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SISU - It Could Have Been Us

Gemmel

By Gemmel,
in The Saints

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Saint_clark

Saint_clark

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Posted

Their problems started when they moved to the Ricoh, not when SISU took over. When it was built they needed at least 10 sell outs just to break even on their budgeted repayments, and IIRC they didn't get any sell outs until 2008, with the crowds averaging around 21-22k.

The last few years they've been getting crowds of around 13k, this season dropping down to 10k. They really did aim too high with the stadium and are suffering for it now.

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CB Fry

CB Fry

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Their problems started when they moved to the Ricoh, not when SISU took over. When it was built they needed at least 10 sell outs just to break even on their budgeted repayments, and IIRC they didn't get any sell outs until 2008, with the crowds averaging around 21-22k.

The last few years they've been getting crowds of around 13k, this season dropping down to 10k. They really did aim too high with the stadium and are suffering for it now.

 

 

Sounds like they followed the "man walked on the moon" business plan, so favoured by some of the geniuses on here for us. Who'd have thought it could ever not work?

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dubai_phil

dubai_phil

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Yeah, let's embarrass a lot of Saints fans by remembering all of those who pushed for SISU to take over us.

 

And let us take time out to congratulate those Geniuses of Commercial Acuman, Dullyou, Who's, Hone, Jones and Oldnose

 

And let us thank

LEON Crouch and Patrick Trant were the only Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC directors who did not vote in favour of SISU’s takeover plan back in the autumn of 2007.

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/untoldstories/4358067.Board_discussions_on_the_SISU_takeover/

 

(and wow, HOW many hangers on did we have in those days? HOW many Board Members!?!?!)

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Graffito

Graffito

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Yeah, let's embarrass a lot of Saints fans by remembering all of those who pushed for SISU to take over us.

 

And let us take time out to congratulate those Geniuses of Commercial Acuman, Dullyou, Who's, Hone, Jones and Oldnose

 

True but if you go with a hedge fund you know what to expect.

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Turkish

Turkish

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Yeah, let's embarrass a lot of Saints fans by remembering all of those who pushed for SISU to take over us.

 

And let us take time out to congratulate those Geniuses of Commercial Acuman, Dullyou, Who's, Hone, Jones and Oldnose

 

And let us thank

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/untoldstories/4358067.Board_discussions_on_the_SISU_takeover/

 

(and wow, HOW many hangers on did we have in those days? HOW many Board Members!?!?!)

 

Does Crouch still go to St Mary's? His role in saving us should never be forgotten.

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ant

ant

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SISU put the only firm offer on the table during that period didn't they? Certainly alludes to that in those minutes and I always assumed subsequent chit-chat and rumour-mongering was just that. Interest from Paul Allen is also recorded in there, but whether that was based upon an official enquiry or what the club had heard via the press I don't know.

 

Anyway, thank goodness the shareholder opinion didn't match that of the board and thank goodness for Markus Liebherr. :toppa:

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Gemmel

Gemmel

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SISU put the only firm offer on the table during that period didn't they?

Anyway, thank goodness the shareholder opinion didn't match that of the board and thank goodness for Markus Liebherr. :toppa:

 

Yes they put a formal offer, which amounted to something like 20p per share when they were trading at about 50p (Happy to be corrected) the deal also included a substantial finders fee for executives (Who unsurpringly recommended the offer be accepted) .

 

The irony of course is that had they (The shareholders) known what was coming they would have snapped SISU's hand off.

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stevegrant

stevegrant

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Yes they put a formal offer, which amounted to something like 20p per share when they were trading at about 50p (Happy to be corrected) the deal also included a substantial finders fee for executives (Who unsurpringly recommended the offer be accepted) .

 

The irony of course is that had they (The shareholders) known what was coming they would have snapped SISU's hand off.

The shares were trading at 50p because idiots like Michael Wilde and Leon Crouch kept paying massively over the odds for them. Invesco must have thought Christmas had come early when Crouch offered them 65p a share :lol:

 

A finders fee is, as far as I'm aware, fairly standard practice in this sort of situation. Clearly it creates a substantial conflict of interests, but it happens everywhere. I remember being shown the offer document and the total pot was £300k to be shared between the existing executive board members. Given the salaries they were all on at the time (IIRC Hone was on around £450k plus benefits), you could argue the fees they'd have got (with no guarantee of keeping their jobs) weren't actually that attractive.

