He struck a rare balance between maintainng principles and placating those around him (both players, press and board). That's what you want from a leader isn't it?
Blackburn fan at our place says he was fair and honest. Very popular and maximised their resources. A shrewd operator who was ambitious, but would never gamble the future of the club. He would never spend what he did not have. He was honest with the fans and transparent. Recognises their views and importance, and believes club should have strong ties with local people and business. Regarded as one of the most approachable people in football, and running a search for his name brings up many positive comments from ex-managers, coaches and players. A very good people person and his ex staff and players say they felt that they could talk to him about anything. He is very keen on youth development, with Blackburn youth winning the FA Youth Cup twice during eight years. Likes to build a strong togetherness with everyone at the club too. Regarded as one of the safest pair of hands in the business. Many Rovers fans regard Venky's allowing him to leave the club as their biggest mistake. One other Rovers fan said to me yesterday that if he had to give Jordan Rhodes away to get Williams back, he would. Obviously their situation is considerably worse than ours, but still a good endorsement in a business where respect and popularity is rare.
If we do appoint him, I am trying to sort a piece with interviews with one of the chaps at the Lancashire Telegraph during his time in charge, and one from BBC Lancashire.
I really like the sound of all that so let's hope he can also deliver results where, in my opinion, it matters most - on the pitch. In a lot of ways I really enjoyed our time in the Championship and League One but I don't want us going back there anytime soon. Onwards and upwards...
I would indeed but placating everyone isn't always possible in any business so let's hope that doesn't make him soft.
Well, let's just hope he's never allowed to pick a manager. Bring Cortese back on a short term loan for that stuff.
Apologies if already posted, but there was an article in the Online Fail by Martin Samuel the other day, about the impact Cortese had on the Club. Everything he says has a truth about it, if you minimised everything that Cortese did and maximised everything that everyone else did. The most praiseworthy thing Samuel says about him is... He proved [to be] an excellent administrator and Southampton returned to the Premier League through two divisions. Oh whoo-pee do. Thanks for pointing that out. On reflection, you may find this an accurate account of Cortese's era. I found it smearing to the point where the neutral might wonder if Saints might have done better without him. And we know that is unlikely. Thankfully, in the comments section, there are several replies which show that several readers were not fooled, but they are unlikely to be read by the majority who will have read this article. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...n-just-rich-familys-banker-Martin-Samuel.html
I thought this was a reasonably good read, the like of which though, I have read a thousand times before. Nothing new here really and his last line at least acknowledges that what Cortese did, he did well. What I find the best thing about being a Saints fan at the moment is the feel good factor and the success we have enjoyed on the pitch and I, like many others will be eternally grateful to NC for that. Yes, without Marcus, it would not have happened but in terms of the day to day and season to season stuff, one man is responsible and I really hope the new one can continue that.
I'm absolutely all for this guy, but as Dan said, I'll feel rather concerned should he have to appoint a manager (not least because I think Poch is/has the potential to he one of our best ever).
We should look at these in context too. - Sam was not at all a terrible appointment, having performed well at Bolton (football style is irrelevant, he picked up points, got himself over). - Ince was very successful early at Macclesfield and MK Dons, they gave a young English manager from the football league a shot. Didn't work out. - Hughes had taken Wales closer to a major finals than anyone had in years when they took him on. Avoided relegation, got to the UEFA cup and a FA Cup semi in his first 2 years. They finished 7th in his final year. Nowhere near a failure. - Souness won the League Cup and assembled a very strong team: Damien Duff, David Dunn and Matt Jansen; brought Henning Berg back to the club and signed Andy Cole, Tugay, Brad Friedel and Yorke. All went pear shaped in his final year when he alienated players and staff. - Kidd, they gave him a shot after he was Fergie's boy. Not a completely terrible idea, but that sure was a failure. Spent 20m and got relegated IIRC. Probably the only complete failure on the list. - Hodgson finished 6th, then in his second season it all fell apart, however I recall them having ludicrous injury problems that year. Really, his record on the continent is quite remarkable as an English manager so I don't see him as a huge mistake either. He had a very impressive resume at the time. There's nothing wrong with his appointments really, and in any case the whole point of this whole rigmarole is to ensure decisions are more collaborative and that we aren't a dictatorship. With Les still there and other board members it isn't going to be entirely his choice anyway. Silly koobs.
Good points James. Another thing is that Saints are a different proposition to the side constantly fighting relegation in the 90's. We are a progressive club with a great future and therefore much more attractive. We would attract a high calibre of managerial candidates.
Also would honestly just be happy to have a 'fan' on the board. Regardless of how big a fan he actually is, it makes me feel a little better about the potential for skullduggery...hijinks...ballyhoo...monkeyshines...tomfoolery and the like.
Agree with James' post, would also add this: Ambitions and football cultures have both changes. 10 years ago, fans liked the "English" approach which is embodied by values of hardwork, determination, not taking any ****, qualities qwhich a lot of those managers possess (except Ince who is possibly the worst manager of all time). The values in modern day football, particularly at forward thinking clubs, are predicated more around flair, youth and excitement. I expect a man of Williams' intelligence to celebrate these principles and adapt to the change
Yep, would agree with that Joey and also with James's excellent summation. It's just that initial look at the list - I think if you were to ask me to name my top ten least favourite managers, all of them would have been there. Only requires Redknapp to top it off! But not feeling negative about this at all, it seems (on the face of it) both an excellent appointment and a sensible direction in which to take things. Impressive Ms Libherr, most impressive.
Some really good argument here - thanks guys, I feel a bit better about things now. Like I said when I first mentioned the manager thing, it was a niggling thought that just kept creeping back and I can see all the good things about him. Also, as a couple of people have already mentioned, we seem to be headed for a more democratic set up so any decisions would be considered ones. I often wondered how much influence Les Reed had on the footballing decisions and if he has contributed to these then I am happy he is still here and long may it continue.
