angelman Posted 19 May, 2013 Share Posted 19 May, 2013 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2327233/Nicola-Cortese-Txiki-Begiristain-Ferran-Soriano-seizing-moment-clubs--MARTIN-SAMUEL.html *****y article by Martin Samuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 19 May, 2013 Share Posted 19 May, 2013 Bizarre. Extremely aggressive. Yes. The idea of a chairman playing games to get what he wants is a bit new..... but still.... a very odd article. As for singing Katharina's name. Who knew about her true role until Saturday morning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted 19 May, 2013 Share Posted 19 May, 2013 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2327233/Nicola-Cortese-Txiki-Begiristain-Ferran-Soriano-seizing-moment-clubs--MARTIN-SAMUEL.html *****y article by Martin Samuel. Somewhere in that article there is an interesting point about the shift in internal club politics - too late to really work it out now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Martin Samuel being furious just because Saints don't grant him an audience, or some other reason ? Some shreds of truth but a lot of jumps in logic and grouping of very different types of management styles into "ones where owners are in charge". I'm no Cortese-lover but it's not like we even know for sure any of this wasn't just Cortese manipulating the fans to remind us of what we've got and both sides had already had the deal with the Liebherr Trust in hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy_D Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 He has a track record of attacking Cortese and Saints for some strange reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 He has a track record of attacking Cortese and Saints for some strange reason. Wasn't the Mail Lowe's chosen leak-route ? Or was that the Telegraph ? I can't remember now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Which parts aren't true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai_phil Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Which parts aren't true? None of them. But it is still penned in an Ouch manner. You can spin details in anyway your attitude wishes. Still nice to know what Samuel's opinion of us is. Am willing to bet he will not mention the send off we gave Owen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guided Missile Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2327233/Nicola-Cortese-Txiki-Begiristain-Ferran-Soriano-seizing-moment-clubs--MARTIN-SAMUEL.html *****y article by Martin Samuel. Pretty much accords with my opinion, although it is tough for most of the herd on here, to be similarly objective... Can't wait to hear the bleating of the sheep... Spend, spend, spend... (After all, it's not our money...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BARCELONASAINT Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 This chap obviously has an agenda here. Cortese is a hard business man we all know that and he doesn't tolerate fools gladly. A lot of the press are used to having people inside the clubs they can get info from and are willing to give them snippets....not so sure thats the case at Saints with Cortese likely to sack anyone on the spot for speaking to the press behind the clubs back....personally i'm all in favour of this style. I have no wish to no the ins and outs at the club and every bit of gossip. All i'm interested in is results and that the club is being run in a professional manner which i have no doubt it is.IMHO if the press are reporting negatively about NC then in my eyes he is doing his job. Has the the last few years shown us nothing if not that the press are just parasites willing to print any old cobblers to sell their muck and they don't give a damm about fact or fiction! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 This chap obviously has an agenda here. Cortese is a hard business man we all know that and he doesn't tolerate fools gladly. A lot of the press are used to having people inside the clubs they can get info from and are willing to give them snippets....not so sure thats the case at Saints with Cortese likely to sack anyone on the spot for speaking to the press behind the clubs back....personally i'm all in favour of this style. I have no wish to no the ins and outs at the club and every bit of gossip. All i'm interested in is results and that the club is being run in a professional manner which i have no doubt it is.IMHO if the press are reporting negatively about NC then in my eyes he is doing his job. Has the the last few years shown us nothing if not that the press are just parasites willing to print any old cobblers to sell their muck and they don't give a damm about fact or fiction! Errr - you do realise the entire "Cortese to quit" story was based on Nicola briefing selected members of the press with "snippets" of "info"? None of us needed to know the "ins and outs" of that situation. We found out because Cortese spoke to the press "behind the back of" the owners. "Sacking on the spot" offence is it? Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2327233/Nicola-Cortese-Txiki-Begiristain-Ferran-Soriano-seizing-moment-clubs--MARTIN-SAMUEL.html *****y article by Martin Samuel. "His brinkmanship passes without comment". Yep, not even a 20+ page on here or nuffink. Remind me what the standard SWF reaction is to Daily Mail articles is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 IMHO if the press are reporting negatively about NC then in my eyes he is doing his job. Indeed. It's a sure fire sign that you've succeeded when the press start to knock you down. Same happened to Bobby Davro and Ainsley Harriott. