Yesterday, Southampton’s chairman Nicola Cortese resigned. Depending on how long you have been trailing this story, he is either being tempted to take up the chef exec job at struggling Milan, or has found working under owner Katharine Liebharr too much. It’s also possible that Ms Liebharr has insisted on a return on her family’s two rounds of investment in the club and forced his hand.
Five years ago Cortese was a working in Switzerland as a banker and acted on behalf of the now-deceased and father of Katharine, Markus Liebharr. They successfully put a deal together to buy Southampton FC and rescue the club from administration (liquidation is not inevitable, some clubs survive). Cortese had no previous experience in the football industry.
Southampton are a small club who seem cursed to produce incredibly talented youth players, only to see extraordinarily bad executives spurn their bounty. I remember writing about their ‘blood on the boardroom carpet’ six years ago.
A year ago this Saturday, Cortese sacked Nigel Atkins, the manager who won them two successive promotions and put them in a comfortable position on the FA Premier League. Cortese was to 2013 what Vincent Tan is to 2014, the butt of a thousand jokes, but none of us were reading the script.
Cortese’ next move was to appoint Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, the 40-year-old recently sacked manager of Espanyol. Southampton haven’t looked back, despite the words “Hooiveld” and “Fox” regularly featuring on team sheets.
Pochettino is now one of the hottest properties in football but he’s not the story, his former boss is. In appointing a young, low-profile, manager, Cortese tackled square-on the biggest problem in football – the vast risk invested on the shoulders of one man, the manager. A football manager is expected to be a master of tactics, a motivational dressing room speaker, a media communications expert, a scout and pretty much guru of everything.
None of them are good at all of this. As a consequence, clubs invest vast proportions of turnover on player wages and transfers, with haphazard diligence being carried out. The man ultimately responsible for approving this spend is more likely to be a shouty media darling, spending an average of 2.5 years at the club, than someone who has experience of long-term strategic planning.
Cortese figured that what he really needed in a manager was a tactical head, someone who could run a technical team, consulting with scouts, coaches, nutritionists and fitness trainers, and come up with what American football teams call a playbook. You want to play at Old Trafford? This is what worked when small teams visited the Bernabeu last season. Playing teams’ taller/faster/luckier with referees than you? You’ve got to see how these guys are leveling the playing field in Uruguay.
Football clubs need their manager to be Master of Tactics, and if they can concentrate him on this, they’re doing better than 90% of clubs in the game. They don’t need someone ‘connected’ to agents in value markets, this attribute can be recruited easily. They don’t need a good media talker. Despite being able to speak English, Pochettino gives press conferences through an interpreter. Yet the fans love him!
Clubs don’t need someone to play to the galleries, or someone with the ability to induce affinity from his public, most of the time results will keep (most) fans onside.
With his technically-proficient and happy-to-be-working-anywhere manager installed, Cortese had all operations working as he wanted, including the inordinately expensive recruitment process. Sacking a good and successful manager in Atkins was the most ballsy and innovative thing to happen in English football in decades, but he was operating in an industry which is the biggest financial basket case in sport. So, despite his clarity of vision, the Southampton gig was never going to last.
Today’s newspapers predict a mass exodus as Pochettino and Southampton’s gifted players head for the exit, good news for Joos and Danny, perhaps, but you feel for the beleaguered fans, who were shown a glimpse of how things should be done, but for years will wonder, what could have been?
The rest of us can ponder the opportunity available due to entrenched inefficiencies in football.
“You should always have pressure on you”, Stefan Johansen, 15 January 2014. I like this guy already.
Last shout for North America based Celtic fans for the Feile, which starts in Philidelphia tomorrow. Full details of the events can be found here. it’s bound to be a great weekend so get along if you can.
[calameo code=000390171ece27dd9e54e lang=en page=98 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
942 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- ...
- 25
- »
BT
You calm doon laddie, yer at a bad age to take drinking Malt Whis………… Ach awrite batter in. Yer Phisio must be a millionair by now, no? :))) How you this weather, must be feeling fine by now. Lookin forward to seeing yer ole buddy on saturday. :))
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
This is one repeat I don’t mind watching again.
Hard to believe that the berrz are sitting back and allowing it to happen.
