Rumour about possible buyer......

[waggy]

... so there's no truth in the rumour that concourse caterers have just taken delivery of 10,000 El Paso Taco and Fajita kits then?

[SaintRobbie]

I fear you have an over inflated opinion of this forum. I think a man who has got himself in the position of being one of the richest people in the world has enough about him to see this for the nonsense that it is. I can't belive people are getting excited over yet another Paul Allen style wind up anyway. Get real people please.

 

I think you'll find that there is every chance that the x3 'serious' bid (Mr Fry's words) are legit.

 

The problem with football club ownership is usually the owners. Once they have one they dont wish to let go of it, Leeds is another example of this. We have seen it with the likes of Lowe et al here and at many other clubs. There has always been and will always be buyers interested in buying a well founded, large fanbased clubs with potential.

 

I think the futures bright.

[Carlos Fandango]

Nonsense.

 

It's nay'sayers like this that are responsible for most of the problems in the world.

 

Get over yourself. Lol!!

[Saint Martini]

None other than Carlos Slim Helú. Apparently he is worth $35 billion and has followed Saints for some time as he thinks we are a sleeping giant with the greatest fan base and thinks we should be challenging for Champions League football.

 

Apparently, he also wants to introduce Mexican food to the concourses to improve our catering.

 

Supposedly this guy is in advanced talks to buy Saints - not only is he up against Mukesh Ambani but also some Americans by the name of Walton (who I believe own WalMart) and the founders of IKEA.

 

Who wants a billionaire??

 

First of all that should be singular (its only one guy, Ingvar Kamprad) and besides that he's the cheapest guy ever to live on this planet I don't believe for one second that he would invest in a football club (although maybe he wants to build an IKEA on jacksons farm? ).

[Fan The Flames]

I just hope that you will be able to live with yourself if any of these billionaires pull out because you revealed their intentions during what must be sensitive negotiations.

 

Stupid post IMO.

 

**** me mate you're the one thats blown it by putting their names in bold. It was ok when the names just merged into the other text now its in big cooey hello I'm over here bold letters we are now ****ed

[SaintRobbie]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Slim

[saintbletch]

**** me mate you're the one thats blown it by putting their names in bold. It was ok when the names just merged into the other text now its in big cooey hello I'm over here bold letters we are now ****ed

 

On reflection FTF, yes that was a mistake. I don't know what I was thinking of. I just didn't think!

 

Mods can we please remove the emboldened text in this thread? Alternatively, we could simply make up links to other potential billionaires and embolden their names to throw people off the scent of all the real billionaires that are genuinely looking to buy us.

 

Branson. That's my bit of obfuscation.

[benjii]

I heard it was this bloke:

 

[Soggy Bottom]

I heard it was this bloke:

 

 

 

you've heard he's Scrooge McDuck

[trousers]

Allen made an offer, lowe being lowe said i want more, allen made a new offer take it or leave it, again lowe said no, couple of weeks later lowe phoned his representatives and said i am ready to do the deal etc etc, allens reps said that he had his chance and he blew it.

 

You have a copy of those emails too, eh? Make great reading don't they? I think we should post them on here one day.

[EastleighSoulBoy]

Yawn yawn here we go again - wake me up when the deal is done..

 

Ok Mr Van Winkle

[Smirking_Saint]

You have a copy of those emails too, eh? Make great reading don't they? I think we should post them on here one day.

 

Lol, could be interesting !!! I sometimes believe SFC's blueprint was similar to the britass empire.

[Verbal]

Allen made an offer, lowe being lowe said i want more, allen made a new offer take it or leave it, again lowe said no, couple of weeks later lowe phoned his representatives and said i am ready to do the deal etc etc, allens reps said that he had his chance and he blew it.

 

I'm amazed the Paul Allen rumour is still so widely believed on here.

 

Tommac was Paul Allen's 'representative' in talks with the club.

 

And by 'representative' I mean freaky fantasist.

[Um Bongo]

None other than Carlos Slim Helú. Apparently he is worth $35 billion and has followed Saints for some time as he thinks we are a sleeping giant with the greatest fan base and thinks we should be challenging for Champions League football.

