Cortese speaking to BBC for first time since leaving Saints

[Batman]

Can the Club not get an injunction?

 

wasnt cortese slated for doing this very thing?

[Turkish]

I cannot wait for his bulls*it. The blokes a f*cking loon. It'll be lots of self serving 'it would have happened if I was there' nonsense and some of you will be served up on it like a chicken wing at nandos.

 

One question to all you mugs. If there are no agendas at play here who gives a f*ck what the ex chairman of a midtable club has to say for himself? Who cares? There is only one person who has anything to gain by getting one of his mates to run an interview with him in the media. Why he is doing it, I'll let you decide.

[DuncanRG]

If there are no agendas at play here who gives a f*ck what the ex chairman of a midtable club has to say for himself? Who cares?

 

I want to hear his reasons for leaving and his account of what happened. I think most of us do.

[shirleysfc]

I cannot wait for his bulls*it. The blokes a f*cking loon. It'll be lots of self serving 'it would have happened if I was there' nonsense and some of you will be served up on it like a chicken wing at nandos.

 

One question to all you mugs. If there are no agendas at play here who gives a f*ck what the ex chairman of a midtable club has to say for himself? Who cares? There is only one person who has anything to gain by getting one of his mates to run an interview with him in the media. Why he is doing it, I'll let you decide.

 

There's clearly an agenda but what's his goal?

[Winger]

There are so many people on here that want to forget what Cortese did for our club, remember what happened to Coventry when those tossers SISU took them over, that could have been us.

 

Let's just wait and see what he has to say, he has every right to an opinion on what happened.

 

I for one wish he was still here, I have friends at the club that also wish he was still there, he was hard but fair according to them, nothing wrong with hard work and that's what got us to where we are now.

[The Kraken]

There are so many people on here that want to forget what Cortese did for our club, remember what happened to Coventry when those tossers SISU took them over, that could have been us.

 

Let's just wait and see what he has to say, he has every right to an opinion on what happened.

 

I for one wish he was still here, I have friends at the club that also wish he was still there, he was hard but fair according to them, nothing wrong with hard work and that's what got us to where we are now.

No there aren't. There just aren't, and it's an utterly ridiculous thing to say.

[angelman]

I'm with you Kraken.

 

Winger, you may want him at the club as might others, as might I, but what he (apparently) did in trying to shut out the owner and remain sole director was not acceptable and very foolish.

[Winger]

No there aren't. There just aren't, and it's an utterly ridiculous thing to say.

 

Apologies, let's just say then that he deserves a little more respect than he is getting, especially as he hasn't said anything yet.

[Gemmel]

There's clearly an agenda but what's his goal?

 

Impossible to say - Wants his name still involved with football for possible other positions? - That's the best guess I can come up with.

 

Probably also worth remembering, Lowe was exactly the same when he left, tit bits to his mates in the press and then interview after interview.

 

May be football is the same drug to them in the board room as it is to us fans, but I am sure there is some self preservation in all of this (Just as there was with lowe - Not my fault gov, honest, it was everyone else.)

[Winger]

I'm with you Kraken.

 

Winger, you may want him at the club as might others, as might I, but what he (apparently) did in trying to shut out the owner and remain sole director was not acceptable and very foolish.

 

I don't remember any of us complaining about him (apparently) shutting out the owner and being sole director while we were climbing up through the leagues and spending the money to bring in all the players we have now.

[Turkish]

I want to hear his reasons for leaving and his account of what happened. I think most of us do.

 

So you want to hear why he quit and walked out on 'his baby' before he's delivered his promise of champions league football? Good point, so do I.

[angelman]

I don't remember any of us complaining about him (apparently) shutting out the owner and being sole director while we were climbing up through the leagues and spending the money to bring in all the players we have now.

 

..because that wasn't revealed until after he left.

[Turkish]

There's clearly an agenda but what's his goal?

 

To make himself look amazing. Make the board look ah*t and make everyone believe that without him saints are nothing. Some have already fallen for it.

[Sour Mash]

May be football is the same drug to them in the board room as it is to us fans,

I reckon this was the case for Lowe and definitely NC, you can see he loved it, the whole package, I wonder if he's partly kicking himself now with a bit of time and hindsight for not being a little bit more flexible with KL at the end of his tenure.

[pap]

To make himself look amazing. Make the board look ah*t and make everyone believe that without him saints are nothing. Some have already fallen for it.

