Cortese kisses and makes up with the Sun

[Legod Third Coming]

On those who say that LM and MLT (especially the latter) should accept that they're no more entitled to freebies than the next man, I think the next time you question a player's or manager's loyalty, you should take a long hard look in the mirror...

[miserableoldgit]

Reading through this thread it seems to me that the bloke can`t win! "Damned if he does - damned if he don`t."

[Legod Third Coming]

Because Lowe didn't have the resources behind him to back up any ambition, Cortese does.

 

Really? Southampton have the resources to oust: United, Chelsea, Citeh, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs from those top four spots??

 

Look at the money actually spent by those clubs. If we spend that sort of money, we might have a chance. If it happens in my lifetime, I will be genuinely amazed. But I won't be handing over much of my hard earned cash to Ladbrokes this afternoon on the likelihood...

[Saintandy666]

That article has a reading age of about 5.

[Toadhall Saint]

Cortese is an embarrassment to Southampton FC. MLT and LM and all the other legends that Clotese have fallen out with and a have Saints what it it, will be around long time after that little squirt has slopped off.

Has there ever been such a "look at me" article written?

 

Where does this dislike of Cortese come from? Has he killed a friend or something?

[The Kraken]

Really? Southampton have the resources to oust: United, Chelsea, Citeh, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs from those top four spots??

 

Look at the money actually spent by those clubs. If we spend that sort of money, we might have a chance. If it happens in my lifetime, I will be genuinely amazed. But I won't be handing over much of my hard earned cash to Ladbrokes this afternoon on the likelihood...

 

Yep. We may have billionaires behind us but we know they're not going to tip all of that into a fruitless endeavour to turn us into the next Man City. We are to be a self-sustaining club, which is exactly what we were under Lowe.

[Legod Third Coming]

Where does this dislike of Cortese come from? Has he killed a friend or something?

 

I agree I do find it incredible that a bloke who encouraged a billionnaire to buy us and which has directly resulted in us being top of the Championship is not given more credit.

[Wes Tender]

"NICOLA CORTESE dares to be different and does not care if that upsets people."

 

See, Hypo and Docker; he couldn't give a damn about you.

 

And frankly, neither can most of us on here, judging by the majority consensus who share his ambitions.

[georgeweahscousin]

Circa September 2010 "Cortese doesn't talk to the media, he is getting a bad reputation, why doesn't he say anything BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...."

 

September 2011 "Cortese pandering to the media is embarrassing, can't believe he is bigging himself up BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...."

 

Same people. You couldn't make it up.

[Legod Third Coming]

Yep. We may have billionaires behind us but we know they're not going to tip all of that into a fruitless endeavour to turn us into the next Man City. We are to be a self-sustaining club, which is exactly what we were under Lowe.

 

And which, despite my love of marquee players, is actually probably the way football will have to move if the current financial turmoil results in a reduction in global debt.

 

If it doesn't and debt continues to proliferate, we will never be able to challenge the three big clubs in this country.

 

I have watched more premiership football this year (subconsciously I think becuase we're top of the league) and apart from the three big teams, the rest are a variety of inconsistent mediocrity. Sometimes good, sometimes terrible. If we can be promoted and can be consistently good, while the Champion's League might be beyond us there is no doubt mid-table, possible UEFA cup and a domestic trophy are well within our grasp.

[Wes Tender]

That article has a reading age of about 5.

 

Well, it is the Sun. What did you expect?

[Legod Third Coming]

That article has a reading age of about 5.

 

The reading age of the FT is 12 - and that, as they say, is a fact.

[Smirking_Saint]

Circa September 2010 "Cortese doesn't talk to the media, he is getting a bad reputation, why doesn't he say anything BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...."

 

September 2011 "Cortese pandering to the media is embarrassing, can't believe he is bigging himself up BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...."

 

Same people. You couldn't make it up.

 

The way their arguements change in order to place Cortese in the big bad man pigeon hole is as embarassing as it is hypocritical.

[aintforever]

And which, despite my love of marquee players, is actually probably the way football will have to move if the current financial turmoil results in a reduction in global debt.

 

If it doesn't and debt continues to proliferate, we will never be able to challenge the three big clubs in this country.

