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.
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Nice:-)
One just wrote it at 21:46.
From FF
________________________________
Our ‘Legends’ owe it to us to speak out and unite fans
Enough is enough.
A call to arms is long overdue.
Goram, Gough, Hately, Novo and others can do this.
We adored them. We hero worshipped them.
__________________________________
Hatlely is definitely worth listening to
“Charles Green can be to Rangers what Fergus McCann was to Celtic
THE Ibrox chief will stay at the club for the long-term and his approach is similar to that of The Bunnet.”
Vogue punter 2158
Correct.
God bless them both.
TET
Shooooooooooooooooorly the SFA will say ‘enough is enough’…club brings in mullions
fae gullible huns,they cannae keep taking cash of these mugs……………..ach! go on give them another shot. hh
Damo Lennon@21:31
Many thanks for the information
The Hearts situation is the interesting one as they had won 2 leagues and 3 or 4 cups by then.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BeIg6M-CAAAuavN.jpg
I will never do waaaallkiing awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
Jelly with that?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paJqI3xeEFE
Notthebus
Novo…legend…says it all really
Not the bus
They’re calling on nacho novo to save them..?!
I honestly laughed out loud when I read that. I can hardly type this for tears of laughter.
There is one thing I really don’t like on this site – it’s when guys come on and say ” I haven’t had time to read back, so you plebs can give me a resume of what’s what.”
I always think – who the f are you to think you’re so important that you wont read back.
But I’m just back from the Smoke – so allow my hypocrisy – what happened with the Huns today?
tbj praying for oscar knox
22:05 on 16 January, 2014
Bhoys… come on
Wheres your heart.. your humanity .. your compassion .. your sympathy.
I managed to type that without sniggering :))))
———–
Liar.
:-)
notthebus
The ‘legends’ missed oot Sebo…if they can stick the rat Novo in there………
jude2005 is neil lennon \o/
21:57 on 16 January, 2014
Not a lot….quiet day on CQN
TET
Sorry, thought you fell out with me when I misread your post. If the SFA/SFL had just let natural justice take it’s course, this pantomime would never have taken place, and many, and more, investors would have saved themselves millions. The powers that be in our game are the ones to be taken to justice. Cowards, the lot of them. Armageddon my erchie.
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
Phyllis Dietrichson
Read back pleb :O)
djbee
22:10 on 16 January, 2014
Fantastic….hahahahahahaha
Now there is deluded and deluded……..
This is mega deluded from hun media, or a Timposter !!!
………………………………………………….
“It’s possible that Bill Gates could be behind Blue Pitch Holdings.
Administration isn’t going to happen, not unless something changes massively. We’re in a position where, if necessary, the board could bring forward season ticket renewal dates if necessary to bring in funds. Until the board start looking at this option then I don’t think there’s need to worry. They won’t apply for administration before exhausting every potential revenue stream: people are scaremongering at the moment.”
And they wonder why they are in the crapper >}
HH
voguepunter
Actually no one has seen Sebo in Slovakia since he lined up in a charity game in a wee village near me.
I wanted to go along and shout the everlasting SEEEEBBBBOOOOO at him with the hoops on but I was out of the country when said match took place.
It would seem no one knows where he is.
Last I heard he was off in the States or Japan trying to convince them he could play football as well.
Phyllis
Rangers discovered a £800m treasure trove and will soon be masters of the universe.
Messi goal…..cracker
hrvatski jim
22:19 on 16 January, 2014
Phyllis
Rangers discovered a £800m treasure trove and will soon be masters of the universe.
———
I think you’ll find that’s actually a “war chest”…
:-)
Charlie Brooker just featured a piece by the jailed bigot’s brother.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BeIkC7aIMAAdLMM.jpg
You are too quick lads.
Think I’d rather they stumbled on went into administration and liquidation again.
The currants are stupid enough to be bled dry again and again. Hopefully a REAL RANGERS MAN will front the next sham.
I’d like this humiliation to become an annual event.
What about our new bhoy not ready to play on saturday? Neil says he hasn’t played since november. FFS He’s 23 years old and a professional footballer, so wtf is the problem. It’s the spfl, not the CL. If CFC want a good turnout on saturday, get our best team on the park. I’ll be there.
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
voguepunter
22:03 on 16 January, 2014
TOSB
Where’s Loch Amber? sounds a lubbily place.
……………………….
Awnfeck I’ve done it again, damned iPad predictive text :-))
Actually a Loch Amber is a 12 year old malt, similar to a Laphraoigh with peaty subtle peaty flavours. :-))
Cheers voguepunter – this is the site for putting people in their place. Good on you
hrvatski jim
22:19 on 16 January, 2014
Ah, so whyte has surfaced again……I thought he was worth more than that….. :)
Is it too late to organise a bucket collection at the Motherwell game for them. ?
from FF
We need less of these guys
——————————————
Will we ever get back to the top ?
i fear we will limp on and wither away slowly after a long lingering fight for life
if we survive we will be a pale imitation of the Club i know. There are plenty of EX Big Clubs roaming around thinking they still are while others look on and snigger as they watch them embarrass themselves
_____________
and more of these
______________
As far as I am concerned we are always at the top, regardless of what league we are in
**** the rest of them and their tinpot mind games
There is a saying that will ensure we will always remain at the top of whatever league we are in, and that saying is;
WE ARE THE PEOPLE!!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BeIkq2cIMAAYmQ8.jpg
Not long now till Scotland Tonight, STV at 1030 I think. All this nostalgia…fair reminds me of the original incarnation of the Bhuns so it does :-)
Somebody posted about this becoming an.annual event. I’d prefer this to be The End. The Very End. No More.
Sorry for sweary words again, can’t see my eyes are wet.
ScotlandTonight @ScotlandTonight 2 hrs
We’ll also be looking at the latest in the financial situation at Rangers. Do you think the club’s on the verge of another financial crisis?
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Snake
Don’t tell me…he’s done a runner with the charity money?
TOSB :)
Phyliss :) you’re welcome.
Weefra
Remember who we are playing. A player not 100% fit against that mob! They would take every opportunity to knock him out for the season and less than 100% fit you don’t beat those tackle s
Evening, just reading back from 18:00, I think someone is in trouble…. !
Ayrshire is Green and White
HH