 

I see three possible general outcomes:

 

1) he's got no backing, no dosh, and is just sniping from afar

2) he's getting back into football, but not with Saints, and this is his comeback puff piece

3) he's going to make a serious effort to buy the club in the near future

 

If it's 1), he'll be permanently damaged in football. No-one wants that turd on their doorstep.

If it's 2), a lot of the things that he said about having other backers to take Southampton FC on, and believing in this specific project, fall by the wayside.

If it's 3), we're in for an interesting close season.

 

In my view, if he's bursting back onto the scene as anything other than a serious potential owner (or representative thereof), he's going to look like a díck. Best case, he's looking at another club and will just join the hoi polloi of Gemmel's "fell in love with football crowd". Worst case, he's sniping at the club and chipping away at his own legacy.

[View From The Top]

There's clearly an agenda but what's his goal?

 

He wants his toy back.

[View From The Top]

I don't remember any of us complaining about him (apparently) shutting out the owner and being sole director while we were climbing up through the leagues and spending the money to bring in all the players we have now.

 

Not his money and too much wasted in dross and overspends.

 

He quit, let's not forget that and he wants the club back as his club.

[CB Fry]

I see three possible general outcomes:

 

1) he's got no backing, no dosh, and is just sniping from afar

2) he's getting back into football, but not with Saints, and this is his comeback puff piece

3) he's going to make a serious effort to buy the club in the near future

 

If it's 1), he'll be permanently damaged in football. No-one wants that turd on their doorstep.

If it's 2), a lot of the things that he said about having other backers to take Southampton FC on, and believing in this specific project, fall by the wayside.

If it's 3), we're in for an interesting close season.

 

In my view, if he's bursting back onto the scene as anything other than a serious potential owner (or representative thereof), he's going to look like a díck. Best case, he's looking at another club and will just join the hoi polloi of Gemmel's "fell in love with football crowd". Worst case, he's sniping at the club and chipping away at his own legacy.

 

I think there will be minimal sniping and maximum charm offensive.

 

I think he'll reflect on his achievements, but through the lens of congratulating our England boys. He'll talk about his input into the academy and how successful it is and how proud that makes him feel.

 

We'll get a bit of leadership theory at this point, maybe a quote about being brave in hiring/firing.

 

We'll get a bit of "yes, I am demanding" affected self awareness with a nice dash of "don't believe everything you read" cliché.

 

He will coyly refer to his vision, how he would have done it with more time but couldn't quite agree with KL. He won't be slagging or sniping against anyone on the record in a BBC interview.

 

And his parting shot will some hints on his next move. He'll say he will want to take an underdog into the CL with emphasis on youth. Might lob in a timely Atletico reference. The overall inference will be that he will find another Southampton and take them into the CL instead. Just to make us yearn for him a little.

 

At this point Frank's Cousin will openly weep and start ranting about how terribly boring and depressing and awful it will be to finish in eighth place next season. Life is so unfair.

[stevegrant]

Can the Club not get an injunction?

He will almost certainly have signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of his departure. That said, NDA's are nigh on impossible to enforce.

[hypochondriac]

I want to hear his reasons for leaving and his account of what happened. I think most of us do.

 

I can understand the curiosity but you won't get the honest reason and even if we do it won't do anything other than provide even more speculation and destabilising influences.

[pap]

I think there will be minimal sniping and maximum charm offensive.

 

I think he'll reflect on his achievements, but through the lens of congratulating our England boys. He'll talk about his input into the academy and how successful it is and how proud that makes him feel.

 

We'll get a bit of leadership theory at this point, maybe a quote about being brave in hiring/firing.

 

We'll get a bit of "yes, I am demanding" affected self awareness with a nice dash of "don't believe everything you read" cliché.

 

He will coyly refer to his vision, how he would have done it with more time but couldn't quite agree with KL. He won't be slagging or sniping against anyone on the record in a BBC interview.

 

And his parting shot will some hints on his next move. He'll say he will want to take an underdog into the CL with emphasis on youth. Might lob in a timely Atletico reference. The overall inference will be that he will find another Southampton and take them into the CL instead. Just to make us yearn for him a little.

 

At this point Frank's Cousin will openly weep and start ranting about how terribly boring and depressing and awful it will be to finish in eighth place next season. Life is so unfair.

 

Apart from the bit at the end, the rest of your post isn't a bad shout.

[Smirking_Saint]

Apologies, let's just say then that he deserves a little more respect than he is getting, especially as he hasn't said anything yet.

 

He would deserve a lot more respect if he wasnt openly using the media to shove a suited dwarf shaped wedge between the fans the the new board.

