Adam Blackmore on twitter

[Suhari]

I'm not sure which journalists you're talking about, but I don't remember anyone predicting we'd have our best ever Premier League season and qualify for Europe.

 

Blackmore had some bad news too, regarding Mane and Wanyama.

 

Is this new news? Not seen anything elsewhere?

[sadoldgit]

Nice to see that you are still earning loyalty points from defending the person who did more to wreck the club than any other single individual.

 

Roger didn't say that all of his managerial signings were crap, but although two of your list were pretty good and the other two not bad, nevertheless Lowe didn't manage to keep them any longer than his other appointments, did he?

 

As for your second point, Lowe made the ultimate sacrifice for the club by coming here, giving up the millions he was making out of his dealings in the City and leaving his ultra-successful retirement home business. Pardon the sarcasm. What I really meant to convey, is that he benefited massively from being one of the highest paid chief executives in English football, was awarded large shareholdings and no doubt that could well constitute the claim that he was making a fortune out of the club. Until we went into administration that is. Then thankfully the shareholdings of all the board became worthless, and nobody was more deserving of losing all that loot than Rupert Lowe, closely followed by Askham.

 

Loyalty points have got nothing to do with it. I just hate it when people make up rubbish in support of their own agenda. I don't recall Lowe ever owning the club therefore why should he put his own money in? Took the club into administration? Wasn't that the banks doing? Picked loads of crap managers? Some yes but plenty of good ones too - no mention of that though so that was well balanced. Taking money out of the club? Embezzlement? Never saw any evidence of that. If he took what he was entitled too what is the problem? I am sure people running football clubs get far less than the players they employ. As for Lowe keeping is appointments - how many managers have we had since he left the club? No one is beyond criticism, but if people are going to criticise, use facts not things that they wish were true. We also stayed in the top flight of English football on crowds of 15k - no mean feat. The current owners also seem to think that running the club his way is the way to do things (ie self sustaining model) so perhaps he wasn't totally wrong? The people he worked with at the FA said he was a visionary. Again, perhaps we wasn't total crap. Plenty of clubs of ours size get into difficulties so again, to say that it was all about Lowe is complete nonsense. Of course he made mistakes. You show me a CEO/Chairman who hasn't. The wrecking of the club as you put it didn't totally happen when he was he. Plenty of well intentioned people had a hand in that when he left the first time but that get airbrushed out of history for people like you with a blinkered agenda. You really need to get a balanced view. I think you will find that very little in life is as black and white as you need it to be.

[sadoldgit]

Didn't we want to sign VVD last summer; but refused to pay the £8m asking price? Will be intereting to see how much clubs have to stump up for him this time around.

 

Do you know that for sure? Other clubs were linked with him last year too. Perhaps Celtic were not prepared to sell him last year?

[DuncanRG]

Is this new news? Not seen anything elsewhere?

 

Sort of - he said Mane to Utd rumours have unsettled the squad, while Wanyama and his agent might be angling for a move.

[supersonic]

Adam Blackmore is the only journalist I listen to when it comes to Saints. Knows his stuff and made some good points again today.

 

This.

 

There are a few "journalists" that post on twitter and on here, that are nothing more than embarrassing ****-stirrers.

 

He's the only Journalist that the club regularly trusts and there's a good for reason for that.

[Suhari]

Sort of - he said Mane to Utd rumours have unsettled the squad, while Wanyama and his agent might be angling for a move.

 

OK.

 

Time for the board to show strength again. An unexpected, high-profile signing would be nice.

[Twiggy]

I could see some kind of last minute deal where Vic goes to Spuds and we end up getting Townsend and Fazio.

 

Change Fazio to Dembele and I'd be fairly happy with that...

[angelman]

OK.

 

Time for the board to show strength again. An unexpected, high-profile signing would be nice.

 

Companies need a strong leader. We have, in Ralph, without wanting to be too negative (or be accused of bed wetting), a pathetic chairman who appears anonymous and does **** all save hold the owners' hand.

[Suhari]

Companies need a strong leader. We have, in Ralph, without wanting to be too negative (or be accused of bed wetting), a pathetic chairman who appears anonymous and does **** all save hold the owners' hand.

 

I wonder what he made of "the product" the other night?

