Where is Cortese now?

[Miltonaggro]

Yet to join AC Milan, which is surprising as they chased him for 3 years whilst he was working at Saints.

 

Although i hear he is enjoying spending time with his family. He bought his son a lego set, it should have cost £25 but Cortese paid £40 for it, now they spend their days building things and then knocking it down as daddy keeps on saying its not quite right, even when Cortese jnr built the lift which only one lego man was able to use.

 

Even Willy Wonka built a lift for three, and he owned the firm!

[The9]

Even Willy Wonka built a lift for three, and he owned the firm!

 

Owned it and therefore had an interest in making it sustainable for the future, hence the search for someone appropriate to take the Wonka ethos forward. There are parallels though, that lift did WAY too much for what it was needed for, it was more like an ego project.

[kermitsaint]

The lack of respect for what Cortese achieved is astounding . Yes the money wasn't his but his relentless drive and crucial attention to detail brought us up through the leagues with brutal efficiency.

Yes mistakes were made but that happens at every team .

 

I really don't understand the animosity .

 

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk

[pluto]

LOL get the fishing rod out.

[sadoldgit]

The lack of respect for what Cortese achieved is astounding . Yes the money wasn't his but his relentless drive and crucial attention to detail brought us up through the leagues with brutal efficiency.

Yes mistakes were made but that happens at every team .

 

I really don't understand the animosity .

 

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk

 

I think there is plenty of respect for his achievements, it doesn't mean that we weren't blind to his "issues" though.

[Latheal]

Put us back on the map, large part of saving us, changed the philosophy of the club and probably a large part of making us believe anything was possible. I had (and still have) no problems with anybody publicly stating they were going for top 4 when they "shouldn't" be there. Nothing wrong with that in my view, I like the confidence and the arrogance of the man and applaud him for his ambition (I'm a big believer that somebody smaller will break into that top 4 soon anyway - perhaps not year on year, but I think it will happen in the next decade). I also think his ethos has been a pathfinder for other clubs. Not simply content with coming up to the prem but pushing for Europe. Yes, Swansea did it first, but Saints rise was probably more impressive with the integration of Youth and the attacking football that was a mandate for the managers. I've felt we've always "had a go" when playing the bigger teams in the league and we rarely parked the bus. You now see other teams like West Ham, Palace, Leicester, Bournemouth, Norwich, Watford, and Stoke all doing the same and getting their own rewards. Its made the prem better in my view. Felt he misled us with finances and how we were "debt free" when we blatantly were not and felt he wanted that "big name player" at any cost to make a point that we were a club worth talking about. No problem with that if it works, just unfortunately they didn't.

 

Had massive issues with the way he dealt with the "community" side of the club and began to feel we had lost some of the "Southampton Way" and it was more about him than the Club. Adkins was dealt with harshly, Pardew too, dealings with ex players who were a larger part of this club that he would ever be and while both sackings may have ultimately been the right decision, there were better ways to do it for manager's who in the main had been a massive part of our journey back. Felt the players were playing for "him" and not "Southampton". Remember seeing Luke Shaw's father's tweet at the time he left - something along the lines of "Southampton - what have you done?". Did feel somewhat let down by that - and the ridiculous wage he paid himself.

 

He was massive for our rise, no doubting. Wish things had turned out differently really, he obviously had something that the players loved and an ambition that was to be admired. Ironically, he seemed to create this community ethos and togetherness but didn't embrace it himself. He can't expect to run a business with somebody else's money without being accountable to anybody however - especially with some of the overspending he had done. Would have been interesting to see how it would have worked with Koeman and him - would he have chanced £10mil on a striker last January when it was painfully obvious we needed one if the money was there? Would he have seen last season as a failure or success?

 

Wish him well.