 

He did very very well in a footballing sense, but his antics since leaving have hardly dispelled the general opinion that he was a bit of a tit.

 

He would have got many more points by leaving quietly, waited for the new board to mess up (its an if) and then shrug his shoulders and say I told you so.

[hypochondriac]

Apart from the bit at the end, the rest of your post isn't a bad shout.

 

The bit at the end was the most accurate prediction.

[Turkish]

I reckon this was the case for Lowe and definitely NC, you can see he loved it, the whole package, I wonder if he's partly kicking himself now with a bit of time and hindsight for not being a little bit more flexible with KL at the end of his tenure.

 

I think there will be minimal sniping and maximum charm offensive.

 

I think he'll reflect on his achievements, but through the lens of congratulating our England boys. He'll talk about his input into the academy and how successful it is and how proud that makes him feel.

 

We'll get a bit of leadership theory at this point, maybe a quote about being brave in hiring/firing.

 

We'll get a bit of "yes, I am demanding" affected self awareness with a nice dash of "don't believe everything you read" cliché.

 

He will coyly refer to his vision, how he would have done it with more time but couldn't quite agree with KL. He won't be slagging or sniping against anyone on the record in a BBC interview.

 

And his parting shot will some hints on his next move. He'll say he will want to take an underdog into the CL with emphasis on youth. Might lob in a timely Atletico reference. The overall inference will be that he will find another Southampton and take them into the CL instead. Just to make us yearn for him a little.

 

At this point Frank's Cousin will openly weep and start ranting about how terribly boring and depressing and awful it will be to finish in eighth place next season. Life is so unfair.

 

As close to nail on the head as it comes. And people will fawn over it and dream about what might have been.

[Wes Tender]

I think there will be minimal sniping and maximum charm offensive.

 

I think he'll reflect on his achievements, but through the lens of congratulating our England boys. He'll talk about his input into the academy and how successful it is and how proud that makes him feel.

 

We'll get a bit of leadership theory at this point, maybe a quote about being brave in hiring/firing.

 

We'll get a bit of "yes, I am demanding" affected self awareness with a nice dash of "don't believe everything you read" cliché.

 

He will coyly refer to his vision, how he would have done it with more time but couldn't quite agree with KL. He won't be slagging or sniping against anyone on the record in a BBC interview.

 

And his parting shot will some hints on his next move. He'll say he will want to take an underdog into the CL with emphasis on youth. Might lob in a timely Atletico reference. The overall inference will be that he will find another Southampton and take them into the CL instead. Just to make us yearn for him a little.

 

At this point Frank's Cousin will openly weep and start ranting about how terribly boring and depressing and awful it will be to finish in eighth place next season. Life is so unfair.

 

I don't think that you're far wide of the mark there; apart from the last line, which wasn't at all necessary.

[DuncanRG]

So you want to hear why he quit and walked out on 'his baby' before he's delivered his promise of champions league football? Good point, so do I.

 

Glad we agree!

 

I'm not concerned with pro or anti Cortese tribalism, though. I just hope we get some insight from one of the most influential figures in our club's recent history.

[hypochondriac]

Glad we agree!

 

I'm not concerned with pro or anti Cortese tribalism, though. I just hope we get some insight from one of the most influential figures in our club's recent history.

 

For what purpose?

[shurlock]

I think there will be minimal sniping and maximum charm offensive.

 

I think he'll reflect on his achievements, but through the lens of congratulating our England boys. He'll talk about his input into the academy and how successful it is and how proud that makes him feel.

 

We'll get a bit of leadership theory at this point, maybe a quote about being brave in hiring/firing.

 

We'll get a bit of "yes, I am demanding" affected self awareness with a nice dash of "don't believe everything you read" cliché.

 

He will coyly refer to his vision, how he would have done it with more time but couldn't quite agree with KL. He won't be slagging or sniping against anyone on the record in a BBC interview.

 

And his parting shot will some hints on his next move. He'll say he will want to take an underdog into the CL with emphasis on youth. Might lob in a timely Atletico reference. The overall inference will be that he will find another Southampton and take them into the CL instead. Just to make us yearn for him a little.

 

At this point Frank's Cousin will openly weep and start ranting about how terribly boring and depressing and awful it will be to finish in eighth place next season. Life is so unfair.

 

What a load of guff.

 

You omitted the most important part.

