Mr X Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Do you believe Katherina has the clubs best interests at heart or do you think she is merely looking to sell her inheritance at a profit? (can we blame her for this?) Do you support her decisions so far? and Do you think she has any interest in the club outside a business one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pastor Patrón Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Impossible to know at the minute, we'll know come the end of the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Yes; but her ambitions are more limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 What would you define as the club's best interests? Financial stability? Winning competitions? What is more important? It's an important question, different fans may have different perspectives on what the club's best interests may be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convict Colony Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 hobby v business, this is a business for her but a passionate hobby for us, its a different ball game when its your cash. 100% support for what she has done and am happy to accept her decisions which i expect will be based on fact and cold hard logic, sometimes its better to not have a passionate person in charge as we have seen many a ship go down via that approach. Until proved otherwise we will always be middle of the league type club and if we play awesome football and develop awesome players I will be happy, we could be west ham and if we don't push on I think the vibe on here which could be one of anger would be purely driven by the fact some supporters had their hopes up and its the disappoint that drives the resentment, step back, chill and just enjoy the world cup and see how next season develops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Saint Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 When you have her kind of money, at what point are you looking for more profit over a hobby? That would be different for everyone, and we have no way of knowing. With a total lack of reliable information to support any particular scenario, I simply choose to hope that she is trying to build on her father's legacy. It's something I have no control over, so I won't readily take the negative option. Life is too short to worry about those things until they happen.....In other words, I support her at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr X Posted 15 May, 2014 Author Share Posted 15 May, 2014 What would you define as the club's best interests? Financial stability? Winning competitions? What is more important? It's an important question, different fans may have different perspectives on what the club's best interests may be. I guess its that balance of maintaining financial stability and club tradition while giving the fans something to be proud of and some exciting football, you could argue we have done both this season the only sour taste is that we were for a while in a strong position not to sell our best players, now suddenly under Katherina we are set to sell some of our best assets, could this be down to the abysmal signings of osvaldo and Ramirez are we paying the price for bad transfer judgement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pip Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Yes she has my support as she has put a lot of money into the Club so far and got us back to the Premier League. We have no right to expect her to keep throwing money at the Club just because some people would like to see us play in the Champions League. Markus bought into us because we were a steady family orientated club who took great pleasure in our successes but didn't think we had an automatic right to them. I will be very sad to see any of our players go as I can see the potential the team has but Markus said that the team had to be self supporting at the end of the 5 year plan. We must respect that. Our Club has been saved, we are back where we belong, we have the potential to produce many more from our fantastic Academy. Our glass is more than half full thanks to the Liebherr family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsacar saint Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 KL is between the devil and the deep blue sea. Personally I am very happy to have her on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Convict Colony Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 This is really an investment decision if we can take the heart out of it, improved contracts for adz, luke and poch, invest in the heavily in squad say comes as a 40mil cost (guesstimate). Now what will you need to achieve to recoup that 40mil ontop of the money you have already invested. You can either (A) recoup investments on player sales overtime and we become very much like Lyon whose business model is to underpay/develop and sell at a profit players, or (B) we have to improve performance in the league to qualify I would suspect for champions league against 6 other clubs with higher revenue,crowds and fanbase. I would suggest (A) is a sustainable model which can be achieved easily and which allows for incremental improvement overtime, we like icarus have risen far and fast quickly, lets be careful to not be burn't by the sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simo Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 No reason not to , At the moment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Block34 Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 You could say that by virtue of her wishing to ensure financial stability by living within the Club's means, that KL therefore wants in turn to ensure the long term survival and prosperity of the Club and her father's legacy (this latter point being no small matter I would imagine). Now that may mean 'only' achieving mid-table in the Premiership with maybe the odd good cup run or two. To some fans this may not be enough though to satisfy their interests. For others, quite the reverse. And this can put quite a different complexion on what is done - sell players for large sums, invest some to at least maintain the status quo but 'bank' the rest? Or spend beyond our means....? As Colinjb says, diff'rent strokes..