Is Cortese deliberately trying to annoy the fans.

[buctootim]

I hate to say this but I think next season is not going to be a smooth one and the bookies, although making us favourites, maybe unaware of a lot of tension bubbling along under the surface.

 

Do you hate to say it? I cant recall any comment of yours which has been positive about the management of the club in at least the last four administrations. A few on here enjoy conflict more than the game imo.

[NickG]

Not all Cortesse has done has been good and some decisions are up for debate.

 

The club is definately going in the right direction.

 

Most fans are happy.

 

Without getting too into the tit for tat, its worth remembering that some of the information used in this thread ti criticise him is made up, and also when you log on, using a different user name to back yourself up, then you surely know you are struggling!

[Micky]

Not all Cortesse has done has been good and some decisions are up for debate.

 

The club is definately going in the right direction.

 

Most fans are happy.

 

Without getting too into the tit for tat, its worth remembering that some of the information used in this thread ti criticise him is made up, and also when you log on, using a different user name to back yourself up, then you surely know you are struggling!

 

Is that happening, really? I find that quite interesting if true - care to elaborate (or even enlighten me by PM).

[up and away]

I do hate to say I told people so. Things will only get worse.

 

Look at some of the things since Cortese has been introduced.

 

- Banned the Echo ( which is the mouthpiece for SFC for alot of people who rely on it for news about the club )

So Cortese got in a huff because the Echo could not keep an agreement. And the small amount of fans that rely upon the Echo can still do so? Or have they given up completely now?

- Banned Benali

Is that the Benali who could not afford the rent on the space at St Mary's and had to move out? Or is this some other diplomatic riot?

- Slated legends like Le Tiss, Mac, Keegan et al

is that the legends that were undermining Pardew? Casting doubt that Pardew would not be here for the start of the season?

- Deliberately kept silent when all speculation about Pardew was happening.

Failed to respond to a load of old tosh fabricated by the Echo, who then canvassed the legends with bias to accentuate the mirage?

- Deliberately keeping details of the Pre-Season tour from fans ( Echo announced 3 weeks ago they knew where it was )

- Deliberately leaving press releases until 11:20pm so The Echo cannot report it the next day, for no other reason than to p!ss the paper off at the expense of the fans.

I am sure if the Echo ask nicely, they could even get it the same day? So the Echo's extending the expense of the fans. One whole day, how do they manage?

- Charging a £3 booking fee.

Go to Oxford and get done for a £5

- Charging a £2 matchday price.

Again try Oxford

- Most expensive tickets in the league.

Most expensive squad,infrastructure and salaries in the league.

- Removal of payment plan.

Barnsleys needed to be paid up before you paid for ours!

- Deliberate late notice of payment plan.

- Refusal to enter into engagement with supporters over issues.

- Creating a supporters charter then tearing it up, going against many of the aims in the said charter.

- Late notice of season tickets going on sale for no apparant reason.

Could have used that extra time to open an increased interest account for the capital?

- No Season Ticker Holder priority for cup tickets.

That comes as a big surprise. When they had early rounds last year with low turn out, sections of the ground were closed. They chose to have no priority for for common sense then, so I would believe that rational still holds.

- Trying to pass off the no sponsorship as a gift to the fans whilst increasing other revenue streams to cover it tenfold.

Think of all the money they could have saved if they never ****ed it all away on players and infrastructure!

 

There is just a few PR gaffs / customer fails by our whiter than white Chairman Mr Cortese in the last 2 months.

 

It amazes me that people can not put all these points together to get a picture of the sort of person we are dealing with here.

 

Ther is no doubt Cortese could have done things more fan friendly, but imagine he must have given up on the fan involvemet after being exposed to the likes of SISA. Such a mighty list you have drawn up, which when you carefully consider what has been delivered to us is piddling.

[NickG]

In any league, someone has to be the most expensive to watch...

 

..would it be reasonable for that club to be the one in the most affluent area, with best stadium, most expensively assembled squad and title favorites?

 

 

Also our season ticket prices are some of the best in the league.

[View From The Top]

Is that happening, really? I find that quite interesting if true - care to elaborate (or even enlighten me by PM).

 

Dave is Stu.

[NickG]

he can't be! He was the only one backing up Stu in a debate I was having and Stu was struggling!

