CanadaSaint

You can't keep minimizing the importance of these papers as the centre piece of your argument. Let me put it another way. Even if other national dailies don't jump on this story, they keep a very close eye on eachother and will certainly know about Nicola's "attack" on the Echo (that's how they will probably see it). It doesn't matter who "has the most money" when freedom of the press is at stake. That's a completely non-negotiable item for them. This is not a very smart p*ssing contest for Nicola to have, but it's certainly not doing Murray any good either. Time to make up, boys.

How about the Express? They're now involved. Tomorrow a few more nationals might join them - (rightly or wrongly) seeing Nicola's actions as an attack on them all. Now who wins? Anyone? There may come a time when Nicola really needs the media to see things from his side (for example, some tussle with the FL or the FA), and guess whose side the media will take. I'm not saying he needs to drop to his knees and grovel, but that he needs to recognize the need for a solution. DP, I don't think we KNOW who's right and wrong in this (other than both parties), so how can you conclude that "you'd have to be a ****ing moron to agree with what the Echo did."

Dead right. This escalation was entirely predictable and would never have happened if the two protagonists had parked their egos and acted like adults. And we could have helped by asking them to do exactly that, rather than by being so quick to take sides when we don't know all the facts.

I don't mind them having stale nibbles. I just don't want to read anything in the Sunday papers about erect nibbles.

It's really beginning to move out of anyone's control, no matter how much damage will result from the winding-up petition. It's literally like watching a train wreck and being completely unable to stop it. And, besides the legal ramifications of the winding up petition and order, I'd be amazed if a number of key players aren't already in 'secret' discussions with other clubs so that they can move on as soon as payroll is missed. Who can fault them? And who can fault the clubs that could pick those players up for next to nothing?

Fair comment, but a number of people aren't just giving Mr. Cortese (of whom I'm a supporter) "the benefit of the doubt." They are swallowing his side of the story hook, line and sinker, and then they're calling for a boycott of the Echo. Perhaps we shouldn't quickly forget that the Echo has been around since 1888. It has seen the city (and surrounding area) through wars and tragedies and coronations, wins and losses (in local leagues as well), promotions and relegations, and God knows how many "births, marriages and deaths". It's only three years younger than the club itself, and Mr. Murray wasn't there for the vast majority of that time. It may not be the best newspaper in the world, and there are many times when it has been complete crap, but it deserves better than that.

I'm no big fan of the Echo but I think there’s a lot of overreaction on here. People are jumping to conclusions, and even St. Marco’s helpful summary contains a number of personal opinions that – as far as I can see - have no clear basis in fact. Numerous people have said the Echo did this just to sell more papers. They say this every time the Echo does something to p*ss them off. Seriously, do people honestly believe that? Think about it for a minute, and then tell me how many fit into this category: "Ooh look, there's a story about the Saints' training ground plans (or whatever) in today's Echo so, even though we never buy it, let's buy it today." The Echo is a newspaper and it has a moral, legal and corporate obligation to be just that – to tell stories and break news. If they feel something is newsworthy, they have every right and every duty to run the story. If they don’t they are just a shill and a puppet for whoever wants them NOT to run the story. If something is in the public domain, there is no such thing as an embargo because it has already been broken. I’m completely with Clifford Nelson on this because press freedom (whether I like what they say or not) is at the core of any democracy. And I’ll ask this yet again, for the umpteenth time. Would people have the same reaction if the Echo did this to Lowe and vice versa? There can’t be two different answers to that question that depend on results or anything else. The Echo really p*ssed me off today by taking another run at Cortese. I think that was stupid and arrogant, but it’s not going to blind my judgment. We don’t KNOW if the Echo was right or wrong in this and we don’t KNOW if Cortese has overreacted. We don’t KNOW if the Echo really did extend the olive branch, and we don’t KNOW that Cortese rejected it. We don’t KNOW these things because we don’t have all the facts. What I DO know is that it’s going to take maturity to resolve it, and that’s what I’d be crying out for now.

Think about what you just posted.

We need to see a little maturity here and someone needs to make the first move. I think it should be Mr. Murray but he appears to be going in the other direction by trying hard to make the situation worse. I don't think we're helping by siding with NC when we'd have beaten the crap out of Rupert for exactly the same behaviour. And please, Alpine and Delldays, don't try to tell me that good results make poor behaviour acceptable. (And just for the record I'm a big fan of pretty much everything else that NC is doing.)