 

Comparing SISU's offer for a controlling stake of SLH PLC with what has since happened at Coventry is like comparing apples with oranges, anyway.

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ant

ant

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Yes they put a formal offer, which amounted to something like 20p per share when they were trading at about 50p (Happy to be corrected) the deal also included a substantial finders fee for executives (Who unsurprisingly recommended the offer be accepted) .

 

40p/share I believe, but yes there were fees to be paid meaning that the club would have seen significantly less. Lowe never really was one to quit while he was ahead though and of course Wilde/Crouch had their reasons for holding on for a better offer. Still, that odd mix of stubbornness, greed and loyalty got us to where we are today so it's difficult to have too many complaints about how matters unfurled!

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sandwichsaint

sandwichsaint

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Which 3 ex-Saints have managed Cov? no googling allowed

 

Got to feel sorry for the Sky Blues, Mrs Sandwich is ex-Coventry and several of my in-laws are fans and two of my nephews have played for their schools sides and the Cov academy. Don't buy it that they are 'a similar club to Saints', their 34 years in the top flight was exceptional but unlikely ever to be re-created, We had crowds of 25/28/30 in the third tier, Cov got nowhere near that in the CCC and are now down to nearer 10k in the third level.

 

And what an absolute hole of a place; concrete jungle doesn't begin to sum it up, a sort of land-locked Portsmouth with added multi-culturalism. No wonder they spawned the Specials, the Selector and the Fun Boy Three, there really isn't very much to do there. What a trio of diamonds in a field of dirty concrete.

 

Didn't realise the Ricoh held 32k? One of the 'best' new grounds there is, 'steep' terracing, something a bit different shape-wise, but unfortunately it's located in the middle of nowhere (and occupied by a no-mark team), perfect for the 'family' match-day experience but absolutely useless for anybody else.

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Appy

Appy

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Posted
Which 3 ex-Saints have managed Cov? no googling allowed

 

Got to feel sorry for the Sky Blues, Mrs Sandwich is ex-Coventry and several of my in-laws are fans and two of my nephews have played for their schools sides and the Cov academy. Don't buy it that they are 'a similar club to Saints', their 34 years in the top flight was exceptional but unlikely ever to be re-created, We had crowds of 25/28/30 in the third tier, Cov got nowhere near that in the CCC and are now down to nearer 10k in the third level.

 

And what an absolute hole of a place; concrete jungle doesn't begin to sum it up, a sort of land-locked Portsmouth with added multi-culturalism. No wonder they spawned the Specials, the Selector and the Fun Boy Three, there really isn't very much to do there. What a trio of diamonds in a field of dirty concrete.

 

Didn't realise the Ricoh held 32k? One of the 'best' new grounds there is, 'steep' terracing, something a bit different shape-wise, but unfortunately it's located in the middle of nowhere (and occupied by a no-mark team), perfect for the 'family' match-day experience but absolutely useless for anybody else.

 

Dowie, Adams and ..........

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Colinjb

Colinjb

Posted
Posted (edited)
Which 3 ex-Saints have managed Cov? no googling allowed

 

Got to feel sorry for the Sky Blues, Mrs Sandwich is ex-Coventry and several of my in-laws are fans and two of my nephews have played for their schools sides and the Cov academy. Don't buy it that they are 'a similar club to Saints', their 34 years in the top flight was exceptional but unlikely ever to be re-created, We had crowds of 25/28/30 in the third tier, Cov got nowhere near that in the CCC and are now down to nearer 10k in the third level.

 

And what an absolute hole of a place; concrete jungle doesn't begin to sum it up, a sort of land-locked Portsmouth with added multi-culturalism. No wonder they spawned the Specials, the Selector and the Fun Boy Three, there really isn't very much to do there. What a trio of diamonds in a field of dirty concrete.

 

Didn't realise the Ricoh held 32k? One of the 'best' new grounds there is, 'steep' terracing, something a bit different shape-wise, but unfortunately it's located in the middle of nowhere (and occupied by a no-mark team), perfect for the 'family' match-day experience but absolutely useless for anybody else.

