Does anyone remember the pre-season friendly with Ajax before our first EPL season? We'd just signed JRod and were narrowly beaten 2-1. I remember thinking we'd exceeded expectations to get that kind of result, but being really impressed with out movement, quick passing and work-rate. NatClyne, JRod and JWP were all really impressive. Looking back on it we had the majority of the team that's just finished 8th, and I'm now wondering how much of the success we've enjoyed over the last 5 years was down to Cortese after all, and how much down to a bloody good side which has had a long time to gel and improve... Can we continue to grow the right way, without over-inflating wages (and therefore egos)?
I have that whole Ajax match on my DVD/HDD recorder. Don't think I've watched it completely through once. People can water down Cortese's legacy but the truth is he was extremely effective. Things happened under his guidance in a speed and decisiveness like never before. One of the tasks he has left the present boardroom is, can they match his ambition, drive and expertise..? If they can we'll have no problems.
We did spend more than other teams in League 1 = we got success We probably spent as much, if not more than other teams in the Championship = we got success Yes, Cortese & Adkins played a big part as well in getting us to the Prem, but at those previous levels our buying power (backed up by the academy output) made a big difference. Now in the Premiership, we've reached a plateau, maybe even the summit. We've gone as far as we can, no matter how good our academy, board, manager or bank balance is. You get into the top 6 on spending lots and lots and lots and lots of money & having lots and lots and lots of fans to back it up. Cortese knows that, hence why he probably didn't put up a stronger fight to stay at Saints. He knew he was going out on a high, before his image as a miracle worker could hit the buffers of football (financial) reality.
Do Everton actually pay that much more..? I read Everton and shoestring mentioned in the same sentence more than in any other instance in sport.
Probably not too much more; their achievements are very impressive considering. However I do imagine players Baines, Jagielka and McGeady earn considerable amounts, and Lukaku and Deulofeu probably haven't been cheap. Barkley's wage will climb to those levels as well if they want to keep him.
You know when Cortese famously said (and keeps saying) "The question for us was not if we could win the Premier League but how" He always knew how, he knows how to now... spend as much money, if not more than the other teams.
I believe even Cortese said that Saints couldn't hope to match that kind of spending because our income would never be of that quantity [though even our friend Krueger has said our commercial income is way too small and knows it can be improved massively], but believes that we can be smarter than other clubs. If you don't believe you can get there you are beaten already.
In footballing finance terms, that's all ages ago now. They couldn't crack into the Champions League, where the next level of income comes from. They have certainly done well with good management, but even with that, their fans seem to want more, to spend more. Do you really believe that Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool & Spurs won't dominate the top 6 for the foreseeable future? They are the biggest clubs, biggest fan bases, biggest money makers. Honestly believe some Saints fans have a tenuous grip on reality.
Beaten at what? Should the 86 other teams in professional football just give up because they won't/can't win the Premiership? Do I support Saints on the belief they will win the Premiership or get into Champions League? No. That would be mental.
To get to 8th place. But it appears that "we" are not happy with 8th place anymore. WE HAVE TO WIN THE LEAGUE, THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CHALLENGE TROPHY. Otherwise, what's the ****ing point eh?
What is surprising is that you don't even dream or hope for better. You can't allow yourself to do it. You have obviously been a traditional Saints fan for so long, putting up with mediocrity, that you can't even steal yourself to have some belief. Well I always hope for better. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just my outlook, and I prefer it to yours.
Doesn't matter if I dream or don't dream. If it makes you feel better by being "ambitious on an internet forum", then super-duper for you. We fans have got sod all influence over what the club will or won't do. How much it will or won't spend. Which manager gets appointed etc etc etc. You can dream all you want about thinking you are "part of the journey/project" but you are just a mush who pays money to watch a ball being kicked around. We all want whats best for our club, but you have to live in the real world... and most importantly, enjoy the good times when they happen. Good times right now for Saints, very good times, enjoy them.
