CanadaSaint

All the more so for the fact that the last thing the Echo needed to do was pour petrol on the fire of its relationship with Cortese. They had everything to lose and nothing to gain by doing that.

I think ALL the key parties have been doing their spinning here. That includes Pardew - who, I'm sure, has friends in the media (as most managers do when they want someone to make a point publicly that they can't easily make themselves), and who has played his high standing among the fans to his advantage. It certainly includes Cortese, and the Echo - of course - is now at it after alienating a section of its readers with another major fallout with Cortese. The Echo may not be great but they're one of "the system's" vital checks and balances and the City would be worse off in many areas if they weren't there. I'm more of the opinion that all parties have been trying sincerely to do their job well rather than sew any mischief, but it hasn't always come across that way and hindsight can be a harsh judge. It's naive in the extreme to lay so much blame at the feet of the Echo (and others) and view Cortese as the white knight with flawless judgment and impeccable motives and tactics. I'm scared of losing him (and Marcus), too, but that doesn't mean I should blind myself to his mistakes. I'm glad as hell that we've got him but I think he needs to re-think his tactics and do his part in repairing the Echo relationship. The Echo, though, will have to make the first moves in that direction.

Giordano's and sadoldgit's posts hit most of my nails on the head. I see in Cortese a guy with many tremendous talents - someone with all the skills needed to get this club back where it belongs. We've never seen anyone of his calibre running our club, and I've never felt better about our future. Ever. In fact I think Cortese’s even talented enough to pull it off without a billionaire’s backing, and that's saying something. However, I also see someone with some clear faults of ego - someone who seems to react poorly if people don't fully "toe his line". It was evident when he banned the Echo some months back, it’s implied in the alleged comments of some SMS staffers, it's been evident in the events of the past few weeks, and it’s abundantly clear from the statement. Some of that mindset is needed in order to show that he won’t tolerate mediocrity, but it’s very easy to go too far. As others have said, the stresses around Pardew could have been easily removed by the guy who probably created them in the first place. It wasn’t just media gossip that said Pardew was under pressure and that there were relationship issues – Pardew gave that impression himself. Cortese could easily have nipped all of this recent speculation in the bud. He did it in the end, so why didn’t he do it earlier? My hunch is that he was indeed unhappy with Pardew’s performance or their relationship, and that his unhappiness may even have been enough to end up in a firing this week. However, I think Cortese has had an object lesson in two major differences between the banking world where he was raised and the one where he now operates. First, he’s had to perform in an unfamiliar media spotlight. Second, his customers can be a vocal, powerful and critical bunch, and they have clear ways of expressing collective frustration. Cortese’s not accustomed to either of those things, and he may have realized that the course of action he was considering – a managerial change – could not be the kind of quiet overnight coup of his old life, and would not be at all well received in either of those very public arenas. While I'm delighted with most of Cortese's statement, some of it struck me as more face-saving in nature. I think he lashed out at the Echo, former managers and former players more out of frustration that he’d encountered a situation he couldn’t fully control. It wasn’t the Echo’s fault that this speculation kept building - or McMenemy’s, or Keegan’s or Le Tissier’s. To imply that it was is ridiculous. I just find it troubling that some posters are so quick to heap praise on Cortese that they can’t see there are certain dangers. One of those dangers is that Pardew may have outfoxed Cortese by cleverly using his media contacts and his standing among the fan base. If that’s what Cortese has concluded, Pardew will be on a very short leash next year, no matter what Nicola’s media release implies. It's ironic that some of the chief admirers of Cortese are doubtless people who rightly criticized Lowe for pulling the same kind of stuff – attacking the media, former managers and former players. If Lowe was wrong to do it, and he was, then so is Cortese. I hope that all parties in this, especially Cortese and Pardew, have learned a lesson and that we’ll hit the ground running next season. Learning those lessons is crucial for everyone.

But the descriptions of his celebrations suggest that he may well have had a plateau bonus as well, don't you think?

