I have read newspaper articles, listened to the radio reports, watched the football programmes on TV and surfed the web endlessly and I have become very angry with comments made about our football club by people who are full of their own prejudice and who are no more informed about matters leading up to Nigel’s sacking than I am. Some of our fans need to face up to a few facts. They might like to believe that Cortese eats babies for breakfast, that he kicks puppies and beats his wife and whatever other exaggerated nonsense they may have read. The facts are that Nicola Cortese saved our club from a fate every bit as bad or even worse than Pompey are facing. He encouraged Markus to buy the club and it is his drive and ambition that has seen us have the resources to get back into the Premier League and that includes appointing Nigel Adkins in the first place and he has the drive and ambition to take us even further. Yes we are all upset by Nigel's dismissal and what the papers have said about how that was handled and we know the papers always tell you the absolute truth. Nicola Cortese only cares about this football club. He does not care about you or me or Matt Le Tissier and his bitter views nor does he care about the Daily Mail or the Sun or the archaic ways of the old Pros on the telly who still think things are like they were when they played twenty years ago. He doesn't have the patience for the devious and mischievous ways the media works nor the usual games that other clubs, agents and players try on when dealing with transfers. I have the utmost respect for Nigel and I will follow his career with great interest and wish him well and success with whatever club he may manage but I am a Saints fan and for me the success and continuation of Southampton Football club is all that matters. We can sulk, we can hurl insults, wave white handkerchiefs, whinge away in cyberspace or we can do what Nigel always said: "Draw a blue line under it all and move on." So here is that blue line. _____________________
Exactly Godders the past has happened and can't change it. The future on the other hand, could depend on how the fans treat Pochettino. We've got to get behind him. There is no point in venting anger at him as all it will achieve is that it will have a negative impact on the players.
I like that St.G. I understand that Monday will be about the fans reaction, but I hope after that we can get back to the football. We can see what's happened at Chelsea but they disliked Benitez before he had even started, whereas we have nothing against MP. Don't get me wrong I'm devastated that Nigel isn't here any more, and I don't like the way it happened, but it's not right to take it out on Pottechino, it'll just be Rickie, Adam, Morgan and Luke that suffer. I see Le Tiss is back with some more quotes. I think I'm tired of hearing what everyone thinks now. (except you lot of course )
Cortese had lost faith in Nigel or at least couldn't see how Saints would progress further with him. There is a saying that you get promoted to your point of incompetence. Now we all feel that Nigel was still learning, but Nicola doesn't want to wait...he fancies us as a Barcelona-style club and he obviously feels more comfortable with a European style manager. And in the end it is Nicola we need to stay.
Why? We're a premiership club now. He has served his purpose, saved us from administration, got us up, now we can get somebody else to take us to 'the next level'. It's 'the Southampton Way'... (Disclaimer: the next level can be either directly above or below the current level.)
Personally I think this is madness that everyone seems to have swalled the bs about MP taking us to next level. Before this happened we all agreed Nige was working wonders. This squad isn't a top 10 squad its a top 15 squad at the very best and personally I feel we are massively more likely to go down now. Is that taking us to the next level?
Yes, I agree too. I heard MLT on the radio this morning saying that he thought that Nigel was probably fired because he was "getting too popular with fans" and that this offended his massive ego. Sorry Matt, love what you did, but that just sounds ridiculous!
I think it would have been more sensible to review the situation at the end of the season. The side want to do better, but it will take time for the new manager to convey his ideas and tactics whereas other teams will be settled. We will likely lose to Everton and Man U, meaning that we could go to Wigan in a nervous state before Man City and away to Newcastle. We really could be struggling by then and there could be a massive division.
Hi St. Godders, ambition needs to be tethered, you can only move forward when you are stable and have consolidated the teams position. It seems a bit of running before we can walk syndrome. Cortese saved our club but but has made it his/theirs.
Some of our fans need to face up to a few facts. They might like to believe that Cortese eats babies for breakfast, that he kicks puppies and beats his wife and whatever other exaggerated nonsense they may have read. _______________________________________________ No, but he is only human & prone to the odd mistake. He's not made many in his time with us, but this week has been monumental.
Great post Godders. And OROW, I'm afraid with very few exceptions, football clubs belong to those who supply the finances. Southampton, like every other club in the Premier League, has never belonged to its fans. We are always subject to the whims of the owners, however irrational they may be. And rest assured, whatever we think about the morality or the timing of the decision to sack Nigel, it was not irrational, but based on sound business principles. Godders is 100% correct. There is nothing we can do, it is done, time to move on.
The problem is, sacking a manager shouldn't be done on business principles, it should be done on footballing principles.
