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 9th 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 31st 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.
