Well, I thought I better give my opinion and tell you all also what I've heard over the past few months. Some of this is truth, some of this just my opinion. Some of it is me reading between the lines. Irrespective, it's not great reading and I think I'll be proven correct shortly that since Cortese left, we're on a huge downward curve.
Here's what I know.
- There was a huge upturn in atmosphere when Cortese left. The day-to-day (non-football) staff were initially a lot happier as NC could be a very difficult taskmaster at times.
- RK and KL set about repairing links and friendships with important businesses and former employees/players.
- Contractors and others Cortese had working for him via the club were a lot happier.
However, over time, this has changed somewhat and most importantly, the footballing side has been somewhat neglected. It soon became apparent that our objectives and ambitions had shifted and the players/staff were left completely in the dark. They bought into Cortese's long-term strategy/vision and it was him who was the glue who held everything together, despite his obvious shortcomings in other areas of running the club. When Cortese left, so did all the aspirations of pushing on and progressing as a club.
In the meantime, we've had;
- fan-pandering letters from the new setup
- mixed messages regarding the sale of players - Reed "not for sale" Krueger "will talk to clubs about our players"
- unprofessional snipes at Cortese's handling of the club with reference to the comment about our financial situation and the adidas kit debacle
- continued non-communication in this new "era of transparency"
Now, cast your mind back. In the early part of the season when we were riding high, remember all the talk of Champions League? This wasn't just from the players (Boruc, Wanyama, Lallana, Schneiderlin) but from the manager as well. This was Cortese's objective and the playing staff were 100% committed to delivering it; maybe not this season, but with future investment and the retention of the better players and the manager this was seen as potentially achievable. Now, fast-forward a few months later - uncertainty reigns, no-one dared uttered a word about it and the new leadership's policy is sustainability and nothing else. From February to the present day, we've had Schneiderlin, Lallana, Fonte and others all drop huge hints in the press about being happy here but only the proviso we kick on and improve.
If just one of those "big" players had the assurances they required to stay and committed so would the rest. Now, the opposite is in action; all it'll take is one or two to leave and it could lead to an exodus. The first and most important person is Pochettino, but I don't think he's too enamoured with the new "mid-table" project and having to face replacing key members of his squad. Surely some of you must have heard the alarm bells ringing the moment the new board started even entertaining players sales and mentioned that we were in a difficult financial situation? If that isn't greasing us up for a potential firesale of 2, 3 maybe 4 of our best players I don't know what is. Sure, no sales have been confirmed yet but I've absolutely no doubt that they will, very soon.
We're water-treaders now at best, unfortunately. If people are happy with that then that's their prerogative but I can almost certainly guarantee you that from reading between the lines and hearing what I've heard that we're in for a pretty sh1tty summer. It's genuinely galling to watch this unfold as like many of you, I was finally excited by the fact we were THAT close to having a thoroughly decent, competitive Premier League side that could challenge the big 'uns not off the pitch but most definitely on it. With a couple of solid acquisitions as a statement of intent and retention of our best players, we could have had a real go next year. That's what the players wanted, the manager wanted and that's what Cortese wanted. That dream died to moment he was turfed out of SMS for good.
Don't worry though - the pain of tumbling back into mediocrity will surely be offset by a nicely worded club statement.
