Nicola Cortese wants to return to English footie

At least he would get the commercial side buzzing. Fill all those Executive Boxes and get us sponsorship worthy of a top ten club.

Well no. Some people know friends and family members who actually have information about Cortese and what he was like. Nothing to do with some crummy club pr.

Saved me the job, thanks.

Saved me the job, thanks.

 

For future reference, remind me what additional work and extensions he got for that £25m? It's not simply that he overspent (i.e. pure waste which of course happened); its also that we got something of value back in return.

Edited 16 January, 2018 by shurlock

Well no. Some people know friends and family members who actually have information about Cortese and what he was like. Nothing to do with some crummy club pr.

 

#snowflakes

#snowflakes

#commie

For future reference, remind me what additional work and extensions he got for that £25m? It's not simply that he overspent (i.e. pure waste which of course happened); its also that we got something of value back in return.

The details of what we got in terms of infrastructure are irrelevant, but personally I see no commercial wisdom on spending £39m tarting up leased land, especially when £14m was the budget. In any event, this thread is about the merits of his return. That will never happen, fortunately.

Why hasn't he got a job in football since? If his demise was just pr bs from the club why's nobody else hired him. Even Peter Risdale got a job in football after Leeds. Why haven't money men looking to get into the game used him, why haven't any clubs wanting a dynamic proven winner at the helm employed him?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He was ruthless and not nice personally...

 

Why hasn't he got a job in football since? If his demise was just pr bs from the club why's nobody else hired him. Even Peter Risdale got a job in football after Leeds. Why haven't money men looking to get into the game used him, why haven't any clubs wanting a dynamic proven winner at the helm employed him?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes all the people who criticise Dalek on his hoddle rants say that hoddle was no good and the proof is he hasn’t got another job since, yet the same people don’t use that logic for cortese

Why hasn't he got a job in football since? If his demise was just pr bs from the club why's nobody else hired him. Even Peter Risdale got a job in football after Leeds. Why haven't money men looking to get into the game used him, why haven't any clubs wanting a dynamic proven winner at the helm employed him?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Have to ask him that. Didn't he say he had offers in his interview but wanted to stay in the banking business?

I think a few of the Anti Cortese people seem to forget he only got into football because of his friend. With his record to think nobody would want him is laughable.

Yes all the people who criticise Dalek on his hoddle rants say that hoddle was no good and the proof is he hasn’t got another job since, yet the same people don’t use that logic for cortese

 

The answer is because they do not have a balanced and objective viewpoint. They are driven by an agenda.

There is so much many of us that know about what was going on at the time would love to share about that mad midget, but can't. Anyone, and i mean anyone, working in or around the club at the time can tell you his sacking was absolutely spot on, he was sending us down a horrendous financial path and pretty much all the player sales were a direct result of how he ran the club.

 

Yes he was ruthless in places, sometimes to our benefit but many times not (screwing over local businesses and using the clubs money as his own comes to mind), but the long term damage he was inflicting WAS at pompey levels and would've bitten us in the arse badly in the long run.

There is so much many of us that know about what was going on at the time would love to share about that mad midget, but can't. Anyone, and i mean anyone, working in or around the club at the time can tell you his sacking was absolutely spot on, he was sending us down a horrendous financial path and pretty much all the player sales were a direct result of how he ran the club.

 

Yes he was ruthless in places, sometimes to our benefit but many times not (screwing over local businesses and using the clubs money as his own comes to mind), but the long term damage he was inflicting WAS at pompey levels and would've bitten us in the arse badly in the long run.

why cant you share?after all you are making accusations about him.

why cant you share?after all you are making accusations about him.

 

i can't share because it directly references people i know, some of whom are still at the club, if they said they were happy for me to share i would but they're not so i won't. That said those on here that know me know i'll share it in the pub (in fact most likely those people would be there and share it themselves) but not on a public forum.

i can't share because it directly references people i know, some of whom are still at the club, if they said they were happy for me to share i would but they're not so i won't. That said those on here that know me know i'll share it in the pub (in fact most likely those people would be there and share it themselves) but not on a public forum.

so, the path we are on, an owner with a massive debt to service. selling player hand over fist and about to be relegated

 

sounds decent

I THINK YOU'LL FIND IT'S CALLED AMBITION. AMBITION.

CB very few of us know the remit he was given by Marcus. Things pbviously changed when KL arrived and was champing at the bit to get her money in.

To me NC did some stuff that was pretty poor but also stuff that was pretty ground breaking stuff. How we had had all the players lifestyles constant, how they got the same sleep patterns home and away,and all that weird stuff that may have made a difference .One thing for sure the team doesn't have the grit and winning mentality that was being installed at the club.

