The great Saints boardroom split

George Burley was taking his first team squad to non league neighbours Eastleigh for what has become a traditional pre-season friendly.

But, as has been the case all too often at Saints in recent years, the main topics of conversation are unlikely to be those concerned with events on the field of play.

Off the pitch, a potentially damaging boardroom split has recently exploded into the newspapers against a backdrop of continuing takeover talk.

First, it was American billionare Paul Allen who was rumoured to be interested in taking over at St Mary's.

As hard as it was to believe that the 19th richest man in the world and the co-founder of Microsoft could be Saints' saviour, high-placed sources consistently told this newspaper there was every chance it could happen.

Some of those sources still confess the Allen deal is not dead, despite continued and strong denials from America.

Only yesterday Saints were linked with Sheikh Maktoum, whose Dubai International Capital investment group was supposedly interested with talks at an 'advanced' stage.

Rumours have suggested that the Arabs, having failed in their bid to buy Liverpool earlier this year, were interested in Saints because of the land around the stadium which could be bought up and developed commercially.

The fact that such plans could take years to put in place have been seemingly put to one side.

As has become commonplace, the club declined to comment, though sources said the story was wide of the mark.

Twelve months on from former chairman Rupert Lowe's departure alongside his boardroom allies, Saints remain a club divided in the boardroom.

The Michael Wilde regime was swept in with a feel-good factor that continued, due to a £7m spending spree, right up to the start of last season.

There was an early charm offensive from the new directors and everyone hoped the dark clouds had moved on from St Mary's.

But, sadly, a growing number of fans believe, if anything, the club has gone backwards.

It seems those who now believe, with the benefit of hindsight, that Lowe should have stayed are growing in number.

The much-heralded new investment has so far failed to materialise, and that underpins the current boardroom wrangles.

Leon Crouch was Kingmaker in the summer of 2006 due to his wavering over whether to throw his near 10 per cent shareholding in with Wilde and co, or back Lowe, despite having previously been very critical of the then chairman.

He eventually decided to support Wilde after hearing about the latter's new investment plans for the club.

As the months passed, Crouch became increasingly frustrated and cracks started to appear in the boardroom.

The divide became enormous a fortnight ago when Crouch and the other three non execs on the PLC board - local businessman Patrick Trant, Southampton coroner Keith Wiseman and long-serving director Brian Hunt - stormed out of a board meeting.

They were furious that commercial manager Andy Oldknow had been voted onto the PLC board, therefore giving the executives a clear majority to vote through whatever they wanted.

The non execs, therefore, failed in their bid to bring former PLC board director Paul Thompson back as non exec chairman and chief executive.

They had gone to ex-West Brom chairman Thompson when they believed current PLC board chairman Ken Dulieu and chief executive Jim Hone were contemplating leaving in September had no new investment been attracted.

The football club board, which also comprises Saints managerial legend Lawrie McMenemy, Mary Corbett, Hone, operations director Lee Hoos and finance director Dave Jones, now has little if no power.

All the major decisions are taken by the executives.

They have won and Crouch has lost. For now.

When Wilde suddenly resigned in February, Crouch was promoted from vice chairman of the football board to acting chairman of that structure.

But it is a role without any power. Crouch may have spent around £2m on becoming the second largest individual shareholder of Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC, but he has no real voice in the corridors of power at St Mary's.

As the months without investment went on, it became obvious that Saints would be in financial trouble if they failed to win promotion and the £60m Premiership jackpot that accompanied it.

Once that situation happened, teenage starlet Gareth Bale was quickly sold to Tottenham for a £5m downpayment in a deal rising to £10m. That money helped plug a £6m shortfall caused by the ending of their parachute payment.

Crouch and the other non-executive director on the PLC board, local businessman Patrick Trant, tried to delay Bale's sale, arguing that it was sending out the wrong message to Allen or any other potential investor.

But Bale went, and this week he was followed by Saints' other star defender, Chris Baird, who joined Fulham for just over £3m.

And still there is a deafening silence from St Mary's. Neither the executives nor the non-execs appear keen to make public statements.

Following the initial Allen speculation, Saints released a statement to the Stock Exchange saying there were interested parties and that further announcements would be "made in due course."

But that was in late April, and we have heard nothing official since - either in statements released to the Stock Exchange or in any media.

As a result, sections of the fanbase are now claiming that the board has less transparency than it did when Lowe was there.

The directors who replaced Lowe and his supporters always claimed they would be far happier in the shadows, and that they wanted George Burley to emerge as the most dominant figure at the football club.

They have certainly been true to their word, yet more and more fans are complaining that the current state of affairs does more harm than good.

Due to the lack of any official information regarding takeovers, speculation amongst supporters is reaching fever pitch.

The more people you speak to about the situation at Saints - and the Daily Echo speaks to many, the muddier the waters become.

With regards to a much-needed takeover - George Burley's cash fund for transfers is very low - it is hard to piece together the exact nature of talks.

Whether agents and middle men are approaching companies asking if they want to invest in Saints, or whether they are beating a path to St Mary's off their own back, is also unknown.

At this moment in time the Echo understands there are at least two interested parties.

Who is interested, and to what extent they are interested, whether they are a consortium or an individual, might never be known.

The boardroom scenario is easier to address, but no less clear as to how it will end.

At the moment the club is being run by people with hardly any shares. The major shareholders are on the outside looking in - Wilde (16 per cent), Crouch (almost 10) and Lowe and his supporters (around 25 per cent).

Eventually, those in power will need the support of some of the major shareholders to stay in their positions, certainly if an EGM was called or more likely at the AGM in the autumn.

It could be safe to say Crouch will not support the executives, while the Echo has been told that Wilde might or might not, depending on which high level source you want to believe.

Wilde might have resigned his post five months ago, but he is still a central figure in how the latest episode in Saints' 'you-couldn't-make-it-up' recent history will turn out.

As for Lowe, wouldn't it be the ultimate irony if HE ended up having a major say - through his and his associates' shareholdings - in how the current boardroom crisis was ended?