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmel Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Yes she has my support as she has put a lot of money into the Club so far and got us back to the Premier League. We have no right to expect her to keep throwing money at the Club just because some people would like to see us play in the Champions League. Markus bought into us because we were a steady family orientated club who took great pleasure in our successes but didn't think we had an automatic right to them. I will be very sad to see any of our players go as I can see the potential the team has but Markus said that the team had to be self supporting at the end of the 5 year plan. We must respect that. Our Club has been saved, we are back where we belong, we have the potential to produce many more from our fantastic Academy. Our glass is more than half full thanks to the Liebherr family. What a great post. The family are in for over 50 million spent so far and another 60 + in commitments and we have a post asking if we think she has the clubs best interests at heart. Please, just please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WealdSaint Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Without the Liebherr family we could well be in a similar mess to Coventry. For that I will always be thankful. This summer will be a tough call for Katherina, I'm not sure what the correct course of action is. Hopefully her new team of Ralph etc. will advise her well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaSaint Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 I've asked this question multiple times on this forum without ever receiving any answers, so I'll try again in this thread. Why would the intensely private Katharina (the media couldn't even find any pictures of her for quite a time) step out of the deep shadows to take on a high-profile role in one of the highest-profile sports leagues in the world if she planned on presiding over a period of cutback, stagnation and inevitable decline? And, in follow up: Why (if she wasn't that interested) didn't she sell the club when it was probably at its peak value - unless she had plans to make it even more valuable? Why would she come to games (an international trip for her) and take an obviously active role when she can hire anyone she wants to do this stuff and stay well clear of it herself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verbal Kint Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 The woman inherited the club and despite it not really being her “project” has invested tens of millions of pounds to take us from league 1 to the Premier League and is now in the process of making sure we have a sustainable club that’s set up for decades (hopefully) of top flight football. Anyone that doesn’t support her is a bit of a **** IMO. NC’s ‘five year project’ would not have been possible without her signing the cheques. The board she has put in place does not strike me as a short term one. I think she’s here for the long haul and we’re damn lucky to have had her and her father as owners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Charlie Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 She has my support, but I'm less sure about the makeup of the new Board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinjb Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 I've asked this question multiple times on this forum without ever receiving any answers, so I'll try again in this thread. Why would the intensely private Katharina (the media couldn't even find any pictures of her for quite a time) step out of the deep shadows to take on a high-profile role in one of the highest-profile sports leagues in the world if she planned on presiding over a period of cutback, stagnation and inevitable decline? And, in follow up: Why (if she wasn't that interested) didn't she sell the club when it was probably at its peak value - unless she had plans to make it even more valuable? Why would she come to games (an international trip for her) and take an obviously active role when she can hire anyone she wants to do this stuff and stay well clear of it herself? To the first part, it certainly implies that she doesn't exactly want to asset strip. However, onto the second, she is part of an extremely rich family with global business interests, an international trip would be essentially mundane for her. Couple in the fact that her son reportedly has adopted the club into his heart (good lad if true...) then it's time as a family, mother and son at a football match. I wouldn't look too heavily into the fact that she is being pictured at games on that basis. Easy to read too much or too little into things. My personal perspective on the initial question. Does KL have our best interests at heart? I believe she does. Good intentions and resources are not always the same thing though, I believe she will want the best for us, but in a way that will ensure there will always be a club tomorrow. That, frankly, sounds great to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 It is correct to say she inherited the club, but it is not correct that she has put tens of millions and was certainly not involved in the rise from L1. When Markus sadly died, she did not immediately take over the reigns, there was a long drawn out process where the club was owned by the Markus Liebherr Estate. It is only relatively recently that she has taken over fully, probably tail end of last year about the time when NC allegedly handed in his notice. That is why he appeared to have free reign on the finances until that time. So in my view KL has not invested any of her money YET. Will she? Hard to say, but the signs are not good that she will invest to the same level that Markus originally envisaged or that NC was doing with the Estate money. She is clearly not looking to sell, otherwise she would already have done so, to NC and his "backers". Whether that is good or bad is open to debate and we will see what happens. She has my support, but only so far in as much as there is no other option, but I'm singularly unimpressed so far by the actions that she and the board have taken so far, which amount to diddly squat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dellman Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 We have just received £82million for 8th place in the Premiership so I can't see that the recent financial shortfall is a problem any more. So if KL starts selling players for another £50million I will begin to doubt her intentions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Saint Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 One thing that is for sure, as a wealthy owner, she is not driven by her own ego. That is a huge plus right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baird of the land Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 I'll bide my time to see if rumours of player sales turn out to be true or false before choosing my side of the fence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr X Posted 15 May, 2014 Author Share Posted 15 May, 2014 We have just received £82million for 8th place in the Premiership so I can't see that the recent financial shortfall is a problem any more. So if KL starts selling players for another £50million I will