The Guardian: Interview with Ralph Krueger

Dirty lying scumbag journo

Edit: oops, sorry, logged in with wrong account

As said previously, Cortese quit in October:

"Truly meeting Katharina [for the first time] would not have happened until last fall, in the October, when she was running a search for a potential leader," Krueger says. "The sports marketing company in Liechtenstein that she used have known me for 20 years and they said: 'We know a guy and we don't believe he has anything after February.' Then we met and it just took off right away."

As said previously, Cortese quit in October:

"Truly meeting Katharina [for the first time] would not have happened until last fall, in the October, when she was running a search for a potential leader," Krueger says. "The sports marketing company in Liechtenstein that she used have known me for 20 years and they said: 'We know a guy and we don't believe he has anything after February.' Then we met and it just took off right away."

'So Ralph, what was it about the billionairess Katharina Liebherr that first attracted you?'...

On Pochettino and the players:

Yet he accepts that commercial pushes and balanced books are never going to quicken the pulses and most fans have straightforward questions, the biggest of which concerns whether the club will be able to keep Pochettino in the summer, together with the squad's star players, chiefly the captain Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Morgan Schneiderlin. Jay Rodriguez would have been another potential target only for serious injury to cut him down.

 

Pochettino has said that he will "assess the situation at the club" at the end of the season before he decides "whether I am to stay another season" – the final one on his contract – and Tottenham Hotspur have monitored his progress since his arrival at St Mary's in January of last year.

 

Krueger's strategy to ward off the predators is simple: continue to make Pochettino feel wanted, stimulated and central to a vibrant project, which runs from the first-team down to the under-eights. Krueger is too long in the tooth to make rash promises and he suggests that no single employee is bigger than a club which has stood since 1885. "As good as anybody is in any position in the organisation, – a player, a manager, a person in the office – we are all part of a very, very long history that is just going to go on," he says.

 

But Krueger is not generally a worrier and he is both pragmatic and relaxed about the summer. "The first thing I'd say about Mauricio is that he took his time at Espanyol [where he previously managed for four years], which was really important," he says. "What really great managers do is stay in one spot until they cannot evolve there any more. If you see managers go one year, one year, one year and then, suddenly, they are in a top league, they don't have the foundation, possibly, to do the job. Mauricio has very carefully planned his career.

 

"Right now, the only thing I can say, whether we speak about Mauricio or the players, is that what we have here is very good and we are doing everything in our power to keep this group together. We are going to create a culture that this is just an excellent organisation to be a part of at all levels. Whatever the dynamics of football or the situations that can evolve outside of Southampton do to us as we move forward, we will just keep moving forward. But there has been no talk of selling anything."

bah that was v.general + non-committal. I wanted journo to be asking questions like:

a) Have you offered Ponch new contract?

2) Have you accepted or rejected any bids on players?

IV) Do you sit in Cortese's old office & is it true that he bought his desk set from Toys R Us?

The issue there Ralph is its hockey, we had another hockey fan who thought he could make an impression on football, he did that but not as he wanted.

Positive I thought

Enjoyed reading that. Good interview.

We have replaced a very ambitious Chairman with a very determined chief executive. I like what he says and how he says it. Since he's been here, I see nothing so far that causes me concern.

We have replaced a very ambitious Chairman with a very determined chief executive. I like what he says and how he says it. Since he's been here, I see nothing so far that causes me concern.

Barry has.

Good interview, I like the way he comes over.

Barry has.

Yes, but that's something you'd probably put in Ralph's plus column, isn't it?

As we all know...what he said means nothing...it's what he didn't say that will keep this topic running for months.

Good, positive stuff.

What a boring, uninspiring man.

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What a boring, uninspiring man.

 

 

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His tone has changed from two weeks ago.

From: Mopo contract is a priority

To: "nobody is bigger than the club"

Bit worrying

Barry has.

Baz sees spies everywhere

Nice read. Plenty for the sneerers, still crying into their petticoats over the departure of the Italian, to get stuck into though.

The article mentions the World Economic Forum and the Green Bay Packers so plenty of bonus points for the forum simpletons playing Krueger mockery Bingo. Have fun, ladies.

I think we are obviously going to sell a player or two reading that.

His tone has changed from two weeks ago.

