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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I’m getting toooooo excited here….hahahahahahaha
Old Robert on SSB sounds like an auld past master of yon ludge, bitter man.
Hun skelper.
Nothing just cqn being over interested in the dead mob.
Bournesouprecipe and Bada Bing
Nail on the head.
Guys like auld Robert on SSB Are the reason thems are in the state they are in now, bitter auld Hun.
bournesouprecipe
19:05 on 16 January, 2014
NAIL HEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seems to be Old Firm fan time .
Stuff The Old Firm CSC ——way down south .
Off oot for the best pizza in Montalbano Land .
Commons: Honour to be compared to Lubo
http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=5264
I think SSB better have a medic handy for auld Rab here….he’s gonna have a seizure in a minute……..
Goooood evening happy house…Nirvana!
Could say the Club that keeps on giving but wait, that Club is dead. The newco is only starting to give…:)
A serious thought to ponder, if and I say if they are the same Club, when and not if they go in to administration they will be deducted 25 points for a second offence. However, if they are a newco, first offence is only 15 points. What will they claim to be when they go in to administration, oldco or newco?
I know what my money is on!
Oh for the record old or newco…I can smell the liquid…again…:)
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
SSN stuttering and stammering their way through how Sevco players are not up for a cut. Then say it was just an exploratory discussion and mibbe it didnae really happen at all………..hurting scum; hell mend them too,
FF ….. “Never saw this coming” Whit??
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha
andthensomeCSC
All I have to say is thank God we are in safe hands.
Need to ask Jim White what he thinks about all of this; am sure he will be interested :-))
Dave King to the rescue…god help them
Aaaaand its Celtic, Celtic thats the team for me…..
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Could someone let Broganrogan & The Battered Bunnet know that a nasty vile little blog has there names & pictures on it please
” shameful,we brought 22 million in and also sold 36 thousand season tickets,we have a wage bill that sits at 37 percent of the clubs turnover,were the f*** has the money went because it certainly has not went on players”
Has anyone ever asked what kind of signing on fee’s their (supposedly) free signings got in september?
Lennybhoy
This is cqn get posting about the race night.
Lets talk Celtic and Celtic men
Can someone tell them if the “glib shameless liar” gets over 30% he has to make an offer at a 12 month high of 88:8p to the other 70%
stupid stupid huns
Anyone of the CQN undercover guys back fro FF yet?
Rangers latest signings
Mizaru,
Kikazaru,
Iwazaru
Ryecatcher
I ve supported the peace process since the IRA gave it their full backing. In my book any republican dissident is a criminal.
If Martin Corey or anyone else for that matter doesn’t support the peace process then it’s democratic right to say whatever they like within the confines of the law.
To intern him for four years without charges because he doesn’t agree with the ceasefire?
That’s not only unjust I would think its criminal.
paul67
15:09 on 16 January, 2014
67Heaven, I originally wrote that line differently, then thought better……
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha….brilliant…..
BSR-Beat me to the punch re Regan,now preparing for “civil unrest” Part 2
A question. Could Sevco2 buy Sevco1’s History as well as Rangers should they wish to do so. Or if they don’t want a couple of bottom Division Titles on their C.V. could they just buy Ranger’s history and air-brush Sevco1 out of the equation. Its Conga time again, all together now “Oh the Huns are going Bust”
MurdochauldandHay
Which one ?
HH
Tony
This kinda sums up the FF mood
Re: Players Refuse to take Pay Cut
It’s all good & well shouting “spivs out” (I agree wholeheartedly) , but what can we do (ordinary supporters) do to ensure this happens ?
I’m f&*$£g sick fed up with how we are continually taken for granted and just seem to be used a money cow for these immoral barstewards.
Keep the SSB updates bhoys I would listen but made a
promise to myself some year’s ago.
twists n turns
19:16 on 16 January, 2014
….and they’ re kamakaze bouncers…..hehe
Hope someone in the clink is letting Limmy hear @ClydeSSB tonight ,hopefully his new “Daddy”
Looks like – Huns on the run!
The blog is feckin great tonight…..
I feel as if something is about to happen again……
Sean on SSB, a current bun? Lol he havin a laugh.
They have wifes to feed, dearie me >}
HH
The players at Decca have refused a 15% paycut.
Ok so where does that leave them? Anyone know their wagebill? How much are they looking to ‘save’?
celtic should offer 30 bob for Wallace ………just coz
Hail Hail Messiah Commons
scullybhoy
19:12 on 16 January, 2014
All I have to say is thank God we are in safe hands.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
…are you listening, Neganon2………..KevJ won’t be …..he’s off oot ….