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank's cousin Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Pretty much accords with my opinion, although it is tough for most of the herd on here, to be similarly objective... Can't wait to hear the bleating of the sheep... Spend, spend, spend... (After all, it's not our money...) For one who loves to pontificate, and present yourself as some sort of intellectual heavyweight, perhaps you should look up the definition of 'objective response'.... An objective response to this saga would have been (as many on here have done) to point out the inconsistency, that Cortese , who is renowned for keeping business behind closed doors, appears here to have used the media to help influence the situation, instead of jumping to conclusions and presenting such an aggressive slant on this. Controversy sells papers, but this has the hallmarks of quickly rewritten, cobbled together 'opinion', as they have been left disappointed that they now won't get much 'summer of discontent' copy as they had been hoping for. As to 'spend, spend spend' - granted there are a few who seem happy to spend other folks money, when you consider that We don't know, and nor does Samuels, what the plans entail, he is speculating and ignoring a couple of key previous statements 1) Infrastructure and thus legacy is a vital and major component of those plans, and 2) Cortese has always said homegrown is vital. I find it strange he went public, but getting public support to be able to fulfil your ambitions is nothing new, just surprising in this case. Samuals has history with us, so hardly surprising he would take this slant..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Martin Samuels is a West Ham fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Errr - you do realise the entire "Cortese to quit" story was based on Nicola briefing selected members of the press with "snippets" of "info"? None of us needed to know the "ins and outs" of that situation. We found out because Cortese spoke to the press "behind the back of" the owners. "Sacking on the spot" offence is it? Really? proof that he spoke to the press? seeing as you have an alimigty fit at anyone suggesting (sorry, guessing) at other points of view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelman Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Which parts aren't true? Cortese holding the club to ransom - that bit seems to be true, but unless you were involved in the meetings then there is a lot of conjecture. Having said that, there were no moves from the Reichstag to quash the story, so people are putting 2 and 2 together and getting whatever answer suits their views. They think they are players, these guys. Literally and metaphorically. It is always about Cortese at Southampton - actually this is what I strongly disagree with. To me it is never about Cortese. What has he done at the club which has been in his interests rather than in the interests of the club? With Cortese it is always about Southampton. That he has a style that those "in" football don't like, he gets criticised. There is too much cronyism around, but it doesn't work with Cortese. Samuel then goes on about interviews and basking in any glory of appointing MP. NC gave an interview in Barcelona, but I must have missed the bit where he claims all the success for appointing MP. Cortese’s great talent is for spending another man’s fortune - yet we returned a profit, have a wage bill of 59% of turnover. I am not sure that we have been that profligate, considering how much it has cost to go from admin and near extinction to the Premier League. The Ramirez signing was perhaps a bit of an extravagance, but apart from that..... Does he agitate for a move to a bigger club, as a manager might? Is Southampton just his stepping stone? - well as AC Milan wanted him a year or two ago, then I guess that he might. Samuel is getting rather confused here. He says that NC should act like an employee rather than the de facto owner, so why shouldn't an employee look for a job with a bigger club? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiggles31 Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 The fat hairy troll haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Tender Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 For one who loves to pontificate, and present yourself as some sort of intellectual heavyweight, perhaps you should look up the definition of 'objective response'.... An objective response to this saga would have been (as many on here have done) to point out the inconsistency, that Cortese , who is renowned for keeping business behind closed doors, appears here to have used the media to help influence the situation, instead of jumping to conclusions and presenting such an aggressive slant on this. Controversy sells papers, but this has the hallmarks of quickly rewritten, cobbled together 'opinion', as they have been left disappointed that they now won't get much 'summer of discontent' copy as they had been hoping for. As to 'spend, spend spend' - granted there are a few who seem happy to spend other folks money, when you consider that We don't know, and nor does Samuels, what the plans entail, he is speculating and ignoring a couple of key previous statements 1) Infrastructure and thus legacy is a vital and major component of those plans, and 2) Cortese has always said homegrown is vital. I find it strange he went public, but getting public support to be able to fulfil