The Don Has Left the Building. Now What?

The King is Dead....

Like this time last year, I embark on a piece without knowing how it will turn out….

Fuck it.

Last year we bought Vegard Forren to cover up the news that Nigel Adkins had been sacked and this year we release Tadanari Lee to deflect from the news that The Don, Nicola Cortese has left.  Our diversionary tactics are not quite up to scratch are they?

So, just when you thought it was going to be a never ending rise to our rightful position of Champions of the World, we get the news that Nicola Cortese wasn’t bluffing this time and has left the building.  Once again, fuck it ….. and breathe!

In a short statement, Katherina Liebherr announced she was taking over the day to day running of the club and that she wanted The Don to stay.  That puts a slightly unexpected slant on it straight away as in the summer we were fed stories of discontent.  Maybe she wanted him to stay as she couldn’t be bothered with running a football club.  More likely is that there’s a clash over business strategy as she can’t have failed to be impressed by a man who advised her father to buy something for £14 million and make it worth around £150 million in four and a half years.  We will see.

The Don has been a success on a massive scale.  Saved the club and League One Minus 10 (what a catchy phrase that is !!!) to 9^th in the Premier League in four and a half years.  He of course advised that Markus Liebherr purchased the club and was CEO on his behalf, seen as Mr Nasty in contrast to Markus’ Mr Nice.  When Markus died, there was a question mark over how things were going to continue but Nicola Cortese picked up the ball and with the backing of the Liebherr estate, ran with it and oversaw us getting promoted twice in two seasons and back into the Premier League.  He said he’d do that in five years but did it in three.  Away from the first team we’ve seen the Staplewood training ground be totally revamped, Grade A Academy status earned and that Academy bring things full circle by providing players for the first team.  He simply cannot be knocked for his achievements which have put the club on the map once more.  Of course with all successful people, there are casualties and there have been many who have fallen foul of him and I’ve heard stories of companies who just wouldn’t deal with him.  As far as I know, the spat with the Daily Echo is still going on for example.  It’s true in all walk of life though that you will be forgiven your methods if you are ultimately successful and he has been. 

Personally I liked the fact that he did things his way and didn’t give a shit what many people thought.  He didn’t like the media, he didn’t like agents, he didn’t like freeloaders and he did things on his terms.  He didn’t have a football background but he was successful in the football industry.  Many struggle when someone comes in from outside football’s protective bubble and shakes things up.  Some of his methods seemed heavy handed and I’m sure that there are many who won’t be sorry to see him gone.  Careful what you wish for.  For me he’s been fantastic for my football club and I’d like to place on record my gratitude for what he’s achieved and also, all the mileage I got out of horses head jokes.

The first inclination that most people seem to have when a successful person leaves a post is that everything will now die on its arse.  Sure, this rocks the boat and it rocks it a lot but is the boat merely rocking or is the boat about to develop a Titanic-iceberg-sized hole beneath the water line.  We and the media in particular love an impending disaster of apocalyptic proportions.  When there was the change of manager with Nigel Adkins last year, everyone thought that everything would implode and we would slide down the league and get relegated.  It didn’t exactly happen like that and you could tell it wouldn’t go that way from the first match of Mauricio’s reign when we put in a really decent performance against Everton at SMS.  This time around there is an assumption, especially in my favourite sections of society – the media and Pompey fans, that it will all come crashing down, every player will leave and we won’t get another point all season.  Hang on a minute, surely a manager leaving will have more effect on a team than a CEO.  The tone of this article might be a bit different if I have to rewrite it if Mauricio leaves.

All fans care about it what happens now.  There has been talk of Cortese coming back with some rich associates for a takeover which I would say is unlikely in the extreme.  Before we start worrying about that though, we have the immediate issue of Mauricio Pochettino and the players during this transfer window.  The media have of course been all over the quote from Mauricio from the summer where he said that he couldn’t see himself at Saints if Cortese wasn’t and they will be longing for him to quit.  There are also the quotes from the players like Morgan Schneiderlin and Luke Shaw who have stated their support for Cortese.  I have always had an element of cynicism about those quotes (and those made by other players) as if the players concerned had been advised to say them, especially when they made them during The Don’s carefully orchestrated media campaign in the summer when he was trying to secure funds for the future from the Liebherr family.  If you take those players as an example, Morgan was brought to the club before Cortese and Luke has been at the club since he was 8 which pre-dates Cortese by 5 years. I have no doubt that they do have an affinity with the man who has overseen their emergence as Premier League footballers and rewarded them very well financially but in my opinion – if you angle for a transfer because a CEO leaves then that’s a bit odd.  I can understand wanting to leave if a manager leaves (which they regularly do of course) which makes it vital that if we can, we keep Mauricio Pochettino and all the coaches which I’m sure Katherina will try and do.  Regardless of what The Don said regarding the manager being a Department Head, I’m of the opinion that at a football club, the First team manager is the most important person there is.

So, what’s the actual story of his departure?  There have been stories that The Don actually resigned in the summer and was working his notice period.  If that’s true then I find it had to believe that Mauricio didn’t know this was the case.  If this was the case however then I imagine that Mauricio is feeling very let down by Cortese if he wasn’t told until today.  The other story was that Cortese has tried to persuade Mauricio to stay on as manager.  This gave rise to the ‘he’s coming back’ theory.  It goes without saying that we need this excellent manager to stay and continue his work.

As fans we have a job to do which is of course to support the club.  I admit I threw my toys out a bit when Nigel Adkins left and that didn’t turn out too badly did it?  My over-reaction is there for all to see on twitter if you want to look it up.  Consequently, I’m not going overboard about this – at least until it plays out and we hear the intentions of the new owner, what the manager and coaching staff are up to and get to January 31^st and the transfer window closes.  When Adkins left, we as fans were brilliant at the next game and there was 100% support for the team.  Anyone remember the white hankie protest?  No, me neither.  In comparison, aside from the inevitable few keyboard warriors, I hope we at least allow Katharina Liebherr the chance to show her colours and that people remember that everything Nicola Cortese achieved would not have been possible without the financial backing from her family.

Prepare for a bullshit maelstrom for the next couple of weeks in the media but whatever happens, whoever comes in and whoever leaves – it’s the club that remains, that’s what you support and that’s the important thing.  One thing that Ted Bates, Lawrie Mac, Matt le Tiss, Mick Channon, Markus Liebherr and Nicola Cortese have in common is that they are all Saints heroes or legends, all considered irreplaceable at one time or another and for varying reasons, none of them are involved with the club any more.  We move on.

COYR.