 

And it will all be done through gritted teeth and in bad faith

Edited 20 May, 2014 by shurlock

[L1Minus10]

It's easy to have big plans and want the world when it's not your money that you're spending. I wonder if he'll acknowledge that.

[DuncanRG]

For what purpose?

 

I value insight into the goings-on our club. We all do.

[Red]

Hope so.

 

+1!

[Red]

I cannot wait for his bulls*it. The blokes a f*cking loon. It'll be lots of self serving 'it would have happened if I was there' nonsense and some of you will be served up on it like a chicken wing at nandos.

 

One question to all you mugs. If there are no agendas at play here who gives a f*ck what the ex chairman of a midtable club has to say for himself? Who cares? There is only one person who has anything to gain by getting one of his mates to run an interview with him in the media. Why he is doing it, I'll let you decide.

 

Seems like you do? Calm down, he hasn't said anything yet - if you're not bothered, don't listen/read.

[hypochondriac]

I value insight into the goings-on our club. We all do.

 

What does the ex chairman have to do with the club now?

[Essruu]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27492019

 

 

There's not much to moan about in that interview! : -

 

By Ben Smith

BBC Sport

Ex-Southampton chairman Nicola Cortese believes the club risk undermining their recent success if they sell their best young players this summer.

In his first interview since quitting in January, Cortese says if he had stayed the futures of Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana and manager Mauricio Pochettino would not be in doubt.

"We created those talents," he told BBC Sport. "It was key to keep them.

"You don't produce them just to sell, otherwise you give away your ambition."

Manchester United have made a £27m offer for 18-year-old left-back Shaw, while Liverpool remain in talks over a move for captain Lallana, 26.

The Anfield club have also made an enquiry for highly rated central defender Dejan Lovren, while midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, also 24, has attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs.

However, Southampton are unwilling to sell any of their players.

Southampton's in-demand men

England left-back Luke Shaw, 18, has played 67 times for Saints - his only club

England midfielder Adam Lallana, 26, played for the club in their League One days and has made 265 appearances

French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin also played for Southampton in the third tier, having moved from Strasbourg in 2008

Croatian defender Dejan Lovren joined from Lyon last summer for a reported £8.5m

Manager Mauricio Pochettino was appointed in January 2013 having left Espanyol two months previously

Cortese, who took charge of Southampton in 2009 when they were in League One, said he was confident none of his players would have left if he had still been chairman and was never worried about losing star names.

"I can tell you that I didn't have that fear to the last day I was at the club," he said. "I was confident about plenty of conversations I had with the players. I knew the players themselves wanted to stick together because this vision was something they believed in too. I didn't see any reason for them to go.

"I didn't have written offers but I obviously had phone calls. My answer was that it was not going to happen for at least the next two seasons. The other chairmen respected that. Until the day I left, there were no offers."

Southampton started the 2009-10 season in League One on minus 10 points after entering administration under a previous regime, but won promotion to the Championship the following season.

A second successive promotion took them to the Premier League and they finished this season in eighth place, with a club-record points haul of 56 in the top flight.

It was a season that also saw four players - Lallana, Shaw, Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert - win England caps.

The future of Pochettino - who took over in January 2013 - has not yet been resolved with a year of his contract remaining. Tottenham are known to have him on their shortlist of candidates to become their next manager.

Cortese, though, warned the Argentine about the risks of moving on from St Mary's too quickly.

"I don't know what has happened since I left, so it is difficult for me to judge whether he potentially wants to leave or whether the offer from another club is really that good," he said.

"That is beyond my knowledge. But he is ambitious and rightly so. When you plan a career, it is important to make the right decision at the right time. Often we have maybe seen people take too quick a step which ultimately backfires.

"But he has to make his own decision. He is a young manager; he has plenty of time to have a great career."

[Batman]

What does the ex chairman have to do with the club now?

 

He is bound to know a great deal of what is going on at the mo. Not everything

 

He will no doubt spin the **** out of it though.

 

Either way, it will have you, Turkish and CB going mental

[Batman]

Just read it. Hardly controversial what so ever

 

But don your tin hats

[doddisalegend]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27492019

 

 

There's not much to moan about in that interview! : -

 

By Ben Smith

BBC Sport

Ex-Southampton chairman Nicola Cortese believes the club risk undermining their recent success if they sell their best young players this summer.

In his first interview since quitting in January, Cortese says if he had stayed the futures of Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana and manager Mauricio Pochettino would not be in doubt.

"We created those talents," he told BBC Sport. "It was key to keep them.

"You don't produce them just to sell, otherwise you give away your ambition."

