I don't think you can exscuse Cortese's decision at all. Adkin's was the "perfect fit" for Saints and to suggest that he would have been unable to take us to another level is absolutely stupid. We will never be capable of finishing in a place that guarantees European football and the apserations of most Saints fans surely centres around beating English teams and not clubs from abroad who we might not have heard of. Southampton have always been a "famaily" club and this is why Nigel Adkins fitted the bill so perfectly. Realistically, mid-table PL would be a massive achievement for a club of our calibre and we will never match the asperations of the larger clubs. In fact, I think most Saints fans would rather revel in the fact that we are under-dogs. The disgraceful sacking of Adkins shows how little Cortese understnads the supporters.
The appointment of an Argentinian (!!) and someone who can barely speak English is equally ridiculous. No matter how good his ability in Spain, in the EPL he will never be able to communicate his ideas to the players and this appointment strikes me as having had as little thought at when we appointed Portliveet. I would much rather have stuck with an English manager who was beginning to grasp this league and who, with support and encouragement, would have stablised this club - the one thing that this club has been crying out for. Serious, I believe that we should have stuck with Adkins for about five years , through thick and thin. The successful teams always have long-serving managers. I can't see this new bloke hanging around. He will either fail spectacularly or more back to Europe - it will definitely not be an appointment that will last more than a few seasons. When we are relegated in May as we surely will now be, I think Cortese will realise the error of his ways. Yesterday's decision was as bad as anything done by Lowe. Shame on you, Nicola.