[Toadhall Saint]

I think NC has made some good decisions over the last 12 months and some not so good ones.

At the end of the day he has all the power and is answerable only to one man, unlike Lowe he can get away with anything.

 

From where we were a season ago I think most are very glad that Liebherr and Cortese rode into town but.........various people who are well-placed and no axe to grind, tell me he is making a large number of enemies out there, there are many decent and hard working employees at SMS who are unhappy at his style of running things and there are many close to the club who think Cortese to be utterly out of control and acting like a despot. I have heard enough to be worried.

 

I hate to say this but I think next season is not going to be a smooth one and the bookies, although making us favourites, maybe unaware of a lot of tension bubbling along under the surface.

 

So why don't all this disillusioned staff at SMS say anything? They could always walk out and claim constructive dismissal?

 

I have seen no direct quotes from anyone in regard of NC's despotism TBH.

[Micky]

Dave is Stu.

 

Errr yeah - I gathered that, but they haven't both posted on this thread, which is what I though that NickG was alluding to.

[NickG]

was commenting on the forum lately.

[Chin Strain]

Not all Cortesse has done has been good and some decisions are up for debate.

 

The club is definately going in the right direction.

 

Most fans are happy.

 

 

This is about the long and the short of it. When we make our next impressive signing, I'm going to be more concerned about Cortese's row with the Echo....

[Dave Benson Phillips]

In any league, someone has to be the most expensive to watch...

 

..would it be reasonable for that club to be the one in the most affluent area, with best stadium, most expensively assembled squad and title favorites?

 

 

Also our season ticket prices are some of the best in the league.

 

Our season ticket prices are the 3rd most expensive, so not sure where you get one of the best in the league.

[Dave Benson Phillips]

was commenting on the forum lately.

 

Let's see Nick, I originally changed the name because yourself, buctootim, dulldays etc where pouncing on every single post I made, regardless of the content being factual or anything. You have serious issues with me, but alongside Dulldays and Matthew Le God, you refuse to actually step out into the real world and justify them face to face ( as I have always proven I am prepared to do ) , if sitting at home on your PC sniping at someones every move from the safety of your laptop gives you some kind of satisfaction then I pity you.

 

All along in this debate I have posted statistics, research, opinions and fact to back up my argument. It is left to petty little boys like you and Dulldays etc to simply shout people down, when clearly you don't have a clue what you are talking about because you never give reason to anything, simply make personal digs or just say "you're wrong" etc etc

 

I have proved on this thread that not a single person has any more examples of Cortese giving a sh!t about fans other than giving a baby a season ticket ( if accompanied by a full paying adult ) lol , and walking out so say hello to people queueing up on his way to his office.

 

It is the blind loyalty and the treading on eggshells that will shape our clubs future, some of the things happening might not be significant now, but wait until next year, the year after, the year after that.

 

Blind loyalty is a very dangerous thing and one that any business will exploit if it is shown from their customers.

 

Now if you don't mind Mr Nick, I have things to do tonight.

[NickG]

This is about the long and the short of it. When we make our next impressive signing, I'm going to be more concerned about Cortese's row with the Echo....

 

exactly. Wins and players are more important than what time OS gets updated.

[ericofarabia]

I must admit I was disappointed to find out that he was a bloke and not the 'long legged blonde' seen getting out of a merc aroundabout takeover time

 

Cortese Outted

 

Are you suggesting he was the long legged blonde

[buctootim]

At work. Isn't it great to be able to post whilst at work. Hardly equates to not having a life does it pops?

 

You're hilarious Stuey. On here at 7.12am yesterday, still posting at 12.49am last night, logged on again at 8.12am today and still posting now. 88 posts in two days. How could anyone think that equates to not having a life?

Edited 29 June, 2010 by buctootim

[Joesaint]

I think NC is quality, couldnt be happier. Happy days COYS

[PokingFun]

I do hate to say I told people so. Things will only get worse.

 

Look at some of the things since Cortese has been introduced.

 

- Banned the Echo ( which is the mouthpiece for SFC for alot of people who rely on it for news about the club )

- Banned Benali

- Slated legends like Le Tiss, Mac, Keegan et al

- Deliberately kept silent when all speculation about Pardew was happening.

- Deliberately keeping details of the Pre-Season tour from fans ( Echo announced 3 weeks ago they knew where it was )

- Deliberately leaving press releases until 11:20pm so The Echo cannot report it the next day, for no other reason than to p!ss the paper off at the expense of the fans.