[kermitsaint]

Put us back on the map, large part of saving us, changed the philosophy of the club and probably a large part of making us believe anything was possible. I had (and still have) no problems with anybody publicly stating they were going for top 4 when they "shouldn't" be there. Nothing wrong with that in my view, I like the confidence and the arrogance of the man and applaud him for his ambition (I'm a big believer that somebody smaller will break into that top 4 soon anyway - perhaps not year on year, but I think it will happen in the next decade). I also think his ethos has been a pathfinder for other clubs. Not simply content with coming up to the prem but pushing for Europe. Yes, Swansea did it first, but Saints rise was probably more impressive with the integration of Youth and the attacking football that was a mandate for the managers. I've felt we've always "had a go" when playing the bigger teams in the league and we rarely parked the bus. You now see other teams like West Ham, Palace, Leicester, Bournemouth, Norwich, Watford, and Stoke all doing the same and getting their own rewards. Its made the prem better in my view. Felt he misled us with finances and how we were "debt free" when we blatantly were not and felt he wanted that "big name player" at any cost to make a point that we were a club worth talking about. No problem with that if it works, just unfortunately they didn't.

 

Had massive issues with the way he dealt with the "community" side of the club and began to feel we had lost some of the "Southampton Way" and it was more about him than the Club. Adkins was dealt with harshly, Pardew too, dealings with ex players who were a larger part of this club that he would ever be and while both sackings may have ultimately been the right decision, there were better ways to do it for manager's who in the main had been a massive part of our journey back. Felt the players were playing for "him" and not "Southampton". Remember seeing Luke Shaw's father's tweet at the time he left - something along the lines of "Southampton - what have you done?". Did feel somewhat let down by that - and the ridiculous wage he paid himself.

 

He was massive for our rise, no doubting. Wish things had turned out differently really, he obviously had something that the players loved and an ambition that was to be admired. Ironically, he seemed to create this community ethos and togetherness but didn't embrace it himself. He can't expect to run a business with somebody else's money without being accountable to anybody however - especially with some of the overspending he had done. Would have been interesting to see how it would have worked with Koeman and him - would he have chanced £10mil on a striker last January when it was painfully obvious we needed one if the money was there? Would he have seen last season as a failure or success?

 

Wish him well.

Well written and explained . Thank you for that . I feel the same . I didn't question his flaws because I was enjoying being sold on his dream.

 

Unsure what the previous ' fishing ' comment was about though

 

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk

[9-3]

I agree with all you said.

However, the worst thing he did was not respect our history and ex players.

[david in sweden]

The lack of respect for what Cortese achieved is astounding . Yes the money wasn't his but his relentless drive and crucial attention to detail brought us up through the leagues with brutal efficiency.

Yes mistakes were made but that happens at every team .

 

I really don't understand the animosity . Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk

 

in some respects at least, I would agree with you. However, although we might accept that his financial / organisational skills took Saints a long way, he was sadly lacking

in personal skills and a short course in PR communications would have gone a long way to improving his " image ".

 

Whatever one may say about Ralph's PR " style" ..or Ronald's repetative team analyses....at least they are open, honest and freely available, and don't live in ivory towers and..... occasionally come down to count the spoons ....(or was it knives)?

[The9]

I don't think there's any animosity, people just look at him in hindsight (and some at the time) as a bit of a d1ck. Which is not to say what he did was easy, or not to be admired in places. But we've been just as successful without him and without the egomania, pettiness, fan-unfriendliness and terrible PR.

 

Well, a different type of terrible PR, thanks to Ralph.

[hypochondriac]

I don't think there's any animosity, people just look at him in hindsight (and some at the time) as a bit of a d1ck. Which is not to say what he did was easy, or not to be admired in places. But we've been just as successful without him and without the egomania, pettiness, fan-unfriendliness and terrible PR.

 

Well, a different type of terrible PR, thanks to Ralph.

 

Yep and a large number of posters on here were adamant that we couldn't be successful without that. Glad that has been shown to be complete horsesh*t and the club is much better being successful in the way they are now.

[aintforever]

I don't think there's any animosity, people just look at him in hindsight (and some at the time) as a bit of a d1ck. Which is not to say what he did was easy, or not to be admired in places. But we've been just as successful without him and without the egomania, pettiness, fan-unfriendliness and terrible PR.

 

Well, a different type of terrible PR, thanks to Ralph.

 

MORE successful without the egomania, pettiness, fan-unfriendliness and terrible PR.