begin to doubt her intentions do we get that 82 million as a lump sum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmel Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 It is correct to say she inherited the club, but it is not correct that she has put tens of millions . Yes it most certainly is. Who wiped out 33 million pounds worth of debt- That would have been cash in her pocket. Who has funded an additional 20 odd million pounds and sits with responsibility of a further 60 million pounds worth of liabilities. Totally clueless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Fan CaM Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Yes she has my support as she has put a lot of money into the Club so far and got us back to the Premier League. We have no right to expect her to keep throwing money at the Club just because some people would like to see us play in the Champions League. Markus bought into us because we were a steady family orientated club who took great pleasure in our successes but didn't think we had an automatic right to them. I will be very sad to see any of our players go as I can see the potential the team has but Markus said that the team had to be self supporting at the end of the 5 year plan. We must respect that. Our Club has been saved, we are back where we belong, we have the potential to produce many more from our fantastic Academy. Our glass is more than half full thanks to the Liebherr family. Excellent answer and one I fully endorse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Weird question. Why should she not have everyone's support? She is better than 90% of owners out there, certainly miles better than all the other owners Saints have had. Her only major mistake was to allow a potless employee with an ego to take all the credit for where her money has got us. For those crying because the free money tap might have been turned off, and we have to be self sustaining, boo hoo. The five year goal was always to self sustaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Duckhunter Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Two things; Firstly, nobody knows what Marcus would have done in this situation. I maybe wrong but wasn't the talk of a sustainable self sufficient club in the long term. Maybe he was going to spend to get us to the top table and then reign it in. And, who on earth do people think is going to spend,spend, spend and treat us as a vanity project? What is the " clubs beset interests". Did peter risdale have Leeds best interests at heart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Yes she has my support as she has put a lot of money into the Club so far and got us back to the Premier League. We have no right to expect her to keep throwing money at the Club just because some people would like to see us play in the Champions League. Markus bought into us because we were a steady family orientated club who took great pleasure in our successes but didn't think we had an automatic right to them. I will be very sad to see any of our players go as I can see the potential the team has but Markus said that the team had to be self supporting at the end of the 5 year plan. We must respect that. Our Club has been saved, we are back where we belong, we have the potential to produce many more from our fantastic Academy. Our glass is more than half full thanks to the Liebherr family. I'll go with this. Unfortunately when benefactors start putting (their own) money into a club they are regarded as heroes and - particularly in our case - saintly figures who can do no wrong. But there has to come a point where they put the brakes on, and at this stage the joe publics see them as the panto villain at first, often escalating into tirades etc. For all that KL has put into it, and her father before her, I hope we don't see it going that way here. I recall John Deacon saving the skates, but being vilified when he stopped allowing the club to haemorrhage cash, and even Jack Hayward was questioned over his intentions at Wolves despite building new stands etc. So does she have my support ? yes. Is there an alternative ? Because we've yet to see NC riding over the hill on a white charger with the cavalry protecting a train of - someone else's - money as some may have wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Two things; Firstly, nobody knows what Marcus would have done in this situation. I maybe wrong but wasn't the talk of a sustainable self sufficient club in the long term. Maybe he was going to spend to get us to the top table and then reign it in. And, who on earth do people think is going to spend,spend, spend and treat us as a vanity project? What is the " clubs beset interests". Did peter risdale have Leeds best interests at heart? Exactly ML and NC both said we didn't do debt...but we did and still do. I remember getting lambasted a couple of years back for saying that we had debt... As I said in another thread the charges on the club are now appproaching the market value of the club. It's all very well owning a Bentley but if you want to get shot of it then you'd best not be in Equatorial Guinea or something. Objects are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them at the time. Villa is going for about 180 million and has no doubt far more earnings potential than SFC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 I've asked this question multiple times on this forum without ever receiving any answers, so I'll try again in this thread. Why would the intensely private Katharina (the media couldn't even find any pictures of her for quite a time) .....? This was a particular point in which she gained some sympathy and support from me. No pictures or anything for three years, until January, when the media came by one or two, that could be described as not particularly flattering. Anyone else wonder how they came by those, or how they might have suddenly known, where to look for them ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 (edited) This was a particular point in which she gained some sympathy and support from me. No pictures or anything for three years, until January, when the media came by one or two, that could be described as not particularly flattering. Anyone else wonder how they came by those, or how they might have suddenly known, where to look for them ? In fact in the early days some media outlets passed off pictures of Mrs Cortese as being KL, far more flattering to boot. Think this was said to be KL in the Echo. Edited 15 May, 2014 by Window Cleaner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Exactly ML and NC both said we didn't do debt...but we did and still do. I remember getting lambasted a couple of years back for saying that we had debt... As I said in another thread the charges on the club are now