 

Apparently, he also wants to introduce Mexican food to the concourses to improve our catering.

 

Supposedly this guy is in advanced talks to buy Saints - not only is he up against Mukesh Ambani but also some Americans by the name of Walton (who I believe own WalMart) and the founders of IKEA.

 

Who wants a billionaire??

 

Walmart will be building a store in Hedge End soon. Link?

[Smirking_Saint]

I'm amazed the Paul Allen rumour is still so widely believed on here.

 

Tommac was Paul Allen's 'representative' in talks with the club.

 

And by 'representative' I mean freaky fantasist.

 

Up to you to believe what you believe but i am willing to put my neck on the line to say from the info i had at the time it was 100% true.

 

Unfortunately it was held back for one reason or another.

[eelpie]

You have a copy of those emails too, eh? Make great reading don't they? I think we should post them on here one day.

 

Get on with it then

[Verbal]

Up to you to believe what you believe but i am willing to put my neck on the line to say from the info i had at the time it was 100% true.

 

Unfortunately it was held back for one reason or another.

 

It's not what I believe that matters. A lot of people at the club believed that this noodlehead really did represent PA.

 

The fact is he didn't.

 

And I strongly suspect that the first time PA ever heard of the club was when some of the more gullible/wind-uppy (delete to taste) posters on here, like St David, started pleading for him to 'come and get us' on Seattle-based radio show phone-ins. All of which forced his actual representatives to say, in effect: 'PA is not interested and never has been.' (No doubt accompanied by sentiments summed up by: WTF??!!)

 

If you have a shred of evidence that suggests otherwise, I'd love to see it.

[Smirking_Saint]

It's not what I believe that matters. A lot of people at the club believed that this noodlehead really did represent PA.

 

The fact is he didn't.

 

And I strongly suspect that the first time PA ever heard of the club was when some of the more gullible/wind-uppy (delete to taste) posters on here, like St David, started pleading for him to 'come and get us' on Seattle-based radio show phone-ins. All of which forced his actual representatives to say, in effect: 'PA is not interested and never has been.' (No doubt accompanied by sentiments summed up by: WTF??!!)

 

If you have a shred of evidence that suggests otherwise, I'd love to see it.

 

Not argueing, can't be bothered, you obviously have heard what you have heard and i have heard what i have heard.

 

I trust the info i was given at the time and i believe that the offer was completely 100% materialiistic, as far as i am concerned after the deal had been turned down his reps can say what they wants, they are hardly going to say something like 'ok, we made an offer for a 2nd tier football team but got turned down by an egotistical duck hunting hockey fan' not really going to sit very well with his highly strung image is it ??

[DaintyDave]

Did anyone from Vulcan Ventures ever speak directly to anyone from the club or Seymour Pierce?

 

No, thought not.

 

Case closed. His links to Paul Allen (Tommac's) were about as real as LLS's to major Dubai royalty - non existent.

 

Next pointless "billionairre in the mix" thread......oh, there's one along right now, Slim from Mexico, whatever next!

[benjii]

If someone would like to explain how a holder of 6% of the share capital of a small, publically listed company can prevent one of the richest men in the world from getting hold of it then I am all ears.

[Amesbury Saint]

Allen made an offer, lowe being lowe said i want more, allen made a new offer take it or leave it, again lowe said no, couple of weeks later lowe phoned his representatives and said i am ready to do the deal etc etc, allens reps said that he had his chance and he blew it.

 

evidence?

[washsaint]

After today's display I would have thought that John Boy will have told ma and pa Walton not to bother.

 

Still, at least there are 3 or 4 other billionaires in the mix - must have been enticed by the delights of Southampton and the fact we have the best fans in the world. If none of these come off it will all be Lowe's fault.

 

After today I would have thought any buyer would be running a mile.

[ottery st mary]

After today's display I would have thought that John Boy will have told ma and pa Walton not to bother.

 

Still, at least there are 3 or 4 other billionaires in the mix - must have been enticed by the delights of Southampton and the fact we have the best fans in the world. If none of these come off it will all be Lowe's fault.