your ambitions is nothing new, just surprising in this case. Samuals has history with us, so hardly surprising he would take this slant..... Nice to read your response, Frank which I thought was very objective, but no doubt will be construed as bleating by Misguided. He's an arrogant sod, isn't he, accusing most posters on here of lacking the ability to be objective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucks Saint Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 More of our fans sang the Cortese song yesterday, which just gets more and more cringeworthy, so NC can safely ignore the Mail et al, as its seems to be mission accomplished where it counts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Errr - you do realise the entire "Cortese to quit" story was based on Nicola briefing selected members of the press with "snippets" of "info"? None of us needed to know the "ins and outs" of that situation. We found out because Cortese spoke to the press "behind the back of" the owners. "Sacking on the spot" offence is it? Really? Is that actually a verified fact, or just more innuendo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BARCELONASAINT Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Errr - you do realise the entire "Cortese to quit" story was based on Nicola briefing selected members of the press with "snippets" of "info"? None of us needed to know the "ins and outs" of that situation. We found out because Cortese spoke to the press "behind the back of" the owners. "Sacking on the spot" offence is it? Really? AS per the rest of this thread there is not one actual fact here....just a whole load of conjecture to suit personal agendas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guided Missile Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 As to 'spend' date=' spend spend' - granted there are a few who seem happy to spend other folks money, when you consider that We don't know, and nor does Samuels, what the plans entail, he is speculating and ignoring a couple of key previous statements 1) Infrastructure and thus legacy is a vital and major component of those plans, and 2) Cortese has always said homegrown is vital.[/quote'] In your scramble to remain objective, you obviously forgot that Cortese voted against the financial fair play proposal back in February. This hardly fits in with the "a couple of key previous statements" that you have swallowed hook, line and sinker. Still, it's not my money he's about to gamble, but if I was a shareholder, I would struggle to figure out in what way the money they are poneying up, will significantly increase the current value of the club. If I was a shareholder, I would still have voted to get rid of Cortese. With him in charge and empowered, it will only end in tears. Power corrupts, etc., etc. Hope that didn't seem too intellectual for you, Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Mullet Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 This whole thing actually has been great PR. I wouldn't be surprised if it was all planned to create a big positive news story about something that was always going to happen. There probably was never any disagreement between the Liebherrs and Cortese, I expect both parties engineered it all. Now in the national news we have "Saints are owned by billionaires, have big plans, and are all united." - great PR. The only reason that made the news is because of all that cr@p that went on before. There were serious issues dividing Cortese and Katherina. It was not made up. I am delighted that the two parties seem to be united now. Cortese has incredible ambition for the club and therefore if he is happy to stay it means he will be given the resources to fulfil that. Exciting times indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 There were serious issues dividing Cortese and Katherina. Source? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minty Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 (edited) There were serious issues dividing Cortese and Katherina. It was not made up. I am delighted that the two parties seem to be united now. Cortese has incredible ambition for the club and therefore if he is happy to stay it means he will be given the resources to fulfil that. Exciting times indeed. Interesting to read back over some of your own posts mentioning Cortese's ambition for the club and then, around 30th April I think, you mentioned about us being 'in the sh!t', hinting at an issue between owners and Cortese, and then later about new owners perhaps being what we needed? You are now on my (very short) list of people to take notice of. Edited 20 May, 2013 by Minty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 In your scramble to remain objective, you obviously forgot that Cortese voted against the financial fair play proposal back in February. This hardly fits in with the "a couple of key previous statements" that you have swallowed hook, line and sinker. Still, it's not my money he's about to gamble, but if I was a shareholder, I would struggle to figure out in what way the money they are poneying up, will significantly increase the current value of the club. If I was a shareholder, I would still have voted to get rid of Cortese. With him in charge and empowered, it will only end in tears. Power corrupts, etc., etc. Hope that didn't seem too intellectual for you, Frank. Which might explain why Cortese is CEO of a £100m business, and you're ..... erm ..... not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr X Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 wonder what