BT Mine would have been a 16 YO Lagavulin
MyseatangtasteCSC
leftclick Together we will get justice for the Dam 5
Many thanks, might just give that a look see the morra >}
HH
Barca can wait……leave you with this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ0cEc7Su9Q&sns=em
Weefra.
Pain is no problem when u have amytriptaline and malt..
Gerry
Don’t have any Lagavulin. Need to add it to the spirit press which is well away from the gang hut..
sell and leaseback on its way….and sold as a new beginning
Then watch the vultures eat the corpse
No quick death here, just a slow lingering painful demise
Oh how I want them at CP next round of he cup… tenner a ticket as we split the gate
Many of us thought sale and leaseback was the play. Well the new investors don’t hang around that long. The last fund was open for 4 years and is now being closed.
I don’t see them getting control quickly enough to get that set up and get their return.
Getting control and getting planning permission might be a lot quicker though…
bada !
Joke of the night , texting that on !
Befroe the moaners whine about too much Zombie talk on a Celtic blog, I want to take a moment to remind us all why their misery should be celebrated at all time without remorse, regret or mercyy.
I present this creature, posted on FF tonight:
=========================
Sam_English Sam_English is online now
T.C.I.G.T.T.M.
Join Date: 28-07-2006
Location: Ironwood State Penitentiary
Posts: 53,366
Default Re: an Embarrassing shambles
Our club is a complete and utter shambles with no light at the end of the tunnel.
=============================
Aside from reveling in his obvious depression, just take a moment to consider the mindset behind the nickname…
And that should be enough for any Celtic man to gladly hammer the stake through their heart and the final nail into their coffin.
To keep you all updated, the old dog is in the hands of the SSPCA for assessment. They will keep me updated with progress. We will, of course, have to undergo an assessment, but as we already have 2 rescue dogs, I don’t see a problem. But, you never know.
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
Weefrathetim
Remember that dug from edinburgh cat and dog home I was talking about the other day, well its coming home! To view him see their web site, view our dogs and look at josh :)
FROM FOLLOW FOLLOW
Iv got a feeling at the beginning of next season we will enter administration and our club will be taken apart by the blood sucking, robbing, trampy spiv bastards.
Where are the “rangers men” with cash??
Totally scunnered with this shit.
Get out our club you spiv (unts
….
Why doesn’t Ally McCoist tell us what he thinks.
…
McCoist should speak out
________________________________________
Call for the head of Stockbridge – he’s a handsomely paid finance director, what’s he being paid for if he can’t balance a set of accounts?
…
e: McCoist should speak out
________________________________________
I think this latest serving of bullshit will be a step too far for ally. Imo he needs to walk to retain any credibility.
,,,
That won’t happen.
However I believe this cackhanded idea was aimed at marginalizing Ally
…
I love Ally, however he needs to put the club, the fans and the players ahead of his job and make a proper statement, the majority of fans will stand with him
…
Sadly this isnt going to happen
…
Is he prepared to stand up and call a spade a spade, mate?
…
exactly I’m pretty sure he’s got enough money to live a more than comfortable life even if he never worked again. Put the club first just this once
..
This. If he doesn’t then I think a lot of people will lose some respect for the man
…
Don’t be ridiculous
… Ally is a great player and servant but he’s a political animal that I think sometimes has himself as top priority. As I said I’ve got a lot of time for him but I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for him to make a stand that doesn’t serve him well.
… So what happens when the one man involved with the club goes on a suicide mission?
It will achieve nothing just as Walters departure did.
Nothing is going to change until people with the clubs best interests control the majority of the shares.
..
He doesn’t do walking away. A phrase that was lapped at the time but I was always afraid it would come back to haunt him. He’s my absolute hero and always will be but the fact he was involved with the very idea of asking the players to take a pay cut makes me wonder if he knows what he is doing.
Re: McCoist should speak out
________________________________________
Ally will sit on the fence as he always does where his masters are concerned.
It won’t change now.
BT
Mrsweefra’s on that as well. I’m trying to get her on to the Amitriptyline. :)))
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
When I hear the media mentioning Dave King I always think of the episode from Father Ted when the priests are discussing a way in saving Father Dougal who has a bomb on the milk float. After a while they come up with another Mass. Father Ted “that’s the best you can come up with, another mass” ???????