 

I have watched more premiership football this year (subconsciously I think becuase we're top of the league) and apart from the three big teams, the rest are a variety of inconsistent mediocrity. Sometimes good, sometimes terrible. If we can be promoted and can be consistently good, while the Champion's League might be beyond us there is no doubt mid-table, possible UEFA cup and a domestic trophy are well within our grasp.

 

Why is it possible for Everton to reach the CL and not us?

[Thedelldays]

Cortese is an embarrassment to Southampton FC. MLT and LM and all the other legends that Clotese have fallen out with and a have Saints what it it, will be around long time after that little squirt has slopped off. Has there ever been such a "look at me" article written?

i love NC more each time he annoys uber-fan on the board types like youkeep it up NC and rid the club of fans like this that bring us down to their levellol

[Thedelldays]

The way their arguements change in order to place Cortese in the big bad man pigeon hole is as embarassing as it is hypocritical.

hypo and docker P are an embarrassment to saints fans to be honestnot for having an opinion but they way they hysterically go about spouting it...hypo embarrasses himself so many times...and this is me saying this who has embarrassed myself plenty of times

[The Kraken]

Why is it possible for Everton to reach the CL and not us?

 

Everton have never played in the Champions League group stages.

[aintforever]

Everton have never played in the Champions League group stages.

 

They still qualified though, and according to some people you have to spend £200 million to do that.

[waggy]

Is not a statement of intent ambition?

 

'Back stabbing creep'??? at least NC has the cahoonas to put his name to what he says and doesn't need to hide behind an internet forum pseudonym

[Matthew Le God]

Everton have never played in the Champions League group stages.

 

They still achieved 4th place in 2005 on a much smaller budget than a number of other clubs and average crowds of just 36,834.

[Legod Third Coming]

Why is it possible for Everton to reach the CL and not us?

 

Didn't they actually end up in the UEFA cup??

 

Sure, we could come fifth. In a shocking season we might come fourth...

 

What I think, though, that you're missing is how much those clubs are spending on players and their wage bills.

 

The team who most people thought would come fourth in the PL this year spent £35m on a striker who doesn't get in the side. The question I'm asking is, will SFC ever be that club?? Can you ever see us spending that sort of money in the short-medium term??

 

We might be owned by a billionnaire family but have you seen that kind of spending being signalled??

 

And bear in mind that a team we haven't even talked about is owned by the world's richest man!!

[CB Fry]

Because Lowe didn't have the resources behind him to back up any ambition, Cortese does.

 

 

We do not have, and never will have the resources to back up an ambition to be a champion's league club regularly filling out a 50,000 stadium.

 

This thread is bizarre. Cortese getting praised for his "straight talking". Saying he expects us to win the league this season, and that we may pay £200k wages when we have a 50,000 seater stadium is not "straight talking".

 

It's ambitious, it's stretching, it's what some fans want to hear, it sounds jolly exciting but it is not "straight talking".

 

As others have said, other chairman of ours saying anything similar would get crucified. Anyone from any other club in Britain would get short shrift on this forum too.

 

If Gus Poyet came out and said the exact same words as Nicola here, there would not be enough mops in the world to clean up the response from the bedwetters on this forum. You people would be going freaking ballistic.

 

When the Blackburn idiots said similar last season we all laughed. When Sam Allardyce says he could manage Real Madrid everyone laughs.

 

 

 

I also remember I said I expected us to get promoted last season, and I said Cortese would expect us to get promoted last season. In September 2010 this is, when Adkins got apppointed. Plenty of bedwetters on here then slated me for being impatient, immature. Some people (Pilchards is one I can remember) were trotting out the bo ll ocks about Adkins needing two seasons to "settle in" and get promoted in the third. Settling in, bedding down, stop being so arrogant, he needs time, stop putting pressure on. All that sh it e. All that "we're so even handed, you expect too much" rubbish I had to read in response to my posts.

 

 

Well, we've heard it now. Cortese expects us to be champions this season.

 

So you can all belt up about the Championship being harder this season. And don't bore us with "we need to establish ourselves and push on next year". And if we hit a rough patch, you can forget wheeling out "well, look how far we've come, we were 22nd in the third tier a year ago, we don't have a divine right to beat Coventry City".

