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Alex Pearce from reading.....


saint lard

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Was attending a wedding at the hotel where I am a manager this evening.

during the evening I had several conversations with him,but it was his initial reaction when I informed him I was a saints fan.

He heaped praise on all things SFC,however he stated "you do realise that your chairman Cortese does not get along well with Nigel and it is widely speculated that he wants to get rid of him and replace him with an exceptionally well known manager,he would not disclose who this person was however,perhaps he does not know and even could be pulling my chain.

 

Just thought I would share this.

how he would know the relationship between Nicola and Nigel is anyone's guess.

he also stated that cortese want and expects a top 6 finish this coming season.

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"you do realise that your chairman Cortese does not get along well with Nigel and it is widely speculated that he wants to get rid of him and replace him with an exceptionally well known manager,he would not disclose who this person was however,perhaps he does not know and even could be pulling my chain.

 

Just thought I would share this.

how he would know the relationship between Nicola and Nigel is anyone's guess.

he also stated that cortese want and expects a top 6 finish this coming season.

 

Yeah, don't believe that for a second. A man who wanted a big reputation wouldn't have had the pragmatic thought to persue the ex Physio manager of S****horpe and Bangor City in the first place. Why not just appoint Sven and be done with it?

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I personally don't believe him,just passing what he stated.

he thought we were by far the most deserving side to go up automatically,this despite the run that reading went on.

He was immensely proud of the fact that Reading came from no where and kept up the form they did.

nice bloke generally,although his taste in women lets him down a tad!

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I don't see why Alex Pearce would go out of his way to wind up a saints fan, however Cortese gossip is always hard to believe as it does appear that he has made his fair share of enemies in his tenure. Could just be that one of those people has been mouthing off to players etc, time will tell either way.

 

While on the subject of Cortese, one of those Agent accounts on twitter that may well be fake was asked by someone about Cortese and it replied. Pinch of salt obviously:

 

@itk_agent: @cj_garrett one of the best chairmen in FL. ambitious and sensible

 

@itk:agent: @cj_garrett Wants to be challenging for top 6 within 4 years. Bigger ground is a definite if still PL

 

also said of our transfer targets this summer

 

@itk_agent: @cj_garrett I expect saints to make sensible signings, not "big" ones

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Why didn't you ask him on what he based such a statement?

Didn't really get the chance as he was chatting in a group,and I was supposed to be working.

he gave a clue when he said that Niclola want a 'big name' to replace him.

perhaps that is all the reason Nicola needs.

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Didn't really get the chance as he was chatting in a group,and I was supposed to be working.

he gave a clue when he said that Niclola want a 'big name' to replace him.

perhaps that is all the reason Nicola needs.

 

Or perhaps it is the expectation within the football community that a club with 'money' should by default appoint a 'big name.'

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It's probably just gossip and hearsay amongst football's 'inner circle' of players/club staff etc.

 

Although it was strange what Adkins said after the final game of the season, something along the lines of 'well you don't know how long your going to be in a job like this, so two successive promotions is a dream'

 

On the other hand though, can't see Nigel being denied his chance of PL football after all these years, you could see in the Live Post-match interview he was emotional about the journey he's been on for like 10-15 years to get to the PL, and I doubt Cortese would deny him his chance.

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Of course, Pearce would still know the likes of Kelvin, Lallana, Morgan and Cork from his time with us and with teammates like Karacan (Cork's childhood mate and a pal of AL) and Mills (ex-Saints), he might be privy to dressing-room gossip.

...of course, any two-bob sh*t-stirrer would be pointing this out too.

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Hmmm interesting, from the outside looking in it appeared they have always got on pretty well - I base this comment from nigels interviews where he has always been quick to praise the chairman.

 

However despite the "clarifies future" comments a day or two later, I still find Nigel's post Coventry comments utterly bizzare.

 

After that when shaking hands things looked a bit awkward between them IMO. Hopefully they have cleared the air since but I think this is an interesting comment from Pearce if true.

 

Hope it's ******** but stranger things have happened.

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Interesting.... that the two "reports" from Reading and Wham folk (rival promotion clubs) have set up this thread in the first place.

 

I'm not doubting that saint lard is relating a first-hand conversation, but it could be that Pearce " was winding him up " and that it was only dis-information to upset the fan base / manager-chairman relationship. If so - it's predictable of cynical humour.

