The stay away fans need to forget about the cameras as well. By staying away supposedly to spite Lowe they are missing out on some great football and seeing some really good young players develop.

I think it is time for us all to review our motives in watching the Saints. For me it has always been about the way we play and the games I have seen this season have been exciting and I have seen passing, attacking, high speed football with our players showing great energy and considerable skill in their ball control and team play. Without doubt Jan deserves an enormous amount of credit for the development of these youngsters into a team as good as the one Chris Nicholl worked with in the late 1980s except Jan is a lot more enterprising than Chris. I think this team is every bit as good with some really exciting young prospects. The midfield and forward line excite me with Gillett and Schneiderlin playing the sort of football Saints fans have always admired. Lallana and McGoldrick have been a revelation this season and Holmes must be the find and the bargain of the season. Lastly Killer deserves special mention for his courage in fighting his way back from injury and his leadership on the pitch.

So we have a team now playing in the way we deserve to see after the last few years of dross. The question is does the team have the fans their talent deserves? It is now time to say stop staying away to spite Lowe for the only loser is you. You are missing out on witnessing the merging collective talent of a team that has the potential to bring back all the excitement of those heady days in the eighties.

I know this sounds like a sales pitch and there are those who will call me a Lowe Luvvie or a PR plant. Well I am neither of these. I just have enormous respect for what Jan has achieved in a very short time and these kids really are very good. Give them the backing they deserve and get down to St Mary’s this Saturday lunchtime. You will be astonished.

Well said Rupert, that should get them flooding back to St Marys!!

Rupert Lowes PR wrote:
Well said Rupert, that should get them flooding back to St Marys!!

Your comment childish, stupid and flippant nonsense. Your comment is not constructive, clever, ironic, or funny. If you can't change your mind maybe you don't have a mind in the first place. you're a sad little loser. Go get a brain and some original opinions and then come back and try and say something clever for once.

I agree with BB. I haven't been so excited about prospects in years. I don't get to see many games here in East Anglia, but am really looking forward seeing the team tomorrow and comparing the playing style with the sideways dross we served up when I watched last season. There will be setbacks ahead, because this is a very young team and winter conditions may not suit our style of play. However anyone boycotting St Mary's because of Lowe clearly has no real love for Saints and good football. Go support Man U!!

Barnacle Bill wrote:

Rupert Lowes PR wrote: Well said Rupert, that should get them flooding back to St Marys!!

Your comment childish, stupid and flippant nonsense. Your comment is not constructive, clever, ironic, or funny. If you can't change your mind maybe you don't have a mind in the first place. you're a sad little loser. Go get a brain and some original opinions and then come back and try and say something clever for once.

oooohhhhhhhhhhh.....
calm down dear its just an opinion...maybe your are rupert ?? you'll be calling him a yobbbo soon!!

I'm with Barnacle Bill. Those who miss the Blackpool game will thnk themselves accursed they were not There. And hold their manhood cheap whilst any speak - especially lady Saints supporters. Even if we lose!
We could be on the threshold of a marvelous season: it would be a great pity to miss any of on the basis of a principle formulated on spite and misinformation. For all his faults, Rupert's one of the good guys. It's those who forced him out of te Club you want to keep our eyes on.

Good morning everyone from a sunny York.

What a great day to wake up and find that we are going to be referred to in chants as "Are you Arsenal in disguise?"

TV cameras or not the live game experience is one everyone should do at least once in a lifetime. There is nothing like it. Tomorrow I will be in my local watching - and yes there is more than one Saints fan in Pocklington too!

We only have one chance in this life, and to see Saints play with such composure at Derby last week, all I can do is add to the first post and suggest everyone should make the effort and go to SMS.

As a sign of good faith after all the dross of the last few years I would recommend the board act quickly and do something for the fans to encourage them back. Don't wait for a second rate team to come to SMS - but the next home game drop the prices for adults to £15 and get kids in for a £1.

Come Rupert do your bit - the majority of fans have followed your reign through thick and major thin times - give the potential customers something back! If you want to fill SMS week in and week out - start with a small gesture...after all you have to speculate to accumulate!