 

Cortese expects us to be champions this season.

 

Swallow it up.

 

Remember when you bunch of girls start having a pop at those forum posters who expect us to win every game, that that worldview is far closer to our Chairman's than your view of "haven't we done jolly well to draw three in row".

The form we have shown so far is merely what the chairman expects, not some added bonus. We're winners now. Get used to the mindset.

[Legod Third Coming]

They still qualified though, and according to some people you have to spend £200 million to do that.

 

No, but what Cortese talked about will require that sort of spending, so don't get carried away.

 

He talked about paying people £200k and having crowds of 50k being in the Champion's League.

I don't think he was talking about being knocked out in a qualifying game by Bucharest or Bahsle...

 

Listen, I have NOTHING against ambition. Not one thing. But you also have to be sensible and measured in your assessment of where we are as a club and where we might be.

[aintforever]

Didn't they actually end up in the UEFA cup??

 

Sure, we could come fifth. In a shocking season we might come fourth...

 

What I think, though, that you're missing is how much those clubs are spending on players and their wage bills.

 

The team who most people thought would come fourth in the PL this year spent £35m on a striker who doesn't get in the side. The question I'm asking is, will SFC ever be that club?? Can you ever see us spending that sort of money in the short-medium term??

 

We might be owned by a billionnaire family but have you seen that kind of spending being signalled??

 

And bear in mind that a team we haven't even talked about is owned by the world's richest man!!

 

So you admit we might come 4th, thank you, at least we both agree CL qualification is possible.

 

If there is one thing the PL has shown us is that things can change, Chelsea's Russian and City's arab could walk away next season leaving them screwed. UEFA might bring in new rules re: wages/turnover/foreign players etc. You never know what is around the corner.

[Crab Lungs]

i love NC more each time he annoys uber-fan on the board types like youkeep it up NC and rid the club of fans like this that bring us down to their levellol

 

Lol, uber-fans, wannabe on the board types. So true.

[hypochondriac]

Great post Hypo.

 

Cheers. Most won't read it though, the usual ones resort to calling me a moron etc. Sad.

[hypochondriac]

Exactly, us competing in the Champs League is such a long way off its really not worth thinking about. I'm torn between loving the positivity in this article to feeling like its a lot of hot air and hype.

 

Exactly! That is my point. Glad to see that others feel the same way.

[The Kraken]

They still qualified though, and according to some people you have to spend £200 million to do that.

 

That's true. It was a great achievement, no doubt.

 

I'm not saying it can't happen here; of course not. But I think Everton qualifying for the CL qualification stages was very much the exception rather than the rule. I also think, with the way the Premier League is right now, that it's much harder to achieve now than it was then. Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea are a shoo-in every year with the finance they have at their disposal. The you have Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool duking it out for that 4th spot. Everton, Newcastle, Sunderland, Villa etc, are really fighting it out and would consider 6th place a fantastic achievement.

 

The only hope we can have is that the financial fair play rules put the league on a more even keel. But, being as the Champions League clubs will always have that extra revenue, there is the danger it could have the opposite effect and that we'll always have the same 4 bringing in the big money while the other compete for the scraps.

 

In any case, we're a world away from all of that right now. It's fine to dream, I suppose, but reality is a long, long, long road from here.

Edited 24 September, 2011 by The Kraken

[Legod Third Coming]

So you admit we might come 4th, thank you, at least we both agree CL qualification is possible.

 

If there is one thing the PL has shown us is that things can change, Chelsea's Russian and City's arab could walk away next season leaving them screwed. UEFA might bring in new rules re: wages/turnover/foreign players etc. You never know what is around the corner.

 

You're right. If the rules of the Premeirship changed and a club south of Winchester had to be in the Champion's League, I'm sure we'd make it...

 

Seriously, things do change. And I hope the rules on borrowing change to even things up for us.

 

BUT - they won't. And hear's why they won't. Because the most indebted football clubs in the world include Manchester United and Barcelona. And Madrid.

 

And while Everton got into the Champions League in 2005, when did the Arabs buy Man City??

 

And who else might be other clubs?

 

The opportunity for us to reach the CL is there - IF and only IF we are prepared to spend an inordinate sum of money to get there.

