I have often wondered how much clubs really take notice of it's fans. When fans are screaming for a managers head despite the fact he is doing well on a very restricted budget. Or they are screaming for changes in the board room or even when they are baying at the club to spend money the fans think they have got. How much are the powers that be really influenced by the fans ravings? Going back a few years in our own history, when Southampton leisure holdings made it's reverse take over bid. A lot of fans fell under the influence of the then later chairman one Ruppert Lowe. Promising fresh finance via the stock market, plus extra financial backers, a new ground. A scouting system to rival any of the top clubs in Europe, and an expansion of the already successful academy. I have to say at this point more and more Saints became a little more sceptical including myself as his plans seemed too ambitious, in the time frame he was allowing. Add to that the size of the dell and the maximum capacity it could take. A lot of us said that it couldn't be done in his time frame with out big, big investment. The first priority being the stadium. He agreed that a solid foundation would need to be in place to achieve what he wanted. Sadly the rest is history. Although he did manage to get the ground built eventually. Was he too ambitious? Did the fans get on his back to early? Or was it failed promises (although he did come through on one) that caused his downfall? Was it the fans that really caused the board to move eventually against him. Compare the then board with our present owners. From the off they promised finance, they set a realistic time table. They promised relatively early success. Improvements to our real success story, the academy. All the things that the fans wanted really. They put the things in place to achieve theirs and our goals. How much of these changes and promises though, are pure ambition. How much is due to fans pressure?
The sad thing is, Rupes had a chance to invest & take us forward when the wee man was here. He failed us & him. But, over time I have realised that RL was not actually that bad, especially when compared to some of the characters kicking around at other clubs. If only he had stopped to look at the big picture, he might have done better.
When fans call for the manager to be sacked it probably just confirms what the board can see is already happening, so becomes one factor in a decision. Cortese is only human (he is, isn't he?) so he probably prefers to be popular than unpopular, but he has strong ideas so we probably have less effect on him than on some Chairmen. He has a plan and sticks to it, more or less, though can act when things aren't working out (such as with Pardew). Mustn't be too hard on Lowe..he did get the stadium built and expand the academy (both of which attracted NC and ML), but he let the finances get out of control. Withdrawal of our overdraft just confirmed how perilous our financial position was.
Bringing Lowe up in a thread reminds me of the verbal jousting with a certain TFLS and AntiMoaner on the merits or otherwise of Mr Lowe. To be fair to Lowe I was very positive when he first came, and things did move exceptionally fast and in the right direction, The new ground, the academy, the training facilities etc were all very positive. I always felt a little uncomfortable with the self promotion, and the sight of a podgy rich boy in his own personalised track suit with the players did make me feel a bit queasy. Contrast that with the way St Markus acted, especially at the JPT final - really humbling. Lowes downfall was really based on his limited funds, and the abject failure in bringing additional funds to the club which meant he could not, or would not back WGS after the FA cup final. Lowe also looked on the academy as a production line for sale, rather than a production line for the long term future of our club. I dont think FAN power got him sacked, but the mass walk away from attending and spending at the club certainly speeded up his demise. he should never have come back for a second bite of the cherry. He had no funds, but a financial engineering tactic to go into admin, buy back the club cheaply, and own it outright. he din'y count on the -10 points, and the rest is history. Fan power cannot sway a dominant owner - just look at Newcastle, and the furore over the St James Park name. However, Saints are a fine example of what can happen when the owner, the chairman, the manager, the players, the staff, and the fans are all on the same bus. Everything is all a lot easier, and fun!
Like above I think fan pressure should have no effect on a good chairman. Meaning that if the Chairman is doing things right then he should stick to his guns after all he has a long term plan where most fans are looking at the here and now. I've never really understood the Lowe hatred as he in reality set the foundations for what we all rave about now. I also don't actually think that it was his fault for the financial problems nor the lack of investment. I think the problem was that the board was too big and had too many differing opinions. Yes he was frugal but at the time he was looking at a long term plan and the season with the wee little man was very soon after the devastating collapse of Leeds where the same investment to improve from the 8th position to move upward went totally boobies up. I would guess he had that in his head at the time and wanted to let things move a little more carefully and then the relegation changed the picture massively. I guess after the Leeds situation he looked at his plans and though Mmmm maybe I was a little ambitious, we can't let that happen here After he was pushed out it was the 'Saints fans' that were board members that got carried away with the 'first attempt relegation' very similar to the situation at a club we currently ridcule who are 3 points behind us!!!! SO yes he may have been a tuck up ****, he may have been pompous and a smug rich little boy, but I don't think he did too much wrong in terms of the management of the club. After all we were sunk because of an overdraft that was tiny in comparison to many others that were surviving. Why our 3m overdraft was recalled when others 100m debts were not is another quesiton. There may well be a reason there that renders my statement above false however, the sale of the players, the appointment of Portaloo and the use of the youth team was actually an attempt to save the club from ruins of those that had ousted him. So I have sympathy for him in one way but would not swap our current owners for him. He wasn't that bad and had the right ideas however Cortese is proving he can actually really do what Lowe wanted to but failed. Also I think Lowe was much more of a realist where he thought the same things ambitions wise as Cortese but a less ambitious level. I now await shooting down by all and if I have missed things out then that's fair enough but looking from the outside in (being a long way away) maybe I saw things differently. Most of the Saints fans in my family that still live down there seemed to have a similar opinion though. Not of an unambitious chairman but more a 'sensible' chairman at a time where some clubs were racking up huge debts at great risk and where one 'huge' club just seasons after doing well in Europe nearly disappeared completely. I think Cortese listens to the fans with a 'patience guys you will see I am right' sort of attitude. He ain't going to do anything by impulse to please the boo boys