- Charging a £3 booking fee.

- Charging a £2 matchday price.

- Most expensive tickets in the league.

- Removal of payment plan.

- Deliberate late notice of payment plan.

- Refusal to enter into engagement with supporters over issues.

- Creating a supporters charter then tearing it up, going against many of the aims in the said charter.

- Late notice of season tickets going on sale for no apparant reason.

- No Season Ticker Holder priority for cup tickets.

- Trying to pass off the no sponsorship as a gift to the fans whilst increasing other revenue streams to cover it tenfold.

 

There is just a few PR gaffs / customer fails by our whiter than white Chairman Mr Cortese in the last 2 months.

 

It amazes me that people can not put all these points together to get a picture of the sort of person we are dealing with here.

 

It's nothing to do with "Whiter than White" ..... the guy is simply a businessman and will make decisions based on business judgement including such things as cost / benefit analysis of certain initiatives balanced against the possible reputational damage for the club. If the Echo are the mouthpiece of the club then I guess they might have been a little slower to publish an article without consent in the knowledge that it would upset the club. They printed a story without considering the consequences themselves and therefore had the supply line cut.

[John B]

exactly. Wins and players are more important than what time OS gets updated.

 

Fair enough if that is all you want thats OK.

 

Others may want a club that plays reasonable football and looks after its fans and announces new in a reasonable way so that all fans can be kept up to date by all media outlets

[Windmill Arm 2]

So you asked the question why?

[John B]

It's nothing to do with "Whiter than White" ..... the guy is simply a businessman and will make decisions based on business judgement including such things as cost / benefit analysis of certain initiatives balanced against the possible reputational damage for the club. If the Echo are the mouthpiece of the club then I guess they might have been a little slower to publish an article without consent in the knowledge that it would upset the club. They printed a story without considering the consequences themselves and therefore had the supply line cut.

 

Lets face it Cortese is a bit strange really often looking for confrontation

[buctootim]

Lets face it Cortese is a bit strange really often looking for confrontation

Seriously, have you met him? Have you even met anyone who has spent any time with him?

[dune]

I have heard a rumour that the training ground revamp has stalled due to the contractors walking out due to Cortese, can anyone confirm this?

[70's Mike]

getting back to the orginal question, i am not sure what is going on first a huge increase to park my car, cannot see how clubs costs have gone up, now cannot claim my seat for a cup game.

yes i know that was the policy last season in early rounds but a local derby against Bournemouth seems a strange decision.

[John B]

Seriously, have you met him? Have you even met anyone who has spent any time with him?

 

Thats a strange response.

 

 

I just think he has been confrontational on a few occassions which does not put him in a good light.

Edited 29 June, 2010 by John B

[NickG]

Fair enough if that is all you want thats OK.

 

Others may want a club that plays reasonable football and looks after its fans and announces new in a reasonable way so that all fans can be kept up to date by all media outlets

 

not saying its all we should wish for, but majority of fans will be very happy if we are doing well. OS updates with news- if echo are 12 hours behind - so what?

[John B]

not saying its all we should wish for, but majority of fans will be very happy if we are doing well. OS updates with news- if echo are 12 hours behind - so what?

 

There is nothing wrong with it but it would be good for fans if the echo had really up to date info others are not glued to the Internet like you and me.

 

 

You seem to be a well rounded and reasonable person and I doubt you would saidthe things that Cortese has then perhaps AC Milan may not know you.

 

Just feel things could have been handled a little better

[Charlie Wayman]

Fans are stakeholders in the Club and should have a voice in running it like any other stakeholder. True or False? That works just fine for plc's for without fans there is no income. Now, we Saints fans are part of a different world, that of the privately owned business. ML as sole owner has a serious wedge of folding stuff (we are told) so NC as his executor may feel sufficiently adequately supported by ML's pile to play home games in an empty stadium if he so wished and still run the Club successfully.

 

In other words the dis-empowerment of the fan stakeholder of popular management theory. You can come along and enjoy the spectacle if you wish but don't expect a slice of the pie; when the promised land is reached certainly do not expect to rub shoulders with our new found 'prawn sandwich' friends.

 

Daft? Well, we don't appear to need a shirt sponsor...