 

From: Mopo contract is a priority

 

To: "nobody is bigger than the club"

 

Bit worrying

As has yours, from about four hours ago. Surely it's not a worry for you as you want him out:

The FA cup apporach is Mopo's biggest mistake so far, but not his only mistake. Refusal to speak English, Osvaldo, Puncheon, Clyne, Cork, Clattenburg, top 4 talk, 34% win ratio, Jan transfers, agent nonsense (real madrid pmsl) and Plan B (lack of) just a few other errors from mopo this season imho

What a boring, uninspiring man.

 

 

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which must explain his company, positions held elsewhere and his best selling book!

I quite like the article, especially the story about getting an ice hockey stick through the face. If control of Southampton FC ever came down to a bare knuckle boxing contest between NC and RK, my money would be on Ralph. I wouldn't rule out a bit of "where's your tool"-ery from NC though.

Somewhat more seriously, I'd be very impressed if he manages to fill the commercial vacuum he reckons exists.

Decent read. Obviously getting it out there about overspend and cash situation with the implication being Cortese had left a problem behind.

Nice interview.

But. Talk doesnt win you points so I will like the guy more once he has made a few good decisions that impact our ability to win matches.

Good to read, I particularly like the bit about Katherina having emotional and a values connection with the club....

Baz sees spies everywhere

If you spell your username backwards it becomes the Zambian Air Force.

Don't expect info on player sales, if there are funds to sign anyone etc., but it'd be good to know how long he intends to stay. Is he here to help with appointments and set the commercial side up better then leave within a year, or does he want to stay long-term?

 

Should be grateful though, with Cortese gone and all the sale rumours we really could have ended up with anyone coming in. Liebherr is clearly staying and what sensible non-troll person wouldn't be happy with some continuity after all the success we've had.

What success? Define that, the previous Liebherr bought our success and promotions and I am very grateful for that, but this appointment and lack of anything about our Champions League aspirations and the furthering of our club worries me.

Nice read. Plenty for the sneerers, still crying into their petticoats over the departure of the Italian, to get stuck into though.

 

The article mentions the World Economic Forum and the Green Bay Packers so plenty of bonus points for the forum simpletons playing Krueger mockery Bingo. Have fun, ladies.

Similar to the Green Bay Packers? Does he actually know their size and fanbase? Maybe this fellow does not realise that people over here have the internet and television, the truth is easily seen, they are huge, a patronising blend straight off.

What success? Define that, the previous Liebherr bought our success and promotions and I am very grateful for that, but this appointment and lack of anything about our Champions League aspirations and the furthering of our club worries me.

I for one consider this season to be a success. It has seen us play some great football and I have enjoyed watching my team home and away.

Your team on the other hand has struggled to stay in the Football League. I can see why you think there has been no success this season.

I for one consider this season to be a success. It has seen us play some great football and I have enjoyed watching my team home and away.

 

Your team on the other hand has struggled to stay in the Football League. I can see why you think there has been no success this season.

You are easily pleased.

His statements so far haven't been particularly strong and often a little non-committal.

If he manages to keep our first team and coaching team/manager together and prove that the club are committed to progress on the pitch then I will be pleased.

The constant talk of the commercial vacuum and our supposed precarious financial situation doesn't make it seem that we are closed shop.

What success? Define that, the previous Liebherr bought our success and promotions and I am very grateful for that, but this appointment and lack of anything about our Champions League aspirations and the furthering of our club worries me.

You would only ridicule him if he did mention Champions League aspirations

You would only ridicule him if he did mention Champions League aspirations

If he could back it up with the funds unlike previous people then of course not.

Similar to the Green Bay Packers? Does he actually know their size and fanbase? Maybe this fellow does not realise that people over here have the internet and television, the truth is easily seen, they are huge, a patronising blend straight off.

He probably does know a little about the GBP. I have to say I couldn't give a monkeys about them.

But do I like the idea of us being the nation's second favourite team? Yes, I do.

Infinitely more sensible angle for us than pie in the sky Champions League bulls h it from the Italian.

If he could back it up with the funds unlike previous people then of course not.

But you've already said that this will never happen for a club of our size. You really are full of contradictions, the only common theme to your posts is that you constantly slate the club. You really are a miserable ****. I really don't understand what you want or expect from the club.

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Decent read. Obviously getting it out there about overspend and cash situation with the implication being Cortese had left a problem behind.

