry for JP because I think he is a decent man - lets just hope we can string a few wins together starting at QPR, we need a swashbucling run to rekindle interest.

[offix]

International break, nothing happening on the transfer front, no match to discuss, all the pro - and con - Lowe/Wilde arguments have been done to death and no-one is changing their point of view.

 

It'll pick up when the match comes nearer.

[Windmill Arm 2]

I found out Baj was still involved and lost interest.

[Sundance Beast]

I found out Baj was still involved and lost interest.

 

Ditto. I wouldn't trust him to deliver a pizza on time let alone a well run forum where individual's bank details and personal information are as guaranteed as the major financial institutions.

 

If you want a witch hunt to liven things up along the lines of Lowe, Burley and Crouch then IMO we have an obvious candidate and far more deserving of our collective abuse than anyone in the past. present or future. With the possible exception of John Wesley Tender.

[Dannyboy_Saint]

TBH its no worse than some other footie forums out there. A few seem to have about 50 people max posting on them. As soon as the matches restart the threads will pick up.

[offix]

Wow, this is sad. Now Baj is the new favourite whipping boy of the likes of Sundance and friends? You're a very sad bunch.

[70's Mike]

Wow, this is sad. Now Baj is the new favourite whipping boy of the likes of Sundance and friends? You're a very sad bunch.

 

Went down hill from when those guys started to post.

"Club did not exist before 1997" drove away the likes of FF etc , stopped the Soul Cellar type threads with their PC attitude.

[alpine_saint]

Its probably down to :

 

1.) The international break

 

2.) The transfer window being shut (and us never going to be involved in a positive sense anyway)

 

However, it could also be down to the fact that there is an element on here that have gone out of their way to crush criticism and dissent of the new on- and off-field regime.

 

Whether most people like it or not, negative issues attract more discussion, controversy and debate than positive ones.

[Frank's cousin]

Alas, in my new job, I actualy have to do some work, and with only 3 FREE posts have to spread them about carefully, like 3 wishes from the Genie.... what's happened to the interwebnetwidewolrdcyberspace thingy? and paying to post? So now we only se more than 3 posts a day from those that like the sound of their own keyboards ;-)

 

On a serious note, I think its true to say we are ini a kind of stasis, the doom and gloomers are sat in anticipatin of failure that has yet to materialise, the Lowe haters are probably plotting somewhere in a telephone box outside a pub, and the rest of us are not quite sure what to make of it all, 'positive signs during difficult times' © 2008 FC, its a paradox that means we are probably all a bit dumbstruck. We dont want to be all doom and gloom as there are nice encouraging signals, yet we understand that its a precarious situation, untested so its perhaps easier to keep the gob shut for th time being .... oh and the international break naturally

[trousers]

Im not privvy to that but the players do like a back, sack and crack

 

Yeah, I'd heard that too

[gordonToo]

It's a sentiment thing. It might be interesting to see the relationship between posting levels and match attendances.

[CabbageFace]

Instead of posting a interesting thread you decided to moan about the lack of them.

 

Mehage.

[Polaroid Saint]

Do they have to iron it as well? This is a pressing matter, I think we should be told.

 

Quite Right. Ironing is always a pressing matter.

 

Stasis innit? Lets see how the next few league games go, a few more points and people will be back at SMS and back on TSF (or whatever it's called now TSW? SWF?) too.

[GreenTreeFrog]

The International break and closing of the transfer window will have dampened interest in posting (it has been quieter the past week) but this forum has not recovered from the introduction of membership fees. Although it might be truer to say it has not recovered from limiting non members to only 3 posts a day.

 

I am not criticising the idea of the scheme (funds were needed) but it does appear to be by far the biggest factor in the lack of postings over the past months. Do the mods have any stats of before and after?

 

I do wonder if the old way (voluntary donations) but with ‘high profile’ pleas for donations would have been better. I never donated previously even though I truly valued the forum and would have happily made a donation - but I just never got round to actually doing it. I suppose many were the same.

 

Some argued that ‘the dross’ would stop posting if the fee was imposed and this would be a good thing. In hindsight it does seem that 'the dross' may have helped keep the forum alive and interesting.