[Frank's cousin]

Loyalty points have got nothing to do with it. I just hate it when people make up rubbish in support of their own agenda. I don't recall Lowe ever owning the club therefore why should he put his own money in? Took the club into administration? Wasn't that the banks doing? Picked loads of crap managers? Some yes but plenty of good ones too - no mention of that though so that was well balanced. Taking money out of the club? Embezzlement? Never saw any evidence of that. If he took what he was entitled too what is the problem? I am sure people running football clubs get far less than the players they employ. As for Lowe keeping is appointments - how many managers have we had since he left the club? No one is beyond criticism, but if people are going to criticise, use facts not things that they wish were true. We also stayed in the top flight of English football on crowds of 15k - no mean feat. The current owners also seem to think that running the club his way is the way to do things (ie self sustaining model) so perhaps he wasn't totally wrong? The people he worked with at the FA said he was a visionary. Again, perhaps we wasn't total crap. Plenty of clubs of ours size get into difficulties so again, to say that it was all about Lowe is complete nonsense. Of course he made mistakes. You show me a CEO/Chairman who hasn't. The wrecking of the club as you put it didn't totally happen when he was he. Plenty of well intentioned people had a hand in that when he left the first time but that get airbrushed out of history for people like you with a blinkered agenda. You really need to get a balanced view. I think you will find that very little in life is as black and white as you need it to be.

 

Fair and balance IMHO. It was not my intention to start a debate about Lowe v others, but to pose the question that historically, when money form transfers has not all been reinvested, this has led to a lot of negativity aimed at the board - and indeed many believed it was the main reason for relegation in 2005 and complained that we had failed to capitalize on the 8th place finish in 2003... with Lowe at the saying he wanted to compete in Europe - which sounds rather familiar when we hear Ralph speak.

 

I have no problem if our financial woes and time in the lower leagues have tempered fans expectations, and that more are now happy with a 'living within our means' plan - its sad that this is not enough to be competitive, but is fair and sensible. My only issue is that at present we do not seem to be reinvesting the monies from sales - it would appear its being used to repay loans etc - fair enough, but that implies that apart form the initial 30 mil transfer that her father invested, there has been no more investment form the owner. Again I don't have a problem with that either as its not expected that someone 'donates' cash to the club, but fans then need to stop suggesting the current owners are investing anymore than the previous ones.... again we know nothing for sure because there is no need for full publication of accounts s there was under PLC status.

 

... what i would like to know is, that if the income from transfers is not being reinvested, is it needed to fund operations? If so it would suggest we are not self sustaining - in addition, Les needs to see that what happened last season was NOT without a huge dose of luck and without replacing quality with quality and stopping this annual wholesale, several things happen: we will stop progressing, we will erode the confidence of players in our ambition (more will want to leave), we wont be able to attract quality, we may well get relegated...This is not some bed wetting nonsense, but an observation/opinion. TBH, i am not sure I even care that much anymore as playing in a league where the result is a foregone conclusion and you are playing for scraps, without any chance of progression is not really that interesting anymore... never thought i would say that.

[CB Fry]

Companies need a strong leader. We have, in Ralph, without wanting to be too negative (or be accused of bed wetting), a pathetic chairman who appears anonymous and does **** all save hold the owners' hand.

Of course we do.

[Katalinic]

Companies need a strong leader. We have, in Ralph, without wanting to be too negative (or be accused of bed wetting), a pathetic chairman who appears anonymous and does **** all save hold the owners' hand.

 

The best chairman are anonymous - be careful what you wish for - imagine having one of the dildo twins from West Ham. Even the likes of Jeff Mostyn can't seem to keep away from a camera since Bournemouth got promoted.

[RoswellSaint]

Companies need a strong leader. We have, in Ralph, without wanting to be too negative (or be accused of bed wetting), a pathetic chairman who appears anonymous and does **** all save hold the owners' hand.

 

What leads you to this opinion?

