When we were in the depths of our administration, I had a dream, a fantasy really. My dream was that we would be bought by a kindly billionaire who would do things properly, that is, spend enough to do well in whatever division we were in. I contemplated writhing to Steve Jobs/Richard Branson/Bill Gates to see if they might be interested. I wanted to win because we had good coaches and intelligent players who believed in the cause. Not those who kiss the badge one week and move on for a bigger payday the next. What I didn't want was an owner who did a Man City/Chelsea and just throw money at it making us the team that everybody loves to hate. In reality, I'd have taken anyone. But it just shows you that dreams can come true. When you really stop and think about it all, when you remember just how desperate our situation was, it really does seem like a bit of a dream. One has to give credit to our administrator who never panicked under pressure and helped secure our benefactor. I guess that Marcus Liebherr started his Saints journey as a businessman looking for an outlet. Maybe as an investment or maybe as a hobby. Who knows? But somewhere along the line a mutual love affair began. Anyone who witnessed him with his camera at the JPT final will see that he was not a businessman but a fan who shared the excitement and pleasure we all did. I actually feel extremely sad that he missed our subsequent success. Lets hope that there is someway that he has been able to look down and witness it. Anyway, its a wet, cold bank holiday Monday and I have time on my hands to be contemplative so please excuse my ramblings. I am going to start dreaming about lottery numbers now.
Nice post. We obviously need a few more cold, wet Bank Holidays [no, scrub that last sentence]. Taking your third paragraph; I think, closer to the truth is, that it was Cortese who had the real dream, and he convinced Liebherr to buy into it as well, because it took more than Nicola had to do it properly. Markus, being the intelligent chap, and close friend, that he was, knew who the best person was to run his new plaything, and so Nicola got to realise his dream. It could have been as simple as... Cortese: Hey, Mark, that spare cash you got. How about we do something with a little bit of it..? You know I'd love to run a football club, and there's a beauty in the UK, that would be just right for me. And it would be really good fun for you too. Liebherr: Well I was going to buy you a watch, Nick, but ok, let's buy you that club. And the rest is history.
Similar to this. Maybe controversial but I think maybe Markus knew he didn't have too long left, and having been regarded as sensible and astute wanted to do something totally different and together he and Nicola realised an ambition with SFC. The chance to do something like that with a close friend perhaps appealed to him as a way to gain enjoyment (which Nicola states he did get) out of the club. Clearly there is a lot of business sense involved but I do think it was through a want of doing something different, or possibly even reckless (which is perhaps not the case as we are well-run) before he drew his last breath. However, I do still get the feeling that at first it was a business venture but it soon became a passion and a hobby for both.