 

This scenario may or may not be realistic but could offer one explanation of his apparent lack of interest in fans.

[NickG]

False, imho -fans running clubs is crazy.

[Smirking_Saint]

Say all these things are true ??

 

What exactly do we as fans do about it ?

[JackFrost]

Ther is no doubt Cortese could have done things more fan friendly, but imagine he must have given up on the fan involvemet after being exposed to the likes of SISA. Such a mighty list you have drawn up, which when you carefully consider what has been delivered to us is piddling.

 

Blimey they're still going?

 

Where do they hold their meetings now, a telephone box?

[John Smith]

 

All along in this debate I have posted statistics, research, opinions and fact to back up my argument. It is left to petty little boys like you and Dulldays etc to simply shout people down, when clearly you don't have a clue what you are talking about because you never give reason to anything, simply make personal digs or just say "you're wrong" etc etc

 

I have proved on this thread that not a single person has any more examples of Cortese giving a sh!t about fans other than giving a baby a season ticket ( if accompanied by a full paying adult ) lol , and walking out so say hello to people queueing up on his way to his office.

 

It is the blind loyalty and the treading on eggshells that will shape our clubs future, some of the things happening might not be significant now, but wait until next year, the year after, the year after that.

 

Blind loyalty is a very dangerous thing and one that any business will exploit if it is shown from their customers.

 

Now if you don't mind Mr Nick, I have things to do tonight.

 

Look DBP (Stu) or whoever you are, ignoring the first part of this mail cause it is nothing to do with me, I want to point something out to you that you have completely missed. I tried pointing this out to you right at the beginning, and then again on another thread, and quite frankly, I've given up. But, one more time - to what end?????????????????

 

Your complaints, justified or vilified have no legs. For example, let's say hyperthetically that all of us that have agreed with you, and there have been many, agreed with you so angrily as yourself, what next?? Marches on SMS, ST returns, not turning up to games????? It's not going to happen, seriously, most people on here, even if they agree with you in parts (which should be a good thing from your point of view), just don't care, or rather, don;t care enough ie, it doesn;t effect us enough to do anything about it, and secondly, if we did care enough, we just wouldn;t go, just like I refused to go when Lowe took charge again. Ididn;t ram my opinion down people's throats again and again, I stated my reasons at the time and then reminded posters of those exact same reasons when I was hounded again and again and again. Hence the reason for wondering if you were 19C. He hounded me teriibly, so did a select few others. But, I had made up my mind, made my judgement and took the action I thought appropriate. Getting people on here to agree with my reasons was pointless and I never tried. Some people agreed with me, some could see my point but would still go, others, such as 19C were rude, obnoxious, they hounded me in every post and followed me around. But, I just ignored them, didn;t put them on ignore, just chose to read what they said and moved on, 90% of the time.

 

If these guys are bugging you so badly, put them on ignore, or just ignore them. Also, you have made your point now, let it go, we get it, we understand, and we(I) choose to do nothing about it. I have my ST, thank you, as I believe you do too.

 

If, as you say, we wait to see next season, the next, the next etc, then so be it, we shall. Some on here were raging against Lowe when he first came to power, but many didn;t listen for years, he did some good, but in the end, it turned bad. My spin on things is that we have to treat this guy no worse than we treated Lowe when he took over, ie, give him a chance. And yes, next season, the season after that etc etc, we will build an opinion of the man behind the job. But, for now, give it a rest. You've made your point, it has been recorded on this site for future reference. Leave it, let it die, or just don't go. End of.

[JackFrost]

I think DBP should go back to presenting kid's TV

[Chin Strain]

Fair enough if that is all you want thats OK.

 

Others may want a club that plays reasonable football and looks after its fans and announces new in a reasonable way so that all fans can be kept up to date by all media outlets

 

I think the 'reasonable football' goes without saying.....and I'd even go as far as saying 'attacking, attractive football'. I want to see us win, and win well.

 

As NickG said, sure, Cortese has made some mistakes, and I was one of those that did instalments last year...but more because it was simple to do and 0% interest - financial sense. I'm lucky that I didn't really need to and could pay in one hit this time.

 

IMHO the Echo have got what they deserve as their reporting is becoming more and more 'sensationalist' over the last 12 months. Lazy journos who pick up their 'news' from here by the looks of things.