appproaching the market value of the club. It's all very well owning a Bentley but if you want to get shot of it then you'd best not be in Equatorial Guinea or something. Objects are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them at the time. Villa is going for about 180 million and has no doubt far more earnings potential than SFC. Liebherr's Mali company had debt and borrowed significantly for a fact. So the whole 'no debt' thing is a red herring. As far as a football club is concerned, its hard to see how a club cannot incur some debt while its going up the leagues. In this sense, a football club no different from any other growth company at a similar stage in its lifecycle. Just look at Amazon, a wildly successful company but one that is making no profit as it makes aggressive investments to capture market share. The key question is when a company moves from being a 'growth' company to a 'mature' one where investment needs are dialed down. My sense is that KL decided that this time came sooner than NC wanted who felt that there was still genuine room for improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 In fact in the early days some media outlets passed off pictures of Mrs Cortese as being KL, far more flattering to boot. ..or her cousin in equestrian gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Warrior Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Totall and what a pointless thread unlesss it is designed to stir up the masses Is the OP working for NC by any chance? or is Mr X NC in disguise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tttdcs Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 In fact in the early days some media outlets passed off pictures of Mrs Cortese as being KL, far more flattering to boot. Think this was said to be KL in the Echo. She makes Nic look like a giant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manji Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Yes of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
real saint Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 why wouldn't she Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daft Kerplunk Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 we are 4 days into the post-season yet everyone is now on twitterspeed, meaning that every minute becomes an hour and so on, then people seem to need answers and comments so quickly on stuff there might not even be the need to comment upon yet. Hopefully we will keep everyone, and Poch stays and we go to new heights but for goodness sake internet people, it has been 4 days since the close of the season, not 4 weeks! que sera sera...and so on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlakeySFC Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 I think she's grrreat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 (edited) KL has my support, although I very much regret the ownership model that has resulted in what used to be English football 'clubs' becoming the private property of wealthy individuals, many of them foreign. KL has done enough for me to believe she has earned the support of most fans. I am less sure about the chairman she has installed. Whereas, Cortese demonstrated leadership qualities from the outset I can't see that Ralph Kruger has done anything so far that I am aware of as a fan. He comes with no track record into football so if he wants to show the fans that he deserves support he needs to demonstrate that he can lead this club, not only onwards, but upwards, because I doubt that fans want to us standing still or declining. The Chairman has had an opportunity this week to show leadership and for all we know, perhaps he has, but if he has the fans don't know about it. There is of course, the other possibility, that he hasn't shown any leadership and is allowing the club to be tossed around at the whim of others. I hope that isn't the case, and if it is not, hopefully any impression of weakness will soon be dispelled. Edited 15 May, 2014 by Professor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearsy Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 i'm right behind her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joensuu Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Too early to judge. She will have my support if no money is removed from club, and her selection of chairman manages to stem the potential outgoing flow of management and players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joesaint Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goatboy Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 In fact in the early days some media outlets passed off pictures of Mrs Cortese as being KL, far more flattering to boot. Think this was said to be KL in the Echo. Good Lord, she must be about 4 foot 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuncanRG Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 She has my full support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goatboy Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 I am right on the Big Kat Bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzhugh Fella Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Yes I stood very near her on Sunday and she looked every inch a passionate fan as the players did their lap of honour. She has hardly been hiding since her taking control which leads me to believe she is in for the long haul. My only concern is there is a lack of football people at the top or people who are inexperienced and these are crucial times to have naivety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddings and Monkeys Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 At the moment yes. But to deal with the watershed situation the club is now in I would much rather have Cortese in charge rather than KL and the new board. They do worry me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Weird question. Why should she not have everyone's support? She is better than 90% of owners out there, certainly miles better than all the other owners Saints have had. Her only major mistake was to allow a potless employee with an ego to take all the credit for where her money has got us. For those crying because the free money tap might have been turned off, and we have to be self sustaining, boo hoo. The five year goal was always to self sustaining. we hardly heard from him ffs she was more than entitled to come out from the shadows at ANY TIME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Window Cleaner Posted 15 May, 2014 Share Posted 15 May, 2014 Good Lord, she must be about 4 foot 2. I think she's sitting down actually, probably has to to not make NC look so vertically challenged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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