First post of the day and not a mention about my stance, or anything negative towards the chairman...what next?

Barnacle Bill wrote:

Rupert Lowes PR wrote: Well said Rupert, that should get them flooding back to St Marys!!

Your comment childish, stupid and flippant nonsense. Your comment is not constructive, clever, ironic, or funny. If you can't change your mind maybe you don't have a mind in the first place. you're a sad little loser. Go get a brain and some original opinions and then come back and try and say something clever for once.

Sense of humour failure I think Bill.

Fair point Bill, it's nice to read a comment from a fan with a bit of passion and love for their team. I also tink that Jan is doing a great job with the youngsters. unfortuantly i am unable to get down to St Mary's on Sat but will def try and watch the game on tv.
As for the tiresome idiots that continue with the silly Rupert Pr team posts, maybe you should all think about supporting another team that welcomes fickle morons amongst their ranks.

james wrote:
Fair point Bill, it's nice to read a comment from a fan with a bit of passion and love for their team. I also tink that Jan is doing a great job with the youngsters. unfortuantly i am unable to get down to St Mary's on Sat but will def try and watch the game on tv. As for the tiresome idiots that continue with the silly Rupert Pr team posts, maybe you should all think about supporting another team that welcomes fickle morons amongst their ranks.

I think the Rupert PR machine yoy refer to has gone into hiding...the don't seem to be appearing on any of the "Fans Forums".

Perhaps the man has taken a bit of advise and stay out of the "He's Mr Perfect give him a chance" brigade. Lowe profile seems to be working...keep it up!

Rupert Lowes PR wrote:
Well said Rupert, that should get them flooding back to St Marys!!

Give it a rest!

He should also tell BWP and Dyer to forget the wallets and watches aswell.

I'm at work so cannot get there Sat, COYR.
However I have Sky Plus in Valhalla.
The 11,000 on tuesday sounded like 20,000 where I was sitting, don't forget everything is relative.
The Team from Fantasy Island got 8,000 for their game v Blackburn last year at the same stage.
The " Floaters" will return,
Remember Cantona and his famous line Sardines?.

Yorkie wrote:
Good morning everyone from a sunny York. What a great day to wake up and find that we are going to be referred to in chants as "Are you Arsenal in disguise?" TV cameras or not the live game experience is one everyone should do at least once in a lifetime. There is nothing like it. Tomorrow I will be in my local watching - and yes there is more than one Saints fan in Pocklington too! We only have one chance in this life, and to see Saints play with such composure at Derby last week, all I can do is add to the first post and suggest everyone should make the effort and go to SMS. As a sign of good faith after all the dross of the last few years I would recommend the board act quickly and do something for the fans to encourage them back. Don't wait for a second rate team to come to SMS - but the next home game drop the prices for adults to £15 and get kids in for a £1. Come Rupert do your bit - the majority of fans have followed your reign through thick and major thin times - give the potential customers something back! If you want to fill SMS week in and week out - start with a small gesture...after all you have to speculate to accumulate! First post of the day and not a mention about my stance, or anything negative towards the chairman...what next?

Great, drop the price for those that don't want to go unless it's cheap. What about the 9500 season ticket holders who have already backed the team.

For me, if you want to go pay the price, if you don't you won't be missed. Fairweather supporters we dont need.

Derry wrote:

Yorkie wrote: Good morning everyone from a sunny York. What a great day to wake up and find that we are going to be referred to in chants as "Are you Arsenal in disguise?" TV cameras or not the live game experience is one everyone should do at least once in a lifetime. There is nothing like it. Tomorrow I will be in my local watching - and yes there is more than one Saints fan in Pocklington too! We only have one chance in this life, and to see Saints play with such composure at Derby last week, all I can do is add to the first post and suggest everyone should make the effort and go to SMS. As a sign of good faith after all the dross of the last few years I would recommend the board act quickly and do something for the fans to encourage them back. Don't wait for a second rate team to come to SMS - but the next home game drop the prices for adults to £15 and get kids in for a £1. Come Rupert do your bit - the majority of fans have followed your reign through thick and major thin times - give the potential customers something back! If you want to fill SMS week in and week out - start with a small gesture...after all you have to speculate to accumulate! First post of the day and not a mention about my stance, or anything negative towards the chairman...what next?

