I
Have
it
on
no
Authority
Cortese
may
have
funding
issues
he’s coming up a little short
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Why has everyone got such a downer on our former Nepoleonic (Complex) Chairman? He had a vision which he was unable to fulfil because a) the Prem voted for stopping the sugar daddy funding… (even though it was AFTER several clubs had used it to gain a stranglehold on the top positions - and its bolox anyway as ‘infrastructure’ does not count*…) and b) Without Markus holding the purse strings, it was never going to happen. (TBH, we have no idea how much ML would have been prepared to fund developments… I assume that what Cortese wanted from Katharina may even have been more than ML would have provided…)… but he did have a plan and was ruthless about it.
*(NB. Its not beyond the relams of possibilty to assume that the reason Cortese wanted KL to fund staplewood, was exactly for this reason… she was in effect allowed to, without it impacting on football operations as woudl not have been included in commercial rvenues)
I must admit, I dont have the same concerns about ‘history’ and ex players and all that touchy feely stuff. Why? Do I lack emotion etc? No, but I am no schoolboy fantasist either - they are just blokes who played football rather well and got paid for it - I enjoyed watching them, but to insist they are somehow more deserving of respect or freebies than any of us because of doing their job is somewhat odd really. I would understand the issue more if we were banging on about the 2million ex players raised for charity or work they do week in week out with homeless folks etc, but giving us fleeting pleasure (and misery) by kicking a ball around? Seriously? I can understand kids having sporting heros elevated to god like status, but mature adults?
Cortese appears to have been a bit of bastard… but I have worked wth enough of those to recognise its manageable, if you work at it, and they often have the drive and determination needed to make unpalatable but necessary decisions. If it were politics, I could understand the vitriol, but leading a football club?.. and getting from L1 to stable in the prem in 4 years? Or am I being unreasonable?
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He made us some lovely omlettes - but he broke every fucking egg in the shop.
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I think that many fans were unhappy about treatment of former players. It’s not a question of herp-worshipping, just a feeling that the club should treat ex-players with respect, all the more so if they contributed a great deal to the club. Cortese’s view seemed to be that anything which happened before he turned up simply didn’t exist. History is important to most fans, and seeing it consigned to the dustbin was always going to grate.
From what many have posted and said, Cortese was rather more than just a bit of a bastard. There are limits, and if someone is capricious and downright nasty too, then they can be impossible to work with. No organisation works well with too high a turnover of staff, and that’s exactly what we had. Our current CEO was on his way out of the door, and was persuaded to stay when Cortese left. He’s still there, and we don’t hear from him except when he has something to say. Which is how it should be.
Regarding ambition, yes Cortese did show plenty of that, but I never saw anything that would back it up. Anyone can talk about how we’re going to qualify for the Champions’ League, or even that we’re going to win the Premier League, but you have t have a means of making these things happen, and I don’t see that Cortese had that.
I still love Cortese, Cracked Rib! He made us raise our game and cut out the deadwood. I prefer what we’re about now, but I suspect it’s stronger because of the former process. That is wth limited knowledge though.
Love is a strong word.
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Originally posted by @Rallyboy
Love is a strong word.
Yeah, but I’m prone to exaggeration. You’ve got to take it in that context. 
Originally posted by @areloa-grandee
Why has everyone got such a downer on our former Nepoleonic (Complex) Chairman?
I actually think most fans have a pretty balanced opinion of Cortese.
However a few of our lot seemingly find it impossible to contain their dick-swinging. They had (often correct) hunches or ITK info about Cortese prior to him walking, but get so wrapped up in their exaggerated narratives that they believe them wholesale. Trouble is they run out of material very quickly, so it starts coming across like a customer services rep formulating messages from a script.
This is thing though Fowllyd, there is a certain amount of ‘urban myth’ associated with this. There were plenty of occasions when the club invited former players back including the '76 side… Other former players even had roles within the organization during the Cortese era, whereas in the past, our FA cup winning capatin Mr Rodrigues would sit in the Itchen (next to me ;-)) like a normal fan having bought his own ticket…(lovely down to earth guy he is too! ) before Cortese arrived (indeed during that ‘fan friendly’ Crouch/Wilde/Orangutan period I would rather forget)…
It’s just that the falling out was with 3 very public and prominent figures in LeTiss, Benali and BigMac… figures from the more recent past that are still very much in fans minds. Sure Cortese should and could have done more to reconcile this, but so could those three (not without big egos themselves). Ultimtely his duty was to the NOW and the Future and the way he looked after and players and got them to buy into the vision was impressive no matter what we think of his other attributes or lack of them.
The thing that grates me most is that for many fans it always has to be so black and white, twas the same with Lowe… anything remotely positive is igored or attributed to someone else so that it does not get in the way of a good bashing. I wonder how many on here, let alone at the other place (that dare not speak its name) would stack up if everything good we had have done was ignored and we were judged just on your failings?
What worries me about “The Don” isnt so much what we do know about how he behaved, but what we dont know. Several people, including MLT, have hinted that there is plenty of stuff that hasnt been made public about his behaviour that is far from complimentary. MLT seems one of the most laid back characters on the planet so you have to go some to really piss him off. I assume it was more than what went on with Benali’s rented house. You also find with “difficult” characters that some kind of semi redeeming stories will also come out in mitigation of their darker side. Apart from the fact that he presided over our rapid change of fortunes (no mean feat and something I am sure we are all grateful for) I have heard few good words said about him. Probably the kindest thing was “he might be a complete bastard but he is our complete bastard.” Praise indeed.