 

As Hypo says above, plenty of posters on here tried to convince us that these attributes were necessary to run a football club when in fact they are counter-productive.

[richardc]

After all the years of decline SFC was a wreck when it was taken over - Cortese created a vision and got everyone in the club behind that vision, the turnaround was quite remarkable. I dont think that being all nice like we are now would have worked when we were in that state - like in any organisation there would have been a number of competing forces all championing there own dept - Cortese ensured that didnt happen. When Cortese left none of that vision has really changed just a change of attitude and I think it has been pretty straight forward to carry on his vision for the current team

[The9]

After all the years of decline SFC was a wreck when it was taken over - Cortese created a vision and got everyone in the club behind that vision, the turnaround was quite remarkable. I dont think that being all nice like we are now would have worked when we were in that state - like in any organisation there would have been a number of competing forces all championing there own dept - Cortese ensured that didnt happen. When Cortese left none of that vision has really changed just a change of attitude and I think it has been pretty straight forward to carry on his vision for the current team

 

I can't believe you actually think this.

 

They had lots of money, took over a shell of a club, and started winning games by buying better players than the rest of the league could afford. Getting out of L1 should have been a piece of pee for anyone in that context; pretty much anyone throwing that kind of money at it could have got us into the Championship.

 

Whoever took over was going to be "defining the departments", and are you seriously trying to say that we might have prioritised, say, the club shop over the first team? Again, ANYONE would have prioritised the first team and the academy with the existing facilities. In addition, EVERYONE'S vision is to win football matches, and practically nothing of Cortese's "vision" aside from generally being more successful than a L1 team (or at least what he hinted at, stadium expansion and Champions League) was achieved.

 

Getting out of the Championship at the first attempt was more impressive, but by then the "winning mentality" from outspending L1 was the norm and we had a core of players who went on to be successful in the Premier League when we were still in the Championship - which is shrewd purchasing to add to the likes of Lallana, Schneiderlin (and K Davis, who was excellent in the Championship), but again only the kind of basic competence so many others are lacking in football.

 

So basically Cortese's success came down to "having more money than the competition". Shame his claims of CL and hints at expansion weren't supported by his management. We sure as hell weren't planning on being sustainable, and we voted against FFP because he assumed he'd always be able to spend enough to improve.

Edited 23 October, 2015 by The9

[Lallana's Left Peg]

I can't believe you actually think this.

 

They had lots of money, took over a shell of a club, and started winning games by buying better players than the rest of the league could afford. Getting out of L1 should have been a piece of pee for anyone in that context; pretty much anyone throwing that kind of money at it could have got us into the Championship.

 

Whoever took over was going to be "defining the departments", and are you seriously trying to say that we might have prioritised, say, the club shop over the first team? Again, ANYONE would have prioritised the team and the academy. In addition, EVERYONE'S vision is to win football matches, and practically nothing of Cortese's "vision" aside from generally being more successful than a L1 team (or at least what he hinted at, stadium expansion and Champions League) was achieved.

 

Getting out of the Championship at the first attempt was more impressive, but by then the "winning mentality" from outspending L1 was the norm and we had a core of players who went on to be successful in the Premier League when we were still in the Championship - which is shrewd purchasing, but again only the kind of basic competence so many others are lacking in football.

 

I see what you are getting at but there are so many clubs that don't do the things right we did it would be unfair to say Cortese did not do a good job - whether that is putting people in the right roles or attracting and keeping players at the club.

 

In aftermath of his departure it came to light more than ever what an egotistical and spiteful man he was, however his vision and bloody-mindedness at where he wanted Saints to be convinced many of our best players to sign new deals at the club, something our current regime have failed to do.

 

In all likelihood Cortese's spending and management style was unsustainable, but we shouldn't write off his role in helping to establish this club as what it is today.

[The9]

I see what you are getting at but there are so many clubs that don't do the things right we did it would be unfair to say Cortese did not do a good job - whether that is putting people in the right roles or attracting and keeping players at the club.