[Wes Tender]

Loyalty points have got nothing to do with it. I just hate it when people make up rubbish in support of their own agenda. I don't recall Lowe ever owning the club therefore why should he put his own money in? Took the club into administration? Wasn't that the banks doing? Picked loads of crap managers? Some yes but plenty of good ones too - no mention of that though so that was well balanced. Taking money out of the club? Embezzlement? Never saw any evidence of that. If he took what he was entitled too what is the problem? I am sure people running football clubs get far less than the players they employ. As for Lowe keeping is appointments - how many managers have we had since he left the club? No one is beyond criticism, but if people are going to criticise, use facts not things that they wish were true. We also stayed in the top flight of English football on crowds of 15k - no mean feat. The current owners also seem to think that running the club his way is the way to do things (ie self sustaining model) so perhaps he wasn't totally wrong? The people he worked with at the FA said he was a visionary. Again, perhaps we wasn't total crap. Plenty of clubs of ours size get into difficulties so again, to say that it was all about Lowe is complete nonsense. Of course he made mistakes. You show me a CEO/Chairman who hasn't. The wrecking of the club as you put it didn't totally happen when he was he. Plenty of well intentioned people had a hand in that when he left the first time but that get airbrushed out of history for people like you with a blinkered agenda. You really need to get a balanced view. I think you will find that very little in life is as black and white as you need it to be.

 

Kerching! Another ten loyalty brownie points. I'm inclined to believe that you might just be one of those charlatans from the old board, the way that you won't hear a bad word said about your idol Lowe.

 

The FA thought that Lowe was a visonary, eh? The FA appointed Wiseman too, so their judgement is spot-on, isn't it?

 

As for the rest, I really can't be arsed to debate against somebody so fond of seeing his tenure through rose-tinted glasses. No doubt you will read that transcript of the report on the AGM and tut-tut about how misunderstood Lowe was and how ungrateful all those people were who didn't recognise all the good things he brought us. For me, I'm eternally grateful that his monumental cock-ups on his return with the Quisling laid the foundations for Markus Liebherr to take us out of administration.

[alpine_saint]

Kerching! Another ten loyalty brownie points. I'm inclined to believe that you might just be one of those charlatans from the old board, the way that you won't hear a bad word said about your idol Lowe.

 

The FA thought that Lowe was a visonary, eh? The FA appointed Wiseman too, so their judgement is spot-on, isn't it?

 

As for the rest, I really can't be arsed to debate against somebody so fond of seeing his tenure through rose-tinted glasses. No doubt you will read that transcript of the report on the AGM and tut-tut about how misunderstood Lowe was and how ungrateful all those people were who didn't recognise all the good things he brought us. For me, I'm eternally grateful that his monumental cock-ups on his return with the Quisling laid the foundations for Markus Liebherr to take us out of administration.

 

Yep.

 

Typical of SOGGY to use the current strife to push his "Lowe - Misunderstood/Misrepresented Messiah" agenda again. As predictable as the sun coming up in the morning..

[sadoldgit]

Yep.

 

Typical of SOGGY to use the current strife to push his "Lowe - Misunderstood/Misrepresented Messiah" agenda again. As predictable as the sun coming up in the morning..

 

I used to think that one of these days you would grow up and we could have a serious debate about this. Clearly it isn't going to happen. You seem totally incapable of grasping the concept of dealing with a situation without applying the Alpine Knee Jerk reactive response and prose. Messiah? Really? You need to grow up.

 

When you have some spare time when you are not howling at the moon, please feel free to explain how I am using the current strife to push my Lowe agenda. To my (perhaps deluded) mind I was simply responding to a post that peddled the same old tired clichés without backing them up with any evidence. Something you do on a daily basis I should add.

[Frank's cousin]

I used to think that one of these days you would grow up and we could have a serious debate about this. Clearly it isn't going to happen. You seem totally incapable of grasping the concept of dealing with a situation without applying the Alpine Knee Jerk reactive response and prose. Messiah? Really? You need to grow up.

 

When you have some spare time when you are not howling at the moon, please feel free to explain how I am using the current strife to push my Lowe agenda. To my (perhaps deluded) mind I was simply responding to a post that peddled the same old tired clichés without backing them up with any evidence. Something you do on a daily basis I should add.

 

This has always been a challenge when trying to debate these issues... for some unknown reason, grown men who should really know better become bitter and twisted and filled with a rather irrational hatred for folks who 'mess with their club'...'perspective' seems lost on some folks. There is a complete lack of self awareness (or any hint of seeing the irony) in some who love to ridicule those down the road for their 'portsmyths', yet feel totally justified in pedaling equally spurious urban myth about Lowe... with a passionate vitriol that is more appropriate for child murderers... perspective...