commision cortese is on? its probably quite a good deal with bonuses for league position and even one for securing survival! talented at spending someone else's money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 20 May, 2013 Share Posted 20 May, 2013 Interesting to read back over some of your own posts mentioning Cortese's ambition for the club and then, around 30th April I think, you mentioned about us being 'in the sh!t', hinting at an issue between owners and Cortese, and then later about new owners perhaps being what we needed? You are now on my (very short) list of people to take notice of. Yep. Surprised this post went largely unnoticed on the original 'Cortese considering his position' thread: http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1691502#post1691502 Phew! I no longer have to keep this to myself. Anyway, the following is purely my opinion: 1. Cortese is seriously ambitious and the Champions League target is genuine; 2. he feels that Katrine Liebherr is unwilling to provide the necessary investment to achieve this; 3. he contacted The Times himself in an attempt to force her arm; 4. he will leave if the club is not sold to someone more willing to spend to achieve Cortese's goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 Delighted that sanity/stability/continuity has prevailled, but slightly uncomfortable at the vulgar image of Markus's daugther metaphorically having her arm twisted up her back..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glasgow_Saint Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 There were serious issues dividing Cortese and Katherina. Heard the same mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 Yep. Surprised this post went largely unnoticed on the original 'Cortese considering his position' thread: http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1691502#post1691502 I noticed it I just didn't want to bring it to the attention of the wider forum in case the bloke stopped posting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dig Dig Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 I noticed it I just didn't want to bring it to the attention of the wider forum in case the bloke stopped posting... :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 Which might explain why Cortese is CEO of a £100m business, and you're ..... erm ..... not. The amusing thing is though that I believe john misslebrook is in fact very wealthy and has been a very successful businessman in his own right. I'm reading a great book on psychopathy at the moment and there are striking similarities between SFC and what the woman is describing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 (edited) Yeah I did take a bit of a flyer there, I actually have no idea what he does when he isn't guiding missiles. My point was that Cortese has upset a lot of people with his style of management, including you, Hypo, I think, but everything he has done, whether you like it or not, has been to achieve his ambitions for the club in my opinion. It is the suggestion that he has become corrupted by the power and that it can only end in tears that I took issue with. Rather than corrupted, I suspect that Cortese feels a bit lonely sometimes, he is carrying a huge amount on his own shoulders on our behalf. Edited 21 May, 2013 by hutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 Rather than corrupted, I suspect that Cortese feels a bit lonely sometimes, he is carrying a huge amount on his own shoulders on our behalf. This is a very good point and one that I alluded to earlier. I remain of the opinion that since the sad demise of Markus, NC does not have an enthused owner by his side to drive him on and support him in his ambitions. In this way we must be almost unique, and I seriously believe this was what NC was trying to get from Katherina. If not he had other backers in the background as he has alluded to before that could have replaced KL and provided that more personal backing. There is more to it than simply saying here is a pot of money, go figure. But I'm delighted that NC seems to have enthused KL enough to dispell this perceived issue, maybe we will see KL at more games in the future, though at the moment I wouldn't recognise her anyway, the Liebherrs do seem very shy of the media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dig Dig Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 This is a very good point and one that I alluded to earlier. I remain of the opinion that since the sad demise of Markus, NC does not have an enthused owner by his side to drive him on and support him in his ambitions. In this way we must be almost unique, and I seriously believe this was what NC was trying to get from Katherina. If not he had other backers in the background as he has alluded to before that could have replaced KL and provided that more personal backing. There is more to it than simply saying here is a pot of money, go figure. But I'm delighted that NC seems to have enthused KL enough to dispell this perceived issue, maybe we will see KL at more games in the future, though at the moment I wouldn't recognise her anyway, the Liebherrs do seem very shy of the media. Yes, good point about our unique situation, something with Samuels doesn't even mention his little attack piece. Our ownership has never been clear and we only found out about KL this Saturday. Up until that point, they have shown no interest or desire to openly show any support or appreciation for future ambitions of the club and I'm sure that is of their own chosing, not something orchastrated