Manchester United have made a £27m offer for 18-year-old left-back Shaw, while Liverpool remain in talks over a move for captain Lallana, 26.

The Anfield club have also made an enquiry for highly rated central defender Dejan Lovren, while midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, also 24, has attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs.

However, Southampton are unwilling to sell any of their players.

Southampton's in-demand men

England left-back Luke Shaw, 18, has played 67 times for Saints - his only club

England midfielder Adam Lallana, 26, played for the club in their League One days and has made 265 appearances

French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin also played for Southampton in the third tier, having moved from Strasbourg in 2008

Croatian defender Dejan Lovren joined from Lyon last summer for a reported £8.5m

Manager Mauricio Pochettino was appointed in January 2013 having left Espanyol two months previously

Cortese, who took charge of Southampton in 2009 when they were in League One, said he was confident none of his players would have left if he had still been chairman and was never worried about losing star names.

"I can tell you that I didn't have that fear to the last day I was at the club," he said. "I was confident about plenty of conversations I had with the players. I knew the players themselves wanted to stick together because this vision was something they believed in too. I didn't see any reason for them to go.

"I didn't have written offers but I obviously had phone calls. My answer was that it was not going to happen for at least the next two seasons. The other chairmen respected that. Until the day I left, there were no offers."

Southampton started the 2009-10 season in League One on minus 10 points after entering administration under a previous regime, but won promotion to the Championship the following season.

A second successive promotion took them to the Premier League and they finished this season in eighth place, with a club-record points haul of 56 in the top flight.

It was a season that also saw four players - Lallana, Shaw, Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert - win England caps.

The future of Pochettino - who took over in January 2013 - has not yet been resolved with a year of his contract remaining. Tottenham are known to have him on their shortlist of candidates to become their next manager.

Cortese, though, warned the Argentine about the risks of moving on from St Mary's too quickly.

"I don't know what has happened since I left, so it is difficult for me to judge whether he potentially wants to leave or whether the offer from another club is really that good," he said.

"That is beyond my knowledge. But he is ambitious and rightly so. When you plan a career, it is important to make the right decision at the right time. Often we have maybe seen people take too quick a step which ultimately backfires.

"But he has to make his own decision. He is a young manager; he has plenty of time to have a great career."

 

Pretty much as expected then. If NC had stayed, according to NC, players and manager wouldn't be leaving. That could have been written by two dozen different posters on here . Interesting that he says he never had a formal written offers for any of our players....

Edited 21 May, 2014 by doddisalegend

[Delmary]

Puts pressure back on board.

[dan17]

Much ado about nothing really...

[Batman]

Would have had two more seasons with this group of stars to see where we were. Does not rule out moves to bigger clubs after I guess

[david in sweden]

What does the ex chairman have to do with the club now?

 

exactly my thoughts, too Hypo.

 

He certainly doesn't like to lose and (it appears) still has an axe to grind...I suppose the real question is ...Whose head will he bury it in?

[dan17]

Mind you, I presume this is just a snippet. There must have been a whole lot more discussed??

[Hatch]

is that it? FFS

[CB Fry]

Would have had two more seasons with this group of stars to see where we were. Does not rule out moves to bigger clubs after I guess

 

If he says no one was going to leave then obviously that would have definitely happened. He's just brilliant, ain't he?

[Saint Garrett]

Ben Smith out ffs....MELTDOWN

[slickmick]

Pretty much as expected then If any NC had stayed, according to NC, players and manager wouldn't have left. That could have been written by two dozen different posters on here . Interesting that he says he never had a formal written offers for any of our players....

 

Except Chamberlain maybe.

[shurlock]

Surely there's more than that. We were told how Cortese was going to throw the PR kitchen sink - how it was going to be more stage-managed than an Olympics opening ceremony at the height of the Cold War. Fortunately the mongboard voices of reason were all too wise to Nicky's dastardly tricks.

 

Boo hoo to the mentalists who 'don't care' but really, really do care.

Edited 21 May, 2014 by shurlock

[a1ex2001]

What a load of rubbish he spouts, the only star who ever wanted to leave under him was ox and he went so one has to assume that if shaw and Lallana wanted to go then he would have let them too. I do hope we do the same hard nosed negotiations he did though!

[CB Fry]

is that it? FFS

 

There's going to be a video/audio version, which will be more in depth.

[slickmick]

No one would have left with him in charge, despite how much of someone else's money he was spending.

He knew sooner or later that the books would need balancing, so left at the right time.