david in sweden

In a nutshell Bridgey.... a while back " some people" on here wrote that we would be better off scoring goals in the Championship, than struggling at the bottom of the Prem. --except that we wouldn't have got the £60 million + TV money either...... Cortese holds the purse strings (or in this case ).... the cheque book ...and I'd trust him to know how /when to spend it .

Agreed. He's looked quite good in the last few matches. If he can have a good game v.Man. U..... he might secure his place for a while, at least.

Well.... he certainly makes some spectacular misses .....and we know (if signed) his name is pronounced ...MOONIE !

WINNING.. the title surely has little real significance ....as both clubs were promoted at the same time. They are similar types of players, though Gorkyss is two years older than Jos but their League records (with respective clubs) is quite similar; Goryss has played 51 games scored 4 goals, whereas Jos has 50 games and scored 7 times. We might also argue that two of Jos goals - (1-0 and 1-1) against Wham....won us 4 points against them last season...and without those points Wham might have finished above us and we'd have been in the Play-off places. I think we got the better deal.

Sky reporting that Reading CB Kaspar Gorkyss.... .is on his way to Leeds. Was maybe a good one not to have bought. Jos was the better deal by a long way.

Mmm...it might be we find the answer to that on Wednesday evening.

Cheer up ART. How do you know there's no action ?..........you know Cortese's methods by now. Wait till the ink's dry on the contract before revealing anything. Come back again Thursday morning.

MY GUESS : don't expect transfers (if any) to be announced until Thursday morning ........after the United game ...good or bad .

I see that Paul Lambert got the dreaded " vote of confideence " from his Chairman today. That usually means TWO WEEKS - and you're out !

I thought he was developing well. Shame that we had to sell him to pay wages during our period of administration......got ripped off on the transfer fee, too.

....more likely 3-6 moving out, we still have a bit of deadwood on the playing staff....

...might have been in training ?........ we don't usually get feedback whenever someone stubs their toe - do we?... but knocks and kicks are part of the job. Hopefully he won't be out for too long. I'm still waiting for his next goal, but I have noticed his improved work rate in recentn games.......

well said Minsk #91 all those points are well made. Someone said that Cortese even pays for his own ticket (?).... but I'm beginning to suspect that it isn't Cortese's ego that is in question here. MLT has gone on a prime time football prog. to slag off someone who doesn't have an equal opportunity to talk back..well now Cortese has given an interview..and answered questions..but still not satisfactorily for MLT...however, this whole thing about "witnesses" is ridiculous. Does he wants a face-to-face with Cortese ...screened on Sky afterwards to see who said what..it's almost embarrassing. I'm sorry Matt...loved your football, but your halo is beginning to tarnish. Don't denegrate the club even more than you have done. Cortese saved the club when Pinnacle couldn't even find the money. If the intention is to rid the club of Cortese ?....what's the solution ?....maybe Pinnacle will come again and offer to buy him out ? .....or?

[/font][/size][/i]As Frank says, you can either take that statement literally or (should you desire) form some other meaning of your own. original quote fron Toomer... If you were at the same table...Were they seated near each other ?...Did you see them in conversation? I've been at functions where I only got to speak to those opposite /beside me....thats not quite the same thing.

CAREFUL !.....you'll get branded as being " pro-Cortese ":scared:

I've quoted that many times.....agents have a job to do (and a living to make) and often seem to employ such tactics to get " the best deal for themselves " (if not always for the player).

considering his business background....can read on Wikipedia..he's obviously been dealing with clients who have high expectations, and he demands nothing less when he's running the show at SMS. Don't forget it was NC who first took the Saints deal to Marcus Liebherr.....who obviously saw the potential and (more or less ) said ..." put my money where your mouth is ...." and according to one report on this site - ML had said at the time.....I'll buy it ..if you run it . Cortese took him at his word and is true to that promise. he has certainly been controversial in the past (Pardew, Adkins) but he clearly has a vision and will follow his own intuition.

ABSOLUTELY.....it's not the Cortese style to go out and do the deals in the media ... " Redknapp style " . NC waits till the ink is dry on the contract. We may still be in for a surprise signing that no-one has considered.