Yep as some of the 'trolls' warned. People are starting to realise what was going on with Cortese, although he can still do no wrong in some peoples eyes, yet far from being the greatest man who ever lived, he was simply playing football manager with someone else's money. The line trotted out time after to time was about his drive and ambition, yet it easy to be ambitious when you have someone else's money to play with. Just because Cortese told people what they wanted to hear and that we could have it all, having the means to deliver his brash claims was evidently quite a different thing. If we now have to go through a period of book balancing and a few players sold then people shouldn't be pointing the finger at the lack of ambition of the current board, but looking at the false promises driven by the ego of the previous CEO.

But you've already said that this will never happen for a club of our size. You really are full of contradictions, the only common theme to your posts is that you constantly slate the club. You really are a miserable ****. I really don't understand what you want or expect from the club.

 

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Honesty, has it got any better since the revolution?

Says the right things, some may say strategic timing with the season ticket renewals.

But I feel like there is no way the culture at the club is what would convince Pochettino to sign a new contract. He'll want investment and backing after what he has achieved this year. He worked hard at Espanyol every year after having to sell players and he has already increased his profile enough at Saints to feel like he shouldn't have to do that again before a better opportunity comes along.

You are easily pleased.

No. Its called being a fan and going to matches home and away rather than watching it on teletext. Perhaps you could try it.

Yep as some of the 'trolls' warned. People are starting to realise what was going on with Cortese, although he can still do no wrong in some peoples eyes, yet far from being the greatest man who ever lived, he was simply playing football manager with someone else's money. The line trotted out time after to time was about his drive and ambition, yet it easy to be ambitious when you have someone else's money to play with. Just because Cortese told people what they wanted to hear and that we could have it all, having the means to deliver his brash claims was evidently quite a different thing. If we now have to go through a period of book balancing and a few players sold then people shouldn't be pointing the finger at the lack of ambition of the current board, but looking at the false promises driven by the ego of the previous CEO.

So what are the long term goals of the club?

So what are the long term goals of the club?

What they always were away from Corteses brags, a self sustaining premier league club.

What a boring, uninspiring man.

 

 

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You are so p**s poor at trolling.

Bless, Barry doesn't realise we have had the same owners since league 1. THIS liebherr has owned and invested from -10 league 1 to where we are now

He says no player sales unless football decision ( which guess allows, for example, selling one of young RBs if feels too good to be back up, at their stage of career, and use money for older back up and strengthen elsewhere)

He says wants club to progress from this season. Personally seeing good young players coming through and annual progression

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What they always were away from Corteses brags, a self sustaining premier league club.

The hard of thinking and Sky fans NEED to be told we are going for the CL as ANYTHING less is clearly lack of ambition for an average sized provincial club.

These fans are commonly known as wan*ers.

He probably does know a little about the GBP. I have to say I couldn't give a monkeys about them.

 

But do I like the idea of us being the nation's second favourite team? Yes, I do.

 

Infinitely more sensible angle for us than pie in the sky Champions League bulls h it from the Italian.

Who is the nations 1st favourite team?

Who is the nations 1st favourite team?

England.

Although CBF's point is valid, despite the daft response.

Yep as some of the 'trolls' warned. People are starting to realise what was going on with Cortese, although he can still do no wrong in some peoples eyes, yet far from being the greatest man who ever lived, he was simply playing football manager with someone else's money. The line trotted out time after to time was about his drive and ambition, yet it easy to be ambitious when you have someone else's money to play with. Just because Cortese told people what they wanted to hear and that we could have it all, having the means to deliver his brash claims was evidently quite a different thing. If we now have to go through a period of book balancing and a few players sold then people shouldn't be pointing the finger at the lack of ambition of the current board, but looking at the false promises driven by the ego of the previous CEO.

The thing that he did say that was spot on was that no one person was bigger than the club with its 130 year history. My initial view on Cortese going was that it was a short tern problem but would ultimately prove the right move in the medium to long term. Never has the Kissenger quote on power been more apt. We (and I include myself) tolerated Cortese's diabolical treatment of suppliers, the press and the Pravda style irradiation of our history because he ultimately delivered on the pitch by signing the Liebherr cheques to good effect.

I feel the same about MP. I would really like him to stay and commit to us. If he is unable to, **** happens, we might lose the odd player but life goes on. Out of adversity this club has generally always come good. Out of near liquidation came the Liebherr's, out of the defensive shambles of early 12/13 came Luke Shaw and after the meltdown over Adkins came MP. Change isn't always bad.

One thing I can guarantee. In 20 years time none of the players, staff or owners will be still here, but us fans will be whatever

Who is the nations 1st favourite team?

Err, your team is.