Great, drop the price for those that don't want to go unless it's cheap. What about the 9500 season ticket holders who have already backed the team. For me, if you want to go pay the price, if you don't you won't be missed. Fairweather supporters we dont need.

actually, yes we do need them. To help fill the stadium, is why. You're only ever going to get 10-15,000 max. season ticket holders, largely due to most people having other weekend commitments, so let's encourage those who can't get to every game to join in when they can. Alienating them with comments like this will only harm the club's fortunes (or, as currently, lack of them!)

Derry wrote:

Yorkie wrote: Good morning everyone from a sunny York. What a great day to wake up and find that we are going to be referred to in chants as "Are you Arsenal in disguise?" TV cameras or not the live game experience is one everyone should do at least once in a lifetime. There is nothing like it. Tomorrow I will be in my local watching - and yes there is more than one Saints fan in Pocklington too! We only have one chance in this life, and to see Saints play with such composure at Derby last week, all I can do is add to the first post and suggest everyone should make the effort and go to SMS. As a sign of good faith after all the dross of the last few years I would recommend the board act quickly and do something for the fans to encourage them back. Don't wait for a second rate team to come to SMS - but the next home game drop the prices for adults to £15 and get kids in for a £1. Come Rupert do your bit - the majority of fans have followed your reign through thick and major thin times - give the potential customers something back! If you want to fill SMS week in and week out - start with a small gesture...after all you have to speculate to accumulate! First post of the day and not a mention about my stance, or anything negative towards the chairman...what next?

Great, drop the price for those that don't want to go unless it's cheap. What about the 9500 season ticket holders who have already backed the team. For me, if you want to go pay the price, if you don't you won't be missed. Fairweather supporters we dont need.

LOL how long do you think the club will survive with a following of arround 5,ooo? Besides if they dropped the price of a game they could allways give season tickets a free entry to an early round of the FA cup.

Chris wrote:

Barnacle Bill wrote:

Rupert Lowes PR wrote: Well said Rupert, that should get them flooding back to St Marys!!

Your comment childish, stupid and flippant nonsense. Your comment is not constructive, clever, ironic, or funny. If you can\'t change your mind maybe you don\'t have a mind in the first place. you\'re a sad little loser. Go get a brain and some original opinions and then come back and try and say something clever for once.

oooohhhhhhhhhhh..... calm down dear its just an opinion...maybe your are rupert ?? you\'ll be calling him a yobbbo soon!!

Chris, no it wasn't an opinion - it was just a boring, unfunny, tiresome comment.

And to everyone who keeps hilariously referring to positive posts on here as "Rupert's PR Machine" - get a life . I work in PR (in London, and not for Saints) and believe me, we've got better things to do with our time!

Like getting down to SMS and supporting this promising young team.

Yep, the whole idea of a PR conspiracy is ridiculous, especially when you consider the amount of PR ****-ups the club has stumbled into in recent times.

The fact that stories on this site are usually cut and pasted from the Saints website is not a result of them being pushed out by a PR machine.

Yep, the website copy has a PR angle, but it's written for the Saints site, so it would have.

But the reason the Echo picks them up is because there is a hunger for Saints news, but they don't have the resources to source loads of stories themselves each day.

So, like the media on a national basis, they have to take what they can from official club sites and other news services.

This is more and more the case for the media internationally and whether that's a good or a bad thing is open to question.

What it does mean is there is less investigative work done and more spoon feeding.

I don't see that as being a poor reflection on the Echo either – the media isn't generally flush with money and employing a team to produce huge amounts of Saints copy every day wouldn't be viable.

Sorry if that explanation doesn't sit well with the nice image of Lowe clones in suits going round silencing critics, but it's more of a reflection of reality, rather than blind paranoia.

Nice to see him out of the media of late by the way and agree it would be good if that remained the case even when he thinks he's got an excuse to crow about any successes.