 

As I am a positive person I finish by adding it is still easily the best saints forum out there.

[Professor]

Eight new signings through the close season up to the Transfer Close, plus Svensson's comeback. Three or four players being brought into the first team from the reserves. Reached the 3rd round of the Carling Cup. Surely all of this ought to be enough to keep the chat going! But three 1-goal defeats in the league have left us all feeling down. Two or three games without defeat would make the chat look up again.

[wightman35]

I blame the weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and the fact that we were narrowly beaten in three of our four League matches- in particular Blackpool at home. At least JP gave an honest verdict on that and we were not offered GB style feeble excuses. Also the two week gap and the televising of Saints has seemed to put the dampers on us in recent years.

[once_bitterne]

The £5 fee has rendered this board dead as a dodo! Ironically with the current level of traffic on here the old server could have coped without problem. (as would have a VIC 20!)

[Minsk]

 

Personally I am looking forward to being back in Soton at the end of the month and watching a game.

 

Me too. I will be over for the Norwich match. Can't wait!

 

I expect the lack of posting on here at the moment is down to the lack of news in general to talk about, what with the international break, no matches, transfer window closed (although the loan window has just opened), etc.

 

I must admit that I haven't posted anything recently and don't even tend to log in unless I want to post something, even though I do still read the threads a few times a day.

[Window Cleaner]

I told you the other day, a lot of the posters are students, they're all still working hard at their summer jobs and passing the rest of the time spending their ill gotten gains. Once they're all back to their regular life of idling away

time in the lecture theatre and tutorial room whilst profiting from the free

wireless networks provided in such higher learning emporiums they will be back raring to go.To prove my point: how many "help me with some easy answers for my PhD on "the social standing of the average Hampshire League left back" have we had since the new forum kicked in eh? not a single one.Unless of course many of the posters were actually Saint's youth academicians, now they can't post cos Jan has banned the internet for first teamers.

[yorkie]

Nail. Head. Hit.

 

We have the professionals back in charge.

We have a dynamic, exciting brand of total football.

We have one of the best management teams in the country in the guise of the Golden Duo.

 

The contingent who backed the insect Crouch to the hilt are running scared right now.

 

I'm going to put my final post of the day to good use and respond to this Lowe Luvvie - so no response until tomorrow Scabby - sorry Scooby!

 

Professions back in charge? Don't make me laugh!

Why are we in this mess?

Who was in charge when we were relegated?

 

Can't disagree with the dynamic football - but Redknapp tried it under Lowe, and it didn't work. I wonder if that's because these lads are more mature now?

 

The Golden Duo? No much Goalden about them - more Goalshy in my books.

 

I've got plenty to moan about - like why the ticket office hours are so important on a website about a PLC? I thought it was a cost cutting exercise - then it was revealed it was to benefit the fans! Lot of good it does me in Yorkshire!

 

The site is flat - we all had a moan after the Blackpool game which seems eons ago - who really cares about Eng...er...overpaid prima donna...land? FFS why would anyone waste their money watching them? To cap it all we have to wait until Sunday afternoon to play too!

 

I didn't moan after the Blackpool game thinking about it - I was very disappointed by the performance we did show more signs of being a very good side. Onwards and upwards that's my motto - see any of you at the mighty Rotherham?

 

Let's face it we now have what we can afford and not what we originally wanted - Mr. Lowe.

 

In the words of the song taken on board by the Labour Party - Things Can Only Get Better.

[Secret Site Agent]

with this forum.

it has become very stale and boring and not much is being discussed.

is it because of the £5 fee?

is it because there is nothing interesting to talk about?

is it because the sensationalist rumour mongers have been assassinated?

i paid the £5 fee but find myself not logging on as much as i used to mainly because there seems to be little to log on for.

posts seem to linger on the 1st page for days rather than hours.

 

I have got to agree slightly as when i used to log on after works, there used to be a page of items that I had not seen. Now it's a couple of new ones and a few from the past that someone has just added a single post too.

