The Dark Lord a.k.a. Rupert Lowe

[RICKYwillTAKEusUP]

I've just been on the Daily Echo and saw the following comment about Lowe:
"Sold our best players at knock down prices
Axed managers and appointed cheaper, worse and less experienced managers, every time cutting their resources (Steve Wiggly, Poortvliet and Wotte are particularly good examples of this)
Appointed Harry Redknapp (enough said)
Appointed Clive Woodward to do nothing on a vast salary DESPITE getting managers on the cheap and flogging young players at a fraction of their market value (or even the agreed price - Walcott / Bale)
Failed to negotiate standard sell on clauses in player transfers (Bale)"

Obviously I remember all the chants of 'Swing Lowe, Swing Rupert Lowe, Swing him for the Itchen Bridge' etc. and his not so triumphant return when we were in Championship.

Most of you probably want to forget about him, but was hoping to hear a little more about just why he was so bad.

A few benefits which I can see:

St.Mary's - maybe at the time was a bad decision because of t

[harvey_7]

He doesn't deserve to be mentioned on here IMO - C UNT!

[PapaLazarou]

Lowe took a run down club with a ramshackle stadium and laid the foundations for where the club is today. Without his work, I'm confident that Liebherr & Cortese wouldn't have been remotely interested in investing.

I don't blame him for selling the players mentioned - IMO, Lowe was desperately trying to keep the club afloat and offloading the big earners and cashing in on our star assets was far more honourable than running up obscene levels of debt without the means or intention to repay it.

I'm not saying he was perfect - far from it, in fact. He was a PR disaster, some of his appointments were bewildering and he habitually alienated himself from the fans.

However, am I glad that Lowe had a spell at the club ? Absolutely. But he had taken the club as far as he could and it was crying out for an ML / NC partnership to step in and take it to the next level.

[PapaLazarou]

He doesn't deserve to be mentioned on here IMO - C UNT!

Out of interest, why do you think that, Harv ?

[RICKYwillTAKEusUP]

He doesn't deserve to be mentioned on here IMO - C UNT!

Out of interest, why do you think that, Harv ?[/quote]

Good response Papa - I thought it would get a bit of a mixed reception, that's why I thought it would be interesting to discuss. I'd also like to hear why you think that Harv...

[chief_wiggam]

I'm sure that through all of the crap he took our club through Rupert Lowe always tried to put the club first.
If he wasn't as bad as he was we would never have heard of Markus and Cortese.

[Dirtyweasel]

From memory, wasn't Lowe involved (personally), with the financing of SMS?

I know he was obviously involved, but I mean wasn't the deal set to benefit him personally?

[Pentridge]

Similar feelings to Papa.

He wasn't a football man but he did get us SMS which had been promised to us for 20 odd years and he helped develop the academy.

Strange appointments like Clive Woodward didn't help his cause and Like. Weasel, I always seemed to remember him trying to look after number one.


Also, one time in corporate the rosti on my lamb dish was far too salty and after personally mentioning it to him, he didn't seem too repentant.

I'll never ****ing forgive him for that..

[chiswickmart]

Did you go shooting with him Pents?

[harvey_7]

He doesn't deserve to be mentioned on here IMO - C UNT!

Out of interest, why do you think that, Harv ?[/quote]

Because his job was to look after our club, something in which he failed to do! He spent money we clearly didn't have & nearly put us into liquidation, yes I don't know the ins & outs of it as I was quite young when this happened but from what I have heard & been told, I strongly dislike him.

[PapaLazarou]

Because his job was to look after our club, something in which he failed to do! He spent money we clearly didn't have & nearly put us into liquidation, yes I don't know the ins & outs of it as I was quite young when this happened but from what I have heard & been told, I strongly dislike him.

Fundamentally, I'm sure that Lowe had the best intentions of the club at heart, it's just that limited means and matters both on and off the pitch conspired against him. For instance, relegation from the Premiership so shortly after the club moved to SMS (with a sizeable mortgage requiring to be serviced), not to mention Barclays who reduced the club's overdraft from £5m to £4m in one fell swoop, proved to be financial disastrous..

Before judging Lowe too harshly on what others may or may not have told you, it might be doing a bit of fact finding of your own.. ;)

[harvey_7]

Because his job was to look after our club, something in which he failed to do! He spent money we clearly didn't have & nearly put us into liquidation, yes I don't know the ins & outs of it as I was quite young when this happened but from what I have heard & been told, I strongly dislike him.

Fundamentally, I'm sure that Lowe had the best intentions of the club at heart, it's just that limited means and matters both on and off the pitch conspired against him. For instance, relegation from the Premiership so shortly after the club moved to SMS (with a sizeable mortgage requiring to be serviced), not to mention Barclays who reduced the club's overdraft from £5m to £4m in one fell swoop, proved to be financial disastrous..

Before judging Lowe too harshly on what others may or may not have told you, it might be doing a bit of fact finding of your own.. ;)[/quote]


What have you got pr

[PapaLazarou]

What have you got proof of the Skates stealing from charities then, because I'm sure you only say that from hearing rumours?

With respect Harv, I'm absolutely positive I've never said that the thefts from charities were only 'rumours'..

[harvey_7]

What have you got proof of the Skates stealing from charities then, because I'm sure you only say that from hearing rumours?

With respect Harv, I'm absolutely positive I've never said that the thefts from charities were only 'rumours'..[/quote]

Have you got proof then?

[PapaLazarou]

Have you got proof then?

That money collected in good faith by the skates on behalf of local charities never reached its intended targets because it was kept by the skates ? It's a well established, undeniable, unpalatable FACT..