For me, a chairman should be someone who fans don't need to think about, not the most high-profile person at the club.

This business about "I'm a season ticket holder - it's unfair if they drop the prices" thing really makes me laugh.

On the one hand ST holders are always more loyal, better fans than me because they pay up front (and get a discount)- being proper financial supporters. Yet as soon as tickets are discounted they start moaning about people getting in cheaper!

You make a commitment when you buy a season ticket - you commit your finances for the season. You guarantee your seat every other week. There are others who do not have the luxury of being free every other week to follow a team so they attend when they can. So why is it unreasonable to offer others an incentive to get to SMS? You never know they might enjoy it so much they will come back and pay more per game than a season ticket holder - thus making them a better fan (using the amount of money I spend is proportional to how bigger fan I am)- is that really fair?

The current state of the club was reflected in the last game of last season. People are hungry for football and success in Southampton. The dross served up last season was awful. The nights we had big crowds in with the kids for a quid - the team choked. I heard that more than one kid was so embarassed he asked his dad never to take him again.

I don't think this team will choke - and the current team could inspire all those closet Saints fans who follow Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea & Man U because they win things (tongue in cheek).

A full SMS has to be better than 15,000 paying full price so not to upset ST holders. I have checked fixtures and we have Ipswich at home on a midweek game - what a great opportunity to pack SMS to the gunnels (sorry Sally) and get the kids of Southampton enthused about the local team.

After all "The Saints" always were "The Spirit of Southampton"

Jason wrote:
Yep, the whole idea of a PR conspiracy is ridiculous, especially when you consider the amount of PR ****-ups the club has stumbled into in recent times. The fact that stories on this site are usually cut and pasted from the Saints website is not a result of them being pushed out by a PR machine. Yep, the website copy has a PR angle, but it's written for the Saints site, so it would have. But the reason the Echo picks them up is because there is a hunger for Saints news, but they don't have the resources to source loads of stories themselves each day. So, like the media on a national basis, they have to take what they can from official club sites and other news services. This is more and more the case for the media internationally and whether that's a good or a bad thing is open to question. What it does mean is there is less investigative work done and more spoon feeding. I don't see that as being a poor reflection on the Echo either – the media isn't generally flush with money and employing a team to produce huge amounts of Saints copy every day wouldn't be viable. Sorry if that explanation doesn't sit well with the nice image of Lowe clones in suits going round silencing critics, but it's more of a reflection of reality, rather than blind paranoia. Nice to see him out of the media of late by the way and agree it would be good if that remained the case even when he thinks he's got an excuse to crow about any successes. For me, a chairman should be someone who fans don't need to think about, not the most high-profile person at the club.

Spot on. Unfortunately, for a lot of supporters that's too difficult a concept for them to grasp. They prefer the lazy thinking of "Lowe's Men In Suits" versus "Real Fans". The true situation is a lot more complex, as you've very neatly summarised.

Right, I'd better get back to work. Come on Saints, let's make it three on the bounce against Blackpool tomorrow!!

I'm going to St Marys tomorrow!

Who's gonna join me????

Reno Ricky wrote:
I'm going to St Marys tomorrow! Who's gonna join me????

I'm going to town shopping with the missus so thats a big fat no! :(

The sad fact is that a lot of Lowe haters (consciously or unconsciously) would rather see failure at Saints than success. They likely hate Lowe more than they love the club. I'm not a Lowe fan and I didn't like or agree with the decisions which were made upon his return - including the rejection of Pearson and the appointment of Poortvliet. But the truth is things are now looking much better than I expected - especially given the reality of the dire financial constraints at the club. And it follows that I could therefore have been plain wrong about Lowe's return. And a prerequisite for being able to judge things right more often than not, is being big enough to recognise it when you are not right. Time will tell - but I hope Lowe will prove me and my judgement earlier this year to have been 100% stupid. And what's more, I'll do my bit by cheering the team on to help make that happen. I thought Lowe was a worm. No-one will be happier than me if he turns out to be a glow-worm. At the end of the day, all that stay away, play it cool attitudes might get us is a colder world.

