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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Marakesh express
Yes very sad news, I kind of new when you where asking me last week, but it’s not the kind of thing you would want to speculate as you will understand, BUT he has gone to a better place, and may he rest in peace.
T(anylurkinghunsgiruy)D67
Cheers
Greenmaestro… apologies… I just repeated what you had already posted …. next time I will read back a page or so first
natknow – supporting wee oscar
11:05 on 17 January, 2014
Ssshhhhhhh……..he’s anything but useless……he’s a Godsend…..hahahahahahahahaha
tonydonnelly67
10:40 on 17 January, 2014
Prestonpans Bhoys
I have just started it, it’s for my own amusement, but what I will tell you is, there are some dodgy characters in here going by my poll, and if they keep up they’re dodgieness, rest assured they will be outed, I feel as a dyed in the wool Tim it is my duty, my work is not done yet, in my fathers house there are many rooms, but no room at the inn for thems, go in peace my son and spread the word, lurking huns GIRUYs, HH
TD – have you borrowsed the ole Sorting Hat from Hogwarts for this hun-identification exercise? Bring it along to the CQN-Ten Dinner!
“Oh you may not think I’m pretty, but don’t judge on what you see, I’ll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me….”
Oooops …robcfc11<————–scratched off the list, sorryyyyyyyyy :(
Well Tom Rogic is off on loan to Australia got me thinking I believe at Celtic we have around 50 signed players now why do we need them all many will never see the first team ? Why not bring the number down to 30 signed players thus saving the wages of the 20 we shed that would mean we could perhaps pay a bit more for players and more players would get a chance of first team football now and again.If we allow Lennie to go on as he is the number will have crept up to 60 signed players before we know it not the best use of resources in my opinion.H.H.
The word is spreading, so it is.
Today’s Guardian ‘Quick Crossword’:
clue – Lout
answer – orc
TeeHeeTitter
Nayknow <———–off the list, jist a gut feeling on that one ;))
67Heaven … @ 10:59,
“Think the jellyfish money is still at the‘rumour’ stage…..?”
Could well be. It comes down yet again to the Five way agreement.
If RFC (ia) didn’t pay Rapid Vienna in full for Jelavic my guess is they couldn’t persue Everton for any sell on clause, UEFA have pretty strict rules on this.
BDO might well have thought they got a good deal, by allowing Sevco to pay the RV debt, they have one less creditor, plus potential monies if/when Jelavic is sold-on.
These sort of deals might be the reason the liquidation is taking so long.
Hail Hail
ryecatcher
10:59 on 17 January, 2014
BIGNAN…
Also love that word Dreich
You should see their faces down here whenever I use it.
Anyway,anything but dreich in mid Englandshire today woop woop.
Get yerself up to the Ainster Fish Bar…..that truly wonderful establishment will chase away any weather blues.
…………………………………
It’s actually brightening up as we type.
As for Ainster Fish Bar, I used it for years but lately have taken to the one at the other end of the prom in Anstruther.
Batter that is light as a feather and so crunchy it’s like eating crisps.
Summer day eating chips and fish at Anstruther takes some beating.
TD…. That I was even on a list for that in the first place shows poor judgement on your part I’m afraid…. :)
Tonydonnelly,
Are you a Celtic Oscar Schindler?
Does the ‘Franks Bus’ have equipment for recovering sunken treasure hidden in the Luggage compartment?
Do you plan your own chat show soon on a Celtic network podcast….set in the Brazen Heed?
Do you plan to dress like Des O’Connor,Terry Wogan,or Fatboy Jonathan Ross on your chat show?
JFH
I didn’t realise our playing squad was so large. 50 full time pros?
The devlopment squad must be included in that figure. No?
tonydonnelly67
11:17 on 17 January, 2014
Nayknow <———–off the list, jist a gut feeling on that one ;))
LOL! That'sthe only time I've shortlisted for anything as well! Mind you, not a list I'd want to be on!!
tonydonnelly67
10:40 on 17 January, 2014
I find the best time for sevcowatching
Is after a poor result.
Lots of new “friends” appear urging us to sack the board.
It wouldn’t surprise me if JI had hunterlopers come on to create disharmony. That seems to be his style.
He went to great lengths to silence CF, who posted correspondence between jack and various newspapers, spreading unfounded negative stories about Celtic.
Needless to say the smsm were more than happy to print these stories without question.
Off on a bit of a rant. Away for a lie down.
Robcfc11
A couple of wee hick ups at the start, as you can see if you scroll back a few pages, Paul 67 was on it, so you where in good company, looks like it is starting to take shape now, there are a few double agents that are holding up the process, but I’m getting there ;))
Ryecatcher
Yes, yes, yes, no, ;))
BIGNAN,
Unfortunately haven’t been up the East Neuk of Fife for at least 15 years….I used to so love going up that way,particularly in the company of my mum who adored that whole coastline.I lost her 12 years ago and found it difficult at first to revisit places I had been with her as it was too raw for me at first.
Time is a great healer and all that and I will get back up there soon.
The Ainster Fish Bar was sublime back then but the best Haddock and Chips I have ever tasted was just along the road from it in a wee place called Pittenweem….you probably know it very well.
ger57. I would think that no. was all signed players but for me it is far to many but that is only my opinion.H.H.
Another wee comment from the RIFC Shares Discussion Board – this will be unpalatable to many an orc, a business guy talking sense.
