trousers

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/southampton/8310643/Alex-Oxlade-Chamberlain-remains-part-of-Southamptons-five-year-plan-despite-interest-from-Liverpool-and-Arsenal.html For all the progress since Liebherr’s takeover in 2009 when Southampton was in adminstration and on its knees, Cortese has been a controversial chairman. There have been spats with both the local and national media and, more significantly, also some of the club’s all-time greats, notably Matthew Le Tissier, Lawrie McMenemy and Francis Benali. It continued this week with reports that the current squad and manager will not be attending a dinner to celebrate 125 years of the club’s history. “Everyone knows me and him don’t see eye to eye,” said Le Tissier. “Most football clubs treat ex-players which served them for many years quite well but that doesn’t seem to be the way under this chairman.” Cortese says that he has a good relationship with many former Saints players and is keen to respond. “There are two sides to every story, and I have more important things on my agenda to deal with,” he says. “I am well aware that there are people, who used to be involved in the club and who behind the scenes are trying to destabilise it. “In reality their actions are completely ineffective and serve only to damage their own reputations. These same people are obviously frustrated as they are not involved in any way with the club and I can understand that. “Things have changed since we took over - I believe for the better - and whether they like it or not, there is nothing they can do about it. I do not believe that attempting to discredit or backstab is the behaviour of intelligent people and it is definitely not going to help them with regard to this club.” It is a stand-off that will sadden most Southampton supporters who, after so much division over the past decade, would simply like to see the past, present and future of their club functioning harmoniously. Yet for all the claim and counter-claim, the basic truth is that football managers - and their chairmen - are all primarily judged by the team’s on-field progress.

And the most important quote from the now extended Telegraph article IMHO: “The negative side of all the speculation was that it messed up quite a few deals that we tried to do. You can imagine every time we put a bid in, people were, ‘wait a minute, you are just about to cash in £10 million’. We lost out on one deal despite the fact that we had the best offer.” Charlie Austin per chance....?

“It definitely did not help their cause - it is as simple as that,” says Cortese. He's turning into Adkins...! :-)

"Cortese looks baffled that there was ever any doubt about how this particular transfer saga would unfold." He's not the only one....

Indeed

I gave it 20 mins or so but nowt about Saints.....

btw.....I don't condone removing the 'soccer am' cookie from your browser after voting as that would allow you to vote more than once which isn't very sportsman like....

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10280~2287886,00.html Rickie Lambert's wonder strike at MK Dons last season has been shortlisted for mitre Goal of the Year 2010. The goal we put forward as our nomination last month, has made it into the final ten of the contest which will be whittled down again prior to the Football League Awards in March. Cast your vote for Rickie by Monday 21st February and you can be in with a chance of winning tickets to the Football League Awards dinner. [/url]CLICK HERE TO VOTE NOW >>>

http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/page/TicketNews/0,,10280~2288100,00.html

Aren't they just a conduit for the "dark forces" though?

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/love-is-blind.html "This was coined by Shakespeare and was quite a favourite line of his. It appears in several of his plays, including Two Gentlemen of Verona, Henry V and The Merchant Of Venice. For example, this piece from The Merchant Of Venice, 1596: JESSICA: Here, catch this casket; it is worth the pains. I am glad 'tis night, you do not look on me, For I am much ashamed of my exchange: But love is blind and lovers cannot see The pretty follies that themselves commit; For if they could, Cupid himself would blush To see me thus transformed to a boy. Modern-day research supports the view that the blindness of love is not just a figurative matter. A research study in 2004 by University College London found that feelings of love suppressed the activity of the areas of the brain that control critical thought."

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11700_6737798,00.html

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/8838835.Cortese_attacks_top_flight_clubs_over_Chamberlain/

Dune - do you at least respect Cortese for sticking rigidly and ruthlessly to what he believes is right despite leaving himself open to criticism for being so dogmatic? There are some on here who express their views with equal levels of dogma (aka consistency) despite all the criticism they receive... Not naming any names, obviously.... ;-)

Perhaps they did....?

If the quotes are fabricated then I'm sure we'll see those concerned contact the press complaints commission in due course...

He does what he wants and says what he thinks. A quality I admire in you too Dune ;-)

Some might say that last sentence would be better worded: "...despite the fact Matt couldn't make it anyway because he was working"... ;-)

Hands up - it was me. After all these years of the SWF victimising us Daily Mail readers I had to take a stand.... ;-)

Without wishing to take sides here, but given Le Tiss & co know that Cortese is a "control freak" would it not have crossed their minds that this scenario was highly likely to arise? Sometimes in life you have to accept the way other people are even if you don't like it. Some might even argue that an event such as this was organised in the knowledge that it would cause friction. As I say, this is another one of those scenarios involving Cortese where my instinct is to sit on the fence of judgement. As another member of this forum has eruditely observed before - at least Cortese is showing 100% consistency in his approach to everything. In other words, you know where you stand with him, whether you like it or not...

Le Tissier told Sportsmail last night: ‘There is no question in my mind that this has come from the chairman. In my view, the guy is the worst kind of control freak." Ding, ding....another 15 page thread on the way....

Lambert made this week's League One team of the week I see. Not bad for a penalty taker... ;-)

Solent Twitter: "Saints say..." Who is "Saints" in this context? Cortese? Jordan Sibley? Lady in reception who answered telephone? Etc ;-)

So much for Ferguson's rant that they were the better side... http://www.football-league.co.uk/staticFiles/cd/6b/0,,10794~158669,00.pdf

"Oxlade-Chamberlain is wanted by Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, but Cortese revealed that he refused to enter into negotiations for the 17 year-old winger" "We focused on what we wanted to do and not what others wanted to do. I was in the driver’s seat. There was not a second I doubted that he would stay.” True to his every word in the December BBC interview then. Nice.