 

As for everything else that you hear - I'd be oblivious to it if I wasn't a user of this forum. You read a lot on here about him, but there's never really any fact to how he is, other than 'a mate of a mate knows someone who works at the club and....' Is he a bit of an ogre with an ego? Probably - as all business leaders can be. Is he a proven winner? Yep. Sure, I hope he'll mellow a bit, but I'm looking forward to the new season and trust that we'll buy the right players to get promoted as champions. That's my primary concern atm.

[doggface]

Cortese quite clearly, is not making any friends and this has been apparent for some time.

 

I am eternally greatful for nc&ml investment & things seemed too good to be true.

 

After initially & naively thinking he is untouchable, I have now accepted he has poor communication skills & is a dictatoral tyrant.

 

I just hope he is a sucessful tyrant.

[Chin Strain]

Look DBP (Stu) or whoever you are, ignoring the first part of this mail cause it is nothing to do with me, I want to point something out to you that you have completely missed. I tried pointing this out to you right at the beginning, and then again on another thread, and quite frankly, I've given up. But, one more time - to what end?????????????????

 

Your complaints, justified or vilified have no legs. For example, let's say hyperthetically that all of us that have agreed with you, and there have been many, agreed with you so angrily as yourself, what next?? Marches on SMS, ST returns, not turning up to games????? It's not going to happen, seriously, most people on here, even if they agree with you in parts (which should be a good thing from your point of view), just don't care, or rather, don;t care enough ie, it doesn;t effect us enough to do anything about it, and secondly, if we did care enough, we just wouldn;t go, just like I refused to go when Lowe took charge again. Ididn;t ram my opinion down people's throats again and again, I stated my reasons at the time and then reminded posters of those exact same reasons when I was hounded again and again and again. Hence the reason for wondering if you were 19C. He hounded me teriibly, so did a select few others. But, I had made up my mind, made my judgement and took the action I thought appropriate. Getting people on here to agree with my reasons was pointless and I never tried. Some people agreed with me, some could see my point but would still go, others, such as 19C were rude, obnoxious, they hounded me in every post and followed me around. But, I just ignored them, didn;t put them on ignore, just chose to read what they said and moved on, 90% of the time.

 

If these guys are bugging you so badly, put them on ignore, or just ignore them. Also, you have made your point now, let it go, we get it, we understand, and we(I) choose to do nothing about it. I have my ST, thank you, as I believe you do too.

 

If, as you say, we wait to see next season, the next, the next etc, then so be it, we shall. Some on here were raging against Lowe when he first came to power, but many didn;t listen for years, he did some good, but in the end, it turned bad. My spin on things is that we have to treat this guy no worse than we treated Lowe when he took over, ie, give him a chance. And yes, next season, the season after that etc etc, we will build an opinion of the man behind the job. But, for now, give it a rest. You've made your point, it has been recorded on this site for future reference. Leave it, let it die, or just don't go. End of.

+1

[Dr Who?]

Nice try, but I am after examples of Cortese showing good PR and engagement / respect towards supporters.

 

I am sorry but it is a business, you are never going to please everyone at a football club. Yes supporters are the customers, but it is not like a normal business as us mugs will turn up through thick and thin no matter how we are treated. (Sad but true). NC has a job to do and that is to run the club as he thinks best. He will live and die by this but he is running a league one side and some of these 'ruthless' choices are not going to be popular. At the end of the day as long as we play good football and get promotion, and get back in tHE top flight in the next few seasons everyone will be very happy!!

[ottery st mary]

I am a very happy Saints fan and very grateful to ML, NC and Pards and his staff.

 

A great football club being run by a very pro outfit.

 

We will have a great season and get promoted with lots of success in the cup competition.

 

Transfers incoming very shortly..sum starrrs....... with a great bunch of lads updating the training ground and ahead of time

 

NC you are a God to me and many of the faithful....What a truly great man.

 

Mr Cortese..we ALL LUVS you..

COYRs and the luvvverly Red sash.

[aintforever]

I am sorry but it is a business, you are never going to please everyone at a football club. Yes supporters are the customers, but it is not like a normal business as us mugs will turn up through thick and thin no matter how we are treated. (Sad but true). NC has a job to do and that is to run the club as he thinks best. He will live and die by this but he is running a league one side and some of these 'ruthless' choices are not going to be popular. At the end of the day as long as we play good football and get promotion, and get back in tHE top flight in the next few seasons everyone will be very happy!!