 

After today I would have thought any buyer would be running a mile.

 

Greatest fans in the world...but you wouldn't know that wishey washey....

 

Your tuck shop friend comes near this club again..rumours will not go away...We will have no fans left.:mad:

[Bakovnetski]

Allen made an offer, lowe being lowe said i want more, allen made a new offer take it or leave it, again lowe said no, couple of weeks later lowe phoned his representatives and said i am ready to do the deal etc etc, allens reps said that he had his chance and he blew it.

 

 

Lowe wasn't even on the board when the Allen rumours started up so that rumour has a definite rotten tuna smell about it. Shame though.

[Amesbury Saint]

Your tuck shop friend comes near this club again..rumours will not go away...We will have no fans left.:mad:

 

 

what are the detail of the rumours - you have referred to them several times

[Professor]

I will be furious with Lowe if it turns out we really have attracted this calibre of interest.

 

All those years wasted on a power hungry gimp starving the club and bringing it to the very edge of the financial abyss..

 

Here's a bit of a shock! Does this mean that Mr AS will not be furious with Lowe if the rumour is untrue?

 

And I thought Lowe was not the majority shareholder, in fact I thought his holding was only about 10%, and that he wasn't on the board for two of the past 3 years, but why let facts get in the way.

Edited 10 April, 2009 by Professor

[ottery st mary]

what are the detail of the rumours - you have referred to them several times

 

Only Mr Fry and his staff really know....My contact knows everything about the City, Channel Islands and Rich people.

 

Will get my contact details to you as soon as you let me join your little clique.

 

He will contact you soon with all the detail of the rumours.

[Amesbury Saint]

Only Mr Fry and his staff really know....My contact knows everything about the City, Channel Islands and Rich people.

 

Will get my contact details to you as soon as you let me join your little clique.

 

He will contact you soon with all the detail of the rumours.

 

You can join the BADASS clique

[Smirking_Saint]

If someone would like to explain how a holder of 6% of the share capital of a small, publically listed company can prevent one of the richest men in the world from getting hold of it then I am all ears.

 

With Lowe's proxy partners he can command a very strong share holding in the club, from what i was led to believe PA wanted the whole shareholding and to get rid of the PLC crap (which thankfully looks like leaving us)

 

Lowe did not want to do that and so the offer was off the table.

 

Tommac has nothing to do with the info i was given at the time.

 

Shockingly i have not got bloody phone records from what went on.

 

I am not going to sit here and lie, the source could be wrong but it would be the first time. I trust him 100%.

 

Like i said, you make your own mind up, i am not telling you to believe me, was just putting out there the info i know, and thought that other posters would appreciate it, i am not going to get into a slagging match or crap like that, if you don't believe me don't, end of the day what is done is done and all is gone now, it's not like info that is groundbreaking i am led to believe that it is reasonably common knowledge behind the scenes.

 

I just hope now that the personal squabbling is over the club can move on and gain the investment it needs.

[ottery st mary]

You can join the BADASS clique

 

Only if I can be called The Shipton Bellenger (sorry ames wrong spelling was a long time ago) Kid of Sling Cottages....Then I AM IN AND YOU CAN MEET MY CONTACT rUPERT WHENEVER i DO.

[Viking Warrior]

Ah OTM

 

Good old Shipton Bellinger. I used to frequent the Boot , many moons ago

 

Those were the days of a good old village pub. Met my first love in there as well . The memories come flooding back

[Rory]

This thread is hilarious.

[ooh it's a corner]

 

Bus found on moon springs to mind.

 

 

When did that happen?

[oxfordshire_saint]

LATEST NEWS:

 

The entire Forbes Rich List are forming a super-consortium to buy Saints

 

Yawn

[Viking Warrior]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legod Third Coming

 

Bus found on moon springs to mind.

 

 

When did that happen?

 

 

 

Apparrently 2/3 years ago. Fabrice Fernandes coughed on this one. He got bored driving round roundabouts and decided to to a bit of joy riding.