I think Dave King is the best that lot can come up with.
Where has sally gone, where has whyte / green gone….far far away, far far away
pic.twitter.com/PzrLWnGBqb
!!Bada Bing!! –
Hope you don’t mind if I steal that Duranty joke for Twitter. If I have any characters left I’ll give you the credit!
*…just coming dear….Silent Witness you say… :-( *
Jobo
Hahahahahahaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1mV7Oabty0&sns=em
15% wage cut .. Farting against thunder
Sandman, 21:02
Could you do the decent thing and tell Sam English not to worry – there is a light at the end of the tunnel after all.
It’s a juggernaut on the wrong side of the road
Where is whathisname from the players union, Jim I think his name is he will be all over the SMSM tomorrow, asking players to take a drop in wages? Is it Fitzpatrick, can never remember his name.
Or maybe he won’t get a call.
Ssshhhhhoooooosh
DJBEE
Frazer Wishart?
Scotland tonight has thr sevco story tonight, Can we all hold hands and pray that Cwissy Graham is on
please
please
please
please
please
“@padrepio1916: Of course you are…… http://twitter.com/padrepio1916/status/423885185999183872/photo/1”
prestonpans
Can you give me a link to that. Can’t get an answer from them on twitter. :) cheers buddy.
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
Losing £1m per month….£12m per annum
For the 15% cut to cure the problem …there annual wage structure would have to be circa £96m
Hilarious listening on Shortbread tonight …..Green was getting pelters for setting up this financial mess ….he had nothing to do with the wage structure this year ….
Hi OG
Whats the scoop? any inside track?
Paul67 FWIW I agree entirely with some others who’ve posted earlier and say that today’s article is a CQN high water mark.
With respect to Lenny, he has had tactical masterstrokes i.e. v Barcelona 2012 and tactical mishaps…not sure how much advice he takes from ‘outsiders’ as in say Any Given Sunday or in the Formula 1 paddock which are much more in tune with your ways of thinking.
Weefra
I’ll Look out laptop I’m on the tablet and can not do a link give me 10 mins
“@MattMcGlone9: “Am telling you Jim, wherz ra money gone? Here you go Gordon, on a daily drip right down Edminston Drive #heehaw http://twitter.com/MattMcGlone9/status/423899372515262464/photo/1”
Sorry lads, definitely my last cut & paste from Bears Den, of all the posts this one really made me laugh, when I got to the last line.
We need to sell all the players who can attract a fee, ie Wallace, Black, Mohsni, Daly, Temps and Shiels IMO. I know the board should be taking wage cuts, but let’s be realistic. Reckon we could get 3million for the lot and a further 3million in saved wages. There’s 6m right away. No-one will take them though. Worrying times
I’ll post this yet….aaarrrggghhh
“We don’t do docking our pay”
From Twitter
HH
WeefratheTim
http://www.edch.org.uk/index.php/rehoming/our_dogs
Good night all
SFTB,
I don’t know about Dundee, but neither the Hibs nor Hearts situations are the same as Sevco.
Hibernians became inactive in 1891 and didn’t play any games till late 1892.
They were an unincorporated association, with no legal personality separate from their members, so the club was not liquidated.
If the members of the reformed club in 1892 were the same members as in 1891, legally they can probably be viewed as the same club.
As for Hearts, in 1905 the shareholders voluntarily wound up the company. They then formed a new company and paid the debts of the old company in full.
Legally therefore, Hearts can claim the trading history of the original company.
Ik my view, Hibs and Hearts can reasonably claim to be the same clubs as founded in 1875 and 1874.
Seriously when does fat Sally get the boot for gross negligence or whatever it’s called?
That wee muppet was as recently as last week sayin he was lookin to buy players?!
Hmmm.
Word round the campfire is that Sevco are in big trouble.
OG rafferty is back online.
Coincidence? I think not…
Go on OG Make us smile. You know you want to.
:-)
McDowellcelt god bless wee oscar
Ssssshhhhhhhhhhh
the longer the fat sleekit one is there the better :))
This time good night all