 

My guess is that they do not want to many fans with Season Tickets because they make more per game from tickets sold individually. Cortese is assuming that we will be top of the league and SMS will be packed regardless. And he's right, if we do run away with it then they will make more money by having fewer Season Ticket holders. Also by not selling Half STs the club can sting fans for the more expensive "new" STs the season after in the Championship.

 

The problem is if we start slow then attendances will be a lot lower. I'm not that bothered by the payment plan thing in itself just disappointed in the club's attitude.

[lordswoodsaints]

Which is exactly what will happen.

 

This forum is not a good guage of customer satisfaction, as it is comprised nearly exclusively of the " I will renew whatever the costs " group. There are 3 groups in any type of sales.

 

a) Those that will, regardless.

 

b) Those that might, but need convincing by advertising, marketing, an offer, good value, big signings, good PR etc etc

 

c) Those that won't.

 

 

The club/Cortese are making absolutely no attempt with those in group B , no advertising, no marketing, no renewal packs, no installment facility, no publicity on the OS, no signings etc etc... they generally seem to think that the people in group b will just turn up and pay their money, which they won't.

 

It is quite a strange tactic by the club, one that no other club that I know of has ever tried. I think that no other club has tried it before for a reason... they know it won't work.

 

Agree that the attitude will put off a lot of people.

 

I however have served my time as being a loyal supporter no matter what sh!t is thrown at me (40+ years) and now it's time for me to take it easy, age combined with better things to do have made me not too bothered either way,I will pick and choose which games to goto.

Good things are happening at saints and people will feel the need to be part of it but to me,it ain't worth the stress unless I feel like it.

[Dark Munster]

I do hate to say I told people so. Things will only get worse.

 

Look at some of the things since Cortese has been introduced.

 

- Banned the Echo ( which is the mouthpiece for SFC for alot of people who rely on it for news about the club )

- Banned Benali

- Slated legends like Le Tiss, Mac, Keegan et al

- Deliberately kept silent when all speculation about Pardew was happening.

- Deliberately keeping details of the Pre-Season tour from fans ( Echo announced 3 weeks ago they knew where it was )

- Deliberately leaving press releases until 11:20pm so The Echo cannot report it the next day, for no other reason than to p!ss the paper off at the expense of the fans.

- Charging a £3 booking fee.

- Charging a £2 matchday price.

- Most expensive tickets in the league.

- Removal of payment plan.

- Deliberate late notice of payment plan.

- Refusal to enter into engagement with supporters over issues.

- Creating a supporters charter then tearing it up, going against many of the aims in the said charter.

- Late notice of season tickets going on sale for no apparant reason.

- No Season Ticker Holder priority for cup tickets.

- Trying to pass off the no sponsorship as a gift to the fans whilst increasing other revenue streams to cover it tenfold.

 

There is just a few PR gaffs / customer fails by our whiter than white Chairman Mr Cortese in the last 2 months.

 

It amazes me that people can not put all these points together to get a picture of the sort of person we are dealing with here.

Please go back to shooting ducks, Rupert.

[teamsaint]

My guess is that they do not want to many fans with Season Tickets because they make more per game from tickets sold individually. Cortese is assuming that we will be top of the league and SMS will be packed regardless. And he's right, if we do run away with it then they will make more money by having fewer Season Ticket holders. Also by not selling Half STs the club can sting fans for the more expensive "new" STs the season after in the Championship.

 

The problem is if we start slow then attendances will be a lot lower. I'm not that bothered by the payment plan thing in itself just disappointed in the club's attitude.

 

problem is that the club are making lots of decisions which are not only upsetting some of their core fan base, but that the decisions are just plain wrong. Attendances at this level, and championship level are driven by ST numbers.

Evenif we are top of the league we will do well to beat the 23500 we averaged in the playoff season.

 

My guess is that this approach is designed to maximise revenue if we get back to the PL......... but that is a long way off.

[westofshannonsaint]

.... give him a chance. And yes, next season, the season after that etc etc, we will build an opinion of the man behind the job.....

 

it has to be said that NC is in the job less than a year and in that time he has improved Saints on and off the pitch. If improvements continue in a sustainable (debt free) way he will have my eternal gratitude & respect.

