That's a question that can never be properly answered. Under Pochettino we won against City, Liverpool and Chelsea in rapid succession, and those 9 points ultimately were vital. We did however suffer embarrassing defeats to QPR and West Brom. All I can say is that we seem to be playing better now than under Adkins although the goals have dried up a bit.
I think we will be able to tell a lot more about Adkins from how Reading perform next season. I personally doubt he will ever get them into the premier league again, and I don't think he is quite up to the standard of premier league atm. He should develop into one and I can see him being a strong contender to take over a middling premier league team some time in the future He would have kept us up purely because we have a squad that is top 10.
i reckon adkins would have kept us up. he was brilliant for the club and it was a very harsh decision but MP is proving to be a big hit.
OK I've been thinking a lot about this and revised my opinion has chanegd slightly as follows. I think this is a power struggle, simple as that. At first I thought Cortese the likley loser, but I think I have under-estimated him (how could I?). I am fairly certain that the initial press release, coming so soon after confirmation of our PL status, was orchestrated by the Don and that the subsequent statements from Pochettino and Spider were part of a pre-planned strategy. It would seem that Cortese's position is this - I have the backing of the manager and best player and I am therefore too powerful for you to remove. Either get behind the vision or move on. It's risky, there's still a chance of the third scenario i.e. Cortese gone, but this is looking more and more like a shredly calculated risk. I now think the most likely outcome is that the Trust backs down. There will no doubt need to be some compromise so that no-one loses face, but fundamentally Cortese will have reaffirmed control of the club.
Yeah i now think that Cortese is in the dominant position and that he has chosen the perfect opportunity to wield some power over the Liebherr's. I'm not really worried about the future of Cortese's position, or the financial backing. The only thing I am slghtly worried about is that this will take up Cortese's time which would be better spent on getting some good players in.
Good comments. I think Adkins probably would have kept us up, but the reason he was sacked was because that was probably perceived to be his limit. Cortese is ruthlessly ambitious and obviously sees Pochettino as a step up from Adkins, and in many ways he is. He's a former international footballer so his international reputation is much bigger and he's got lots of contacts at the higher end of the game (Mourinho and Guardiola for example). As good a manager as Adkins is, and as much as he has the capacity to improve even more, he sadly will be handicapped at the highest level by his more humble background (though it's to his credit that he has done so well in spite of this). Personally I see Reading as favourites to win the championship next year. I think they have a good squad for that level (in fact even better than last season when they did win it), and I think Adkins knows how to get the best out of a squad like that. Will be interesting to see how he does given another crack at the premier league.
This is, in my opinion, a reasonable analysis. Add Terry Paine's comments this morning and it does seem that the whole seem that all quotes have been scripted by 'the club'. It will be interesting to see if Mr Reed has anything to say in the next 24 hours.
I think you're right, he's establishing himself as the indisputable head of the organisation, and if the Liebherrs don't like it, they are welcome to sell (to someone who will be equally convinced of Cortese's importance), but they would be mad to replace him. It is a gamble, but not one that's really out of character for him.
I really don't know. Adkins might have, but it would have been damned closer. Besides, I think Poch is going to take the club forward and Adkins was at his present limit. He may well have learned to take the club forward, but that kind of risk is no longer the sort of thing Saints can afford to do. Hiring Poch was a calculated risk, but as you have seen, when Cortese makes a decision, it is usually a bold one that dramatically changes the landscape. That's why 95%+ of the fans love his leadership, if not the man himself. Still, there seems to be quite a lot of upheaval, of late. Personally, I think the media are making more of the Liebherr/Cortese issue than there is. All parties know which side their bread is buttered and they have a good thing going, which surprisingly makes money [yep, we made a profit last year] and the higher Saints go, if managed well and are successful, they will continue to do so. That Eastern market is just dying to be exploited. Portsmouth FC seem to have entered a period of quiet, but we know the turbulent history there. Since the 1970's [as far back as I can realistically remember stuff going on behind the scenes], the club seems to have been run from low to high to another low, whether it be by Deacon, Gregory or possibly the surprising best of the lot, prior to the present incumbents, Mandaric. As soon as Brighton had Poyet as a manager they were sitting on a powder keg. Very ambitious for himself and if it happens to be with Brighton, then so be it, but I'm not concious of any sense of loyalty from him. It's him first, second and third, and then possibly anyone else. Best to get rid and get a really good manager in - Curbishley, if he can still find the motivation to do it, although I'd love to see what someone like Martin Allen could do with a really decent team. Can't leave out the Cherries. Success has brought them together, just as bringing the right combination together brought success. Eddie Howe was tailor-made for that club, and it has been like switching on a light since he returned. I think they may go further than some people think, although the PL is many years away. But they don't lack for funds.
