I will admit I was one of those who jumped on the Cortese bandwgon when he left. I will at this moment in time hold judgment and see what has happened by the end of the summer transfer window. I think that will give us a clearer picture. I don't think much apart from the new chief exc will be instated. Not even sure if we will dip into the TM.
Sent a message off to Matthew Dunn of The Daily Express the other day when he wrote his piece, he's just sent me something back. "Only Liebherr can say nailed on but Williams is clear 1st pick & #saintsfc mad. Delay only while Liebherr finds her feet."
I've read all the positive comments about him but the niggling thought that keeps coming back into my head is his record appointing managers. As well as fat Sam, didn't he employ Paul Ince? Having said that if he nails down Poch, all will be forgiven.
For the record, managers at Blackburn Rovers under John Williams: Roy Hodgson Brian Kidd Graeme Souness Mark Hughes Paul Ince Sam Allardyce Tony Parkes always seemed to stay at Blackburn, and filled in as caretaker when needed. Steve Kean was appointed shortly before Williams resigned. He apparently was not happy that Venky's wanted Sam out and Kean in.
How many of those were while Jack Walker was there. Under him I wouldn't think resources were that limited. That list doesn't exactly say "wow" to me. Again, let's hope he keeps Poch long term.
Walker died in August 2000, when Souness was in charge. Sounness was appointed in March and left in 2004.
Williams was of course at Blackburn as the Chief Exec and Chairman, and was there since 1993. Prior to him becoming Chairman he was the Chief Exec. During that time he appointed... Ray Harford Tony Parkes Kenny Dalglish was there when he joined the board.
All extremely worrying appointments â with Roy the only one there who is passable. The thing is, some clubs (West Ham, Blackburn, Stoke) have a culture that suits journeymen managers and players, so I hope thatâs all that was about. Saints donât have that culture, and are on a defiantly different path, so I would hope that an intelligent and responsive Chief Executive would be sensitive to that; as well as having an inkling as to the fansâ opinions on certain managers. If we start following a West Ham-style survival model, I will well and truly go into a deep depression and lose interest in football. Canât see it happening if a Saints fan.
At least some of you will be delighted we might get the stripes backs. Only downside is that it will likely be with another awful mass-produced adidas template.
This is not a sarcastic question but what exactly do Blackburn fans think he did well because if he had any influence over manager appointments, that doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. Managerial appointments was, for me, Cortese's biggest strength. That is not to diminish all the other good work he did but he had a knack for choosing the right manager for the right time.
Hopefully he can get Poch to extend his deal making our worries about managerial appointments redundant.
Pinning Mauricio down (be still my beating heart) will give me the most confidence that we are staying on the same path. You know what you are getting with him. Only a better offer could stop him extending his contract with us.
That screams "I like a traditional British manager to me" - not the most exciting prospect, I must say....
So, genuine question: Given that his managerial appointments seem a bit dubious, what fantastic things did he do for Blackburn that make the fans sing his praises?
