But the stuff you are saying is speculation as well. Due to the fact no one knows why Cortese left? It could be he wants a new owner or it could be like you said or it could be some other reason. But the point is we do not know why he left.
Beyond the finances (where they've drawn considerable, deserved ire), the Glazers have little hand in the operations of the club. By most accounts, they set the budgets, and that's that. Similarly, FSG doesn't appear to play a large role in the day-to-day of Liverpool, and a strong non-ownership executive is the norm in a lot of the rest of the world...the few North American owners who take an active role are generally the target of considerable derision (see: James Dolan and the New York Knicks, Donald Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers, Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, etc). It's not exactly more speculative than suggesting that the decision-making process is as it has been, and the Southampton Way continues unfettered. However, we do have quotes from various involved parties that they considered Cortese an integral part of the club and their commitment to it, which for me raises it above the level of idle speculation.
Occam's Razor. I'm not speculating anywhere near as much as some are. The latest (non-hysterical) reports are that Liebherr isn't looking to sell, and just had an issue with Cortese's management style. Which seems a lot more plausible than some of the wild theories about Cortese resigning just so he could do an Obi-Wan and come back more powerful than ever before.
Well Liebherr has said she won't sell. But who knows if this is just to stablize the club until the end of the season? We don't do we? I am just happy for now we still have Pochettino and the players we want to keep. What comes at the end of the season who knows.
The Glazers are extremely interfering. They have taken almost every penny that club makes to pay off the loan they used to buy it. The repercussions of that (they haven't spent enough on players ever since they took over) are now apparent. John Henry is infinitely more vocal than the Liebherrs have ever been ("what are they smoking at the Emirates", for example), and it's difficult to believe he is any less vocal in the boardroom. I think you and me have different ideas about what is considered "active". You simply won't find anyone anywhere who is less hands-on than the Liebherrs have been. Cortese has been given a completely free reign until very recently and in May when some questions were asked he threw his toys out of the pram in a big way. Things don't change direction without some external force acting on them. Without evidence of that, I have every reason to presume the direction of the club won't change. Well we can only judge by what has been said. I have no reason to disbelieve it.
I'm not going to claim any knowledge either way but I don't think suggesting Cortese would leave and come back with another backer is necessarily a wild theory. Here's a quote from Cortese from 3 years ago. "If there's any lack of commitment [from the family] we have a plan B. I know people with money who would have the same attitude as Markus who would join us on this. " Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southampton/9269293.stm
I'm aware of those comments, but they don't seem to apply in this context. He was asked what would happen if the owners wanted to sell, after Markus's death. He was not asked what would happen if he himself were to leave. There doesn't seem to be a lack of commitment from the family, Pochettino and the other staff have been given Ms Liebherr's full backing. If Cortese was still chairman and the club was put up for sale, his first instinct would be self-preservation. He would try and stay in control of the club, so his comments about finding other people with the same attitude as Markus make sense. But that's not the situation he is in now. He may have thought of himself as the driving force of the club (and he's not alone), but at the end of the day, he was employed by the Liebherr family and he didn't act as they wished.
Don't worry, I'm not dead. Just been finishing off an exhaustive piece on Cortese's legacy, Liebherr's investment and Katharina's ascent to the helm of the club. Documents everything from the last 48 hours, and I think it's a balanced appraisal of what has happened and where we go from here. I hope you'll give it a read later.
Indeed, they exercised control of the finances, and as I mentioned, they did so in a fashion that rightly drew ire. But they have not played much role in its operations as a football club. When I talk about active versus non-active, I'm not talking about reclusive versus omnipresent. I'm talking about having a direct hand in the operation of the club, something that appears to be the primary point of contention here. Save for setting the budget, the parties involved in the management of the operations of the football club should have free rein...when it is otherwise, things tend to get messy. Having the executive of the club depart would seem to indicate a change in direction to me, but we shall see.
The latest reports are that Liebherr isn't looking to sell but it doesnt matter if it is corner shop to football club if the price right then you sell and move on as they say money talks
I'm not talking about the owner's personalities, but not knowing how these boardrooms really operate, that's really all we have to go on. It's not unreasonable to presume that an outspoken owner will be outspoken (and thus controlling) in the boardroom as well. As for the Glazers, I can't really comprehend how what they are doing can be considered hands-off. The money they take has crippled that club. That has a huge impact on its football operations. The Liebherrs have taken nothing at all from Southampton. Well, Pochettino himself says that he has not been informed that his role is changing, so he has to assume it isn't. I think that's a pretty good attitude. Until we hear anything to the contrary, we can only assume that everything is carrying on just the same. Getting agitated about something that may not ever happen doesn't make much sense to me.
Cortese may have been employed by the Liebherrs but saying "he didn't act as they wished" makes it sound as though he was sacked. He resigned and the club statement said the Liebherrs wanted him to stay. It's widely accepted that, Markus aside, the Liebherrs have no interest in football. They're primarily business people and there's very little money to be made in football. Cortese convinced Markus to buy the club so the original "vision" for the club came from Cortese. The Liebherrs clearly aren't committed to Cortese's vision any more so I don't think you can say it's wild speculation to suggest he might find try and someone else to buy the club. I wouldn't say I expect him to return but it wouldn't surprise me if he did.
Why would it be a "rival" bid? First, I doubt that NC could front a consortium as he doesn't have the cash. He'd be getting a group of owner/investors together to buy the club and they'd agree to keep him on. But anyway, if KL is perfectly happy to sell the club then why does NC have to resign? She is a paper owner and Cortese actually runs things. Therefore it would be perfectly natural and within the scope of his duties if she were to say "Listen, I want to sell the club. As my chief executive and right-hand man in charge of head-honchoism, go find me a buyer." NC finds some buyers he likes, KL sells. Simple. Is it inconceivable that Cortese returns? No. I agree that it's unlikely but not inconceivable. He obviously really wants to run a football club, and I think he likes what he built at Saints and probably does feel some personal affinity for the club as well. But I don't think that was the reason for any of the weirdness from yesterday.
Again: finances versus operations. The Glazers effectively mortgaged the team. That is bad. They have not played any sort of role in the operation of the club on a decision-making level. That is what I refer to. The Liebherrs, likewise, have assuredly had control of the purse-strings prior to this. Exerting additional control appears to be what led to Cortese resigning. No one is suggesting Pochettino's role is changing. I am however suggesting that he's likely going to be more likely to take opportunities elsewhere with Cortese having departed, because he has said that very thing in the past.
Super Nic has the pick of some pretty decent clubs around Europe to work for, sadly I think the next news we hear of him with be just that.