 

in regards to him not being great at PR, i'm not so sure. Any of the interview's/comments I've read seem reasonable to me, he speaks with passion, refers to the club as "his baby", and surely selling the single season, sponsorless anniversary shirt as a gift is a PR masterstroke.

 

he may have messed up a bit with the season tickets/ticket prices, I don't know the ins and outs - i didn't read the threads because there not relevant to me.

but we have the 3rd most expensive season ticket in L1, last transfer window how many clubs spent more than us? & hopefully membership benefits will go some way to making those of you that can't afford to pay for a season ticket happier.

 

this is the first "close season" that our NC has been involved in football, but his performance so far makes me think that he deserves a little trust. the lack of news is frustrating, but NC likes to do deals behind closed doors & we have to accept that. at least he isn't using the same PR firm as Lowe once did (I hope not anyway)

[musesaint]

Nice to see the mental thread season continues

[hypochondriac]

I have heard a rumour that the training ground revamp has stalled due to the contractors walking out due to Cortese, can anyone confirm this?

 

Funny you should mention that. I wonder if anyone knows the progress that is making.

[hypochondriac]

And for goodness sake why people cannot play the ball and not the man I have no idea. That used to be a policy on S4E. Why not debate the (IMO perfectly valid) points that Stu has raised without slagging him off personally. If someone else had made the same points then no one would be having a go like some posters are. FWIW no I do not think that Cortese is deliberately irritating fans. It is clear that he is running it purely as a way to make money.

 

Having said that, I do see quite a few signs (many of which Stu has highlighted) which lead me to believe that SFC could be heading down a path which concerns me. I think concerns are worth highlighting in places like the Echo and Solent etc because I believe that fans speaking out does have the power to change minds and maybe make Cortese consider some actions. It is my (partially informed) belief that Pardew was going to be sacked until some influential fans and figures related to SFC spoke out and Cortese realised how unpopular sacking Pardew would be.

[trousers]

And for goodness sake why people cannot play the ball and not the man I have no idea. That used to be a policy on S4E. Why not debate the (IMO perfectly valid) points that Stu has raised without slagging him off personally. If someone else had made the same points then no one would be having a go like some posters are. FWIW no I do not think that Cortese is deliberately irritating fans. It is clear that he is running it purely as a way to make money.

 

Having said that, I do see quite a few signs (many of which Stu has highlighted) which lead me to believe that SFC could be heading down a path which concerns me. I think concerns are worth highlighting in places like the Echo and Solent etc because I believe that fans speaking out does have the power to change minds and maybe make Cortese consider some actions. It is my (partially informed) belief that Pardew was going to be sacked until some influential fans and figures related to SFC spoke out and Cortese realised how unpopular sacking Pardew would be.

 

Out of curiosity, did your 'partial informants' know (or have an inkling) who Cortese had lined up to replace Pardew had he gone ahead with his 'plan A'? (I'm not asking you to reveal the name...just curious to know if there WAS someone lined up....I have my own theory...)

 

Cheers

[hypochondriac]

Out of curiosity, did your 'partial informants' know (or have an inkling) who Cortese had lined up to replace Pardew had he gone ahead with his 'plan A'? (I'm not asking you to reveal the name...just curious to know if there WAS someone lined up....I have my own theory...)

 

Cheers

 

No idea sorry trousers. I just know that Pardew was going to be sacked at the end of the season. You could see it was going to happen simply by listening to that Solent interview. I would imagine he had someone lined up or at least had looked into possibilities but that's just guesswork on my part.

[trousers]

No idea sorry trousers. I just know that Pardew was going to be sacked at the end of the season. You could see it was going to happen simply by listening to that Solent interview. I would imagine he had someone lined up or at least had looked into possibilities but that's just guesswork on my part.

 

Cheers for the reply. My hunch was Coppell.

 

I wonder how close the date of Coppell joining Bristol City (22nd April) was to the date that Cortese convinced himself to retain Pardew....?

[Dave Benson Phillips]

You're hilarious Stuey. On here at 7.12am yesterday, still posting at 12.49am last night, logged on again at 8.12am today and still posting now. 88 posts in two days. How could anyone think that equates to not having a life?

 

Posting at work, and now my wonderful evening has come to an end, I have popped on here for a browse. Notice a gap in posting yesterday evening and this evening... because I was having a life