This clash of large egos isn't doing anyone any good, and I think our best role is not to take sides but to urge all parties to park it and move on. Mr. Cortese has much bigger things to do than engage in a silly squabble with the local newspaper. He needs to remember that the media stick together, so p*ssing off the local rag is likely to hurt us at the national level. Mr. Murray seems to have lost sight of the fact that the newspaper business, worldwide, is in big, big trouble. The internet has made it easy for people to live without the printed word and yet still stay informed. If the Echo wants to survive, it needs to ensure that it has better access to the people making the news, not worse access.

This post appears to be based on the age-old rule: If you're going to get an infraction, make it worthwhile. As in really, really, really worthwhile. Almost Prutton-esque.

I expected him to be that player, too, Nick - all the more so for the fact that, by all accounts, he filled that role at Colchester and even wore the C. It's so often the case with players like this that "As go they, so goes the team". They are the team's barometer. Which means that we won't start playing better until he does start playing better, or until we replace him with another midfield leader ('cos the kids aren't ready for the role yet). The positive for me is that we're one player's form away from a great run. The negative is that it's not looking like happening.

It's difficult to tell from the highlights I see, but a screaming absence all year long has been the "Bally type" who controls the midfield psychologically, if that makes sense. He demands that we play a certain way and he lets people have it if they stray from the plan. We don't have anyone like that, and we haven't for some time, so the hoof is never far away.

Which is what two people whose opinions I value and who go to the games have been saying. We are very, very close to the point at which it's too late to start playing better.

It's hard to fathom but we haven't really been the same side since losing James.

Arb-solutely soup-herb.

Arb-solutely marg-nificent.

I know there's a lot of season left but the Swindon/Leeds score suggests that there's a sh*tload of us fighting for one playoff place.

Exactly. And, on top of that, I've had concerns since the start that Cortese is too "high powered" for us to retain his interest for any length of time. Especially as we are, at the very best, 18 months away from kicking a ball in the Premiership. Even if the story is right, we're not talking full time employment but a board position. The DoF arrangement is made for this situation. As long as Cortese's got a firm finger on the pulse, and as long as the big decisions still go through him, I don't care if he spends the bulk of his time elsewhere. And Markus Liebherr probably sees it the same way. Better this than a full time job somewhere else.

Saints supporters sing this song, Doo-dah! doo-dah! And laugh at Pompey all day long, Doo-dah-doo-dah-day! We can smell them all from here, Doo-dah! doo-dah! Some are straight but most are queer, Doo-dah-doo-dah-day! We can sing this song, and wash it down with beers, ‘Cos nobody else will give a sh*t when Pompey disappears Harry screwed them worse than us, Doo-dah! doo-dah! We hate him, too, but that’s a plus, Doo-dah-doo-dah-day! We got Markus, they got fakes, Doo-dah! doo-dah! But they’re used to being no great sheikhs, Doo-dah-doo-dah-day! We can sing this song, and wash it down with beers, ‘Cos nobody else will give a sh*t when Pompey disappears We’re on the up and they’re on the down, Doo-dah! doo-dah! Back to the dole for that Westwood clown, Doo-dah-doo-dah-day! We’re in the midst of a reconstruct, Doo-dah! doo-dah! But not so Pompey, they are f*cked, Doo-dah-doo-dah-day! We can sing this song, and wash it down with beers, ‘Cos nobody else will give a sh*t when Pompey disappears Have a whip-round in the pubs, Doo-dah! doo-dah! Pay the taxman, pay the clubs, Doo-dah-doo-dah-day! The last step, folks, is a real gem, Doo-dah! doo-dah! The next ten years in the Blue Square Prem, Doo-dah-doo-dah-day! We can sing this song, and wash it down with beers, ‘Cos nobody else will give a sh*t when Pompey disappears

Although I'd kill to win, it's a no-lose game for us. Even if we lose we can take more p*ss out of their lot than they can take out of us. As in "We're going up and you're going down, do-da, do-da" But it'd be really nice to win AND take the p*ss.

The signings that AP has made/pursued suggest that you may be right - or that his durability is still a major doubt. He seems very worth having but I'm not sure we can count on him every game, or for 90 minutes when he does play.

If we get Pompey away the Skates will probably opt to play it here because they need the money. But we'll get Man Citeh, away.

And he used to play for Burnley! (Or was it Burley) God knows what kind of mess he'd make trying to pronounce your name, NC. It's full of Geordie-unfriendly syllables