Great response - thanks! I have never been one for any serious rivelry - banter yes, but hatred is stupid, so I do try and keep up with the goings on with the rest of the south coast teams. You guys do need to keep hold of Cortese - I can see it being some brinkmansip on his behalf. He does like to play hardball at the first go doesn't he! He really should be nicknamed Michael Corleone with how he conducts himself! As for Brighton - I agree with your comments about Gus - he is a selfish manager who was looking out for his own sucesses before the clubs. The Cherries have been value for money. How Eddie Howe has turned it around like that is unbelievable - I can only hope that the new era here at Fratton can bring the community together in such a way. As for us - we want to stay out the headlines for a while (albeit for the wrong reasons anyway). We Pompey fans are sick of the money men, the false promises and we would all be happy to finish in a nice stable mid-table position next year in League 2. We have had out Premier League tour for the forseeable and I am looking forward to next season more than any other season I can remember. PUP and good luck Saints.
He's been suspended after giving an interview saying he might leave them if they can't live up to his amibition, as I understand it.
Spot on - this was a breach of his contractual terms so the board suspended him. Kind of like you voicing in public that you want to leave your job for a competitor because your current company is rubbish. That's just not cricket.
I'm going to make some more stabs in the dark here. You say the Liebherrs might not want to keep spending money on the football club, but I can only assume it's still Markus' money that they're spending, and not their own. Markus left them with a trust, which is sort of like giving people money in a will except that you specify the purpose for which it must be used. If the Liebherrs don't want to spend any more, I can see three distinct explanations: 1) They are still interested in running the club, but simply have conflicting opinions with Cortese on how the money should be spent. 2) The money that Markus earmarked for spending on Saints is running dry and they don't want to spend their own money on the club. 3) They want the trust money for themselves and they know they can have it if they sell the club.
Trusts have associated timescales so unless that's reached a break at the same point as NC's contract we can rule that out.
I don't think it's about Markus's money. I believe whatever money was earmarked for the club is under the control of the club and the family can't get that back. The important issue is that the club is now making a profit, and the question is what should be done with that money? We can presume that Cortese wants to reinvest it in the club whereas the Liebherrs want to take at least part of it as a dividend, as is their right.
No offense, but I find the idea that Cortese is in a dominant position in the negotiations laughable. If he had leverage the contract would be signed and we never would have heard of this. Appealing to the supporters is a last ditch attempt when you have no other resort. Has anyone ever seen Katharina Liebherr at a Saints game, the way Markus was always visible? I remember when Markus died, I tried to google some information about MALI Group and Katharina Liebherr and there was very little to be found. I don't think she shares the same passion for SFC or football or the football limelight that Cortese does. If I were her, Cortese walking away wouldn't bother me a bit because I would have no problem selling and walking away myself. You can't use the club's potential position or fear of relegation or whatever as a bargaining chip when someone doesn't care about the club. But assuming Katharina Liebherr does care-- why are we all on Cortese's side without even knowing really what he wants? It seems quite reasonable to me that maybe Saints aren't quite ready for Europe yet, and perhaps it is more fiscally prudent to chill out a bit and return some money to the coffers instead of running up more debt. I haven't really seen where Saints have proven self-sustaining. We've spent a ton and run up debts at every level, it's just that the Liebherrs have put the money in. Three years ago, we would have all been ecstatic at the idea that Saints could find stability in the Premier as a low/mid level side. And three years ago, I doubt many of us thought we would even be in the Premier now. Give some credit to Cortese, but just because he's done well on his initial investment doesn't mean we should double down.