 

When the moon police arrested him he allegedly said roundabouts

were fun than the moons surface, The council up here are **** as there are too mnay pot holes about to joy ride :smt119

 

 

Now this thread is getting sillier by the minute

[ottery st mary]

Ah OTM

 

Good old Shipton Bellinger. I used to frequent the Boot , many moons ago

 

Those were the days of a good old village pub. Met my first love in there as well . The memories come flooding back

 

So your my long last Daddy.....You owe me big time:D

[benjii]

With Lowe's proxy partners he can command a very strong share holding in the club, from what i was led to believe PA wanted the whole shareholding and to get rid of the PLC crap (which thankfully looks like leaving us)

 

Lowe did not want to do that and so the offer was off the table.

 

Tommac has nothing to do with the info i was given at the time.

 

Shockingly i have not got bloody phone records from what went on.

 

I am not going to sit here and lie, the source could be wrong but it would be the first time. I trust him 100%.

 

Like i said, you make your own mind up, i am not telling you to believe me, was just putting out there the info i know, and thought that other posters would appreciate it, i am not going to get into a slagging match or crap like that, if you don't believe me don't, end of the day what is done is done and all is gone now, it's not like info that is groundbreaking i am led to believe that it is reasonably common knowledge behind the scenes.

 

I just hope now that the personal squabbling is over the club can move on and gain the investment it needs.

 

It just doesn't stack up to me.

 

I accept that there is a block vote that Lowe controls that, in reality gives him greater power than a 6% shareholder would have as a result of their own holding. However this can only be done by the continued consent of the other shareholders - I can't believe they would all have wanted to resist an Allen takeover.

 

As to the point about about gaining total control - you only need 75% to effectively obtain total control. SLH PLC is a company with a fragmented shareholding. If PA had done any homework he would know that to sweep in and hoover up 100% of the shares in go would be improbable.

 

If PA was put off by a bit of haggling over the price then:

 

a) he can't have been that bothered in the first place;

b) why hasn't he bought a different club in England;

c) why didn't he go public and force people's hands?

 

On the point of c) there is no way Lowe and the other cronies could have resisted the swell of public opinion if a hostile offer had been tabled. They would have looked like utter mentalists (even more than usual) and would have been clearly exposed as gravy-train season-ticket holders had this happened.

 

Much more likely that some idiot was taken in by the short-sleeves and tie combo IMO.

Edited 11 April, 2009 by benjii

[NickG]

It just doesn't stack up to me.

 

I accept that there is a block vote that Lowe controls that, in reality gives him greater power than a 6% shareholder would have as a result of their own holding. However this can only be done by the continued consent of the other shareholders - I can't believe they would all have wanted to resist an Allen takeover.

As to the point about about gaining total control - you only need 75% to effectively obtain total control. SLH PLC is a company with a fragmented shareholding. If PA had done any homework he would know that to sweep in and hoover up 100% of the shares in go would be improbable.

 

If PA was put off by a bit of haggling over the price then:

 

a) he can't have been that bothered in the first place;

b) why hasn't he bought a different club in England;

c) why didn't he go public and force people's hands?

 

On the point of c) there is no way Lowe and the other cronies could have resisted the swell of public opinion if a hostile offer had been tabled. They would have looked like utter mentalists (even more than usual) and would have been clearly exposed as gravy-train season-ticket holders had this happened.

 

Much more likely that some idiot was taken in by the short-sleeves and tie combo IMO.

if it was true, in my opinion, we would be owned by PA now.

It all points to him never having heard of us and having no interest in buying us.

[benjii]

if it was true, in my opinion, we would be owned by PA now.

It all points to him never having heard of us and having no interest in buying us.

 

Yes, I agree.

[Window Cleaner]

LATEST NEWS:

 

The entire Forbes Rich List are forming a super-consortium to buy Saints

 

Yawn

 

But they're still a couple of quid short so all fans,no matter what their employment status, should send at least £50 to the Nigerian Orphans Saints Purchase Fund, C/O Bank of Bullsh*t, Lagos.