I think that Lowe gets a worse press. Cortese gets a great deal of credit for the turn around in our fortunes. Lowe got no credit at all. Whenever anyone mentioned the cup final or Eurpean football under Lowe that was always down to the manager. Anything good was down to someone else, anything bad down to him. How we managed to survive in the Premiership with crowds of 15k was nothing short of a minor miracle in the days before mega TV money. Yes he made mistakes but he was nowhere near the total uselss jackass that many people painted him to be. In fact many people outside of the club called him a “visionary.” Cortese was certainly no mug either but clearly had “methods” that many of us found unpalatable. I never really had a problem witb Lowe but will admit that I was happy to see the back of The Don.
Marcus and the watch story SOG? The fact he was relating a story that moved him about his friend, says more to me about a person than getting rid of the carpet in Frannie’s bathroom… we are all far more complex than we think… and it is simply wrong to judge folk on their worst characteristics… sure I am guilty of tending to judge folks on their best… and this means there are fuckers who can take advantage of this, but hey, it makes for a healthier me IMHO.
Originally posted by @areloa-grandee
This is thing though Fowllyd, there is a certain amount of ‘urban myth’ associated with this. There were plenty of occasions when the club invited former players back including the '76 side… Other former players even had roles within the organization during the Cortese era, whereas in the past, our FA cup winning capatin Mr Rodrigues would sit in the Itchen (next to me ;-)) like a normal fan having bought his own ticket…(lovely down to earth guy he is too! ) before Cortese arrived (indeed during that ‘fan friendly’ Crouch/Wilde/Orangutan period I would rather forget)…
It’s just that the falling out was with 3 very public and prominent figures in LeTiss, Benali and BigMac… figures from the more recent past that are still very much in fans minds. Sure Cortese should and could have done more to reconcile this, but so could those three (not without big egos themselves). Ultimtely his duty was to the NOW and the Future and the way he looked after and players and got them to buy into the vision was impressive no matter what we think of his other attributes or lack of them.
The thing that grates me most is that for many fans it always has to be so black and white, twas the same with Lowe… anything remotely positive is igored or attributed to someone else so that it does not get in the way of a good bashing. I wonder how many on here, let alone at the other place (that dare not speak its name) would stack up if everything good we had have done was ignored and we were judged just on your failings?
Yes, some fair points there. I think most fans can see the balance though - it’s just a few knobheads on Saints Web who think Cortese is pure evil, and a few others who seem to idolise him. Neither of those positions is valid, I’d say. Actually, Ant has said much the same thing a few posts up from here, and there’s nothing I’d disagree with in his post.
Well, there have been plenty of hints, plus posters on Saints Web saying how they had all sorts of things they couldn’t say, but when they could we’d all gasp and faint at Cortese’s sheer malignity. Oddly though, none of those posters has, to the best of my knowledge, come up with any of this information - and Cortese’s been gone for nearly two years now. What’s stopping them?
Libel and slander legislation 
Cant think about the watch story without thinking of Pulp Fiction!
It is a heart warming story. But it is one heart warming story whereas there are plenty of negative stories. I am sure even Hitler was capable of doing something nice for someone. My ex wife was a bitch from hell (no exageration) but she was capable of doing some really thoughful things in between the havoc she caused to other people’s lives on an almost daily basis.
Funnily enough I was thinking of The Don last night (no I didnt poo a Rolex). There was a thing on FB that said “Do you ever just look at someone and think ‘cunt’?”
I do not have a bad word to say about NC, he made us the club we are today, without a doubt. Yes he trod on some toes, but I never understood the flak he got from some quarters. I have to say it was many on forums. Whenever I speak to people at the ground and Saints fans I know they think he was fantastic for the club. So do I am I will not hear any different, not matter what is said on here.
Where would we be without him? I would hate to think.
We are all in this together still and you still get that feeling now. Positivity and playing football the right way. We really have been lucky to support such a great club over the last 7 years.
thophy this season would be the icing on the cake.
If he takes over at Leeds, we WILL see them in the premier league in 2/3 seasons without a doubt. They need to huge overhaul on and of the field, a new attitude and image, then they will be back, no doubt.
Where would we be without him? Well, he did a great job in getting us back so quickly but is that to say someone esle could not have done likewise. We will never know. We could have been bought by someone with more money and more of a drive for CL football and be another City or Chelsea. No point in the conjecture. We are where we are and we are now back to being a warm fuzzy family club which is fine and dandy by me. Personally I would have been happy to stay in the Championship so long as we were playing good football and run by decent people so I am not overwhelmed by the Premiership experience. Because his methods worked once doesnt mean to say they will work at Leeds. I hope this happens because it will be facinating to see what he does with a club like Leeds. Brian Clough lasted 44 days there but perhaps The Don has the right psychological make up to be a success there?
i haven’t seen or heard any of these ITK reports tell us whose money will he be spending this time? It certainly won’t be his.
Thinking about Mr Cortese a bit more (waiting for the boiler man to finish sorting out my oil leak so time on hands) and the point that I decided I didnt care much for him was 28th March 2010. Word was that he and Pardew were falling out over his desire to focus on nothing but getting promoted and Pardew’s desire to build a winning mentality and to give the club something to cheer about. He certainly delivered at Wembley when we won the Johnsons Paint Trophy in grand style prompting much rejoicing. The fans went crazy and who will forget those pictures of Marcus bedecked in Saints parafinalia and taking pictures of the crowd? Everyone was delighted apart from Carlisle and, it would seem, Mr Cortese, who had a face like a smacked arse at the final whistle. I dont recall a smile and I dont record any words that indicated that he was delighted the the club had won a trophy again, the first in over 30 years. It was almost as if he couldnt bear that Pardew had ignored his instructions and he found it impossible to look past that impudence and join in with the euphoria. As we know, Pardew didnt last much longer and cup runs went out of the window again.