[Smirking_Saint]

Cheers. Most won't read it though, the usual ones resort to calling me a moron etc. Sad.

 

Unfortunately your odd decent post (and you are very capable of them) are all too often hidden amoungst agenda ridden drivel that you continually ram down all of our throats, over and over and over again.

 

That and your somewhat dull, negative and pedantic personality are pretty much the chief reasons that you get the negative attention you obviously so greedily crave.

[Thedelldays]

Cheers. Most won't read it though, the usual ones resort to calling me a moron etc. Sad.

most have read it hypo...they read how your souless drivel sucks the life out of every threadwe get it, you dont rate adkins and the min he fails for a few games you will be on his back (proved)you seriously do not like NC as the he cant win,,,slammed for not speaking to the press, slammed for talking to the press...(proved)you are a sad miserable muppet (also proved)carry on and suck the life out of this thread, then the next, then the nextpeople do read you posts, luckily, nearly all who use this place do not agree one bit

[View From The Top]

On those who say that LM and MLT (especially the latter) should accept that they're no more entitled to freebies than the next man, I think the next time you question a player's or manager's loyalty, you should take a long hard look in the mirror...

 

Both, IMHO, but MLT in particular, should have freebies for life. It's the one key area that I think NC has got wrong, along with prices.

[View From The Top]

most have read it hypo...they read how your souless drivel sucks the life out of every threadwe get it, you dont rate adkins and the min he fails for a few games you will be on his back (proved)you seriously do not like NC as the he cant win,,,slammed for not speaking to the press, slammed for talking to the press...(proved)you are a sad miserable muppet (also proved)carry on and suck the life out of this thread, then the next, then the nextpeople do read you posts, luckily, nearly all who use this place do not agree one bit

 

In other words, he's a clueless moron who reads much better on ignore.

[Thedelldays]

In other words, he's a clueless moron who reads much better on ignore.

IMO, MLT deserves free everything at the club....and the prices are a tad highhowever, we dont live in a perfect world and if these small things are the cost of the club doing very very well, then so be it

[georgeweahscousin]

Both, IMHO, but MLT in particular, should have freebies for life. It's the one key area that I think NC has got wrong, along with prices.

 

If they personally want to attend games, then I agree they should be guests and treated as such. But. If they want to phone up and get freebie tickets for friends etc. then I am with NC on that one.

[ibizasaint]

A Saints chairman talking about a serious plan to get us into the Champions League and ppl are criticising him? Lucky to have him.

[hypochondriac]

We do not have, and never will have the resources to back up an ambition to be a champion's league club regularly filling out a 50,000 stadium.

 

This thread is bizarre. Cortese getting praised for his "straight talking". Saying he expects us to win the league this season, and that we may pay £200k wages when we have a 50,000 seater stadium is not "straight talking".

 

It's ambitious, it's stretching, it's what some fans want to hear, it sounds jolly exciting but it is not "straight talking".

 

As others have said, other chairman of ours saying anything similar would get crucified. Anyone from any other club in Britain would get short shrift on this forum too.

 

If Gus Poyet came out and said the exact same words as Nicola here, there would not be enough mops in the world to clean up the response from the bedwetters on this forum. You people would be going freaking ballistic.

 

When the Blackburn idiots said similar last season we all laughed. When Sam Allardyce says he could manage Real Madrid everyone laughs.

 

 

 

I also remember I said I expected us to get promoted last season, and I said Cortese would expect us to get promoted last season. In September 2010 this is, when Adkins got apppointed. Plenty of bedwetters on here then slated me for being impatient, immature. Some people (Pilchards is one I can remember) were trotting out the bo ll ocks about Adkins needing two seasons to "settle in" and get promoted in the third. Settling in, bedding down, stop being so arrogant, he needs time, stop putting pressure on. All that sh it e. All that "we're so even handed, you expect too much" rubbish I had to read in response to my posts.

 

 

Well, we've heard it now. Cortese expects us to be champions this season.

 

So you can all belt up about the Championship being harder this season. And don't bore us with "we need to establish ourselves and push on next year". And if we hit a rough patch, you can forget wheeling out "well, look how far we've come, we were 22nd in the third tier a year ago, we don't have a divine right to beat Coventry City".

