I have still got this feeling that NC is angling for a take over bid , not sure if it is a good or bad thing , but why be interviewed NOW ?
Take over is only possible if a club or any business is in financial trouble and/or up for sale. SFC is privately owned, so no one can even pick up shares and force the sale.
On the Shaw/Lallana thing they are merely towing the company line. In reality Shaw is probably being handled rather than advised by family / Agents etc. and may well not be sure what he wants himself. I suspect Adam 'wanted to retire at Saints if they want me' was being honest at the time and- was him assuming he was at or nearing his best and that he thought Saints would be the pinnacle of his career. When he went past what he was expecting of himself and other possibilities arose his words mean nothing now. Problem being that he did utter those words and if he agitates to leave then many fans (not all I know) will not be happy with it. There is a clear difference between the 2 though. Shaw is merely churning out the 'mission statement' just as Fonte, Morgan, Lambert and Lallana are but nevery said he wanted to retire here. Lallana did say that. The other difference is that Shaw's value to us is less than Lallana's (although many will now say blah blah to that) so in reality £30m+ is good value for us. I think if Man U come up with an improved offer (especially if it beats the Alves transfer) then it will be at the 'Bid accepted' stage and Man U can talk to the player. Lallana on the other hand is worth more than any team is going to offer. Liveprool aren't going to go past £25m and I think if he wants out he will have to agitate to get it. That will look even worse after the 'I want to retire at Saints if they want me' statement. I still think Shaw will leave because the transfer fee will be good value to us. I don't think Lallana will leave because other teams won't offer what we want for him. Not sure on Pochettino but I suspect that he would see the Spurs option in a much more favourable light than Saints fans do.
Who even says Mauricio is first choice? I think he is on a list and someone could rise above him any day. I see him more as a back up for Spurs.
May be he thought best to wait till he cooled off...or he saw the chance when we appear in disarray (I say appear because nobody knows really). Or he is seriously interested in getting back into football.
The day Nigel was sacked I was on my way to attend a funeral when the news was announced. It cast a gloom over the whole proceedings.
Ben Smith says a lot of things. Not saying he is coming back, but it would be stupid to even announce he would like he would come back. It would drive up the price.
It's not on the video, but in the write up on the interview he quotes Cortese as saying "Never" When asked if there was chance he would go back to Southampton? At least his motivation for this interview is clear. He wants to return to football and indeed the premier league.
With hindsight the parting of Nicola Cortese and SFC seems right for both parties. Goals had been set at the start of the project and achieved. So no complaints from me. And the timing was fine. We just got on with our very good season. On another aspect Nicola did admit to missing his family. I have no idea where they were living at the time of his tenure here, but if his family was still on the continent then they come first IMO. Maybe he is hankering for a role with AC Milan and they need a guy like him (hands on 24/7) to get back to competing for trophies on the European stage.
Any transfers in or out are likely to take place post-World Cup so lets enjoy the cricket - Hampshire top of League 2 for the moment, the French Open, Wimbledon,golf, racing, rugby union and rugby league and the small matter of a WC before we all get excited over transfers.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46304753.html Anyone want Nicola's club house? Enjoyed having a nosy round the pictures.
There is a separate stairwell to bedroom six, this is the room that can be potentially used as an Annex. I think the Orangry is bigger than my flat
fair enough. the floor plan in the full brochure was too blurry to see that. edit: still means bedroom 3 has a window that appears to open indoors. edit2: maybe not, the roof level might be lower.
