Topcat

Adkins appointment now looks inevitable. I am worried that the more senior players will regard him as inexperienced and a tool to be manipulated by Reed and Cortese. They will just not respect him.

Cortese So where do players for the first team squad come from? Answer 1. Young players from Les Reed's development centre and 2. Transfers/loans as agreed by the Transfer Committee. Who sits on the Transfer Committee? Answer, 4 people, Team Mgr, Cortese, Reed + Reed's head of scouting. Les Reed has a major influence on the supply of players to the first team. Bigger than the Team Mgr.

Rupert's guide to Football Chairmanship 1. Regularly replace the Manager/Coach 2. Alienate the supporters. 3. Alienate the media. 4. Alienate Saints heroes. Yes Cortese ticks all those boxes, within just 12 months.

Can anyone confirm that one reason things have not progressed in last 2 days is that Cortese has been in Switzerland?

We operate in an area with about 500,000 people, 1% of the English population. So yes we would be of interest to the Sun.

What is the way Cortese conducts business? Bans photographers, bans the Echo, bans ex Saints from freebie tickets, bans Trust Chairman from buying a ST, bans an installment plan for STs.

Have Saints denied it.

Agreed, Cortese is arguing over peanuts for someone to administer millions. Each day of delay loses out on another group of loans who go elsewhere. Meanwhile Cortese has turned our image into an administrative shambles and Prem Clubs just will not loan valuable youngsters here.

So why did he then hire Portaloo who was employed at another Club?

I think that the needs of the First Team should be supported by "the sports medicine, youth team / academy players, scouting etc " The First Team should come First. It is why it is called the First Team.

6. Put the happiness of Les Reed's empire ahead of the performance of the First Team. Not my opinion, this is what the Press release from Cortese said. The Football Dev & Suppt Centre is Les Reed's department.

All those saying that other Clubs Chairmen are misleading us and that the media has presented Cortese in an unfair manner reminds me of the Lowe apologists who stuck with the line that the problem was everyone else and not Lowe.

So do you also think that the Scunny chairman was spinning/lying? Is everyone telling lies except Cortese?

I interpret that £50k to £100k is the gap, not the value of the total package. FFS it is a small rounding error on the wage bill that the Manager is expected to get the best out of.

Can someone please explain what was the rationale for the ban in the first place? As an action that devalues the value of sponsorships and ground advertising it does seem to have been just about the stupidest commercial decision on image rights that I have come across.

Eddie's Chairman said that he was offered the job. Are you saying that one of them is lying?

Why Cortese is being treated fairly. 1. He has upset the media with his photography ban. 2. Upset some ST holders over his failure to adequately explain the end of installments. 3. Slighted the head of a supporters body with the petty refusal of a ST. 4. Insulted a lot of Saints heroes through some very stupid and petty actions. There is hardly any former Saints players/Managers with a good word to say about Cortese. In this matter he is worse than Lowe. 5. Is developing a reputation that is so bad that the Bournemouth Mgr turns down a job offer and fellow Chairmen regard him as a joke. 6. Put the happiness of Les Reed's empire ahead of the performance of the First Team.

There are millions at stake, so to delay things over £50k to £100k is a bad business decision.

There is the chap who works in a bank in London handling the investments for a few multi millionaires. Now just put him in charge of a football club and explain why anyone should be surprised that he completely f**k's up 1. Relations with the media. 2. Relations with some long standing customers. 3. The hiring of key Managerial roles.

Never thought I would see the day when the Bournemouth Manager thinks he has a better job at Bournemouth than at Saints.

Yes and there is no ban on media photographers, the ST by monthly payments are still allowed, Illingsworth has a ST from us and we all believe in fairies and father xmas.

I agree.

At least with Lowe we had his inane quotes to laugh at.

Adkins has gone up in my estimation.

Links to which club?