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was on a goal bonus in these incentive-focused days. That suggests that they fully intend to keep him at the club or else they would have pulled him and saved the bonus money. That sort of thing is not entirely unheard of at SFC.

That looks suspiciously like a response written by a lawyer or someone with a legal mind. It would have been easy to set the matter to rest with a simple answer or even a half-assed excuse like "we weren't happy with the quality", but that's not what this is. Fascinating.

No - not after reading this forum for god knows how many years! I go both ways on Pardew (not like that!) but it worries me a lot that firing him could make us one of those places that good managers don't want to go. I just wouldn't be at all surprised if he did it, though.

So why did he keep turning up in the Directors' box?

I'm not surprised at the story because the signs have been there for some time. From NC's viewpoint, it's probably less a case of us not getting to the playoffs and more a case of where we blew important points. Here's one thing, though, that makes me think the report is inaccurate. NC has clearly had close contact with Coppell for some time, and there were rumours that he was the first choice ahead of AP, so why would Cortese sit back and let Coppell go to Bristol City if he was planning on firing AP?

I know this will get moved but it deserves all the exposure it gets: http://www.thefishy.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1271541289/

We were out of this, dead and buried three weeks ago. And yet we're still very much in it, especially with the others wobbling like drunken sailors. Chins up, folks.

Get a grip, people. They came back from 0-2 down with 10 men since the 22nd minute. They just couldn't hang on, that's all.

At this stage of the season you really, really want Mo on yer side. Mo Mentum. We've really got it but the others?

Rovers' great home record "up in shreds". Or down in smoke. And it wasn't Dave!

Howard Webb is reffing that one I think, so anything could happen.

Try a shut down and restart.

What a thoroughly nasty piece of work you are, GM. And from the lofty heights of Bursledon Parish Council you call other people "zeroes". LOL. God only knows what kind of rejection is behind your prejudice (it sounds like the overseas kind - male or female), but it's time for you to seek help. Good luck with that. Moose Boy

I doubt it. We're at home so most of our lot are at the game. It's utter crap that they can't seem to sort this out. I complained and I've already been 'awarded' a free month. That's my second free month, so they'll soon be paying me to listen rather than vice versa. Sounds about right.

Perhaps "inside information" is the wrong term - inside emotion, more like. I just don't know why Samuel would bother with a Tier Three club - when there's so much going on around the country - if something quite direct hadn't piqued his interest. Something that fuelled a one-sided, over-the-top tirade. I hope you're right, but your key words might be "whether it be Pardew or anyone else".

And I wouldn't be at all surprised if Cortese concludes that there's "inside information" behind Samuel's article, and draws his own conclusions about where it came from. If so - given that Cortese's ego might well be bruised by that article, anything could happen. After Sunday. And I'm NOT sure he will get those funds. As I've said before, my fear is that Cortese won't release much Summer money to Pardew because he can argue that he already did that without seeing his (Cortese's) desired return. I just don't want to see us caught in a twilight where Cortese won't fire Pardew but won't back him either.

I agree with this but I'm not sure Cortese is completely focused on points totals. In his mind I think the damage may already be done, with vital points dropped against inferior squads. If he feels we should have made the playoffs, and I suspect he does, he'll view the season as unsatisfactory and act accordingly - if AP doesn't beat him to it.

I can't help but think that this article might have sealed AP's fate at SMS, one way or the other. It comes across as one-sided but "well-connected" - like something we might read in AP's end of career autobiography. And that might not be lost on Cortese. Cortese may be experiencing one of the dangers of getting on the wrong side of the British media - attack one of them and many others will see it as an attack on them. Not a good day for us. I hope NC's and ML's interest in English football didn't just drop a few notches.

Yes, and the cut-out are on the decline. They seem committed to making it work. Arbosolootly.

Nothing like a bit of ninety-six!

Aimed at one of the nicest guys in the game? Scum.