who else feels a bit down 2day

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

My next door neighbour PFC season ticket holder said to me today that he would rather be in our shoes than theirs. Sums it up really, we live to go again, they don't think PFC will exist next season.

 

My condolences for having to live next door to a Skate.

 

Keep the windows shut and plant a impenetrable wall of Leylandi trees is my advice.

[Legod Third Coming]

You're right fella.. Once we're there I doubt I'll give a damn, but you know once it's not quite done it's hard to shake off the nerves and disappointments of the last 3 Saturdays on the trot!

 

Tell me about it! I was counting my winnings after Hull... 14/1 to win the league looked the most inspired bet in living memory...

[sotonjoe]

I think they call it a hangover.

[Ziggy]

Yes I was down for about half an hour. Then I remembered that I'll be at St Mary's next Saturday where we can get back where we belong, if not before depending on tomorrow's result. There was a thread a while back about supporting boring teams. Well I don't think any fans can have had so much excitement and despair as we have over the last seven years. Keep the faith and enjoy the ride!

[Mattio]

W'ham will draw tomorrow, fact.

[Legod Third Coming]

Does this make anyone feel better...

 

"In the Championship

 

Southampton's off-the-field controversy affected their on-the-field fortunes substantially during 2005–06[citation needed], and at one point they were in real danger of a second successive relegation. But their form improved during the final weeks of the season and they finished a secure twelfth.

 

The good form which secured Southampton's Championship status in 2005–06 was carried through to the start of the 2006–07 season, and the turn of the year saw the team in fourth place in the table. The new board of directors had spent a club record £6 million on transfers. Polish strikers Grzegorz Rasiak and Marek Saganowski and 17 year-old left back Gareth Bale all had great runs in form. A drastic loss in the team's form overall, coupled with poor displays against fellow promotion hopefuls, saw the team drop to eighth place by mid–March 2007, and rapidly losing touch with the promotion race. However, with other promotion rivals dropping points and a small run of form in late April, Southampton were able to reach sixth place, the last play-off position. They lost the home leg of their playoff semi-final to Derby County, and on 15 May achieved parity on aggregate but lost on penalties in a thrilling encounter.

 

Since relegation, the club has had to sell players to meet the shortfall in income. A number of players from the club's academy have been sold for large sums, such as Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale.

 

The 2007–08 season went much worse for Southampton with George Burley revealing that players such as Gareth Bale and Kenwyne Jones had to be sold to stop the club going into administration and that not getting promoted put the club in serious financial troubles. New players such as Youssef Safri and Stern John were brought in, but Southampton made an inconsistent start to the season being lodged in mid-table around the Christmas period. However, manager Burley left the club in January to take over as Scotland manager and in the January transfer window two more important players in Grzegorz Rasiak and Rudi Skacel were loaned out. Jason Dodd and John Gorman took charge initially for what was intended to be the rest of the season. However, they failed to win a league game, and the team slipped alarmingly near to the relegation zone. In February Southampton appointed Nigel Pearson as manager. Under Pearson's management Southampton narrowly avoided the drop by beating Sheffield United 3–2 on the final day of the season.

 

Even though Pearson kept the Saints up, the Southampton board did not renew his contract, because of financial constraints. By now, Michael Wilde and Rupert Lowe had replaced Leon Crouch as chairmen, and the new board brought in the relatively unknown Dutchman Jan Poortvliet as manager. The Club's financial troubles continued to mount, resulting in more players being sold or loaned out to lower the wage bill and parts of St Mary's were closed off to reduce costs. Due to their financial troubles, the club had to rely on youth and put out a very young side. Although they had a poor first half to the season, young players such as Andrew Surman, Adam Lallana and Morgan Schneiderlin emerged as potential stars.

 

On 23 January 2009, Poortvliet resigned with the club one from bottom in the Championship, with Mark Wotte taking over managerial duties.

 

Administration and relegation to League One

 

On 23 April 2009, Southampton were handed a 10 point deduction, following their parent company going into administration. This deduction ensured that Southampton were relegated from the Football League Championship and play the 2009–10 season in League One.[14] Although the rules of the Football League state that a 10 point deduction would only be incurred if the club went into administration, an enquiry reported that the finances of the parent company and the club were linked to an extent that they were practically the same company/club. However the administrators and the club lawyers believed that the sanction given was unfair and "completely against the rules."

 

After failure to beat Burnley in the penultimate game of the season on 25 April 2009, which ended in a 2–2 draw, Southampton confirmed their relegation from the Championship. This also meant that they would start in League One (third tier of English Football for the first time in 50 years) with minus 10 points, within six years of being FA Cup runners-up, UEFA Cup participants and the eighth placed team in the Premier League.

 

By the end of May 2009, the club was unable to meet its staff wages commitments, and asked employees to work unpaid as a gesture of goodwill. Despite his statement opposing the sanctions a month earlier, administrator Mark Fry warned that the club now faced imminent bankruptcy unless a buyer was found. The following day, the Matt Le Tissier backed Pinnacle consortium paid a non-refundable fee of £500,000 to gain "exclusivity" for 21 days, which meant that the employees at the club could be paid. That period of exclusivity lapsed on 19 June without a deal being completed as the Football League refused to give the necessary approval of the proposed take-over unless Pinnacle waived any right to appeal against the ten-point deduction. The decision was confirmed by a meeting of the Football League Board on 21 June

 

On 26 June 2009, administrator Mark Fry made a statement in which he said he had negotiations with two other groups of investors. He also confirmed that no group had an exclusivity deal and potential buyers will have to move straight away to purchase the club. This was followed by a statement from the Pinnacle group that they would accept the ten point penalty enforced by the Football League in order that the takeover of the club may be completed.

 

On 30 June 2009 it was reported that the Matt Le Tissier-backed Pinnacle Consortium had withdrawn their offer for the club. They "up-turned tables" after a mystery overseas consortium announced that they were close to a deal after lawyers were in negotiations for the club..."