R.I.P St Markus....Everyone who loves the Saints are forever in your debt, we will achieve your ambitions for the club and sing your name in the Premier League.
Don't think there has been or ever will be an owner taken to the fans hearts like Markus in such a short time. Never to be forgotten.
It has all been said by others, but THANK YOU! We took you to our hearts, and every single Saints celebration I try to remember the man who made it possible. In 33 years of supporting the Saints your legacy has given me my most enjoyable moments - the JPT semi, the JPT final, and the last few games of a glorious season last year. Let's not forget the unbelievable scenes against Wallsall. Your money and vision gave us that. But is is more than the money, you were a really genuine guy who felt like one of us. The image of you with your camera and the huge smile at Wembley showed us that!. I know there is more to come and WHEN we are in the Premier League I will take a look up above and say a huge thank you again for saving our club. RIP
R.I.P Markus. Gone but never forgotten, you must have a pretty good view on match days watching from up there...
Respect to the big man but rest assured your old friend Nicola is doing yourself and our club proud in your absence
I can still remember the feeling, when Rupert & Co. tried to put the parent company into administration, and the Football League didn't go for it, saying we were to be docked 10 points, which backfired badly on us. Then along came the well intentioned, if naive, Le Tiss, as a saviour, and we thought of League One days with Le God smiling over us. To be fair to Matty, we'll leave that whole affair as well intentioned. Then, lurking in the background, were reports of a Swiss-German [Markus], who was super-rich, and many of us thought about Paul Allen again, and how that was nothing but hot air. But this hot air had substance. And he wasn't hot, but cool, calm and collected, and his main man [Nicola] was a smooth operator. Immediately, we were impressed by the efficient way they went about their business. The facts, revealed later, that they hung back, waiting to see what became of the LeTiss led takeover, knowing it was underfunded and pie-in-the-sky, gave the fans no respite from their despair, at the time. But the day came when Markus walked down the steps of the Itchen Stand to the waves and cheers from the crowd. A giant of a man, looking remarkably yellow in the face [one suspected he was not in the best of health, even then], but waving back with a huge smile on his face, and a Saints scarf round his neck. We couldn't be judgemental because this bloke had literally saved us from the brink. We later heard that Nicola had talked him into it, and that subsequently he'd insisted that Nicola run the whole show. Then came the highlights. Markus would appear at every game he could. Saints were really growing on him. The club wasn't a toy to be played with, but a responsibility. He got involved. He wanted new facilities, he wanted improvements. He got them. And now, a year after he has gone, he has left a superb legacy. He's left his mate, Nicola Cortese, to keep running the show, and it's nice that Nicola refers to Saints as his baby. It's nice because we know that Markus's dream will live on totally intact, because it is Nicola's dream as well. And we're all invited to join in.
Thanks SS, that brought everything back, the near-heartbreak followed by the hope, and then the last 2 seasons of upward mobility culminating in the joy of promotion. AND IT WAS ALL DOWN TO MARKUS
