Been away, so coming to this late, but regarding Cortese;
I was speaking with a friend who is fairly high up in a non-playing department at saints (admittedly this was in the summer and pre takeover completion), he was considering leaving the club because of the lack of direction that he felt had permeated all levels of the club.
He was quite nostalgic for the times under Cortese, whom he admitted was “a complete bastard to work for, but at least his vision for the club was very clear and everyone knew what they were working towards”.
Personally speaking, I am glad he was here and I am grateful for the path he set us on, but I don’t miss him. I think the current board have done/are doing a decent job and the trajectory that Cortese had us on was always going to be impossible to keep to.
Agree with your view. I think its easier to have a clear vision that everyone gets when you are -10pts at the botton of D1
Being top 10 EPL and trying to step up is damn difficult (and possibly not anything like as much fun)