 

In aftermath of his departure it came to light more than ever what an egotistical and spiteful man he was, however his vision and bloody-mindedness at where he wanted Saints to be convinced many of our best players to sign new deals at the club, something our current regime have failed to do.

 

In all likelihood Cortese's spending and management style was unsustainable, but we shouldn't write off his role in helping to establish this club as what it is today.

 

I agree that "so many are bad at it", and he deserves credit for not being as bad as lots of others at running a football team, but they had a clean slate, low expectations, lots of money, and for all the competence there was a pile of ego-driven, costly club-harming incompetence. And no-one's writing it off, but it's still all in context of him basically bailing at the first idea that he wasn't going to be able to spend excessively.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

I agree that "so many are bad at it", but for all the competence there was a pile of ego-driven, costly club-harming incompetence. And no-one's writing it off, but it's still all in context of him basically bailing at the first idea that he wasn't going to be able to spend excessively.

 

And just as importantly that he was going to be accountable to someone and decision making wouldn't start and end with him. He wasn't a fan of the idea of Governance!

 

The club are doing well after his departure but many of his ideas and concepts are still alive today, they are just implemented in a far more inclusive and appropriate way. But I can't deny some of (if not the most) of my favourite seasons of following Saints were under his charge.

[david in sweden]

Cortese was certainly the " archetypal new broom that swept clean ", and to some extent it was needed, and from that viewpoint HDAJFU.

....but he neglected the one aspect of the club he didn't understand.....our club history and the fan's loyalty.

 

Our history isn't so much to brag about..a few historical promotions (ususally in second spot, and the glory of an FA Cup win .....39 years ago.

 

But fans love our old heroes. We still have a few fans who recall (with pride) the legendary post-war " goal machine " that was Charlie Wayman, whilst my generation still speaks with honour the names; Paine, Sydenham and the Great Ron Davies (R.I.P.)

 

Cortese's " New club history " started in 2009 and excluded names like Francis Benali and perhaps the greatest player of the last generation Matthew Le Tissier.

 

For all the good Cortese did, many of us were confused and bitter that these people were treated so badly and almost banned from going to SMS...

 

I'd accept the good he did... because he did it well, but my congratulations stop there. There was no emotion, fervour or respect for the fans....and the bulk of our history.

 

If he's going to get involved in club football in the future, it should be in North Korea or Saudi ...where they accept dictatorship as a part of the daily process, but not here.

[Saint Without a Halo]

I can't believe you actually think this.

 

They had lots of money, took over a shell of a club, and started winning games by buying better players than the rest of the league could afford. Getting out of L1 should have been a piece of pee for anyone in that context; pretty much anyone throwing that kind of money at it could have got us into the Championship.

 

Whoever took over was going to be "defining the departments", and are you seriously trying to say that we might have prioritised, say, the club shop over the first team? Again, ANYONE would have prioritised the first team and the academy with the existing facilities. In addition, EVERYONE'S vision is to win football matches, and practically nothing of Cortese's "vision" aside from generally being more successful than a L1 team (or at least what he hinted at, stadium expansion and Champions League) was achieved.

 

Getting out of the Championship at the first attempt was more impressive, but by then the "winning mentality" from outspending L1 was the norm and we had a core of players who went on to be successful in the Premier League when we were still in the Championship - which is shrewd purchasing to add to the likes of Lallana, Schneiderlin (and K Davis, who was excellent in the Championship), but again only the kind of basic competence so many others are lacking in football.

 

So basically Cortese's success came down to "having more money than the competition". Shame his claims of CL and hints at expansion weren't supported by his management. We sure as hell weren't planning on being sustainable, and we voted against FFP because he assumed he'd always be able to spend enough to improve.

 

Plenty of clubs have had owners with money and failed some like Leeds are much bigger thanu us

To say it is all down to money shows a complete misunderstanding of what was done

 

If success by spending was all he wanted why buy young untried players and why spend on the academy he created a vision a goal and a plan to get there and it gave us the best four years ever as supporters the legacy and vision lives on thankfully

Yes of course he wasn't perfect but he was the right man in the right place at the right time

[Saint Without a Halo]

Cortese was certainly the " archetypal new broom that swept clean ", and to some extent it was needed, and from that viewpoint HDAJFU.