“Footballers have a relatively short period of time to earn quite substantial sums of money. It could end in a moment with an ill-judged tackle. They would be crazy to take a pay cut. Besides, the original Rangers got players to take a pay cut in the hope of saving the club but it was too little, too late. The club folded anyway and the players lost out on wages that they were entitled to expect. If new Rangers really want to survive, they need to rebuild from the bottom up. That means playing in a stadium that they can afford to run, operating with support staff that are more akin to a junior club and building slowly. If they have to lose supporters whilst they do this, so be it. But building sustainably is the way forward, not trying to blitz their way back to the top in as fast a time as possible funded on an ad hoc basis by what amounts to charity donations by fans at the time of the share issue. As was said at the AGM, the current spend profile would not be sustainable even for a top flight club with income being maximised. That means that current practices would never be right and must be stopped forthwith. With the benefit of hindsight, trying to resurrect the original Rangers was not the smartest idea since it also meant resurrecting assets and business practices that haemorrhage cash. Starting completely afresh would have been the way to do it – but I guess people worried that doing so would alienate the customer base. I’m not a big football fan but this is a very interesting case study in company dynamics.”
I’m sure I read some where that thems liquidation process could take another year at least?
THE BOY JINKY 1105
A genuinely LOL (or LMFAO,in deference to your good self) moment!
Revenge is indeed sweet…
TD… It’s fine mate, no offence actually taken.. me and the grand master at the ludje wull have a pure laugh aboot it :)
Young acgr turned 18 on Sunday and is buying his auld faither his first official pint at tomorrows pre match gathering at Coia’s.
Yipppeeeeeeeee!!!!
JFH
We need a good sized squad to cover for injuries, suspensions and to keep keen competition for places amongst the players. So if that figure does include the devt squad, it’s maybe not too outrageous.
A CEILER GONOF RUST
A pint in COIA’s?
You give the young whippersnapper too much pocket money!
cowiebhoy supporting the celtic to 3 in a row
09:32 on 17 January, 2014
The money Jelavic will go to BDO/RFC in Liquidation.
Morning lads,
i remember reading a post by one of our resident expert financial types explaining the rationale behind Celtic’s co-op loans, whereby the loan faciluity needs to be exhausted to trigger the availabiluity of the overdraft.
Can somebody (I’m thinking The Battered Bunnet, Harry Brady, Ernie Lynch) explain this to me?
Much obliged!
Its a massaker
..
I dont think that lot do mass
Tonydonnelly….
Who do you plan to dress like on your chat show then?
Can imagine you as a more debonnaire version of Charles Green….far more handsome….shirt from Ralph Slaters….suit from there too….shoes from the Celtic superstore with an understated little ‘I Love The Board’ motif stitched on the heel,Versace glasses perched on the bridge of your nose….interviewing one of the Green Brigade,Jeremy Paxman style.Really confrontational like.
I cannae wait……Can I be a guest soon?
Aye bobm, but Im sure it will be paud back with interest when Im cutting aboot in ma zimmer:-)
And naw, I dont mean next week…….
From FrPaulStone
@TheMcLane @macbloscaidh @STVGrant @TomEnglishSport Quite simply, that is a completely false statement in the Mail. Incredible rubbish.
@EdgarBlamm @danceswithhaggi @pmcn888 They won’t see a single penny of that cash. Legally, it’s simply not possible.
@EdgarBlamm @danceswithhaggi @pmcn888 This is just simply utter BS from someone like @JackIrvine to get the bears complaining.
@EdgarBlamm @danceswithhaggi @pmcn888 @JackIrvine It’s PR rubbish. Not a single penny generated by DeadCo legally can ever go to Sevco.
@EdgarBlamm @danceswithhaggi @pmcn888 @JackIrvine Eg CG tried it on with the players who walked away. Not a penny was paid to him except @EdgarBlamm @danceswithhaggi @pmcn888 @JackIrvine –> Southampton who paid something for Davis as he couldn’t play if a legal battle ensued.
Saints paid so they could get him playing, not cos they legally had to.
ACGR….
When did they start serving the demon drink in Coias?
“Some of the minor mechanics of his genius were often subject to mysterious little break downs.”
I read the line above, in a short story, last night. I immediately thought of Ally McCoist and Charles Green.
Marrakesh Express
10:29 on
17 January, 2014
Two years down the line and three of the main players in the great Sevco scandal remain free of msm criticism.
1. Murray, ultimately responsible for the whole shabang.
2. Walt, the man who spent the money they couldnt afford, then stuck his snout in the trough to cream 50k a year for turning up at games.
3. Coisty, another with megasnout in trough, already a multi-millionaire alone form his tv career, but really needing an EPL wage to manage in SPFL3. Kicked started the downfall by getting bumped out of 2 Euro trophies in the space of 4 weeks.
But no…its all the fault of Green, Whyte, Mather, Ahmed, Stockbridge, The Krays, Johnston, Lloyds tsb, Doncaster, Reagan, Lawwell etc etc.
This is what should be on the front pages.
To confirm the downfall.
The Truth will come out, it always does, eventually.
The deluded will have to face up to it,
In my hun infested workplace, the sound of silence is deafening.
It is finally filtering through their thick skulls,what we have all known for a long time.
Twice In A Lifetime is one of my favourite songs.
Have to go, 10 to 12, and not a dish washed.
RYECATCHER
As soon as they knew “the graveyard shift” had moved away.
JFH
I didn’t realise our playing squad was so large. 50 full time pros?
The new Rangers have 56 full time pros.