Turkish

Things have changed. I'm pretty sure not so long ago some on here were telling us that our academy players will all stay here because they can play premier league football with their mates they grew up with, top stars would join us because it's a nice part of the country to live in and they'd be doing all this in front of 50,000 fans coming from the length and bredth of the country, all paying a tenner each for the honour.

Coming from someone who claimed That it was all lies from journalists an hour before Adkins was sacked its best to ignore your view on who might be leaving and when.

Probably not just you, a few other lunatics on here will be thinking the same, that the only reason this article exists is to destabilise us.

"Someone's got to be"is another one To be fair though it's usually idiots who make these sort of comments they aren't worth talking to. There is a bird at work who was going on and on about buying her 4 year old son a Man United kit for Christmas.she lives near Burnley so I asked her why she didn't buy him a burnley kit instead, her reply was 'what would he want one of them for?' When I said it was his local team and he should grow up supporting them she looked at me like I'd just said he Was a retard.

AC Milan chased him for four years don't forget. Not sure why he's not there yet.

It's good to see nothing changes on here. Any slight criticism of him is met with howls of derision from his biggest fans. People have hailed corteses ability to appoint managers, yet have never actually asked the question how did a man who had no knowledge of English football know about and appoint Pardew and Adkins? How did this man with no experience in sport create the blueprint for 'the southampton way'? Either he's the fastest learner and most visionary human being who ever lived or he had people around him doing that for him, for which he was happy to take the glory. People say he was a great businessman, yet I dont recall us securing any huge sponsorship deals or huge increases in commercial revenue. What I do recall is our commercial revenue being lower than midtable Championship clubs. People seem to forget Cortese wasn't a director or football, the football area where he should have had the least involvement, this area was the most successful in his tenure, coincidence? You decide.

The club achieved a lot or success in his time here, but history will show that this was inspite of Cortese not because of him. Cortese job wasn't to win football matches, it was to employ people to win football matches. In any other industry if a CEO who presides over a building project which came in double the budget, a huge legal bill due to stream of court cases for unpaid bills, a huge staff turnover and failing to increase commercial income despite huge success of the product would be considered a failure. Yet for saints fans the person was viewed a hero. So yes we had a lot Of success on the pitch where corteses control was limited but off the pitch things were close to becoming a disaster. Cortese was great at spending money, not so good at making it. The reaction on here was laughable when he quit, it was beyond the pale, people genuinely did believe that the club was nothing without him. The last year has proven that his isn't the case at all and that we've managed to move onto the fabled next level without being taken to court by local businesses, getting banned from City centre restaurants, banning former players in fact we haven't even had to sign Ralph Krugers name during a match.

It could be that.

Battle of the wotsits with Davis and Reed v Colback.

Terrible game but as others have said didn't need to get out of first gear, they never looked like scoring we were very comfortable. shane Long continues his run of when he scores we win, he really is a becoming a talismanic figure for us.

One thing I do miss is the players and manager constantly praising the chairman in their interviews for all his hard work behind the scenes. Wonder what why that changed?

Some good points very well made Dave.

Anyone know when he starts at AC Milan?? They were sniffing round just before he went.. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/10935292.AC_Milan_again_linked_with_move_for_Saints_chairman_Nicola_Cortese/?ref=lp

Exactly, Cortese was a good lower league bottom half of the table CEO, a kind of Neil Warnock of CEOs, but to push onto the next level we really needed to upgrade him and we've done so.

So are we better off now than when he was here? Did the ambtion walk away with him? Did the club crumble like some predicted? or Are have we moved on a level? Are we stronger on and off the pitch?

I also heard Calum Chambers was furious he wasn't called when he was in Marbella to be told the new kit was being released, it's why he went. I'll say more when i've got time.

Dont you worry sunshine, i'll post what i know i haven't got time at the moment but i'll post it, you see if i dont, it'll make your eyes water it will. Did you know the board didn't even return Adam Lallanas calls when he was on England duty??

Given they are about to spend £28m on Bony, they spent £48m in the summer and raised £23m in sales this means with their UEFA sanctions of a net spend of £49m they'll need to offload a few players before they even think about bidding for Rodriguez.

I wish she'd stop asset stripping and sell the club.

Yet again

Adrian Durham, the greatest troll of this generation.

It's been the perfect storm for us. Everyone outside of the top two under performing, us performing better than anyone dared hoped. The door is open and I for one am happy to admit that I never thought it would be possible for us.

Yep you're right I did and will be happy to be wrong should that be the case when the final whistle blows at the Ethiad In May. It proves though that the success of this club did not depend on him, the ambition didn't go when he did and this club was not just about him, which so many believed was the case.

We wouldn't have got if he'd still been Here as no one would have left, in the summer we'd have spunked £15m on someone from serie A who doesn't want to be here and Poch would have stayed so we wouldn't have Koeman. Everyone would right now be emploring Poch to play a weakened team Wednesday night so we can overtake Liverpool in 8th.