Good to hear that. There should always be respect for past heroes...Nicola wanted to airbrush out anyone else's contribution to the club. He paid lip service to our past...the sash kit and our anniversary...but generally, for him, the world started in 2009. His contribution will never be forgotten and he may have been right about hangers on at the club, but sometimes he went too far. I know he was ambitious but he spoke disparagingly about our past and previous time in the EPL...whereas we know there was a lot to be proud of. Katharina and her board seem to want to get back in touch with our past and the community. They have kept Nicola's ambition, but added a touch of heart.
He turned the corridors and boardroom into a soulless bowl, that's for sure. They've been doing a touch of redecorating. It was all corporate photos of hospitality suites and the only historical photos were ones that were post-2009. Now there's all sorts up. They're also updating the international honours board, which wasn't kept up for the past few seasons. Was told a story recently that came from one of the 'executive stewards' who covers the director's box, that for three years he said good morning to Nicola on a match day and not once did he ever give the courtesy of a reply. Bit of a shame if that was the case, manners cost nothing.
You had the feeling that some Saints fans supported the Club in spite of Cortese, forgetting that he was instrumental in making sure they had a Club to support! As I have said elsewhere, NC is now in our history, his reign was like a curates egg, good in some parts, not so good in other areas. We have to be thankful for what he did do, but we must move on with the new regime.
I do support and am grateful to Nicola...we had some laughs (if we didn't actually work for him) and a brilliant time. However, sometimes he made me ashamed, because even when he was wrong, we had to support him as we needed him. That has been taken off our backs and I am happy with the new regime.
A friend of mine works in the ticket office and they weren't allowed to engage in any kind of communication with Nicola. Everyone was scared of him and there wasn't a great atmosphere in the work place.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time we had Cortese here. We would probably still be milling about in the lower divisions if it hadn't been for him, or be sold off. Anyone can take money and do something with it [like waste it], but he used it very well indeed. He has left a lasting legacy for his mate Markus. Don't forget, they were very close friends, so if the Club goes about airbrushing his personal involvement in its resurrection then that won't be right either, whatever Cortese did himself. Markus wouldn't like that, I'm sure. I'm waiting for one of them to mention Cortese's name again [in a favourable light..?], so that any remaining tension can be eased away. I admired his single mindedness and his determination that this Club would succeed. I loved the fact that he wanted Saints to go toe-to-toe with the glamour clubs and not know their place in the hierarchy. For that I will always be grateful to him and I can't feel bad about him because of that. When he ignored people like Matty and Franny, I always thought that there would be a time when that could be amended. The most important thing was getting the Club back where it belonged. And he did have a sentimental streak. He had Markus Liebherr's name placed on the centre front chair in the director's box, sat next to it every match, and forbade anyone else to use it because the spirit of Markus would be sat there. Now if that isn't an example of getting a bit dewey-eyed about things, then I don't know what is. Katharina frightened the life out of me when she decided she wanted some of the action, because it meant that Cortese, with his single-minded approach, would be out the door with his work unfinished. I was agitated because I thought the vision would be discarded, or at the very least, dissolved into something less tangible [just like the ex-players did]. Several of the cynics were able to say that they always thought it was bunkum anyway, and many who were taken-in said they'd never quite believed it anyway. So it has been very pleasing indeed to hear Koeman say Champions League in 3 years, because it re-affirms the vision. It's an aim. It's something to strive for. It's also one in the eye for the cynics. It doesn't mean the Club will achieve it, but at least they're really going to have a bloody good try. And it appears that they may be doing it on a healthier foundation. It's all I could realistically ask for.
I now see the Cortese era as a necessary reboot to SFC, where positive practices were put into place even if it was done by rough handling, it needed to be done and the 'dictator' was the best person to achieve it. Now we don't need or want a dictator, and growth can be done more naturally and I hope a genuine family feel will be nurtured. Akin to many German clubs.
Of course it is wrong to airbrush Nicola out of history, but don't forget that he was prone to doing this himself.
I can't help feeling there is a bit of the Churchill's about Cortese. An abrasive character who was the right person for the war but lacked the "soft-skills" once the war was won. Nicola will always have my respect for what he did but I am sure that it was best for him and us that he moved on.
Not a popular opinion but right now, I'd rather Cortese was still here. Frankly, we were a better team. Fortunately, the summer turned out okay and we got some decent replacements. However, I would rather have Lambert, Lallana, Lovren, and in particular Shaw and Chambers, than their replacements in Tadic, Pelle, Alderwiereld, and Bertrand. Shaw and Chambers look like they could be 2 of the best defenders in the world for the next 10 years. Bertrand is decent, but absolutely nowhere near that level. Alderwiereld is good too, but not as outstanding as Lovren IMO. Similarly, I'd rather have Pochettino than Koeman. He's looking good so far, but his previous record has been up and down, whereas Pochettino looks like one of the most exciting, young, progressive managers in the game. And finally, I can't help but feel Cortese had more ambitions than the current board. Some have written Cortese's UCL ambitions as deluded, but the way I see it, those ambitions helped keep our best players at the club, something the current board haven't been able to do. I hope to be proved wrong, this season's going great so far, the players and manager look good. Just not as good as if Cortese was here.
Totally disafree SB. Ron has already shown that his man management and tactical nous are superior to MP. Early days but the whole club seems to have a better feel about it this season. Last term it was like waiting for a gun to go off. You knew it was coming but not when!
Fair enough. The way I see it though, it was only like waiting for a gun to go off once Cortese had left. Also, I do feel it's worth bearing in mind the quality of opposition we've faced so far this season. Nevertheless, as you say, there's a good feel around the club, we're doing well, so can't complain too much. Edit: Unconvinced that RK has better man management than MP. The players all idolized MP, and have since come out and spoken publicly about the respect he had amongst the players.
Obviously I disagree with most of your points, but I'm interested to know if there will come a time when you accept the reality of what happened after Cortese left, and move on? Whatever happens in the future, we can't go back in time, so why not just embrace the present situation and make the best of it? Neither you nor I know for sure what might have happened if Cortese hadn't left, so how can you say the season isn't going as well as if he hadn't? Anyway, I'm not going to argue about the Cortese situation, but on the individuals who left. Lambert will always be a Saints legend, but if he had stayed, his appearances might not have been much more than they are at Liverpool. Lallana and Lovren were both vipers in the nest and regardless of their merits as players we are better off without their poison in the dressing room. Shaw, by all accounts, was promised a move this summer by Cortese himself, and Chambers had a release clause in his contract which the bid from Arsenal triggered. Pochettino had us playing great football, but if things went wrong, and they often did, he had no idea how to change tactics. We have seen already that Koeman does have that ability, which we haven't seen in a Saints manager in the Liebherr era. As for ambition, we have already heard Koeman speaking about plans to break into the Champions League in the next few years, the board are making noises about stadium expansion after the training complex is completed, and the majority of the transfer income has been invested in giving us more strength in depth than we have had for years and years. I feel we will finish at least in the top half of the Prem, with an outside chance of winning one of the cups, which I might remind you, Pochettino treated with contempt.