 

The club is struggling to hold on to and attract the quality of player that will see us maintain and potentially build on what we achieved last season. Some of reasons for this are beyond the club control, others are probably in error, but worst would be if its some sort of strategy - a belief that its possible to build and grow each year by making profits on player sales in the hope that cheaper 'undiscovered' talent + our 'amazing conveyor belt' of youth will overcome the annual disruption and a rebuild will be an effective way forward to challenge for top 6/8 and eventually be in the CL.... afterall that is what Ralph has said is our aim... 'it has not changed'.

 

The parallel to Lowe's time is that he said the same thing, then as now there was a real disconnect between what is said, and the actions that simply wont be able to support it.

 

All we expect as fans is a bit of honesty, and maybe if very lucky a little transparency as to what the real strategy is and why - most (well I live in hope) are mature enough to accept that. The fact that the conditions created by the Premier League have in effect now prevented or reduced the level of competition is not the club's fault, but they should at least be able to give us a truthful view of our real ambitions, no matter that it will probably just add to the feeling that its no longer really that interesting participating in a league where there is 0% chance of ever winning the thing...ever.

[sadoldgit]

I am sure that the club realise that the fans want to see ambition and us "going for it." Cortese certainly peddled that fantasy and I think most of us realised that a fantasy was all it was at the level we were pitching it. Without the billions behind the super club we were never and are never going to be in that league. So the best we can aspire to is being The Best Of The Rest. Decent cups runs, playing attractive football and challenging for minor European football. This along with the majority of the other Premiership clubs.

 

Most posters will remember the relegation years and the climb back up. I think I speak for all when I say we don't want that to happen again! The people who manage this club have made it clear that there is no free ride and the they have ambitions for the club but within a sustainable model - hence no huge wage bills and no massive bids. Again I think most of the level headed people on here get that and accept that we will lose some players and some of the replacements will not always be of the same quality - black box or no.

 

Where it all goes wrong though comes down to those who seem completely unable to grasp reality. They seem desparate to believe the worst about the club (I am sure you can remember some of the shameful comments about KL last summer, the Wreck It Ralph comments etc. This goes back years, even before Rupert Lowe ( a true pantomime villain if ever there was one).

 

The people who live in this parallel universe, and they are known here as Bed Wetters, seems to vanish like frost under the sun when things are going well, as they we a few games into last season. The minute we lose, sell a player, are linked with selling a player, buy a player who is cheap etc. out they come dragging their soiled sheets behind them preaching doom and gloom and the end of the world.

 

Recently we have seen people butchered on their summer holidays and incinerated whilst watching an air show. These things are tragedies and things to get upset about. Football pails into insignificance when measured against such matters but you wouldn't know that by reading the Bed Wetters posts. Their world falls into complete disarray the moment something happens in the club that doesn't form a part of their world view. And boy, don't they let us know it.

 

Facts go out of the window and negative assumptions are rife. Club history that doesn't fit in with their negative mindset is airbrushed from the past. Despite the fact that most things happen because of the input of more than one person and a complicated set of circumstances, scapegoats are found and prodded with pitchforks forever onwards. Even when people prove themselves as Les Reed did last year, they are not safe. Already the pitchforks are being readied and will be aimed in his direction the minute the transfer window closes if the Gods of the Angry Mob are not sated with a sacrificial signing that meets the Mobs exacting requirements.

 

What makes sport so fascinating is that there are no givens. At any one time David can beat Goliath. Unfashionable clubs can become fashionable. So called big clubs can fail (imagine how Leeds fans must feel who were around in the 1970s). This means that there is a reasonable chance that things are not always going to go well. Most people on here can rationalise that. Some find it impossible to and come on here to vent their frustrations. That is understandable. What I find it difficult to comprehend is how these people find it virtually impossible to deal with their emotional turmoil without completely losing sight of a rational thought process.

 

The amount of utter tripe that gets peddled as "fact" is mind boggling. Very few, if any of us, really knows what is going on beind the scenes but if The Daily Mail prints a story that says Vic wants to leave and is desperately unhappy here some with the negative mindset will instantly believe that and jump all over the management of the club making out that somehow this is their fault. Once again, we read that a previous CEO took a fortune out of this club with a shread of supporting evidence or any sign of that individual being pulled up for embezzlement. Lets not let the facts get in the way of a good hanging. These things get repeated often enough to become "written in stone" and in turn get trotted out on a regular basis when the Mob awaken from their stupor (which is brought on by a period of stability and good results - the daylight to their vampyric tendencies).

