I found myself absolutely staggered while reading that piece. For all of our Saints supporting lives, we have had Southampton FC boardrooms which have been so unambitious that they were embarassed when Saints first knocked on the door of the elite league, and practically sighed with relief when it was just missed on two occasions in the early 1950's. They continued to lack ambition when Ted took Saints into Europe on a few occasions: and as Kevin Keegan has said, when Steve Moran had a bad back injury, He, Mick Channon and Lawrie asked the board to release money to buy a top striker in 1980-81 [Saints were top but finished seventh], the board is said to have answered... this is Southampton, and we don't do that. It was that kind of lack of ambition which made KK decide to leave, and later Lawrie decided he could do no more, within the confines of the Saints' boardroom's small mindedness.
So, having grown up with that attitude, I'm totally wiped out by The Don's totally opposite one. We also know that what Nicola says he wants to do either comes to pass, is is just yet to come to pass. These are not pipe dreams, I'm pretty damn sure he means it. So I have a peculiar personal situation because after a lifetime of wishing a Saints boardroom to have more ambition, I've encountered a Saints chairman with more ambition for the club than I've ever seriously considered.
And btw, I particularly love how he dealt with Chamberlain's transfer. But every bit of the article was a delight. Absolutely superb.