[harvey_7]

Have you got proof then?

That money collected in good faith by the skates on behalf of local charities never reached its intended targets because it was kept by the skates ? It's a matter of public record..[/quote]

Ok point taken, but surely that's the club in the wrong & not the fans.

So why do you call the fans 'GLCT?'

[PapaLazarou]

So why do you call the fans 'GLCT?'

Do I ?

[harvey_7]

So why do you call the fans 'GLCT?'

Do I ?[/quote]

You have done in the past.

[PapaLazarou]

So why do you call the fans 'GLCT?'

Do I ?[/quote]

You have done in the past.[/quote]

Are you certain of that ?

[PapaLazarou]

Anyway, getting back on topic...



He wasn't a football man but he did get us SMS which had been promised to us for 20 odd years and he helped develop the academy.

Both of which stood us in excellent stead for the future and, without which, we certainly wouldn't be where we are today.

My opinion is that the club was caught between a rock and a hard place at the time - relegation from the Prem resulted in significant reduction in revenue; selling the best players helped to keep the club running; but with the best players gone, the chances of a quick return to the Prem vanished overnight; etc etc.

Dark times, yes - but the club that emerged was by far the stronger for it..

[chiswickmart]

Quality - Papa destroyed by Harvey.

[saintwayne]

There were positives, but the bad far outweighs the good. Clive Woodward FFS? :/

Probably his worst act was returning after Nigel Pearson had kept us up, and Leon Crouch was beginning to get the finances under control. By returning, he single-handedly destroyed the bit of feel-good factor that was developing, and that imo was the biggest factor in the consequent relegation and administration.

[PapaLazarou]

IMO, the most significant factor in the club entering administration was Barclays pulling the plug on the club's agreed overdraft at the drop of a hat.

And I will constantly regard it as 'odd' that the executive at Barclays who was largely responsible for the club entering administration (by first slashing the overdraft from 5,000,000 to 4,000,000 and then bouncing cheques for less than 6,000) accepted a partner role at Begbie Traynor who then handled the recovery of the club..

Conspiracy theorist, me ? Never.. :s

[harvey_7]

Quality - Papa destroyed by Harvey.

Wasn't intended Chis, I just think all this 'GLCT' sh1t is pathetic & so boring! There's more threads on here about Pompey than Saints, it's a joke.

[CostaBaz]

I think he gets too much credit for the academy, simply because we were producing top quality young players, long before he came along.

Sure, he kept it going, but not for the same reasons as before, or since.
Before and since we have used the academy to bolster the first team, but I get the impression Lowe considered it something akin to raising livestock.

Get them to a certain level, then auction them off to the highest bidder. Yes, it helped sustain the club, but didn't it also give him a healthy return on his shares, on top of an already healthy wage?

I just felt everything he did was for himself.

[BlueAdder]

Nice to see Harvey showing himself to be far more intelligent and adult than most of the members of 'The Dirty(half)Dozen'. ;D

Well Said Harvey.:star:

[PapaLazarou]

Nice to see Harvey showing himself to be far more intelligent and adult than most of the members of 'The Dirty(half)Dozen'.

Would be even nicer if Harvey checked his facts before posting..

[Dirtyweasel]

Wasn't intended Chis, I just think all this 'GLCT' sh1t is pathetic & so boring!


The diversity of topics and opinions of all that contribute to this board make it what it is harv. I'd be the first to admit that the music threads do little for me, so I avoid reading them. If I do, I refrain from posting how, and I quote, "sh1t...pathetic...boring" etc I find them.

If threads discussing the demise and embarrassment of po**ey and the GLCT makes you so angry and bored, perhaps you should try something similar and avoid reading, and contributing, to them :?

Alternatively, post more challenging topics encouraging the intellectual debate you seem to crave B)

[Southerndown]

Have you got proof then?

That money collected in good faith by the skates on behalf of local charities never reached its intended targets because it was kept by the skates ? It's a matter of public record..[/quote]

Ok point taken, but surely that's the club in the wrong & not the fans.

So why do you call the fans 'GLCT?'[/quote]

It's called 'poking the bear' Harv, to get a reaction.
If you ever listen to Talk Sport Adrian Durham in particular is very good at it.

[ShottermillSaint]

Had Michael Wilde payed him off meaning that he never came back i may have a slightly better opinion of him.
The only god thing to have come from his tenure as chairman was St Mary's, i wouldn't credit him for signing Morgan that was down to Georges Prost who had great contacts in France

A non football man who thought he knew better by giving Clive Woodward and that idiot from Garforth Town highly paid positions and opened a radio station ffs

He was at the helm for worst period in Saints history and most importantly i never got my refund from the club for being overcharged for my Uefa Cup ticket away in Bucharest despite assurances that i would

[harvey_7]

Wasn't intended Chis, I just think all this 'GLCT' sh1t is pathetic & so boring!


The diversity of topics and opinions of all that contribute to this board make it what it is harv. I'd be the first to admit that the music threads do little for me, so I avoid reading them. If I do, I refrain from posting how, and I quote, "sh1t...pathetic...boring" etc I find them.

If threads discussing the demise and embarrassment of po**ey and the GLCT makes you so angry and bored, perhaps you should try something similar and avoid reading, and contributing, to them :?

Alternatively, post more challenging topics encouraging the intellectual debate you seem to crave B)[/quote]


I never contribute to them? :?

[Dirtyweasel]

Perhaps I'm confusing you with another harvey poster?

Regardless, not contributing was one of two suggestions I gave.