[Calvin]

[buctootim]

I met a billionaire a couple of weeks ago. He talked a lot about Southampton and keeping his yacht on the Hamble. I can only assume from that he is going to buy us.

[trousers]

I met a billionaire a couple of weeks ago. He talked a lot about Southampton and keeping his yacht on the Hamble. I can only assume from that he is going to buy us.

 

What colour was his tie?

[Window Cleaner]

What colour was his tie?

 

Somali pirates don't usually wear ties.

[Verbal]

With Lowe's proxy partners he can command a very strong share holding in the club, from what i was led to believe PA wanted the whole shareholding and to get rid of the PLC crap (which thankfully looks like leaving us)

 

Lowe did not want to do that and so the offer was off the table.

 

Tommac has nothing to do with the info i was given at the time.

 

Shockingly i have not got bloody phone records from what went on.

 

I am not going to sit here and lie, the source could be wrong but it would be the first time. I trust him 100%.

 

Like i said, you make your own mind up, i am not telling you to believe me, was just putting out there the info i know, and thought that other posters would appreciate it, i am not going to get into a slagging match or crap like that, if you don't believe me don't, end of the day what is done is done and all is gone now, it's not like info that is groundbreaking i am led to believe that it is reasonably common knowledge behind the scenes.

 

I just hope now that the personal squabbling is over the club can move on and gain the investment it needs.

 

The actual sequence of events went something like this.

 

Tommac worked as a UK sales director (not, as tommac would have it, as ‘managing director’ or ‘owner’) out of an industrial estate in Fulham (he preferred to call it ‘Mayfair’), flogging timeshares and hires on executive jets for a Florida-based company called Aerollloyd.

 

In the course of his work, he had contact with two commercial lawyers from Paul Allen’s empire (it may well have been Vulcan.) Either he or they initiated a conversation about what they do – investigate investment opportunities in sports and entertainment. Always on the look out for a good deal, etc, etc.

 

Either during this conversation or sometime afterwards, a light bulb flashed on in tommac’s head. This is a rare event so he could hardly have failed to notice. What about a football club?

 

I imagine he spent the next several weeks trying to master google before entering ‘football club’ and ‘desperate’. Top of the list was you know who. His brief contact with the lawyers had led him somehow to think that if he could present a ‘deal’ to them, all neatly tied up with a pretty bow on top, he could make a decent ‘broker’ fee’ from it. (The source for all of the above is tommac himself– although there is a mathematical formula you have to apply to extract the bullsh!t)

 

So off he trotted to St Mary’s, expecting all and sundry to welcome him with open arms, and give him a deal his lawyer friends couldn’t possibly pass up. But when he got there, he walked into the football equivalent of the Battle of the Somme. Dug deep into their trenches, the various factions jostled for advantage – forgetting, at least initially, to ask some pertinent questions about just what tommac’s connection to Paul Allen really was.

 

During the course of his futile attempts to switch back and forth among the combatants, another lightbulb went on: why not force the warring factions together by appealing over their heads to the fans.

 

Hence tommac’s grand entrance on the Saints Forum. For all the fun and games had with him over the next few months, everything of significance in this whole affair had already happened….and the damage done.

 

The leak of Paul Allen’s name into the press and among the City gossips sent the club’s shares into orbit. The fact that there never was a bid from Paul Allen, or even an expression of interest outside of some desultory, cabin-pressured conversations with the short-sleeved wonder, seemed to have escaped everyone’s attention.

 

The problem was that tommac appeared just as the club really was making a determined attempt to find a buyer and unite the major shareholders behind a sale. Sadly for all of us, the false rumour priced the club out of ANY deal.