I didn't worry if he made ex-players and hangers on pay for their tickets, every penny that comes in ca be used to improve our team. I don't get the case that I go for 50 years paying fullprice and a bloke who used to work at the club who was very well rewarded (overpaid a lot of the time) then feels a right to a free ticket. Especially as most of them would leave at the drop of an extra fiver

so, the path we are on, an owner with a massive debt to service. selling player hand over fist and about to be relegated

 

sounds decent

 

I was led to believe we no longer had to service that debt that was historically left by Cortese, and that this summer just gone was supposed to be the first where we had "the upper hand" in terms of being forced to sell. Which then beggars the question, why the hell are we not signing anyone now we have the VVD money? Because if we finally didn't need to sell to cover historic debts then in theory we should be able to spend...

 

 

Maybe Guan can answer this question, but i'm really confused as to where the money is now going?

i can't share because it directly references people i know, some of whom are still at the club, if they said they were happy for me to share i would but they're not so i won't. That said those on here that know me know i'll share it in the pub (in fact most likely those people would be there and share it themselves) but not on a public forum.

I got the impression that people who are very unhappy with their boss would leave their job, or that he was so terrible he would have sacked them.

I suspect the financial dealings and position were only privy to a very small handful of people. If you have that info it is clear that your friends are in the accounting part of the club and highest echelons of that. If not I doubt their info would be 100% correct

There is so much many of us that know about what was going on at the time would love to share about that mad midget, but can't. Anyone, and i mean anyone, working in or around the club at the time can tell you his sacking was absolutely spot on, he was sending us down a horrendous financial path and pretty much all the player sales were a direct result of how he ran the club.

 

Yes he was ruthless in places, sometimes to our benefit but many times not (screwing over local businesses and using the clubs money as his own comes to mind), but the long term damage he was inflicting WAS at pompey levels and would've bitten us in the arse badly in the long run.

 

It wasn’t at Pompey levels. Pompey had no infrastructure to show for their spending; their squad was made up of foreign mercenaries with little to no resale value. They continued to spend and spend whereas it’s standard practice for newly promoted sides to invest heavily up front to make the transition to the PL before that investment tapering off in subsequent seasons. And most important the value of our club exceeded the debt accumulated, should KL have wanted to exit her investment and realise the capital gains. The differences go on and on.

 

Then again you think the Gaos only bought the club to redevelop the land around the stadium

Edited 17 January, 2018 by shurlock

The bloke was an egotistical loon, with a very good pr agent. The very fact that he has been out of football since his departure tells it's own story. Very good at spending someone else money though.

Why hasn't he got a job in football since? If his demise was just pr bs from the club why's nobody else hired him. Even Peter Risdale got a job in football after Leeds. Why haven't money men looking to get into the game used him, why haven't any clubs wanting a dynamic proven winner at the helm employed him?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

TBF, wasn't he involved at Milan or something?

Very good at spending someone else money though.

Isn't everyone? If I recall rightly you were very much in with the group who were circling to buy the club when we were in receivership, they didn't come up with the goods but NC got ML to buy us. For all the posturing and anti NC stuff bandied about, we owe him as much as we do anyone that our club survived. It was he who went and put us under ML nose and got him to buy. If not we would not be around anymore as MLT group were the ones who were going to get us, imagine that? So excuse me giving NC some respect, he has been cast as the villain but if you really look at it he is the hero. ML obviously thought he was the man for us, and he was a good judge in my mind. I don't know where the article can be found but I always recall ML and his journey to get to NC to present him the watch (?)even though he was near his death. That tells me all I need to know about how ML thought of NC.

I got the impression that people who are very unhappy with their boss would leave their job, or that he was so terrible he would have sacked them.

I suspect the financial dealings and position were only privy to a very small handful of people. If you have that info it is clear that your friends are in the accounting part of the club and highest echelons of that. If not I doubt their info would be 100% correct

 

To be fair, one of the people I know who worked (pretty high up so knew bits and bobs, but kept a lot close to their chest) at the club had nothing to do with accounting, but even they knew that spending was becoming out of control.

 

Personally I'm stuck in 2 minds with Cortese. He was a nasty bloke and horrible to work for to the point where it would put people in edge around the training ground when he turned up, but you cannot question his on field results.

 

We need someone who is a happy medium of Cortese and Ralph, i'm sure such person exists.

CB very few of us know the remit he was given by Marcus. Things pbviously changed when KL arrived and was champing at the bit to get her money in.

To me NC did some stuff that was pretty poor but also stuff that was pretty ground breaking stuff. How we had had all the players lifestyles constant, how they got the same sleep patterns home and away,and all that weird stuff that may have made a difference .One thing for sure the team doesn't have the grit and winning mentality that was being installed at the club.

I didn't worry if he made ex-players and hangers on pay for their tickets, every penny that comes in ca be used to improve our team. I don't get the case that I go for 50 years paying fullprice and a bloke who used to work at the club who was very well rewarded (overpaid a lot of the time) then feels a right to a free ticket. Especially as most of them would leave at the drop of an extra fiver

 

Well, it would have been groundbreaking if loads of other clubs weren't already doing it by then, yeah.