Confucius wrote:
The sad fact is that a lot of Lowe haters (consciously or unconsciously) would rather see failure at Saints than success. They likely hate Lowe more than they love the club. I'm not a Lowe fan and I didn't like or agree with the decisions which were made upon his return - including the rejection of Pearson and the appointment of Poortvliet. But the truth is things are now looking much better than I expected - especially given the reality of the dire financial constraints at the club. And it follows that I could therefore have been plain wrong about Lowe's return. And a prerequisite for being able to judge things right more often than not, is being big enough to recognise it when you are not right. Time will tell - but I hope Lowe will prove me and my judgement earlier this year to have been 100% stupid. And what's more, I'll do my bit by cheering the team on to help make that happen. I thought Lowe was a worm. No-one will be happier than me if he turns out to be a glow-worm. At the end of the day, all that stay away, play it cool attitudes might get us is a colder world.

Spot on. Like you, I'm not pro-Lowe or anti-Lowe, but take a balanced view and I think the majority of positive posters on this site think the same.

Sadly it's a habit to jump between extremes these days without seeing room for anything in between.

So in their minds you either hate Lowe or are pro Lowe. You can't be anything in between.

Saints are either going down or it's a failure if we're not champions. You can't be happy with anything in between.

Expectations are either over-hyped or over-negative. You can't keep an open mind as it's weak or you've got your head in the sand.

Better to live in reality in my opinion and take a more balanced view, which at the moment says we've made progress and should be optimistic about what's happening at the club.

My opinion won't change if we play badly tomorrow and get beaten, though it will obviously dent my confidence.

Realistically, we could also lose a couple of players over the weekend, which again would be a big blow.

But one good or bad result or player sale doesn't necessarily mean we're getting relegated or going up.

And for me it doesn't alter the fact that I support the Saints and will continue to do so whatever.

This league has the ability to make fools out of people.

Before Derby I read some guy stating on this site that he was no longer going to be a Saints fan as the sale of Andrew Davies and Birmingham defeat was the last straw.

I can understand his frustration – there's only so many disappointments you can take – but I can't understand people turning their back on the club.

I read another person saying how much better off Coventry were than us at the top of the league like they had just won the title.

Come the last third of the season maybe, but making judgements after two games is ridiculous.

I'm not slagging anyone off, I don't want to argue with fellow fans and I'm not pro or anti-Lowe. I also don't have my head in the sand or anywhere else.

I'm just appealing for people to see the whole picture and keep an open mind.

Balanced reasoning here today...and you have to say perhaps Mr lowe has learnt a valuable lesson, and applying this in his second tenure.

For all his faults he is not a stupid man - but he is not hogging the limelight at the moment, no photos in the press with players, no tracksuit, no selections, no PR gaffs - generally keeping a Low(e) profile.

I have trouble in remembering who the chairman is sometimes - although selling Andrew Davies was a shock. Perhaps that money will mean we can survive until January - and not have to sell the family silver again?

As long as Mr Lowe keeps out of team affairs and has nothing to say to fans and customers alike, stays in the boardroom, keeps us afloat, and never puts himself forward as Mr Big - I'll be very happy.

I'm not a fan of his - but even I am beginning to see the sea of change at SFC!

Amazing, a story about JP trying to keep his team focused turns into another Lowe/anti-Lowe forum. So I will add my ten-pence worth:
Someone once said "Peace will only reign when the Palestinians learn to love their children as much as they hate the Israelis"
I think you get the point!

DJI wrote:
Amazing, a story about JP trying to keep his team focused turns into another Lowe/anti-Lowe forum. So I will add my ten-pence worth:
Someone once said "Peace will only reign when the Palestinians learn to love their children as much as they hate the Israelis"
I think you get the point!

OK, so what that's got to do with JP keeping his team focused?

come on saints you can win tomorrow.i want to be there tomorrow but cant make it because i have a wedding.come on you saints.