 

IF TRUE, ..I'd be very disappointed (regardless of who would come in instead of NA) who I greatly admire, as manager and personality.

Edited by david in sweden
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My mate was at Wham V Saints and said the NC kept having private conversations with Di Matteo.

 

Maybe Di Matteo was the only other Italian guy there, and they were swapping stories in their mother tongue about the old country. (and yeh, I know Di Matteo's technically swiss..........er, hang on a second....) :uhoh:

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Why would Alex Pearce know one iota more about the relationship between our Chairman and Manager than anyone else in the world? Because he happens to play football? As if that somehow makes him know what he's talking about.

 

On the other hand, the OP has consistently demonstrated a rabidly anti-Adkins agenda since his appointment...

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Or perhaps it is the expectation within the football community that a club with 'money' should by default appoint a 'big name.'

 

Maybe we could buck that trend and appoint ex player Phillipson Forbes-Masters - As names go they don't come much bigger and I'm sure he'd be pretty cheap :?

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If you look on the highlights when Nigel came to the stand to celebrate with the fans the camera zoomed in on Nigel and cortese and they didn't wanna look each other in the eye. Neither of them looked happy with each other just a casual hand shake! Just saying what I seen.

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If you look on the highlights when Nigel came to the stand to celebrate with the fans the camera zoomed in on Nigel and cortese and they didn't wanna look each other in the eye. Neither of them looked happy with each other just a casual hand shake! Just saying what I seen.

 

 

I must admit that moment did strike me as being a bit odd

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Was attending a wedding at the hotel where I am a manager this evening.

during the evening I had several conversations with him,but it was his initial reaction when I informed him I was a saints fan.

He heaped praise on all things SFC,however he stated "you do realise that your chairman Cortese does not get along well with Nigel and it is widely speculated that he wants to get rid of him and replace him with an exceptionally well known manager,he would not disclose who this person was however,perhaps he does not know and even could be pulling my chain.

 

Just thought I would share this.

how he would know the relationship between Nicola and Nigel is anyone's guess.

he also stated that cortese want and expects a top 6 finish this coming season.

Please feck orf!
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I must admit that moment did strike me as being a bit odd

 

This may be all down to NC being odd / arrogant / hugely sure of himself / not used to ever being wrong. NA seems completely different to this so it's quite possible they don't hit it off as mates, but they can still work together ok and be successful. Given that NC does seem to wind people up here and there, this story may be 2 + 2 = 7 and nothing more.

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I see that once again the old destabilising forces are still out to try to mess with the heads of those that will believe them. These people want to discredit the great things going on with the club to serve their own agenda. Give up guys - the club is on a path of success and your day has been and gone.

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If you look on the highlights when Nigel came to the stand to celebrate with the fans the camera zoomed in on Nigel and cortese and they didn't wanna look each other in the eye. Neither of them looked happy with each other just a casual hand shake! Just saying what I seen.

 

It was quite an uncomfortable and strange moment that, no shared relief/celebration going on there

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I seem to remember NA signing a 4 year (?) contract this time last year.

I know contracts often mean nothing in football. But I would guess it would cost NC a lot of money to change managers.

Also, perhaps a not too comfortable relationship keeps everybody on their toes.

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While I have no idea to what extent Adkins and Cortese get on personally, I've always thought it pretty unlikely that Adkins is in Cortese's plans long-term. I think Cortese appointed Adkins to a do a job - to get to the PL - and he's exceeded expectations by some way. I don't think he sees him as the manager of a top PL club challenging for a European place.

 

Our success over the last couple of years has been largely due to the chairman having a plan (and financial backing of course) and concentrating on delivering on that plan. Adkin's time may well already be over in Cortese's mind - I don't think he sees him as a manager who has the experience to spend the sort of money that is about to come our way from either the PL or the Liebherr inheritance and if things don't go well in the PL I think we can expect a change sooner rather than later.

 

I don't think Cortese is after a big name - he's far too pragmatic to fall into that trap. We may well end up with one of course, but I think his aim will be someone with top half PL and European experience. Also, I think Adkins knows this; for me his comment about wanting a crack at the premier league was the most telling, because I think he knows that is the best he can hope for.

 

Cortese has a focus that seems unlikely to be diverted by sentiment, which if all goes to plan may take us to places we'd never dare dream of. I'd hate to work for him though.