 

Yes, my home City is truly beautiful! ;)

 

If you were appraising solely on recent attendances you will have a point in terms of club size and comparison between us. You said it yourself though, the Ricoh Arena is hopelessly adrift from the city, walk up is near impossible for many, it's killed the desire for many to go, as has a decade of stagnation. The extended spell in the top flight, the sole cup win, the raw size of the conurbation itself. Coventry and Saints are in many ways peas in a pod.

 

Could never understand them moving out of Highfield Road, unless their debt was that horrific that it would have been new stadium or bust. The irony is of course very apparent.

Edited by Colinjb
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Colinjb

Colinjb

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Posted
I thank you!

 

I don't mind Coventry, some good memories of the place - used to stay for many a night a hotel on Holyhead Road. I will say that, as bad as Coventry is, there are some cracking pubs in the surrounding villages!

 

A five minute walk from my place. Did you go to 'The Holyhead' pub at all? I'm guessing if you know the road and liked the villages you ended up in Allesley?

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Colinjb

Colinjb

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Posted (edited)
Full house: Adams, Dowie, Reid it is.

 

Players that have played for both?

 

I'll go for the obvious, Williams and Telfer.

 

Danny Fox

Jack Cork

Ronnie Ekelund

David McGoldrick

Martin Cranie

Yousef Safri

Edited by Colinjb
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Patrick Bateman

Patrick Bateman

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A five minute walk from my place. Did you go to 'The Holyhead' pub at all? I'm guessing if you know the road and liked the villages you ended up in Allesley?

 

To be honest, "probably" - I honestly can't remember now! I had an ex who lived in Erdington, but she was from Sutton Coldfield - we went to a couple of pubs on the way to Cov, one in particular in a village called the Bull & something - no idea where or what it's called, but the food was fantastic!

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Colinjb

Colinjb

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To be honest, "probably" - I honestly can't remember now! I had an ex who lived in Erdington, but she was from Sutton Coldfield - we went to a couple of pubs on the way to Cov, one in particular in a village called the Bull & something - no idea where or what it's called, but the food was fantastic!

 

There are some good pubs in Erdington, if you remember the name Holyhead it must be from the pub itself.

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Turkish

Turkish

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To be honest, "probably" - I honestly can't remember now! I had an ex who lived in Erdington, but she was from Sutton Coldfield - we went to a couple of pubs on the way to Cov, one in particular in a village called the Bull & something - no idea where or what it's called, but the food was fantastic!

 

Is that the one you met on the fetish forum?!!!!

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JackanorySFC

JackanorySFC

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Bit out of order having a go at Cov as a City. I personally always see them as a bit of a "twin City" due to them getting ***tted by the Luftwaffe just as we did and losing their old period buildings and having the replace them with pre fab rubbish, (again) just as we did, all the while London was getting the headlines whilst Spitfire making targets like us took a pasting.

 

Those in glass houses eh.... Southampton is essentially a City of council estates with Bitterne Park, Hightown, Bassett and, err, let me think... Regents Park (aka "upper Shirley") dotted in between, all surrounding some amazing parks but a shell of a City Centre in terms of what it looked like before Hermann Goring sent his mob over in November/ December 1940. Anyone with family members that lived through that should respect our Coventry counterparts. Rather that than some modern day roundabout hell hole like Milton Keynes ffs, at least Cov has soul.

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influx

influx

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Posted
To be honest, "probably" - I honestly can't remember now! I had an ex who lived in Erdington, but she was from Sutton Coldfield - we went to a couple of pubs on the way to Cov, one in particular in a village called the Bull & something - no idea where or what it's called, but the food was fantastic!

 

The Bull and Butcher in Corley Moor. Great pub and homemade food!

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stevegrant

stevegrant

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SISU's next step into madness, moving into facilities that have claimed two (three at a push, Kettering don't have long as I understand it...) clubs already:

 

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/coventry-city-fc/coventry-city-fc-news/2012/12/11/coventry-city-plan-move-to-northamptonshire-92746-32403936/

Won't happen. They probably have more season ticket holders than that ground can hold, for a start. They'll also come to an agreement with ACL over the Ricoh rent. The stuff in the last few days is both sides jostling for position to get themselves the best possible deal. I'd expect SISU to accept the deal offered last week.

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