....but he neglected the one aspect of the club he didn't understand.....our club history and the fan's loyalty.

 

Our history isn't so much to brag about..a few historical promotions (ususally in second spot, and the glory of an FA Cup win .....39 years ago.

 

But fans love our old heroes. We still have a few fans who recall (with pride) the legendary post-war " goal machine " that was Charlie Wayman, whilst my generation still speaks with honour the names; Paine, Sydenham and the Great Ron Davies (R.I.P.)

 

Cortese's " New club history " started in 2009 and excluded names like Francis Benali and perhaps the greatest player of the last generation Matthew Le Tissier.

 

For all the good Cortese did, many of us were confused and bitter that these people were treated so badly and almost banned from going to SMS...

 

I'd accept the good he did... because he did it well, but my congratulations stop there. There was no emotion, fervour or respect for the fans....and the bulk of our history.

 

If he's going to get involved in club football in the future, it should be in North Korea or Saudi ...where they accept dictatorship as a part of the daily process, but not here.

 

 

he was not running a country but a bankrupt company on its knees most successful CEO s in business are dictators

Trouble was he was running a club not just a company however it was a club that needed a vision and a man strong enough and ruthless enough to deliver it and that he did

If he had pandered to the fans in a democratic style would he have changed Adkins? I like many on here thought at the time this was a mistake

However with the benefit of hindsight most of his decisions were right and in line with his plan and vision

We needed someone like that or we would still be lurking about in league 1 or the championship even with money

 

How many of the changes he brought in have been reversed since . Not many I think and that is the sign of the successful legacy he left behind

Yes it's good to have the respect of the players and our past back and on that he was wrong however a lot of those same players didn't understand the vision and were critical of his goal orientated decision making

So I guess he thought he was better of without them

[hypochondriac]

After all the years of decline SFC was a wreck when it was taken over - Cortese created a vision and got everyone in the club behind that vision, the turnaround was quite remarkable. I dont think that being all nice like we are now would have worked when we were in that state - like in any organisation there would have been a number of competing forces all championing there own dept - Cortese ensured that didnt happen. When Cortese left none of that vision has really changed just a change of attitude and I think it has been pretty straight forward to carry on his vision for the current team

 

I Knew someone would try that line! So the only way to be a success is to be an a*sehole to ex players and local businesses? What rubbish. Cortege was a success because he gave us direction, a plan and he had money. We were perfectly capable of doing all those things without all the guff that came with it.

[lloydie]

So, no-one knows what he's actually been doing then?

[hypochondriac]

I see what you are getting at but there are so many clubs that don't do the things right we did it would be unfair to say Cortese did not do a good job - whether that is putting people in the right roles or attracting and keeping players at the club.

 

In aftermath of his departure it came to light more than ever what an egotistical and spiteful man he was, however his vision and bloody-mindedness at where he wanted Saints to be convinced many of our best players to sign new deals at the club, something our current regime have failed to do.

 

In all likelihood Cortese's spending and management style was unsustainable, but we shouldn't write off his role in helping to establish this club as what it is today.

 

It never came to light, it was pointed out fairly often but the usual suspects didn't want to hear it. They didn't care if he treated everyone like sh*t as long as they were winning. I'm glad some people still had principles.

[The9]

Plenty of clubs have had owners with money and failed some like Leeds are much bigger thanu us

To say it is all down to money shows a complete misunderstanding of what was done

 

If success by spending was all he wanted why buy young untried players and why spend on the academy he created a vision a goal and a plan to get there and it gave us the best four years ever as supporters the legacy and vision lives on thankfully

Yes of course he wasn't perfect but he was the right man in the right place at the right time

 

Guh. Leeds didn't fail when they had money, they were massively successful by making the CL semi-finals when they had money. It was precisely the kind of overspending Cortese looked like he was trying to implement that brought Leeds down - precisely because it was unsustainable - which is the counter to the stability that Katharina has introduced, and exactly what Cortese was lacking.

