Quite an interesting read - have pasted it below. (I would post a link but they make you charge for subscriptions, boo Murdoch, News Corp etc) Would disagree about the NA under pressure comment, but at least someone in the media has got NC bang on for a change "Nicola Cortese is unlikely to lose patience with Nigel Adkins just yet It has been a torrid start to life back in the top flight for Southampton. The fixture computer was not kind to the new boys in scheduling both Manchester clubs in the opening three games, although Southampton gave both sides a scare before twice falling to late goals and to the same scoreline. It was the 2-0 defeat at home to Wigan Athletic, however, that really set the alarm bells ringing at St Maryâs. Nigel Adkins, the manager who took the club from npower League One to the Premier League, is suddenly under pressure. There have even been suggestions that Harry Redknapp is being lined up as a potential replacement for Adkins. It sounds plausible. Redknapp took over at Tottenham Hotspur four years ago after they suffered a dreadful start to the season. He transformed the mood at White Hart Lane and delivered Champions League football to Tottenham. Turning to Redknapp would be an easy call for anyone in the business of quick fixes. Nicola Cortese, the Southampton chairman, is highly ambitious. He recognised the potential of the club three years ago, when they were in administration, and conducted the deal to buy St Maryâs for Markus Liebherr, the Swiss billionaire. Liebherr died two years ago but Cortese retains a fierce desire to keep alive the dream of making Southampton one of Englandâs top clubs. Which is why Redknapp is unlikely to get a second spell at St Maryâs, and why Adkins cannot feel totally secure in his job despite consecutive promotions. Cortese is a demanding character. The Italian comes from a background of banking in Switzerland and is determined to wring every penny of value from every deal he is involved in. Redknappâs ducking and diving in the transfer market and constant demands to strengthen the squad would be an anathema to the man who has administered the finances of multimillionaires. The difficulty for managers who work under Cortese is that his level of expectancy is higher than most of the people who run mid-sized Premier League clubs. This is someone who does not see why a top-four place for Southampton is out of the question in the foreseeable future. His biggest task at St Maryâs has been changing the mindset across the club. Investing money and building a new £5million training ground has been the easy part. Creating a sense of belief and purpose among the players and staff is more difficult but at the core of his philosophy. The doubts about Adkins stem from a feeling that the former S****horpe United manager lacks conviction that the club can make a rapid impact on the top flight. Some in the boardroom fear that this could convey itself to the players and create an atmosphere in which basic survival would be seen as a successful season. That sort of thinking infuriates Cortese. The board would have given a lot of thought over the summer about who was the right man to lead the team into a Premier League campaign. It would have been â and still would be â an unpopular decision to depose a manager whose two-year tenure has seen the club on a constant upward curve, but Cortese is not afraid of making difficult choices. Alan Pardew was sacked two years ago after winning the Football League Trophy and his departure caused a firestorm of disapproval, but the move proved the right one for both parties. Other people are noticing the impact Cortese is making, too. Over the summer, the owner of a rival Premier club was bemoaning the lack of talented young chief executives in English football. However, he namechecked the 44-year-old as an exception. It is unlikely that Adkins is in any immediate danger. At S****horpe, he made the implausible leap from physiotherapist to manager. He has the potential to grow in stature as the team find their feet among the big boys. After the international break, Arsenal at the Emirates are the next opponents, capping an unforgiving start, but the next phase of the season should offer the chance of regaining momentum. The signing of Gastón RamÃrez for £12 million was a statement of intent, too. The Uruguay forward had plenty of suitors over the summer and it was something of a coup to attract the 21-year-old to St Maryâs. Despite the start to the season that leaves them bottom after three games, there is much to feel positive about at Southampton. Someone, somewhere, will panic and turn to Redknapp over the autumn or winter to revive an ailing club, and it will probably work. But when the call is made, it would be very surprising if it was Cortese and Southampton on the end of the line. "
Well, that article got the Club, the Man, and situation spot on. A nice piece of journalism. Makes one feel slightly light headed to have read such common sense.
Can't - it's subscription only. I had to subscribe to get a copy, it was either that or type it out word for word out of the paper - £2 a month subscription won
Premier League chairman talking to the media? My guess is Dave Whelan. Great read though, thanks for posting.
I'm sure you are allowed, but will you do it..? Off the top of my head, the only persons who spring to mind about the comment would be Dave Whelan from Wigan, or John Madejski from Reading.
made me laugh when old twitchy was linked with us. He just throws the checkbook at problems, NC would never employ a manager like that
No StG, it's a special book from the USA where there are pages and pages of little empty boxes that we Brits might fill with ticks, and the Americans would write checks. You really must try to keep up, Godders. Your old ways of using British English and correct spelling just will not do in today's society. And put that environmentally friendly book down, and buy a new environmentally unfriendly Smartphone or Kindle instead. You'll be helping the US or Korean economies, whichever one you pick.
The startling thing is that the one problem is that Nigel may be too negative!! The piece about Redknapp came out in The Star. We know that Cortese prefers not to respond to press speculation, but does speak occasionally to The Times. This may be the result of a nod from Cortese to this journalist.
Fran - can you blame NC for only talking to "Real" journo's from "Real" newspapers and not the daily rags that seem to take centre stage?
Shows good sense as everything is twisted. He also said if he responded to everything he'd never get anything done. When a fan twittered to Sibley that someone should reply to the Harry rumours, he replied that he was going to say the same to Cortese. This article may be the result, though it is not a pure puff piece as it does question Adkins' positivity.
I liked that, a very good read. The key line for me is: "After the international break, Arsenal at the Emirates are the next opponents, capping an unforgiving start, but the next phase of the season should offer the chance of regaining momentum" We've known this since June and so has NC. The 6 games after the Emirates are when he, and we, will have a better indication of how NA and the team will adapt.
Agreed FLT a good performance against Arsenal and a home win against Villa and the moaners will calm down a bit. For a while anyway.
I don't want to see Adkins sacked but if we bring in Redknapp, I wouldn't be too displeased. He did an awesome job at Spurs and he was unlucky to get sacked. He didn't throw the chequebook at problems there, the problem was he had David Levy who's meant to be a bit of a twat.
Cortese and Redknapp are so different. It would be a match made in hell. Adkins is doing a fine job with the players he has at his disposal.
