News Briefing
Saints - A roller coaster ride to nowhere
IT was 11 months ago that one of the world's richest men was reported to be riding to Saints rescue with the kind of investment that had fans drooling.
Paul Allen, pictured right, co-founder of Microsoft, owner of the Seattle Seahawks American football team and the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team, was the dream ticket back to the glory days.
His £9billion fortune could have transformed Saints' fortunes after a fruitless search for new investment since the resignation of controversial chairman Rupert Lowe in June 2006 - a year after the club was relegated from the Premiership.
"It is beyond my wildest dreams," was the reaction of one major shareholder. And so it proved to be when the speculation sparked by an announcement of preliminary talks was finally killed off by Mr Allen.
Saints were then linked with Sheikh Maktoum, whose Dubai International Capital investment group was supposedly interested with talks reaching an "advanced" stage.
Rumours suggested oil rich Arabs, having failed in a bid to buy Liverpool earlier that year, were interested in Saints because of the land around the stadium which could have been bought up and developed commercially.
But club sources said the story was wide of the mark. So fans can be forgiven for not getting too excited about yesterday's news that a consortium headed by fan and barrister Jonathon Fulthorpe was set to launch a bid for the club.
Fulthorpe has been working on a proposal for several months in a team up with local businessman John Cousins
It follows last month's announcement by the club that they had held preliminary talks with "certain third parties" over new investment or a takeover.
Slip away
Former Everton director Paul Gregg and Irish cinema tycoon Tom Anderson were also linked with the club last month.
And fans will only have to cast their minds a few months to witness how much needed investment can slip away.
In the autumn, London-based hedge fund Sisu Capital made a bid to buy Saints but eventually took over Championship rivals Coventry City instead.
The offer, while backed by the club's board of directors, failed to win support from major shareholders Rupert Lowe, Michael Wilde and Leon Crouch - all former chairmen of the club.
They had raised questions and doubts over the £40m takeover, headed by Ray Ranson, a former Manchester City player, had also been linked with takeovers for Man City and Aston Villa.
The collapse of the buyout prompted resignations in December of three board members of Southampton Leisure Holdings, which owns Southampton FC. Chief executive Jim Hone, chairman Ken Dulieu and commercial director Andy Oldknow all quit.
10:32am Wednesday 12th March 2008
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