 

Which "young, untried players" are these that we signed? For every Clyne and Rodriguez (hardly unknowns as well-known young talented Championship players) there was a Ramirez and an Osvaldo, and as we haven't signed any overpriced Italian-based players since he left* I'm fairly sure we can work out who the influence was there.

 

The academy was a no-brainer - it had existing infrastructure and reputation. Cortese's attitude to it was certainly to try and improve it, but he did so by spending money that hadn't been sanctioned, wasted money on numerous changes which would have been much cheaper had they been planned up front, and put the club in debt, rather than grow it sustainably. So despite his good intentions, he pretty much ballsed up the execution of that too.

 

*that's an argument with Batman right there.

Edited 23 October, 2015 by The9

[The9]

So, no-one knows what he's actually been doing then?

 

I think we established that in the third post, probably.

[hypochondriac]

I remember the day he left and some people on here acted like the club had died. It was great that he left and meant we could keep the things that worked whilst getting rid of all the rubbish.

[VectisSaint]

I remember the day he left and some people on here acted like the club had died.

Did they? Really.

[david in sweden]

he was not running a country but a bankrupt company on its knees most successful CEO s in business are dictators

Trouble was he was running a club not just a company however it was a club that needed a vision and a man strong enough and ruthless enough to deliver it and that he did

If he had pandered to the fans in a democratic style would he have changed Adkins? I like many on here thought at the time this was a mistake

However with the benefit of hindsight most of his decisions were right and in line with his plan and vision

We needed someone like that or we would still be lurking about in league 1 or the championship even with money

 

How many of the changes he brought in have been reversed since . Not many I think and that is the sign of the successful legacy he left behind

Yes it's good to have the respect of the players and our past back and on that he was wrong however a lot of those same players didn't understand the vision and were critical of his goal orientated decision making. So I guess he thought he was better of without them

 

 

firstly : I think I wrote "club football " in those countries ...but more attention could have been paid to the customers viewpoint....even if it was only the brand of beer.

 

secondly: of course Chairmen take responsibilities for their decisions..but having had a lifetime (now retired) in the business world, I recognised some of the actions he took after taking charge. I don't think anyone would say the " recovery package " was his own brainchild.... as many of the things he put into action at SMS were proven successes at other clubs /and in other sports. He was just adopting a proven methodology, but more customer consultation might have made changes " smoother ".

 

Democracy is a very bad form of government (quote: Winston Churchill)....and it doesn't work better in football clubs either, but neither does isolating yourself from the fans and issuing directives....NOW...there is a more positive attitude to fans / club activities under the " new regime " than there ever was under Cortese. For a club chairman to limit himself to one interview a year shows a decided lack of understanding as to what motivates supporters to fill a stadium every match.

 

(As for " NOT reversing changes "....if there was no reason to do so, they would have remained unchanged, but he wasn't spending his money.

.....in carrying out these.. and other changes he was spending someone else's money - namely the Liebherrs).

[hypochondriac]

Did they? Really.

 

Yep. Some said they actually cried. Remember it well.

[david in sweden]

Yep. Some said they actually cried. Remember it well.

 

..perhaps they were tears ....of joy

[Leicestersaint]

So where is Cortese and what is he doing?

[VectisSaint]

Yep. Some said they actually cried. Remember it well.

Of course you do. Keep up the medication.

[hypochondriac]

Of course you do. Keep up the medication.

 

OK mate. I think it is you that is overestimating the ability of some on here to go overboard. Unless it was you doing the crying and you want to pretend it never happened?

[aintforever]

Of course you do. Keep up the medication.

 

There was a classic SWF meltdown.I definitely remember some people getting upset, saying he was irreplaceable

[Batman]

There was a classic SWF meltdown.I definitely remember some people getting upset, saying he was irreplaceable

 

fans generally go over the top at the moment of big things happening.

I remember stating it as a fact that Wotte would keep us up.

 

god knows how many were sure that Adkins was the next great england manager...the next fergie if you will

Edited 23 October, 2015 by Batman

[St Chalet]

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?48561-Cortese-has-left-Southampton-Football-Club-Officially-Confirmed&highlight=Cortese+leaves#.Vip9qpR4WrU

[Turkish]

Yep. Some said they actually cried. Remember it well.

