BEGGARS AND CHOOSERS

A few years ago, I bought some shares in Southampton Leisure Holdings plc, the parent company which owns Southampton Football Club. At the time I bought them,, they were 35p per share and I did so not as a financial investment but as an emotional investment in the club I have supported man and boy for over 60 years. I didn`t expect to make a killing on the share purchase, since I have no intention of ever selling them, but it has been `interesting` to note that the share price rose to almost 70p a few months ago before falling back to the 35p that I bought them for. So I`m not out of pocket - yet.

There has been a lot of speculation for over a year now about a possible takeover of Southampton Leisure Holdings (SLH) and it`s true that SLH are seeking new investment in order to boost finances, stave off the bank manager, avoid administration and move onwards and upwards. In the past year, suggested suitors have ranged from multi-billionaire Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, to Ray Ranson`s SISU Hedge Fund outfit, which has now taken over Coventry City and the latest name doing the rounds is that of Kia Joorabchian, who I have long thought has `something of the night` about him.

As a shareholder, I should welcome any initiative that brings finanacial stability to the company....and I suppose I do, but of course my investment is a purely emotional one. We have to be careful about who it might be that `takes us over.` There has been a rising trend over the last few years for football clubs up and down the country to be `taken over` by a host of `interesting` characters with a host of differing reasons for their actions. Abramovich, Gaydamak, the Glazers and the intriguingly named Randy Lerner, who sounds more like a rampant student, are just the tip of the iceberg of foreign owners of English football clubs. It seems that the motives behind this newfound fad include owning the ultimate boys toy, pure unabashed financial greed and, in the case of porn barons, alleged gun runners and that paragon of human rights virtue, Thaksin Shinawatra, a brazen attempt to gain some legitimacy.

So, SLH have to be careful, for we are a family-friendly provincial club with a proud history and a loyal following brought up on the traditions of home town decency. Some will say, of course, that beggars cannot be choosers and if we are to avoid all the consequences of financial insecurity, then maybe we should grab any hand that offers a fistful of cash to secure our future. They may have a case. But it is purely a financial one... and one which ignores all the other values which I for one may hold dear.

There are whispers that a knight in shining armour may be interested in coming to our rescue who has had a hugely successful and rewarding career, has recently retired and now wishes to realise his lifelong ambition to run Southampton Football Club along with likeminded souls who might also put their money where their devotion lies and bring the stability we have craved for so long.

If the whispers are true, then we have the prospect of remaining in the hands of people who know their way to St. Mary`s without the need for a satnav, have dignity and honour in abundance and who will impart a new sense of optimism among the faithful. I hope it comes to pass and, in the process, demonstrate that in resisting the first offer that may have come along, beggars might be choosers after all. Time will tell, but if it does happen then it will reflect great credit on the club`s current local custodians, who have fought long and hard to bring it about.