 

Sometime shortly before or after paying tommac a ‘finder’s fee’ (rumoured to be in five figures), the board and major shareholders did start to wonder anxiously about whether Paul Allen really was behind any move to buy the club. They investigated, and Mary Corbett even found herself jetting around the place trying to confirm it all (Source: Mary Corbett herself). But after several months, it became clear that there really was no bid, or even the prospect of one – and there was no connection between tommac (or ‘representatives’ as it was delicately put) and the Paul Allen. (Source: Jim Hone)

 

This may seem like ancient history, but it really isn’t. The dominoes are still tumbling from the disastrous intervention of that little mastermind. There’s a parallel universe in which all short-sleeved nitwits are strangled at birth, and Southampton Football Club puts together a takeover in 2007 with the share price at around 25p. Lowe would never have returned, the Dutch ‘revolution never happened, and we’d be posting about how gutted we all are to have just missed out on the play-off places to the Prem.

 

Dream on. And tommac: thanks.

[buctootim]

What colour was his tie?

 

No tie. I think that rules us out.

[buctootim]

The actual sequence of events went something like this.

 

Tommac worked as a UK sales director (not, as tommac would have it, as ‘managing director’ or ‘owner’) out of an industrial estate in Fulham (he preferred to call it ‘Mayfair’), flogging timeshares and hires on executive jets for a Florida-based company called Aerollloyd.

 

In the course of his work, he had contact with two commercial lawyers from Paul Allen’s empire (it may well have been Vulcan.) Either he or they initiated a conversation about what they do – investigate investment opportunities in sports and entertainment. Always on the look out for a good deal, etc, etc.

 

Either during this conversation or sometime afterwards, a light bulb flashed on in tommac’s head. This is a rare event so he could hardly have failed to notice. What about a football club?

 

I imagine he spent the next several weeks trying to master google before entering ‘football club’ and ‘desperate’. Top of the list was you know who. His brief contact with the lawyers had led him somehow to think that if he could present a ‘deal’ to them, all neatly tied up with a pretty bow on top, he could make a decent ‘broker’ fee’ from it. (The source for all of the above is tommac himself– although there is a mathematical formula you have to apply to extract the bullsh!t)

 

So off he trotted to St Mary’s, expecting all and sundry to welcome him with open arms, and give him a deal his lawyer friends couldn’t possibly pass up. But when he got there, he walked into the football equivalent of the Battle of the Somme. Dug deep into their trenches, the various factions jostled for advantage – forgetting, at least initially, to ask some pertinent questions about just what tommac’s connection to Paul Allen really was.

 

During the course of his futile attempts to switch back and forth among the combatants, another lightbulb went on: why not force the warring factions together by appealing over their heads to the fans.

 

Hence tommac’s grand entrance on the Saints Forum. For all the fun and games had with him over the next few months, everything of significance in this whole affair had already happened….and the damage done.

 

The leak of Paul Allen’s name into the press and among the City gossips sent the club’s shares into orbit. The fact that there never was a bid from Paul Allen, or even an expression of interest outside of some desultory, cabin-pressured conversations with the short-sleeved wonder, seemed to have escaped everyone’s attention.

 

The problem was that tommac appeared just as the club really was making a determined attempt to find a buyer and unite the major shareholders behind a sale. Sadly for all of us, the false rumour priced the club out of ANY deal.

 

Sometime shortly before or after paying tommac a ‘finder’s fee’ (rumoured to be in five figures), the board and major shareholders did start to wonder anxiously about whether Paul Allen really was behind any move to buy the club. They investigated, and Mary Corbett even found herself jetting around the place trying to confirm it all (Source: Mary Corbett herself). But after several months, it became clear that there really was no bid, or even the prospect of one – and there was no connection between tommac (or ‘representatives’ as it was delicately put) and the Paul Allen. (Source: Jim Hone)

 

This may seem like ancient history, but it really isn’t. The dominoes are still tumbling from the disastrous intervention of that little mastermind. There’s a parallel universe in which all short-sleeved nitwits are strangled at birth, and Southampton Football Club puts together a takeover in 2007 with the share price at around 25p. Lowe would never have returned, the Dutch ‘revolution never happened, and we’d be posting about how gutted we all are to have just missed out on the play-off places to the Prem.

 

Dream on. And tommac: thanks.

 

Thanks. I knew the essence before, but not the detail. Interesting and strangely sickening at the same time.

[miserableoldgit]

Somali pirates don't usually wear ties.

Only around their heads.