 

I remember all that. I remember posters claiming it was game over, the ambition had gone, some claimed that the club would never be the same again and yes I do recall someone saying they cried. You've got to admire him for the way he managed to get everyone to believe his own propaganda machine. Of course some of us saw through it all and were given all sorts of abuse for it. Cortese was ruthless and ambitious, so that gave him licence to be an absolute c*nt inn some people's eyes. He told people what they wanted to hear, so the CoC sucked it all up and turned on anyone that dared question him. It could have been different, if the Nick nack hadn't been a narcissistic lunatic he could have been a hero. However even his biggest fans now admit that whilst he did a good job he was an absolute Bellend.

[holepuncture]

I will hold my hands up as a CoC member who thought his departure was game over, the dream was finished and the firesale, meltdown and sale of the club to a nomark would happen. I didn't shed a tear or soil anything though.

 

I miss our brutal dictator and also would be interested in his whereabouts.

 

Delighted how we have marched on since.

 

I wish Don Cortese well.

[VectisSaint]

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?48561-Cortese-has-left-Southampton-Football-Club-Officially-Confirmed&highlight=Cortese+leaves#.Vip9qpR4WrU

 

No sign of anyone crying on that thread, except perhaps Poch, who looked close to tears in a photo in a car. No sign of anyone claiming he was irreplaceable either. Think the only ones who remember this were the ones who invented the Cult of Cortese, to be their own little bogeymen.

 

At the end of the day, we would not have a club in its current form if it were not for Cortese, and for that we should be grateful. Otherwise, he was a chairman, they come and go and life goes on.

[CB Fry]

I always enjoy the "no one ever said that" routine.

 

Forum gold.

[The Kraken]

No sign of anyone crying on that thread, except perhaps Poch, who looked close to tears in a photo in a car. No sign of anyone claiming he was irreplaceable either. Think the only ones who remember this were the ones who invented the Cult of Cortese, to be their own little bogeymen.

 

There was certainly some brilliant wailing from some quarters, all on the first couple of pages. And from some pretty hilarious sources.

 

 

Southampton thing been rumbling for a long time. They've made a bad mistake. Liebherr only interested in selling club.

 

Whoever gets Cortese will be making a shrewd move. Very, very sharp. A class act

 

Yep. Nothing short of disastrous imo.

 

He had more of a feel for the football than Lowe, more business acumen that Lowe, and wasnt such an attention-seeking.

 

Look round the PL at the sort of trouble we could be in, in a few short weeks...

 

Absolutely no chance

 

Katherina Leibherr only wants ONE thing

 

To SELL SFC .....

 

Nothing else on her agenda

 

All she has gaurenteed is a very rapid meltdown

 

Alpine's meltdown was absolutely brilliant, reading it back again now :lol:

[Guided Missile]

This old poll sums up what the bunch of sheep on this site really thought when Cortese threatened to resign, before he was pushed. As I posted at the time:

 

Since the purchase of the club by the Liebherr's, Cortese has run the club as his personal fiefdom. His attitude towards many of those involved with the club and others outside, with which he disagrees, has all the hallmarks you would expect from a short Italian given too much power. The main problem, is that most chairman with his attitude, actually have the money to ruffle the feathers that give him the added stature he craves.

The club has been successful on the pitch due in large part to the managers, players and playing staff. The business has been financially successful due to the strict control over costs and the massive increase in non-matchday income from Sky, due to the success on the pitch.

 

The owners will be making a big mistake to cave in to an employee who increasingly confuses the role of a Chairman with that of a Dictator. I think they only have two choices:

 

 

1. Sell the club to new owners who will understand that with investment, there are many financially trained Chairman who can do Cortese's job, without the ongoing damage to the club's reputation.
   
2. Get rid of Cortese and back a new Chairman, with the investment the club requires to meet any ambitions they have.
   

 

 

The poll above provides pretty much the same result as when Adkins was fired. It only serves, as does the Pompey Takeover Thread, how detached from reality you become, when you spend too much time on internet forums.