 

There are many good debates to be had about how the club is run past and present but they rarely happen because there are some who can only see black and white and simply cannot accept that there are many shades of grey in between. Those are the people who cause a meltdown the minute that the club doesn't live up to their lofty expectations and who see losing (be it a match or a player in the transfer market) as something that shakes their whole world view. As the psychologist said in an episode of Fawlty Towers, there is enough material here for a whole conference!

[Faz]

I am sure that the club realise that the fans want to see ambition and us "going for it." Cortese certainly peddled that fantasy and I think most of us realised that a fantasy was all it was at the level we were pitching it. Without the billions behind the super club we were never and are never going to be in that league. So the best we can aspire to is being The Best Of The Rest. Decent cups runs, playing attractive football and challenging for minor European football. This along with the majority of the other Premiership clubs.

 

Most posters will remember the relegation years and the climb back up. I think I speak for all when I say we don't want that to happen again! The people who manage this club have made it clear that there is no free ride and the they have ambitions for the club but within a sustainable model - hence no huge wage bills and no massive bids. Again I think most of the level headed people on here get that and accept that we will lose some players and some of the replacements will not always be of the same quality - black box or no.

 

Where it all goes wrong though comes down to those who seem completely unable to grasp reality. They seem desparate to believe the worst about the club (I am sure you can remember some of the shameful comments about KL last summer, the Wreck It Ralph comments etc. This goes back years, even before Rupert Lowe ( a true pantomime villain if ever there was one).

 

The people who live in this parallel universe, and they are known here as Bed Wetters, seems to vanish like frost under the sun when things are going well, as they we a few games into last season. The minute we lose, sell a player, are linked with selling a player, buy a player who is cheap etc. out they come dragging their soiled sheets behind them preaching doom and gloom and the end of the world.

 

Recently we have seen people butchered on their summer holidays and incinerated whilst watching an air show. These things are tragedies and things to get upset about. Football pails into insignificance when measured against such matters but you wouldn't know that by reading the Bed Wetters posts. Their world falls into complete disarray the moment something happens in the club that doesn't form a part of their world view. And boy, don't they let us know it.

 

Facts go out of the window and negative assumptions are rife. Club history that doesn't fit in with their negative mindset is airbrushed from the past. Despite the fact that most things happen because of the input of more than one person and a complicated set of circumstances, scapegoats are found and prodded with pitchforks forever onwards. Even when people prove themselves as Les Reed did last year, they are not safe. Already the pitchforks are being readied and will be aimed in his direction the minute the transfer window closes if the Gods of the Angry Mob are not sated with a sacrificial signing that meets the Mobs exacting requirements.

 

What makes sport so fascinating is that there are no givens. At any one time David can beat Goliath. Unfashionable clubs can become fashionable. So called big clubs can fail (imagine how Leeds fans must feel who were around in the 1970s). This means that there is a reasonable chance that things are not always going to go well. Most people on here can rationalise that. Some find it impossible to and come on here to vent their frustrations. That is understandable. What I find it difficult to comprehend is how these people find it virtually impossible to deal with their emotional turmoil without completely losing sight of a rational thought process.

 

The amount of utter tripe that gets peddled as "fact" is mind boggling. Very few, if any of us, really knows what is going on beind the scenes but if The Daily Mail prints a story that says Vic wants to leave and is desperately unhappy here some with the negative mindset will instantly believe that and jump all over the management of the club making out that somehow this is their fault. Once again, we read that a previous CEO took a fortune out of this club with a shread of supporting evidence or any sign of that individual being pulled up for embezzlement. Lets not let the facts get in the way of a good hanging. These things get repeated often enough to become "written in stone" and in turn get trotted out on a regular basis when the Mob awaken from their stupor (which is brought on by a period of stability and good results - the daylight to their vampyric tendencies).

 

There are many good debates to be had about how the club is run past and present but they rarely happen because there are some who can only see black and white and simply cannot accept that there are many shades of grey in between. Those are the people who cause a meltdown the minute that the club doesn't live up to their lofty expectations and who see losing (be it a match or a player in the transfer market) as something that shakes their whole world view. As the psychologist said in an episode of Fawlty Towers, there is enough material here for a whole conference!

 

Thank you Soggy. This is EXACTLY what I was thinking this morning, but couldn't be arsed to post!