I don't disagree with your point but even that might be in doubt. Liverpool's purchases have been pretty poor in recent seasons....Torres couldn't get into the side for a long time ...and as for Carroll .....if it wasn't for Suarez and his handball issues and his diving tactics, they wouldn't even be where they are today...paying out big money for a reputation is no guarantee of success - is it ? .goodness knows what they'll be like as a team after Stevie G, retires..?

Good post with several valid points, Viking Warrior.....

Ugh?....my point is ..that he's been " sold " the historical version of Liverpool's former grandeur and rejected us in favour of that?. Can't see any other (obvious) reason? ...given our own recent successes, and his previous experience of MP at Espanyol..... Maybe he's one of those players with an " attitude" or has disciplinary problems ....and didn't like MO's (reputed) hard-line methods?

now that the Coutinho deal is dead in the water, we'll have to wait until Wednesday to see who we have finally signed....... IF... there are any in the pipeline (?)...these are surely going on behind the scenes ....and just waiting for an announcement.

this is a strange one - isn't it ? clearly MP rates him highly, and we (alledgedly) bid more than Liverpool so Milan must be a bit miffed at having to accept a lower fee. (can't say Cortese didn't try) Liverpool are, of course, a great name (historically) but haven't achieved much in recent years, and I'm not over-impressed by Brendan Rogers' but time will tell. He (allegedly) prefers Liverpool but he might regret the choice after he moves, but it's those sort of career-changing decisions that make or break a player....

few of us can claim that " we know what will happen " by the end of the season (even those on here who have put their crystal balls in for polishing) but one thing is clear.that the "real " responsibility lies not just in the managers tactics, but in the performance of the players on the day.... (there must be some wringing of hands today at; Carrow Road, Anfield and White Hart Lane). Lawrie McMenemy once quoted as saying .as a manager you can never win. If we get the points, fans say ..the team played well. If we lose ..it's my fault because I picked them. Many of us have already acknowledged (in print)... the success that Nigel Adkins brought to the club in recent seasons, but now he's gone - and we must move on. If the new manager succeeds....what will his critics say then?... it was just luck... (let's face it we're overdue some).....or he's only playing Adkins' side...or will he gain some credit for his own efforts?... or are they just waiting for him (and the team) to fail... just so they can gloat and say ..we knew it was wrong all the time. We'll have a clearer picture by May 20th...but I'm also old enough to recall another manager... who took over a side around New Year, and the team plummeted down the League.... to relegation. He kept his job ...and went onto to build an FA Cup winning side and eventually promotion back up again....and gave us some of the most-entertaining football in living memory ...Lawrie McMenemy.

Amongst all this inuendo and media hype, there is a thread of truth that has gone missing, and part of it came out in the Sky interview with Cortese. Namely that the two men haven't had a sitdown discussion (why should they - I ask myself ?) .....and MLT (who unlike NC seems to enjoy the media attention) is the only one who has been spitting feathers and openly insulting NC, with reported comments like (not a nice human-being). Whether or not they have actually met (more than an anonymous handshake and a greeting - I don't know) but what is clear is that the whole affair is being blown up out of all proportion. Enough has been written about MLT's unique contribution to SFC, but we had to learn to live without him after he kicked his last ball with the club 11 years ago. Likewise media reaction (mostly the Echo - made a big deal over a small issue) with Lawrie McMenemy - a manager who produced teams that entertained us more than any other in my lifetime - before moving on to greener pastures - in Sunderland...(others say he deserted the club). Whatever we think of these people, it was all in the past. Little that any of these gents.(or others) have to say is likely to improve team performance - on the contrary, it only sews the seeds of discontent amongst supporters - and more importantly club personnel and players. We all have different opinions about players, personalities, tactics and even the price of tickets, beer and a pie, but these things should be kept in perspective when we are all (hopefully) most interested in the future performances of the team. Some people seem to have condemned our new manager before he had scarcely fielded a side, on the grounds that no-one (in UK ) had ever heard of him ...which to be fair was plainly ridiculous, as he is well-respected by many in Europe, and just as " unknown foreign players " are suddenly slated as " being useless" - before they've put on a Saints shirt for the first time, and are most often wrong! Times change - teams change and so do managers ... and Chairmen. It might be better if people thought a bit before openly giving criticism to feed the media and creating " strife " just for the sake of it.