I know nobody's bigger than the club & all that, but I've certainly been enjoying the stability of the last few years - hope this all gets sorted as soon as possible.
Well obviously. By all accounts he and Markus were good friends. That relationship was never going to be replicated. I can see both sides here. Cortese has a remarkable level of control for someone with no stake in the club but at the same time he has (generally) done a very good job and I would prefer the club to invest rather than stagnate in the lower reaches of the Premier League. Speculating wildly, what does Cortese do if the Liebherrs refuse to back down? Walk away or try and find new buyers?
This is like my worst nightmare come to life. I'll find Nic at the Stoke game and present him a big giftbasket of goodies to convince him to stay.
It is my theory that Cortese already has buyers lined up , so the family will sell , he will remain chairman and we will move forwards STRONGLY . I also have a theory about the Brontosaurus , but that's for another day.........
The speculation from external sources is just silly, truly silly. However, I am interested to know why supposedly, an initial five year plan was tied together with a four year contract for the chairman. That little idiosyncrasy makes me think that this is just nonsense.
You mean the dinosaur we were all taught about in school but actually didn't exist, except in the mind of Roy Wood..?
Wouldn't surprise me, really. A few years back he stated that, if the Liebherrs moved on, he knew of other interested parties...a slightly unusual thing to say given that he is their employee, but if there's been a longstanding rift (as some journos are suggesting), it's an eventuality that he might have prepared for.
I suspect there's another buyout on the horizon. Markus's trustees probably never had any ambition to own a football club, and I don't find it hard to believe that they have little ambition with it. They need to find a buyer who, like Markus, fancies owning a football club. I'm just hoping it's not some Arab royal.
Yeah, I meant walk away from the club completely or find new buyers to work with. I say that because if the speculation is true (and it kind of fits what we know or have heard in the past) then I can't see this being resolved between Cortese and the Liebherrs. The family pretty much hold all the cards here and I don't see why they'd agree to splash the cash if they don't want to. Perhaps they'd welcome Cortese finding new buyers so they can cash in.
After scanning a list of European billionaires for a suitable owner, I have selected Stefan Quandt, German industrialist. Wikipedia says that he likes football. Willkommen am Saints, Stefan!
I don't know how many other chairmen have their own chant: "He comes from Italy, he flippin' 'ates Pompey... Nicola Cort-es-ee" (That's the PG Version)
I see both sides of it too. I think Cortese has been a great chairman for Saints. His PR at times has left a lot to be desired, but first things first, when he walked into the chairman's office in 2009 this place was a rabble. It was disorganised, lacking in structure and was heading into a League One season with next to no stable preparation for doing so. He appointed a well-known manager and supported him in the transfer windows. He has supported both of his appointments with funds. The on-the-pitch results need little explanation. 24th in League One to 14th in the Premier League whilst developing an attractive and exciting style of play. Off-the-field, he has always ensured that Southampton Football Club gets the best deal possible. He's a ball-breaker who acts with conviction and nous. What we have largely needed for numerous years. He bled Arsenal dry over the Chamberlain deal and continued to invest in the club. The development at Staplewood is coming along nicely and ensures the players have a top class base, and we were hardly providing a facility in rack and ruin beforehand. BUT, his enabler is the Liebherr Trust's finances. I can entirely understand their sentiments with regards to wanting a greater involvement in what is their own asset, now that the sums being bandied around within the elite of European football are so high. At the same time, I think it could be viewed as being a little disrespectful to Nicola. When I look at what we have achieved in his four seasons as Executive Chairman, it fills me with pride. He deserves an awful lot of credit. I think he has bought into the club, in the way that he has invested in infrastructure - and not solely focused on first team matters and purchasing well-known players. He has encouraged the club to focus on player development and has assisted the excellent academy set-up in continuing their great work with greater resources. These are a few of the numerous reasons I am keen for him to remain. At the same time, it is does not appear too unreasonable for the Liebherr's to want some control, or at least a say in the decision making process that occur within Southampton Football Club. Cortese has been accountable to no-one but his own conscience for a long time. It has brought us success, but maybe the Liebherr's are fearing that pride comes before a fall? It could also be to do with the perceptions of the club within the footballing fraternity and wider audiences. There have been well-documented disputes and feuds - which have reflected badly upon the club at times, as the club itself and Mr. Cortese are so inextricably linked. I would be far more worried about losing Cortese than I was about losing Pardew, Adkins, or would be about losing Pochettino. At this moment in time, in terms of people within the club, to me Nicola is the most important by a considerable length. He is the driving force from the very top. Dodd speaks of his drive, Jaidi, Pochettino, Lambert, Schneiderlin - they all speak of his plans not just for this season, and next season - but for the long term. The Liebherr's may be approaching the end of 'the five year plan' with a return on their mind, but in my opinion Cortese feels as if he is just getting started. To Nicola, finishing 14th in the Premier League is no real achievement. Alternatively, maybe Cortese is more in pursuit of 'hard and fast' success, in fighting our way up the pecking order - whilst the Liebherr family favour a more conservative approach. To have had the desired impact, he would want to lead us into the top 6-8 teams in the country and be competing on a continental stage. Such is the level of his conviction, I believe he would almost certainly achieve the goals that he has mapped out. Whether he will be able to is down to the funding. Cortese does not suffer fools gladly, and I believe the reports today to be far more than empty threats from his end to manoeuvre a scenario that suits him. I have no doubt that Cortese would walk away if he felt the Liebherr's had reneged on previous guarantees or had failed to support the ambitions of their father. Who am I to blame him? It would be perfectly understandable. The club has done a lot of big-talking, a lot of target-setting and a lot of aspiring. Nicola is not the sort of chairman to talk the talk and not walk the walk. If there are restrictions that he feels are going to negatively impact on the success of SFC - his apparent stand-off is entirely comprehensible. For the record, I am sure I speak for most Saints fans when I say that I hope Cortese and the Liebherr Trust can come to an amicable and appropriate resolution. However, I could entirely understand it if Cortese walked away from Southampton Football Club as he felt his ambition was no longer being matched. As has been said previously, if we could guarantee the financial stability of the club and keep Nicola Cortese as our Executive Chairman - I would be in full support of that. What we must remember though is that there was a Southampton Football Club before Cortese, and before the Liebherr family rocked up. Maybe it was in disarray, and needed a hand - but it was there. When the time inevitably comes and both parties have gone their separate ways, there will still be a Southampton Football Club. All we can do is show our support for the team and continue lending our support in the appropriate ways for the long-term, which I have no doubt we will. Onwards.
Pity..! And I had this one all lined up and ready : [video=youtube;hbwi6Ix0S18]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbwi6Ix0S18[/video]