The only way Lowe leaves if he sells at a profit. A club doing well is alot more attractive than one struggling even if its going cheap through administration you've still got to agree compensation to your creditors(hassel). So the more at SMS supporting an exciting winning team breeds success. Reducing the losses, and attracting back the floaters (me being one)with good football will win through and ultimatly be the end of Lowe.

Derry wrote:

Yorkie wrote: Good morning everyone from a sunny York. What a great day to wake up and find that we are going to be referred to in chants as "Are you Arsenal in disguise?" TV cameras or not the live game experience is one everyone should do at least once in a lifetime. There is nothing like it. Tomorrow I will be in my local watching - and yes there is more than one Saints fan in Pocklington too! We only have one chance in this life, and to see Saints play with such composure at Derby last week, all I can do is add to the first post and suggest everyone should make the effort and go to SMS. As a sign of good faith after all the dross of the last few years I would recommend the board act quickly and do something for the fans to encourage them back. Don't wait for a second rate team to come to SMS - but the next home game drop the prices for adults to £15 and get kids in for a £1. Come Rupert do your bit - the majority of fans have followed your reign through thick and major thin times - give the potential customers something back! If you want to fill SMS week in and week out - start with a small gesture...after all you have to speculate to accumulate! First post of the day and not a mention about my stance, or anything negative towards the chairman...what next?

Great, drop the price for those that don't want to go unless it's cheap. What about the 9500 season ticket holders who have already backed the team. For me, if you want to go pay the price, if you don't you won't be missed. Fairweather supporters we dont need.

I don't think it's necessarily the price that keeps a lot of people away. I may be wrong but I should think it's more a question of personel at the club....

Personally, I renewed my season ticket in March - I pay £17 per for my seat in the Kingsland stand just opposite the centre circle. I get money off a shirt, I get money off leisure activities in Southampton (ok, I don't live/work in Southampton, but that's neither here nor there), I get money off travel to and from Saints games and lots more besides.

So I don't think season ticket holders are losing out at all.

However fans pay for their seats, we need everybody, as many as we can cram in to SMS - let's make it difficult for away fans to be heard. Wouldn't it be great to hear that the club has to re-open the corners to fit everyone in?! Magic!!

COYR!!!

If you go down to St Mary’s today,
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go down to St Mary’s today,
You'd better go in Red and White!
For every fan that ever there was
Will gather there for certain because...
Today's the day the Blackpool have their points nicked!!

im looking forward to tomorrows game,im still trying to shake off my natural pessimisim,which probably comes from the trauma of the last few seasons where saints seemed to always lose or only just win a crap match every time i came dowm sms,i cant afford a season ticket for myself and my lad,but i get to at least half of the matches and a couple of away games most season`s,i hope saints fans will give a decent reception to jermaine wright and adam hammil tomorrow ,neither were particulary great players for us,but i always felt they gave us 100% effort.I just hope the players and supporters dont underestimate blackpool, they`re streetwise to the championship now,and teams will begin to try and nullify our passing game and exploit our weakness in the full back department.Look sorry if im being a little negative,nothing would make me happier if in front of the camera`s saints come out all guns blazing ,play blackpool off the park in a 4-0 win...perfect.Its just a case of too many crap performances at home in recent years have left me a damaged man!

I have been a Saints fan for forty years, and every year I put a £5 bet on them to win something , this year I have put a bet on them getting promoted and for the first time in ages I really think I might have backed a winner !
so much so that I will even go and watch them !

DJI wrote:
Amazing, a story about JP trying to keep his team focused turns into another Lowe/anti-Lowe forum. So I will add my ten-pence worth: Someone once said "Peace will only reign when the Palestinians learn to love their children as much as they hate the Israelis" I think you get the point!

It's because it's more interesting, in my opinion, talking about the wider situation ("Lowe/anti-Lowe" as you put it - although as discussed above, it's more nuanced than that) than simply talking about the manager keeping the team focussed.

I mean, what more can you say to the statement "We should keep the team focussed and try and ignore the TV cameras" than "Yes, I agree - that would definitely be a good thing"?? That's it. It's a no-brainer. Of course we want them focussed (they're professional footballers after all) etc.

Personally, I just find it more interesting to discuss some of the wider issues about the club.