Chez

It's the Liebherrs club and if they want to pay him £1.5m a year that is entirely up to them and by the looks of it that amount is comparable with some other Chairman. Will they pay the next guy less?

Assuming Cortese's wage started at £1.2m and increased by £100,000 a year to the £1.5m it is now, then £5.3m of it did. No idea how accurate that is though.

Not all roles will be the same, but here is few I found on the web: Paul Faulkner, chief executive at Villa £256,000 Ron Gourlay, chief executive at Chelsea £911,000 Alistair Mackintosh, chief executive at Fulham £704,000 Ian Ayre, managing director Liverpool £657,000 David Gill, chief executive Manure £2,593,000 Derek Llambias is managing director, Newcastle £266,000 David McNally, chief executive Norwich, £1,533,000 Daniel Levy, Spurs Director £2.2m Jeremy Peace, executive chairman WBA £1,133,000

Hew Jenkins' wage at Swansea is £200,000 a year (althought he recived an extra £250,000 as part of the £2m pay out sareholders received because Swansea made £16m profit) which is just a fraction less than the £1.5m Cortese earned.

I've not voted either. It's not an easy decision to make without all the facts and understanding of the current situation. I have no information whatsoever about the trust or who will select the next CEO. There is no track record to go on. If I could be sure the people making that decision are competent and that the next guy was likely to be competent then I wouldn't give two hoots if he was pushed out the door. The way he treated a certain season ticket holder for posting views on a web site was disgraceful. That is no way for a CEO of a football club to act. That said, I don't actively promote his demise on here because under his leadership things have gone well and I totally understand and appreciate the significant part he has played in our rise. Successful businessmen tend to be ****s and no one gets everything right. But just as he ousted Adkins because he thought he could find better, I'm happy for the Liebherrs to oust him too if they think they can do better. One things for sure this situation has brought to mind who exactly owns the club and who is the paid employee.

Why has Cortese gone to the press? I assume it was him that leaked the story. But what does he hope to achieve by doing so? The only answer I can come up with is that he has already been told that he won't have his contract renewed, so he has gone to the press to portray himself in the best light to help attract a new employer. Anyone got a better conclusion?

has he had a bad game this season? In most I have given him 9 out of 10. I actually had doubts over the summer whether his touch was good enough for this level. I was so wrong. He was good last season, but he's been better this.

anyone who has any doubts about Cork just needs to rewatch MOTD from Sunday and see him crawling on the floor and then quite literally throwing his head at the ball to prevent Johnson crossing it in. Unbelievable will to win. His return to the side (with Shaw) changed our season. Without them we'd be relegated.

I was going to suggest we try to buy Zaha outright, forgetting he cost £15m, but a loan is a great idea.

I can't understand some of the hostility and negativity on here. Why is Jos being singled out for example? Both central defenders had rock solid games and hardly put a foot wrong all day. Clearing when required and controlling things when they could. That is their job. Jos slightly deflected Bardsley's shot so that must mean he had a terrrible game. Some of you need to have agood long look at yourselves. No idea why Lambert is also getting abuse. He led the line well again against two huge centre backs he made life difficult for them and wo so many flick ons as well as holding it and bringing others into play. That's his job. But he missed a chance. Jesus that must mean he had a terrible game. For a team playing away from home with 40k roaring on Sunderland I thought we coped well and dare I say it controlled the game, playing by far and a way the better football. Coming from behind showed character and having players to come off the bench and change things is also encouraging. I think back to the Monday night at WBA and boy have we come a long way. At that point I seriousy couldn't see us surviving and saw no way back. Credit to both sets of staff and players for turning our season round and giving us plenty of enjoyment along the way.

he's been great since the Huddersfield game. Pace, tricks and dribbles for fun. Like him a lot.

