While its easy to talk of our success of late i wanted to talk of our recent history. We've had 2 gms who couldn't be further apart so I wanted to ask "Who is a better manager of Southampton." I understand the complexity of the question but in simplest terms......in order to lead us forward.... would you rather Nicolas iron handed vision or Ralphs wordful delegation. Note: I want to to know who would be a better leader in the future in their style of management, not solely reflect on the past. PS: Please make sure to attribute all past achievements fairly and not just shoehorn accomplishments to make a point to a manager.
In truth, none of us really know, because we aren't employees of the club, under their direct control. The mood from inside the club seems happier now than it was, and we have continued to progress. Nicola was a key cog, but just like he thought about Managers, was merely a replaceable head of department.
They play different roles, so it's hard to compare. With Cortese, it was very much what HE wanted. With Ralph, it's a lot more open between senior members (Les for football, Gareth for finance etc)
Horses for courses. Nicola for when we wanted everything started...he was a driving force for our success. Now we are settled and everything is running smoothly, our need is for a less abrasive chairman. Thanks, Nicola, and goodbye....just the way he treated managers.
It's the difference between a wartime consigliere & a peacetime consigliere. Both are required at different times.
Well thats the point of the thread really. Seeing as all Cortese's done who would you prefer him to be GM. Both have their values and they couldnt be further apart. Are we done though? I'm just asking the question that could we have done better if we kept Nicola in charge. I don't presume to answer that i just want to know everyone elses thoughts towards Nicolas's vision and single-minced drive to make it happen (regardless of the cost.) as oppsed to Ralphs sense of deliberation and negotiation.
It is hard to tell if it is all spin, but the noises coming out of St Mary's after NC left were that the club under his stewardship was beginning to dig itself into a financial situation and he was wanting more money and the same amount of autonomy to continue to drive us forward. If the investment came hand-in-hand with the continued playing success that we enjoyed in his time here, it wouldn't have been a problem, but there are no guarantees in football. Much like with the management situation, when each one has left, I thought "oh no, this is terrible!" but in hindsight we put in place the right set-up at the right time to continue to drive us forward.
Cortese was who we needed. The current administration are what I would have wanted. Nice bunch, in the business of building a proper good football club that is safe from harm and improving year-on-year. Plus I like seeing our Les get out more. He's done more than anyone and he deserves to be remembered as the guy who rebuilt Southampton into something amazing, instead of a **** Charlton manager. In typical Kruegerishness I feel he'd also want it pointed out that he's actually merely a member of a roots to branches synergistical management open-door taskforce equality street team, and not actually a similar figure to Cortese at all.
Could not disagree more. What administration are you even watching?!? He's clearly a player in a participative leadership ecosystem, specifically tasked with developing and enhancing core competencies while cultivating existing resources towards open communications by solutioning cross-platform strategies to link silos and incentivizing stakeholders to create a win-win framework.
Could Kreuger have done what Nicola achieved when starting from near-scratch? I have my doubts. Did Nicola need to be so unpleasant and difficult to achieve what he did? I don't think so...a nicer person with Nicola's skills could have done as much. Perhaps we need a clone between the two of them.
I was happy as a fan during the exciting years Cortese was in charge I am happy as a fan during the exciting year Ralph has been in charge. Nearly summer time - where are my sandals
I think Cortese levered us to the Prem & now Ralph is nicely nuturing us along even further. Cortese did brilliant & Ralph to-date has done very nicely. It cetainly wouldn't have worked the other way !!
Cortese was a banker once. Krueger was an athlete once. So there's no doubt in my mind whose motives I'd trust. Cortese might have been effective, but I suspect he was a bit of a rotten sod, and I like to think that in the end rotten sods get their comeuppance. So it's probably best he is away from SFC when he eventually collides with his karma.
Yes he probably could have - by using Reed and Rogers more effectively than Cortese did. That said I agree with the above poster who implied Cortese was the perfect war time consigliere.
After a couple more years under the stewardship of Krueger we'll have a better idea of whether he has been the better chairman for the club overall, but the two men couldn't be more different. I don't believe Krueger could have levered Saints from League One to the Premier League in very nearly the minimum time, if maybe at all, but at the moment I think he is very nearly the ideal chairman for the club as it stands right now. What both men share is the audacious thought that Saints don't know their place in the football hierarchy. Cortese fostered that and, up until now, Krueger has maintained it. Ralph's best maybe yet to come.
Ralph's main success has been improving Saints link with the community (which suffered under Nicola), but he has also been given the job of improving our commercial side which is lamentable. Jury is out on that.
That's bloody joke piracy that! Your post picks up all the bloody likes and mine up there with sod all! Bugger the lot of you!