 

Cortese expects us to be champions this season.

 

Swallow it up.

 

Remember when you bunch of girls start having a pop at those forum posters who expect us to win every game, that that worldview is far closer to our Chairman's than your view of "haven't we done jolly well to draw three in row".

The form we have shown so far is merely what the chairman expects, not some added bonus. We're winners now. Get used to the mindset.

 

Lol a superb post as always that will be ignored by the majority. You are wasted on here you really are cb. And sorry mlg it was ambition talked about (though anyone can have ambition when they tal about it in an interview with no obligation to do anything) but it's unrealistic. I'm willing to bet a sizeable amount that we will never pay a player 200,000 a week.

[CB Fry]

I can remember freaking uproar on this forum when I think the Lowe regime (it could actually have been the Wilde regime) were refusing Alan Ball's wife and children and grandchildren free tickets. Absolute uproar.

 

It's a different world now.

[eurosaint]

He's damned if he does and damned if he dont.

 

Its just an interview, he's giving his views. We may or may not agree with them. All of a sudden there's psycholoigcal profilers giving their views on it.

 

It's quite amazing the impact that a newspaper interview has on a fan's forum !

Every word is dissected, every opinion becomes stronger and more entrenched when others disagree !

Before the web took over the world, these conversations were held down the pub with your mates and (with the real benefit of body language!) never seemed to get so out of hand !

Some call it progress, I suppose !

[hypochondriac]

A Saints chairman talking about a serious plan to get us into the Champions League and ppl are criticising him? Lucky to have him.

 

It's talking about a vague commitment towered a serious plan. When we do it and it actually happens then I'll join you in your praise. It won't happen though.

[um pahars]

IMO, MLT deserves free everything at the club....and the prices are a tad highhowever, we dont live in a perfect world and if these small things are the cost of the club doing very very well, then so be it

 

Yeah, within reason I'd probably go along with you and accept not everything is going to be 100% and if the general direction is a positive forward momentum (which it is at the moment), then so be it.

 

However, I also don't think it's unreasonable or even impossible to try and iron out the odd % of things which we perhaps need to work on (e.g. the relationship with Matty, season ticket policy). I don't see anything wrong with praising the good things and also seeking to redress some of the others (after all perhaps we should be ambitious enough to get it all right!!!).

[hypochondriac]

most have read it hypo...they read how your souless drivel sucks the life out of every threadwe get it, you dont rate adkins and the min he fails for a few games you will be on his back (proved)you seriously do not like NC as the he cant win,,,slammed for not speaking to the press, slammed for talking to the press...(proved)you are a sad miserable muppet (also proved)carry on and suck the life out of this thread, then the next, then the nextpeople do read you posts, luckily, nearly all who use this place do not agree one bit

 

Incorrect on many counts. I think Adkins has started brilliantly. If we continue this for the rest of the season an finish top six then he clearly has proven himself at a higher level. That's all i have ever said and I have been consistent with that. Never slammed NC for not talking to the press an certainy have not slammed him for talking to the press. It is the content of the interview rather than the interview itself. Ah well you are wrong as usual. This was fun delldays we will be doing the same thing next week on another thread. See you then.

[miserableoldgit]

I can remember freaking uproar on this forum when I think the Lowe regime (it could actually have been the Wilde regime) were refusing Alan Ball's wife and children and grandchildren free tickets. Absolute uproar.

 

It's a different world now.

Sadly, after us going in to admin and seeing what can happen with lack of financial common sense down the M27, it is.

[beatlesaint]

A Saints chairman talking about a serious plan to get us into the Champions League and ppl are criticising him? Lucky to have him.

 

Amazing isn't it ? And quite sad too.

[Matthew Le God]

I'm willing to bet a sizeable amount that we will never pay a player 200,000 a week.

 

How exactly would you collect on that bet? You say "never", but the bet ends really when you die. Thus you never collect.

 

It may take a long time, but it is very likely that Saints will one day (even if it takes 100 years) pay a player 200k p/w.

 

Even if you look at today's Premier League clubs like QPR are apparently paying Joey Barton £80k p/w, when 20 years ago he would have been on a mere fraction of that. To rule out inflation etc not leading to Saints ever paying £200k p/w is foolish.