I struggle to understand why a sport that has lasted well over 125 years and has always been so popular needs anything other protecting the traditions and elements that have enabled it to last this long. If they gave me the job of promoting football I'd follow a "keep the game the same" philisophy.

if I had foam hand, my face would be in the palm of it

Abide with me brought tears to my eyes too. The FA are absolutely clueless. The FA Cup should follow great sporting tournements like Wimbledon and The Maters by doing absolutely everything in their powers to keep things the same as it always has been. A trophy that has been fantastic for 100 years doesn't need `jazzing up', it needs to be kept `classic'. The more fireworks, dancing girls, adverts and pampering to TV the more americanised/same as every other tournement/cup final it becomes. Let's get it back on the BBC, have semi finals back at neutral grounds, replays throughout and have the cup final after the season has ended whereupon we are desperate for one more TV game before we hit the beach. When will football organisors learn that us 30, 40, 50 and 60 year olds all went to the football when they were young and despite their not being goal celebration music, mascots and all the other tripe aimed at improving the `match day experience', we kept coming back? Why? Because the game is ****ing brilliant and the atmosphere, noise and buzz you experience at games when you are a nipper is enough to make you want to come back forever more.

I could not agree with you more Turkish (and for-heaven's saint earlier in this thread). I've mentioned hi before a few times, but McManaman seems to get better every time I see him. Running rings round Cliche in the cupfinal

I'd take an ageing Bridge over Fox every day of the week

How does Wittingham get into these teams. Very average player Kelvin Davis Nathaniel Clyne James Tomkins Curtis Davies Ian Harte Adam Lallana Peter Whittingham Mark Noble Matt Phillips Rickie Lambert Jay Rodrigue

what a top class player he was at Chelsea, a total powerhouse box to box midfielder, but the injury looks like it has taken a huge amount from his game. Not for me. Going backwards and on his wage I'd want the player ge was not is now.

If Richardson is leaving, which I guess he must be, we need a right back. The question of how much we should spend is interesting

I like Maloney, nice neat and tidy player, but when evaluating him you have to take into account that the formation is built round him. He gets a completely free role at Wigan allowing him to see a lot of the ball between the lines, which always makes a player look good. Would he get that free role for us? At times we have given Gaston that liberty, but less so Lallana. Stick Lallana in that free role all season and I think he'd look just as good. What Lallana has shown is he is able to play left midfield, albeit struggling a little to defend against pacey fullbacks overlapping. Not sure Maloney can do that job. Is having a player without any responsibilities detrimental to the side as a whole? Are we better with all 11 players with more rigid jobs attacking and defending? Goals wise, Maloney has 5 in 34, Lallana 3 in 25.

calm down dear. I wasn't comparing the two, I was merely stating that I had hoped Mayuka would offer the same things as Kone has offered Wigan this season, ie pace and power, a huge goal threat, the ability to make things happen from nothing, the ability to lead the line and score goals.

the whole ugly episode was in the public domain already.

Good sides need dribblers. People that are happy to take the ball in tight situations and have the touch and strength to hold players off and keep possession. We have several and that's why we've been able to play such attractive football all season. I'm not sure you can play him and Lallana in the same team, but it's great to have quality in reserve. Whenever Lallana has got injured over the last three years we have suffered terribly. I'm less worried with Gaston as an option. I really enjoy watching him. He has a great first touch and a gracefulness on the ball. He does things with the ball that no other player at SMS can do. He has a tremendous burst of pace with the ball at his feet that allows him to move into spaces and make things happen. Too often he hasn't taken advantage of this movement in between the lines, with his final ball letting him down. Get that right a bit more often and even Barry will be singing his praises. I don't want him to be sold primarily because I wonder if we'll be able to attract a similar talent. If fans keep with him I can see him becoming exactly the player they all hope he would be this season. People forget he's still young and he has the raw ability to succeed.

fair point, but Mayuka has failed to make the bench a few times leaving us without a striker on the bench. When that happens it tells nme that he's doesn't impress much in training. Hope he finds his feet and take the league by storm next season.

I'd take Kone. He's everything I'd hoped Mayuka would be.