 

We need to set up a rota so that we can all take a turn at trolling to just get the debates going. I am only joking, of course.

 

Perhaps it is because people have become more settled. We can't have a go at Lowes return, as he is already back, we can't winge about the team, as it is what it is and it seems settled a bit more, we can't winge at the manager as he is a completly different flavour from GB and it is too early to judge. The takeover has died a death for the time being. no one is speaking about us to any extent. No one wants relegation. There is an international break at the moment. So what is there to talk about?

[Snowballs2]

There are quite a number of regular posters who are still critical of the regime with Lowe in it. Unfortunately there are a select few (and they know who they are ) who do not like any person being critical. Its censorship in its worse form...by ridicule. Therefore as some hate the thought of freedom of speech on here they try and stop it.

Sadly some of the Mods are also guilty of this in closing some of the more interesting and volatile topics.

Perhaps the Lowe luvvies need their own site.

[Saints67]

We should never have got rid of Jermaine Wright. This forum has lost a few thousand posts without 'Jezza'

[Sundance Beast]

I have got to agree slightly as when i used to log on after works, there used to be a page of items that I had not seen. Now it's a couple of new ones and a few from the past that someone has just added a single post too.

 

We need to set up a rota so that we can all take a turn at trolling to just get the debates going. I am only joking, of course.

 

Perhaps it is because people have become more settled. We can't have a go at Lowes return, as he is already back, we can't winge about the team, as it is what it is and it seems settled a bit more, we can't winge at the manager as he is a completly different flavour from GB and it is too early to judge. The takeover has died a death for the time being. no one is speaking about us to any extent. No one wants relegation. There is an international break at the moment. So what is there to talk about?

 

Sorry but I don't buy into the international break or the perceived lack of activty at the club both on and off the pitch.

 

This forum has been destroyed by Baj and to a lesser degree his merry band of mods. I have no doubt the old TSF was difficult and time-consuming to manage but it was both informative, entertaining and infuriating in equal measure. This at times lead to some comments to get close to the knuckle and I have no doubt IMO, led to some 'upset' callers knocking on Baj's door trying to leverage their weight to either close the forum or silence a few individuals. I may be wrong but lets assume I'm not, is it right that people can't voice an opinion on a forum in a democratic society? Baj advised me that he owned the old forum and it was up to him who he allowed access and what they posted and that any notion of it being a democracy on my part was pathetic or words to that effect.

 

 

IMO Baj wanted to tap into the traffic on the forum as a way of making some money in return for his efforts. Nothing wrong in that of course but the route he chose was wrong because it potentially compromised the more robust poster's identity and went against the norm of just about every other forum on the internet and certainly football related. Clearly the way to go was to introduce advertising on to the forum in it's new guise but that would have taken a lot more work and would have not covered the immediate outlay for the new servers which may or may not have been required dependent on your technical viewpoint.

 

Most entreprenuers I have met sink their money into a project or idea and then work hard to recoup their capital outlay. Again IMO Baj wanted a low risk and easy way to turn the forum into a way of making money but didn't count on the fact that the bridges he burned on his way were the very links in the chain that kept the discussion alive and entertaining and therefore encouraging users to log in regularly and add to the lively debates.

 

FWIW I miss the banter of the Soul Cellar thread, amongst many others, and to be able to start up a thread or exchange a pm or two. However, in the name of progress Baj has achieved his ultimate aim, less effort in policing the forum and all for a quick buck. Perhaps we should leave him counting his fivers and all migrate to the other options available. Even the pompous Wes Tender and the Dumb Pahars are welcome as he all need something to work with.

[Wes Tender]

Ditto. I wouldn't trust him to deliver a pizza on time let alone a well run forum where individual's bank details and personal information are as guaranteed as the major financial institutions.

 

If you want a witch hunt to liven things up along the lines of Lowe, Burley and Crouch then IMO we have an obvious candidate and far more deserving of our collective abuse than anyone in the past. present or future. With the possible exception of John Wesley Tender.