by Cortese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graffito Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 "Yet if Cortese sees himself only as an employee, not the custodian, what happens when Southampton hit that inevitable glass ceiling?" Unlikely Cortese will be able to pull this blackmail stunt a second time or the owner will surely have had enough, if she hasn't already. One thing that contradicts Samuel's view that Cortese sees the club as a vehicle for his own ambition is the money that's gone into improving the training facilities and the academy which is sustainable development but we're largely in the dark about these future plans that have been agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 (edited) ... Edited 21 May, 2013 by buctootim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmel Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 There are some huge assumptions in that post buctootim, but consistent with many others, who have assumed the meeting and assurances that all is well, means someone just gave Cortese a blank chequebook. I can't find anything that confirms this to be the case. The words of the statement were chosen well, but the guy that first broke the story cited the reasons as Corteses demands were based on the fact he wanted to remain in sole charge and the management structure stayed the same. So what if that was the "give" that Katrina gave, no money, but you get to run the club your way. I wouldn't be surprised if there was no big warchest provided, instead allowing Cortese to use the Sky money, instead of them taking it out. I could be a million miles away, but I am not going to get too carried away just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 There are some huge assumptions in that post buctootim, but consistent with many others, who have assumed the meeting and assurances that all is well, means someone just gave Cortese a blank chequebook. I can't find anything that confirms this to be the case. The words of the statement were chosen well, but the guy that first broke the story cited the reasons as Corteses demands were based on the fact he wanted to remain in sole charge and the management structure stayed the same. So what if that was the "give" that Katrina gave, no money, but you get to run the club your way. I wouldn't be surprised if there was no big warchest provided, instead allowing Cortese to use the Sky money, instead of them taking it out. I could be a million miles away, but I am not going to get too carried away just yet. There are some assumptions, but not wild ones. Cortese has said he wants CL football and he talks in terms of relatively short time frames and there are repeated hints at large signings - so I think its a reasonable guess. Ive actually deleted my post and put it up as separate thread because the issue is less about Cortese per se and more about what kind of club fans want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Mullet Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 I have been genuinely excited about the club this season. We have a fantastic group of players who must surely rank among the fittest in the PL and are capable of playing attractive, exciting football. Over the course of the past 3 or 4 seasons we have developed a genuine brand of football and it is a brand to be proud of. We have some outstanding young players who will only get better, especially with a full PL season under their belts now. Of course some players have been found wanting at this level and others are simply not good enough to be part of a team that has regular European qulification via league position aspirations, but what team coming up from the CCC would?! I think the majority of fans can see that we are just a few good signings away from being a consistently good team. Where would we be now with a bit more solidity and cover at the back and a genuine cutting edge to round off our attacking play? I have every faith that the club will buy sensibly over the Summer and that the squad will be improved. We have a manager who seems capable of squeezing every last bean out of the players and in turn pushing our brand of football to its full potential. The players seem to enjoy it, but you would expect that from a squad who by now have the taste for success and hunger more. A squad without the primadonnas of yesteryear and a Chairman willing to stand up to anyone who does step out of line. The clubs expectations are clear. No longer are we a 'selling club'. We have a competitive wage structure that means we can hold on to our better players for longer. The club's clearly defined ambition also means that players will want to stay longer. Of course some players will leave for a variety of reasons, but it will be at the club's discretion. Let's not forget that even the likes of Man Utd (Ronaldo) and Arsenal (RVP) sell players occassionally and so let's not cry in our beer when certain players leave. My happy-clappy optimism received a massive unexpected shock, I expect like many of us on here, when the news came that Cortesse and Katharina did not share the same vision or perhaps how the vision would be delivered (not that I think the difference is particularly significant). For the first time in years the club's immediate future seemed fragile. It was definately a fork in the road moment. We had come so far under the Cortesse/Liebherr partnership. Could this come to an end, just when things were getting really exciting? Publically we will perhaps never know just how close we were to losing Nicola, the man with the vision and ability