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It was quite an uncomfortable and strange moment that, no shared relief/celebration going on there

That was a strange moment. Cortese was very stand off from the moment of celebration when Nigel appeared on the podium. Not what I would expect to see after a great achievement by the Team/Manager. Making it to the PL ahead of the 5 year plan would have brought much praise and celebration from the day and I would have expected big hand shakes and hugging (man hug obviously) at this point.

Although there was a good 10-15 minute delay from the Team leaving the field and coming out to celebrate with the Fans. Nicola may have already been down to see Nigel and have a hug and congratulate him. This may account for the some what unexpected greeting when they appeared outside.

 

It could also be that Nic don't like Nige and this would explain Nige's comments straight after the game. I suppose there is enough for the Nic and Nige haters to get their teeth into.

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Was attending a wedding at the hotel where I am a manager this evening.

during the evening I had several conversations with him,but it was his initial reaction when I informed him I was a saints fan.

He heaped praise on all things SFC,however he stated "you do realise that your chairman Cortese does not get along well with Nigel and it is widely speculated that he wants to get rid of him and replace him with an exceptionally well known manager,he would not disclose who this person was however,perhaps he does not know and even could be pulling my chain.

 

Just thought I would share this.

how he would know the relationship between Nicola and Nigel is anyone's guess.

he also stated that cortese want and expects a top 6 finish this coming season.

Even if this story is true, no way in the world that Cortese will get rid of Adkins now. Having said that, what will tell us a bit more is how much he backs Adkins in transfers and what would happen if we find ourselves in the bottom 3 at Xmas.....
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That was a strange moment. Cortese was very stand off from the moment of celebration when Nigel appeared on the podium. Not what I would expect to see after a great achievement by the Team/Manager. Making it to the PL ahead of the 5 year plan would have brought much praise and celebration from the day and I would have expected big hand shakes and hugging (man hug obviously) at this point.

Although there was a good 10-15 minute delay from the Team leaving the field and coming out to celebrate with the Fans. Nicola may have already been down to see Nigel and have a hug and congratulate him. This may account for the some what unexpected greeting when they appeared outside.

 

It could also be that Nic don't like Nige and this would explain Nige's comments straight after the game. I suppose there is enough for the Nic and Nige haters to get their teeth into.

A lot of men don't do "man hugs" I can see NC being one of them to be fair!

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Absolute rubbish. How would Pearce know for starters? And I doubt he speaks with such a great vocabulary either.

Also, go back and watch the last interview with Cortese on BBC - he's asked about Adkins then and can't speak highly enough of him.

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Christ sake, you can tell we have no football at the moment.

 

If this is all we're going to get during the summer, then Mods - just shut the forum down until August.

 

I'm not even going to bother giving the post credibility as we all know lard truly wants Adkins out anyway, as he lost the changing room years ago. apparently.

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I think that NC was already decided to replace AP before we landed in the L1 drop zone, the fact that the axe fell after a 4-0 away win was a fluke of timing.

 

As Chairman, you have to consider what might happen if ....we are bottom of the table after 7 games ... or, the manager gets knocked down by a bus in the City Centre... or gets accused of some criminal offence ? etc,

 

For a Chairman, to be unaware of who is a likely replacement as coach / manager in emergency situations is a bit like saying - you didn't know that there was a striker named Wayne Rooney. I'm sure every manager has a wish list of players he'd love to (but likely never will) be able to sign, and likewise the " behind the scenes people" (like Les Reed) sometimes DOF's ...are there to advise his Chairman ....on good coaches, players ..and I'd assume... managers, too.

 

I'd don't belive that NC wants to replace NA at all, but he'd be stupid to ignore other possible candidates - if such a situation ever occured.

Edited by david in sweden
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Would anyone really complain if Adkins was released and a proven manager like Sven G or Capello came in?

 

Yes.

 

I think Sven has proven he's a load of **** in the last few years. It would ruin what we've got here, if we have to change the manager eventually it needs to be done when the time is right. After 2 successive promotions under the current manager, the time certainly isn't right.

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How would Pearce have inside knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes at Southampton football club?

It's not as if there's an ex-Reading and ex-Saints player who is currently involved in the back-room set up at St Mary's.

Oh, hold on.......

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