[Right sider]

Verbal summed up 24 threads, consisting of about 24 pages each in one bloody post. I lost a whole summer for that.

 

The only thing about this one is it has to have a happy ending, or else a very abrupt one.

[dubai_phil]

The actual sequence of events went something like this.

 

Tommac worked as a UK sales director (not, as tommac would have it, as ‘managing director’ or ‘owner’) out of an industrial estate in Fulham (he preferred to call it ‘Mayfair’), flogging timeshares and hires on executive jets for a Florida-based company called Aerollloyd.

 

In the course of his work, he had contact with two commercial lawyers from Paul Allen’s empire (it may well have been Vulcan.) Either he or they initiated a conversation about what they do – investigate investment opportunities in sports and entertainment. Always on the look out for a good deal, etc, etc.

 

Either during this conversation or sometime afterwards, a light bulb flashed on in tommac’s head. This is a rare event so he could hardly have failed to notice. What about a football club?

 

I imagine he spent the next several weeks trying to master google before entering ‘football club’ and ‘desperate’. Top of the list was you know who. His brief contact with the lawyers had led him somehow to think that if he could present a ‘deal’ to them, all neatly tied up with a pretty bow on top, he could make a decent ‘broker’ fee’ from it. (The source for all of the above is tommac himself– although there is a mathematical formula you have to apply to extract the bullsh!t)

 

So off he trotted to St Mary’s, expecting all and sundry to welcome him with open arms, and give him a deal his lawyer friends couldn’t possibly pass up. But when he got there, he walked into the football equivalent of the Battle of the Somme. Dug deep into their trenches, the various factions jostled for advantage – forgetting, at least initially, to ask some pertinent questions about just what tommac’s connection to Paul Allen really was.

 

During the course of his futile attempts to switch back and forth among the combatants, another lightbulb went on: why not force the warring factions together by appealing over their heads to the fans.

 

Hence tommac’s grand entrance on the Saints Forum. For all the fun and games had with him over the next few months, everything of significance in this whole affair had already happened….and the damage done.

 

The leak of Paul Allen’s name into the press and among the City gossips sent the club’s shares into orbit. The fact that there never was a bid from Paul Allen, or even an expression of interest outside of some desultory, cabin-pressured conversations with the short-sleeved wonder, seemed to have escaped everyone’s attention.

 

The problem was that tommac appeared just as the club really was making a determined attempt to find a buyer and unite the major shareholders behind a sale. Sadly for all of us, the false rumour priced the club out of ANY deal.

 

Sometime shortly before or after paying tommac a ‘finder’s fee’ (rumoured to be in five figures), the board and major shareholders did start to wonder anxiously about whether Paul Allen really was behind any move to buy the club. They investigated, and Mary Corbett even found herself jetting around the place trying to confirm it all (Source: Mary Corbett herself). But after several months, it became clear that there really was no bid, or even the prospect of one – and there was no connection between tommac (or ‘representatives’ as it was delicately put) and the Paul Allen. (Source: Jim Hone)

 

This may seem like ancient history, but it really isn’t. The dominoes are still tumbling from the disastrous intervention of that little mastermind. There’s a parallel universe in which all short-sleeved nitwits are strangled at birth, and Southampton Football Club puts together a takeover in 2007 with the share price at around 25p. Lowe would never have returned, the Dutch ‘revolution never happened, and we’d be posting about how gutted we all are to have just missed out on the play-off places to the Prem.

 

Dream on. And tommac: thanks.

 

Think there is still a bit more in all that somewhere..

 

Were there not tales of tommac moving on and finding one other source, something to do with the theatre or Everton or Sheff Wed?

 

Tales even of dinners in London with one or more of the 3 amigos as they were at the time?

 

Seeing as the story is coming out, might as well get to the end.

 

Surely it wasn't simply him being banned on here that led to his mysterious final disappearance?

 

Dear departed Roman had it all in mind to make a TV Movie of it, so there must have been an ending to the whole sorry mess.

 

Friday is always a good day for these stories if you have run out of posts or energy tonight 8-[