Are Nicola's ambitions for our football club just plain ridiculous and that we will never be anymore than a small provincial club just about surviving in the PremierLeague? Should we as a football club accept a low opinion of our position in footballs hierarchy? Or should we buy in big time to Nicola's vision of Saints as one of Englands top clubs with ambitions to match those of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United? If Nicola's ambition is to succeed will it require all of us fans to raise our hopes and expectations?
It wasn't so long ago that Manchester City were in the 3rd tier, and they haven't done so badly since.
Nicola encouraged ML to buy SFC because he could see the potential to carry out a plan he'd probably been thinkng about for some time. It was easier to buy a club in trouble that had a decent stadium and a large catchment of fans than buy a small club and build everything from scratch. We had been a PL club and had everything to support being one again. Nicola is said to have no interest in our history...I would say he is not held back by our history. He can see no reason why we can't be a top six side with regular European forays. This is why he may do unpopular things like sacking Pardew and Adkins. He believes in his dream and, so far, we have no reason to distrust him. In fact, we have every reason to support him.
I can't see where the problem is. What does it cost the individual supporter to believe that the head of the football club is trying to take it into areas it previously only managed in the early 1980's..? The only thing I can see is that your friends laugh you if make the mistake of spouting off to people in the pub. Big deal. Take the chance and enjoy the ride. Besides, isn't being a football supporter all about belief..?
The problem could be the same as the lot down the road. They believed their own hype and as a result never stood back and though hang on isn't this too good to be true and demanded more information about the finances. Theres nothing wrong with hoping to achieve but we shouldn't think we have a god given right to success and not question how we get it. Another thing to think about is that every club in the country wants success our ambition isn't really very unique. The only thing which matters is how we go about realizing that. A club our size realistically could never win the league or be at the very top without huge investment which doesn't really excite me. The prospect of being able to hang on to most of our talent and climb up the table with the philosophies we have at the moment for me is much more exciting than just spending obscene money to get to the very top.
I think this is where Cortese's plan is so exciting. Although we spent a lot of money comparatively in League 1 and the Championship, throwing huge money at the problem is not Nicola's plan. He wants the club to be an exemplar in all areas. He has seen where he thinks football has gone wrong and wants us to be a team that brings youngsters through to the first team and also to sell good but unwanted youngsters (for income). We ar the perfect fit for his plans having already decent facilities and a history of a strong academy (thanks to Lowe...credit where it's due).
Yes credit to Lowe for setting the academy up, but it's Cortese's vision which sees us keeping all the best products of the academy rather than selling them on to Arsenal or Spurs (or Chelsea Mr. Shaw). This is where the backbone of the first team will come from within the next 3-4 years, and it's a prospect that fills me with immense pride. If we can achieve consistent top-half finishes in the Premier league, with occasional European forays, based on 50% home-grown talent, we will have done something very few clubs have ever done.
I ticked the second box and for any Liverpool fans about to dive in and call us arrogant, I did that because anything is possible in life. Impossible is just two letter from possible. For anybody doubting this could happen and thinks we are too small, please go and read the following book: "The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro". Google it and read wht it's about. A small Italian, mountain village with a population of 4,000 that has a football rise from non-league to Serie B. An amazing story. Closer to home, think Wimbledon; think Wigan, even think Watford.
Oh come on laces , you can't put CBK in the same bracket as GMI. He's just angry over the Adkins sacking. There's a big difference in those two.
When I mentioned Man City, I didn't mean I think we should follow in their footsteps of obscene spending. We have a far bigger vision than simply that, as others have mentioned it is a vision to see the team we have develop and grow over time, fueling the hunger for success right from the youngest teams in the acadamy through to the first team. One reason losing Adkins was such a sucker punch for us was that we were enjoying him grow as part of the team, but unfortunately as with some key players from the past couple of seasons, we have moved on and we now look forward to fueling that hunger for success with Pochettino. Manchester City was just a point that a team can come from relative obscurity and go on to achieve success; the difference is that we want to build success from the roots, not buy success.
NC's ambitions are very possible there is no reason why we can't be competing at the top end of the table, my only concern is we are trying to become a top 6 club before we have become a top 12 club.
I've got mixed feelings about this, to be honest. I've seen lots of lifelong Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal fans priced out of supporting their teams in recent years, and fear the same thing happening to us. A season ticket at The Emirates or Stamford Bridge won't give you much change from a grand, and when White Hart Lane gets redeveloped, you can guess who'll be shelling out for that. I'll take being competitive over being patronised any day, but It does depend on who's paying the wage bill for the squad of super stars we're supposedly aiming to recruit. I didn't grumble much when my season ticket in the Chapel went up by £200 quid last year, but the family next to me for the last 3 seasons aren't there anymore.
Kitch, not many people announce top 12 as a target and getting to top 6 as a target will mean moving from bottom half team to a top half team and then into top 6. Every plan has an end goal (top 6) and has stepping stones in between. For us the stepping stones such as not fighting relegation, top 12, top half, top 6... will be part of that journey. I don't think from listening to Cortese, that he is saying our target is top 6 next season. He is saying that our target is to become a top 6 team eventually. He may even have mentioned in 3 to 4 years time in the interview, but I'm not sure. His ambitions are good though.
In 1959, Liverpool FC crashed out of the FA Cup to non-league Worcester City. They were on a run that would take them up from the old Division One. A guy called Shankly said that they were going to be one of biggest clubs in England, Europe and the World! People laughed. 18 League titles, 5 European Cups .... etc etc. There is no reason why we shouldn't dream.
In 1959, Liverpool FC crashed out of the FA Cup to non-league Worcester City. They were on a run that would take them up from the old Division One. A guy called Shankly said that they were going to be one of biggest clubs in England, Europe and the World! People laughed. 18 League titles, 5 European Cups .... etc etc. There is no reason why we shouldn't dream.
Unfortunately ticket prices will go up, but to what level we don't know. It is a very difficult area. My ticket costs shot up this year. My ticket increased from £540 to £575 and my son's increased from £100 to £310 because he went from 10-11 years old. It is always difficult to get this right for clubs. Hopefully they'll get more for the corporate tickets.
