Chinese buyout resurfaces

I remember sometime back in the close season of 2003-04, and Rupert Lowe announced to the media, as an answer to a question, that Southampton had pretty much the best squad in the Premier League. To which the media chuckled. Then they checked his face. It was totally straight. That season we stood still, rather than improving from our 8th place. We'd hit a financial ceiling and, in fact, we'd put ourselves on a downward spiral because we stood still for just one season.

It's kind of why I'm not afraid of the Chinese sticking some decent amounts of Yen into the club.

 

You are right, we didn't invest at that crucial time, but Rupes would not have considered it standing still, he thought the stadium was dragging us into a new era, and that should be enough. Shame there wasn't more investment at the time, Rupes went down in history as a mug, when in truth he was getting fairly close to being remembered with a little fondness. Well, about as close as you can get to a hockey playing duck shooting toff!

 

Yes, I know what you are getting at, but there was a fundamental problem - Lowe himself. It's on general record that nobody of major significance would invest in Southampton while he was at the helm. His time in the City meant that he wanted everything steered in his way or he turned the investment away. He got a reputation for that and nobody would come near. Two things we can be ever thankful for him though: 1] the stadium and 2] he expertly spotted SISU and turned them away pretty smartish. I wonder if any Coventry City supporters resent that.?

 

Did Lowe really turn them away pretty sharpish? My recollection of events was that they pulled out to make the bid with Coventry, because Lowe was faffing about and not making a decision. Just my understanding and old memory mind you.

 

That's what I thought.

Like you though... I could be well off

 

Timing is everything!!

 

My info is a memory of a media interview with Lowe himself, a year or so after Liebherr had come in and SISU had taken over Coventry, and before things went South for them. So maybe he faffed. But things can faff in business, and then things get done pretty smartish after some faffing has taken place.

If Lowe faffed, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he faffed because he was very dubious of SISU. Everything turned out OK in the end for us.

 

I still remember as clear as day the moment Rupert put us in admin. A week late. A week earlier and the 10 point would have been in the season we were relegated from the Championship. I was so annoyed at him and I had the best ever workout that evening at the gym. The weights, punchbag etc...I just didn't feel them at all. When I got home, ny other half couldn't understand my annoyance.

As it happens, I now salute him the way things have turned out. He didn't intend it and maybe he wasn't that bad. ML & KL wouldn't have come around if he hadn't done that....

 

Indeed. Originally, I was a Lowe supporter, then I became more angry towards him than any original Lowe hater, because I had supported him. But I can never sustain anger for long. Soon as Liebherr picked us up my anger had become annoyance and then that had disappeared by the end of 2009-10. He did what he thought was right, and towards the end of his tenure, forgot that what might be best for the club was him saying goodbye to it. Everyone is a steward of some sort.

 

I like routine and the familiar. I have had enough of change. I believe that if it isn't broken don't mend it.

 

Can't hate Lowe....he achieved stuff and failed at other stuff. There have been worse chairmen and it is too long ago.

 

Yes, moving on. Some will never quite get over him because of his obvious poshness. WGS was fairly complimentary about his dealings with him. Some good things, some not so good, but without the Stadium, I don't think Cortese would have brought us to ML's attention.

 

I can. The guy was still taking money from us when we were in the ****. He made £2m the year we were in admin,were Leon Crouch lost around £7m. This isn't about him being posh etc, this is about him being a money grabbing twat.

Crouch saved us not Lowe.

 

One of the things I can never forgive Rupert Lowe for is not getting a sell-on clause in the Gareth Bale transfer deal. 20% of £85 million would have done us the world of good in the January 2014 window, especially as we sent Dani Osvaldo out on loan because of the Fonte bust up.

Instead we got Tommy Forecast...

 

We had a sell on fee, we cashed it in early.

 

Yeah.

Didn't really have much choice in the matter at the time either.

 

Indeed. But that Tommy deal, that's unforgivable!

 

I hate us dealing with Spurs 10x more than Liverpool. And that's saying something.
Sneaky, tight horribles them lot.

 

That pisses me off about Spurs much more than Poch etc.

 

Change is the only constant in life, the one thing you can depend on;

"Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow;
Naught may endure but mutability."

Percy Shelley