to deliver a successful and exciting future. Neither will we publically know the terms of the deal that has been struck between Nicola and Katharina but one can draw inferences from the fact that he is staying and developments over the next few months will give us a greater insight. And so we are back on track and all the things that seemed so exciting as the season played out become exciting once again. There are ups and downs in the life of any football fan. We are currently enjoying a serious up. Let's enjoy it and hope that enough progress is made during this phase that when Nicola or Katharina do decide to call it a day, the club is in a strong position and able to withstand their leaving, perhaps even able to benefit from it, at that time. COYRAWM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 I have been genuinely excited about the club this season. We have a fantastic group of players who must surely rank among the fittest in the PL and are capable of playing attractive, exciting football. Over the course of the past 3 or 4 seasons we have developed a genuine brand of football and it is a brand to be proud of. We have some outstanding young players who will only get better, especially with a full PL season under their belts now. Of course some players have been found wanting at this level and others are simply not good enough to be part of a team that has regular European qulification via league position aspirations, but what team coming up from the CCC would?! I think the majority of fans can see that we are just a few good signings away from being a consistently good team. Where would we be now with a bit more solidity and cover at the back and a genuine cutting edge to round off our attacking play? I have every faith that the club will buy sensibly over the Summer and that the squad will be improved. We have a manager who seems capable of squeezing every last bean out of the players and in turn pushing our brand of football to its full potential. The players seem to enjoy it, but you would expect that from a squad who by now have the taste for success and hunger more. A squad without the primadonnas of yesteryear and a Chairman willing to stand up to anyone who does step out of line. The clubs expectations are clear. No longer are we a 'selling club'. We have a competitive wage structure that means we can hold on to our better players for longer. The club's clearly defined ambition also means that players will want to stay longer. Of course some players will leave for a variety of reasons, but it will be at the club's discretion. Let's not forget that even the likes of Man Utd (Ronaldo) and Arsenal (RVP) sell players occassionally and so let's not cry in our beer when certain players leave. My happy-clappy optimism received a massive unexpected shock, I expect like many of us on here, when the news came that Cortesse and Katharina did not share the same vision or perhaps how the vision would be delivered (not that I think the difference is particularly significant). For the first time in years the club's immediate future seemed fragile. It was definately a fork in the road moment. We had come so far under the Cortesse/Liebherr partnership. Could this come to an end, just when things were getting really exciting? Publically we will perhaps never know just how close we were to losing Nicola, the man with the vision and ability to deliver a successful and exciting future. Neither will we publically know the terms of the deal that has been struck between Nicola and Katharina but one can draw inferences from the fact that he is staying and developments over the next few months will give us a greater insight. And so we are back on track and all the things that seemed so exciting as the season played out become exciting once again. There are ups and downs in the life of any football fan. We are currently enjoying a serious up. Let's enjoy it and hope that enough progress is made during this phase that when Nicola or Katharina do decide to call it a day, the club is in a strong position and able to withstand their leaving, perhaps even able to benefit from it, at that time. COYRAWM I like the cut of your jib sir Btw, is that a clue to the new kit design in your sign off...? (What does the 'M' stand for?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan The Flames Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 21 May, 2013 Share Posted 21 May, 2013 machine Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guided Missile Posted 23 October, 2015 Share Posted 23 October, 2015 Which might explain why Cortese is CEO of a £100m business, and you're ..... erm ..... not. Yeah.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guided Missile Posted 23 October, 2015 Share Posted 23 October, 2015 In your scramble to remain objective, you obviously forgot that Cortese voted against the financial fair play proposal back in February. This hardly fits in with the "a couple of key previous statements" that you have swallowed hook, line and sinker. Still, it's not my money he's about to gamble, but if I was a shareholder, I would struggle to figure out in what way the money they are poneying up, will significantly increase the current value of the club. If I was a shareholder, I would still have voted to get rid of Cortese. With him in charge and empowered, it will only end in tears. Power corrupts, etc., etc. Hope that didn't seem too intellectual for you, Frank. Cue Osvaldo and the beginning of the end for Cortese... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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