 

Here is the arch hypocrite who supported the contention of another that I was one of the resident trolls on this forum, but has been unable to substantiate it by examples of trolling posts that I had made. I call him a hypocrite because the post above is a typical example of the art by one of its main proponents. Not a coincidence, is it, that listed as Sundance's only friend is a certain individual called Scabby (sorry, Scooby) who is accepted as being the high priest of the trolls, Sundance being his handmaiden as it were. The two of them belong together, as neither is able to indulge in a well contructed and cogent debate, so trolling and juvenile name-calling are their level. As I said elsewhere, if you don't like the people running this forum and are too tight to cough up a fiver, why not go elsewhere, or form your own forum. You won't be missed.

[Give it to Ron]

Sorry but I don't buy into the international break or the perceived lack of activty at the club both on and off the pitch.

 

This forum has been destroyed by Baj and to a lesser degree his merry band of mods. I have no doubt the old TSF was difficult and time-consuming to manage but it was both informative, entertaining and infuriating in equal measure. This at times lead to some comments to get close to the knuckle and I have no doubt IMO, led to some 'upset' callers knocking on Baj's door trying to leverage their weight to either close the forum or silence a few individuals. I may be wrong but lets assume I'm not, is it right that people can't voice an opinion on a forum in a democratic society? Baj advised me that he owned the old forum and it was up to him who he allowed access and what they posted and that any notion of it being a democracy on my part was pathetic or words to that effect.

 

 

IMO Baj wanted to tap into the traffic on the forum as a way of making some money in return for his efforts. Nothing wrong in that of course but the route he chose was wrong because it potentially compromised the more robust poster's identity and went against the norm of just about every other forum on the internet and certainly football related. Clearly the way to go was to introduce advertising on to the forum in it's new guise but that would have taken a lot more work and would have not covered the immediate outlay for the new servers which may or may not have been required dependent on your technical viewpoint.

 

Most entreprenuers I have met sink their money into a project or idea and then work hard to recoup their capital outlay. Again IMO Baj wanted a low risk and easy way to turn the forum into a way of making money but didn't count on the fact that the bridges he burned on his way were the very links in the chain that kept the discussion alive and entertaining and therefore encouraging users to log in regularly and add to the lively debates.

 

FWIW I miss the banter of the Soul Cellar thread, amongst many others, and to be able to start up a thread or exchange a pm or two. However, in the name of progress Baj has achieved his ultimate aim, less effort in policing the forum and all for a quick buck. Perhaps we should leave him counting his fivers and all migrate to the other options available. Even the pompous Wes Tender and the Dumb Pahars are welcome as he all need something to work with.

 

Yet having said all that anti-stuff you still post here?

You are either:

a) a masochist

b) 3 and throwing your toys out of the pram because you can't get your way

c) wimp hiding behind anonymity of a keyboard

 

I will never understand why people constantly whinge about a forum and then continue to post....do one of two things.

1. Set up your own and moderate it how you like

2. Don't ever go on it as what you don't know can't hurt or upset you. I used to post on the old UI site a lot until it got infected by the unclean lot now I hardly ever post or read it.

[Saint Billy]

There are quite a number of regular posters who are still critical of the regime with Lowe in it. Unfortunately there are a select few (and they know who they are ) who do not like any person being critical. Its censorship in its worse form...by ridicule. Therefore as some hate the thought of freedom of speech on here they try and stop it.

Sadly some of the Mods are also guilty of this in closing some of the more interesting and volatile topics.

Perhaps the Lowe luvvies need their own site.

 

Agree with this.

 

I use to enjoy keiths forum until it went too far (personal attacks etc). There was a good amount of controversy to keep you interested. But now its all become too pc and most are guarding what they say.

 

I feel sorry for the admin and mods though because it must be a thankless task keeping everyone happy, but this site does need spicing up a little and a bit more tolerance given.

 

Differences of opinions and heated debate makes a forum interesting and yet I have noticed on several other unrelated forums that mods get carried away and power hungry and seem take their self importance too far. I appreciate that what they do is voluntary and costly as far as time is concerned, but many mods that I know on other forums, their life would fall apart if they were not doing it, needless to say, some need to get a life and not take it all so seriously.