 

Whoever they get in, I will still turn up, like most other fans. My loyalty is to the team. I am just dreaming of Wenger taking over as Chairman and the Liebherr's financing a new stadium....

[hypochondriac]

I remember all that. I remember posters claiming it was game over, the ambition had gone, some claimed that the club would never be the same again and yes I do recall someone saying they cried. You've got to admire him for the way he managed to get everyone to believe his own propaganda machine. Of course some of us saw through it all and were given all sorts of abuse for it. Cortese was ruthless and ambitious, so that gave him licence to be an absolute c*nt inn some people's eyes. He told people what they wanted to hear, so the CoC sucked it all up and turned on anyone that dared question him. It could have been different, if the Nick nack hadn't been a narcissistic lunatic he could have been a hero. However even his biggest fans now admit that whilst he did a good job he was an absolute Bellend.

 

Thanks for confirming it.

[Jonnyboy]

Thanks for confirming it.

 

Just cos you know ex players and you weren't all getting your little freebies.

[david in sweden]

There was a classic SWF meltdown.I definitely remember some people getting upset, saying he was irreplaceable

 

QUOTE : "....the graveyards are full of irreplacable men " - General Charles de Gaulle (WW2 C-in-C and former French President).

[whelk]

There was certainly some brilliant wailing from some quarters, all on the first couple of pages. And from some pretty hilarious sources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alpine's meltdown was absolutely brilliant, reading it back again now :lol:

 

Tony Evans, who stated only interested in selling has subsequently been given the boot by the Times. Impeccable sources

[sadoldgit]

fans generally go over the top at the moment of big things happening.

I remember stating it as a fact that Wotte would keep us up.

 

god knows how many were sure that Adkins was the next great england manager...the next fergie if you will

 

To be fair there were people outside of the club saying that Adkins could be the next England manager too. Not sure the word "great" was used.

[sadoldgit]

There was certainly some brilliant wailing from some quarters, all on the first couple of pages. And from some pretty hilarious sources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alpine's meltdown was absolutely brilliant, reading it back again now :lol:

 

Unlike Alpine to get things so wrong. Especially as he is so astute in his appraisal of people. Nice to see that you have a Messiah too Alps!

Edited 24 October, 2015 by sadoldgit

[Saint Without a Halo]

Guh. Leeds didn't fail when they had money, they were massively successful by making the CL semi-finals when they had money. It was precisely the kind of overspending Cortese looked like he was trying to implement that brought Leeds down - precisely because it was unsustainable - which is the counter to the stability that Katharina has introduced, and exactly what Cortese was lacking.

 

Which "young, untried players" are these that we signed? For every Clyne and Rodriguez (hardly unknowns as well-known young talented Championship players) there was a Ramirez and an Osvaldo, and as we haven't signed any overpriced Italian-based players since he left* I'm fairly sure we can work out who the influence was there.

 

The academy was a no-brainer - it had existing infrastructure and reputation. Cortese's attitude to it was certainly to try and improve it, but he did so by spending money that hadn't been sanctioned, wasted money on numerous changes which would have been much cheaper had they been planned up front, and put the club in debt, rather than grow it sustainably. So despite his good intentions, he pretty much ballsed up the execution of that too.

 

*that's an argument with Batman right there.

 

So it's easy to do what we did and anyone can do it? I'd love to hear the views of Leeds wolves Sheffield clubs Nottingham forest and countless others who have struggled for years in the lower leagues with and without money

 

Whatever you may think cortese with all his faults and like everyone he had many was the right man in the right place and with the help of others too oversaw a remarkable change around in the way the club was managed brought huge success and left a legacy of good management practice that remains there today

 

I disagree that what he did was either easy or achievable without the vision and single minded ruthlessness he brought to the club . His approach and methodology and single minded determination to impose change is why we are where we are today and to think otherwise is naive in the extreme

 

I am glad we are now more respectful of our old players history and the community but without the changes made non of what we are doing now would be possible

[Coxford_lou]

Does anyone else think it ironic that those who are most critical of Cortese's nastiness, are attacking posters who defend him, in such an unsympathetic way. Most confusing!