Euell is the second free transfer to arrive at Blackpool this summer following 21 year old Billy Clarke from Ipswich Town. Blackpool manager Ian Holloway says that he has long been an  admirer Euell who he says is one of the fittest 32 year olds you will find, adding, “He can play in a variety of roles and although the lads might not know it yet we’ve got a good player on our hands.”

Euell started his career in 1995 with Wimbledon where he spent six years before moving to Charlton for £4.75million in 2001. A misguided move to Middlesbrough in 2006 was followed a year later with a transfer to Southampton, where he has recently had to endure the politics of a club going into administration as well as being relegated.

The spectre of St Marys could mean death knell for Saints

Troubled Championship club Southampton have seen their holding company put into administration today but have said it will not affect the Football Club at this stage.

Southampton Leisure Holdings had suspended trading on the stock exchange this week after the company failed to renegotiate borrowings with it’s bankers and was unable to attract further funding from alternative sources. The clubs chief executive and former chairman Rupert Lowe, current chairman Michael Wilde and director Andrew Cowen have all resigned their posts with the holding company.

Mark Fry one of the joint administrators appointed says that they will try to find a buyer for the company but the directors have been looking to sell or attract investment to the business for sometime already, which they have been unsuccessful in doing and so the chances are pretty slim.

The holding company has debts of £27.5m and the administrators say that the future of the club is in serious jeopardy, given that the finances are interlinked and the football club is, as such an asset of the holding company.

It is unclear whether putting the holding company into administration will save Southampton from a ten point deduction in the Championship, the standard punishment from the Football League for a club going into receivership.  They are currently second from bottom of the division and losing a further ten points would mean certain relegation.

The administrators have stated that despite the circumstances the club ‘could be an extremely attractive investment for the right buyer.’

However I don’t expect Chairman Rupert Lowe to be ecstatic, having earlier negotiated an early payment from Tottenham for the balance of the Gareth Bale fee. Bale joined Tottenham for an initial payment of £5million with another £5million subject to appearances. As Bale has spent most of the season injured he is hardly clocking up appearances.

So cash strapped Southampton have negotiated with Spurs for some form of early payment, rather than wait for Bale to fulfill his promise. Lowe has reported that he has accepted an early settlement, part of which is goalkeeper Tommy Forecast.

Southampton allegedly struck a similar deal with Arsenal last season for Theo Walcott, that deal reportedly cost the club £2.9million!

Lowe told the club’s official website, www.saintsfc.co.uk: “I am always reluctant to forego any future income but given our current financial situation, we must do all we can to go into the new season as robustly as possible.”

The England striker was sold to Liverpool from Southampton in July 2005 for £7m and it seems that a sell-on-clause was also part of this deal. Saints chairman Rupert Lowe has recently confirmed that this. With the fee for Crouch reportedly around £11m, Southampton could receive £500,000 as part of the deal.

This would be a great help to Southampton’s financial difficulties. They have been forced to sell or release a number of players and any income will be appreciated by the club. A look at Championship football odds will tell you that they aren’t expected to excel this season and there new manager – Jan Poortvliet – will be hoping that some of the £500,000 could be used to buy new players.

Despite the troubles Southampton have had recently, Jan Poortvliet has said that he is targeting a play-off spot after being impressed with his new players. So far, he has brought in midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin and goalkeeper Tommy Forecast.

Despite Jan Poortvliet’s optimism, I can see nothing but bad times ahead for Southampton and I’m referring to on-field matters. They have lost a number of key players including Darren Powel, Youseff Safri, Jermaine Wright and Idiakez. They have also forced Nathan Dyer to train alone after he turned down a new contact.

No matter how much money they receive from Peter Crouch’s transfer to Portsmouth, they still have a lot of work to do to build a squad capable of competing in the tough league that is the Championship.

The players will appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on July 8th.

Read the full story on BuzzinBratz

They are set to close three corners of their stadium in an attempt to save around £250,000. It is believed that this will reduce match day staff and bus travel, meaning the club’s drastic cost-cutting methods are carried out. The club can expect to get some unwanted criticism for these actions though – it is set to effect around 700 season ticket holders.

However, if you consider that the Saints averaged 11,000 below capacity during the 2007/2008 campaign, this will probably be just a case of season ticket holders moving seats. With the club in the financial mess it finds itself in though, this will be seen as a small sacrifice to make.

So why are they struggling so much financially? I’m sure there is a more technical explanation, but the uncertainty over the ownership of the club must have played its part. Since Rupert Lowe returned to the club last month, takeover talks with a consortium led by Fulthorpe have been terminated and it seems that no-one is willing to put enough money into the club. Combine this with the loss of parachute payments, continuing to pay Premiership wages and reduced attendances and it becomes slightly clearer why the Championship club are doing all they can to avoid administration.

It isn’t just the money side of things that are uncertain though. The playing staff is likely to undergo a major overhaul with Jan Poortvliet wanting to create his own squad. Senior players including Darren Powell, Inigo Idiakez and Jermaine Wright are still waiting to hear whether they will be offered new deals.

Looking at Championship football betting, it is no surprise to see Southampton amongst the favourites to be relegated next season. They only just avoided the drop last time out and one would guess they aren’t going to have much money to spend on new players to improve their chances of success.

Overall, Southampton is a club in relative turmoil. Things need to get better quickly – on and off the pitch.

The 52 year old has won six titles with clubs in the lower divisions of the Dutch league, will be joined at St Mary’s by fellow countryman Mark Wotte, who will take charge of the club’s academy.

Saint’s acknowledge the work that Pearson has done at the club since joining and are grateful for his efforts in avoiding relegation in the final game this season.

But the salary that Pearson was getting will employ both Poortlviet and Wotte and hopefully enable Southampton to be successful in the Championship while nurturing the academy players of the future.

While Pearson staved off relegation from the Championship, it is believed that Lowe will be looking to replace him at the earliest opportunity.

The Daily Mirror has linked Lowe with out of work former Newcastle and Bolton boss, Sam Allardyce. Big Sam who seemed to be in the frame for the QPR job last week, is top of the Saints wish list, says the newspaper.

While Former Saints boss Glenn Hoddle remains in the frame, it is thought that his appointment would lead to a split in the Southampton fan base, something that Lowe has experienced previously and wouldn’t like to see again.

They are currently just one point off relegation to League One with a much worse goal difference than Sheffield Wednesday.

To finish off what could be a truly miserable season Southamton Football Club has announced it will hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on 16th May to resolve the club’s ownership dispute.

Michael Wilde & Rupert Lowe, who control 46% of the shares in the parent company, Southampton Leisure Holdings (SLH) plc have called the EGM.  Wilde & Lowe, both former chairmen of the south coast team, are requesting a majority of the board members including current chairman Leon Crouch, stand down.

If the EGM goes according to plan for Lowe and Wilde, they would be clear to take over the running of Southampton FC.

The EGM will take place on on 16th May, just twelve days after The Saints’ final Coca-Cola League Championship game.

Negotiations have been taking place over the last couple of months and it is believed that the consortium has ’substantial funds’ to aid the club. Fulthorpe and local businessman John Cousins are hoping to launch a bid for the club imminently.

This would be excellent news for Southampton and probably means that football betting will expect them to have a much better season next time around.