[up and away]

Yep, I agree with this, and I found parts of the article quite cringeworthy.

 

The positives of it are that it is a lifting of the media blanket that seems to have enveloped the club, and a positive editorial written not by the OS or the Daily Echo. Added to the recent BBC article about NA, it shows the progression made by the club and that what we're doing is definitely being seen ina positive light.

 

I just think the tone of it comes across as a bit arrogant and self-promotional. A bit too much "look at me, I'm great, I stung Arsenal for too much money but I'm still ready to roll my sleeves up and clean the bus up 'cos I'm that type of guy". It's reminiscent of "Just call me Mike" in our Saints go Wilde abomination.

 

I don't mind Cortese at all, I think he's made a few silly small mistakes but overall has made a massively positive influence on the club. But I don't think thsi article will do him too many favours, particularly amongst the neutrals.

 

I am not going to argue that the negative aspects you have highlighted do not exist, because that is exactly the first impression they made upon me. But if you then take that a stage further and compare those comments with everything else Cortese does and does not say, they look totally out of character.

 

I just feel Cortese is obsessed with Saints to the extent that when he does get to do an interview everything just all comes gushing out, the good and the bad. Living with it 24/7 for such a period with few to talk things over with, all his pent up thoughts and feelings just come flying out at times like this. You only have to look back at the BBC interviews to see the flavour of this and his long extended periods of silence really dent any arrogance and self promotion.

 

There was a period where he believed that conspiracies and factions were undermining what he was trying to achieve. He was right to a certain extent that some were undermining what he was trying to achieve in having to under line Pardew being the selected manager for the following season, when we had several quoting in the Echo that Pardew should not be sacked. Pardew being subsequently sacked was to do with subsequent events and nothing to do with decisions at that point. When rumours were spread that the club was up for sale, that must have really been upsetting when you are trying to finalise major sponsorship for the club. Cortese found it very difficult to understand that these wind up merchants were no great conspiracy, but a cultural trait he had never met previously. He has commented subsequently where he accepts it may not be the big conspiracy, but I still think he has difficulty in understanding why so called Saints fans would do this.

 

Like all the rest of us, I believe Cortese has a severe case of Saints OCD. Add to that his own character, cultural and work experience, leaves you with what we see before us. He is obsessed with Saints being a success and if you extrapolate his comments it's very easy to see this is long term, unless 50k crowds and CL is feasible in a couple of seasons when not going the ManC route. This obsession and drive leaves the odd quirk many would prefer not to see, but overall any Saint fan wanting the best for the club would grab this with both hands.

[S-Clarke]

Cortese is an embarrassment to Southampton FC. MLT and LM and all the other legends that Clotese have fallen out with and a have Saints what it it, will be around long time after that little squirt has slopped off.

Has there ever been such a "look at me" article written?

 

He really isn't. If you believe that then you are a bit of a fool.

 

Has it ever occurred to you that there are 2 sides to every story?

 

It's quite obvious that the likes of LM were looking for freebies and special access, and why should they be given any? If the current chairmain pays for his ticket then so should anyone else.

 

The whole episode between Cortese and MLT/LM etc is the part of both parties, not just Cortese.

 

Did you see Soccer AM on sky when Benali decides to air his linen live on air? A tad unprofessional.

[1960saint]

I dont see how any genuine sane saints fan cannot be excited by what is happening to our club at the moment. Think back to a little over 2 years ago and remember how depressed we all were and the feeling of despair and anger at watching our great club that we love dying in front of us.

[St Marco]

The sad thing is if the guy came out and said "the plan is to stay in the championship a few years, maybe oneday we will get promoted" etc then the same people would slag him off for lack of ambition. We would have 30 posts by the same negative people having a pop at him.

He can't win.

Anyone else thinking there maybe something personal behind this hatred for him?

[Gingeletiss]

I dont see how any genuine sane saints fan cannot be excited by what is happening to our club at the moment. Think back to a little over 2 years ago and remember how depressed we all were and the feeling of despair and anger at watching our great club that we love dying in front of us.

 

Some still are, they post thousands of posts on here to that effect!