If I recall rightly you were very much in with the group who were circling to buy the club when we were in receivership

 

Wasn't that 'Morph'? https://www.saintsweb.co.uk/member.php?1485-Morph

Wasn't that 'Morph'? https://www.saintsweb.co.uk/member.php?1485-Morph

Ah yes thanks, sorry Morse lol.

Whether you liked big Nic or not its pretty irrelevant the current ownership ( of which Kat is still part of) aren't bringing him back and even if they did he wouldn't have the freedom to do things the way he did last time under the current ownership.

I can only think of one good trait Cortese had which we are currently lacking and that is decisive leadership.

I can only think of one good trait Cortese had which we are currently lacking and that is decisive leadership.

 

Isn't sticking by your manager and not sacking him decisive? Or do you define decisive as doing what you want them to do. People keep banging on about dithering , but if we've decided the manger stays, end of. That maybe wrong, but it's not dithering.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was led to believe we no longer had to service that debt that was historically left by Cortese, and that this summer just gone was supposed to be the first where we had "the upper hand" in terms of being forced to sell. Which then beggars the question, why the hell are we not signing anyone now we have the VVD money? Because if we finally didn't need to sell to cover historic debts then in theory we should be able to spend...

 

 

Maybe Guan can answer this question, but i'm really confused as to where the money is now going?

 

In fairness, there's nothing to contradict that yet. There's two weeks left to sign players this window. Looks like we missed out on Walcott but that may simply be because Everton were prepared to offer a financial package to Arsenal and Walcott that we felt was not good value.

 

In fact, if you look at last summer there is evidence to support the view. We only moved on J Rod and we signed Hoedt and Lemina. We didn't sell VVD.

 

Of course, that was before Gao, so who knows what the current situation really is

In fairness, there's nothing to contradict that yet. There's two weeks left to sign players this window. Looks like we missed out on Walcott but that may simply be because Everton were prepared to offer a financial package to Arsenal and Walcott that we felt was not good value.

 

In fact, if you look at last summer there is evidence to support the view. We only moved on J Rod and we signed Hoedt and Lemina. We didn't sell VVD.

 

Of course, that was before Gao, so who knows what the current situation really is

 

It depends. I doubt we moved Mane, Wanyama etc because of a historical debt problem - rather the players were pining for a move. Arguably VVD too would have been allowed to go if he, his agent and Liverpool hadn't acted like c**ts in the summer. The Hoedt purchase was partly funded by the Fonte money and no doubt with an eye on replacing VVD and the money that would be coming our way. Lemina was brought in because DM was widely seen as our Achilles Heel, with the club having whiffed on several midfielders (PEH's return to some form has been one of the better stories this season). The new TV money has no doubt allowed all clubs to be a bit more aggressive in the transfer market.

 

That all said and whatever the reason, last summer was a pleasant change.

Edited 17 January, 2018 by shurlock

He was ruthless and not nice personally...

 

Is there any meat you can put on the bones of this? For example, I can imagine both LR and FK can be ruthless and businesslike in the required circumstances. "Being nice" is usually just bull**** (to we adults; not to suggest you're not but if people can't see through **** sometimes perhaps they're the ones in need of something more) and if, for example, you're sacked the end result is you're sacked.

 

As an outsider I see him as driven, efficient and probably a bit lax with cash but things like the budget being overspent on the training facilities by such an amount must have produced a very strong feeling of being ****ed off and asking of people (e.g. me, if it were my cash) where the Hell the money had been spent, who ****ed up, etc and looking for heads to roll. Likewise, if you demand results and give everyone all the assistance they ask for and they don't deliver, wouldn't you be very likely to ask a lot of searching questions. In short, being a bastard in some ways goes with the job and (maybe) there were too many softies around who did **** jobs but wanted to be told they were great. From what you've said it sounds like much more than that (and I have little interest in Benali's house although I'm aware of that story) but without anything more I'll just note that a lot of people didn't like him but as I don't know them and can't validate what they have to say it won't mean much to me and I, like others, will just think he did do a lot of good things for us that LR (who now seems to be showing his true colours and his abilities as demonstrated to those at Charlton) seems to be undoing at a rate of knots along with Kreuger and co.

There is so much many of us that know about what was going on at the time would love to share about that mad midget, but can't. Anyone, and i mean anyone, working in or around the club at the time can tell you his sacking was absolutely spot on, he was sending us down a horrendous financial path and pretty much all the player sales were a direct result of how he ran the club.

 

Yes he was ruthless in places, sometimes to our benefit but many times not (screwing over local businesses and using the clubs money as his own comes to mind), but the long term damage he was inflicting WAS at pompey levels and would've bitten us in the arse badly in the long run.

 

Ta, spose that's the best I'll have to expect. I agree that local businesses should always be treated fairly and properly (provided they aren't **** of course - you still have to deliver) and agree that is something I'd dislike to see happening.

 

Yes he was ruthless in places, sometimes to our benefit but many times not (screwing over local businesses and using the clubs money as his own comes to mind), but the long term damage he was inflicting WAS at pompey levels and would've bitten us in the arse badly in the long run.

Screwing local businesses? Did he not let a small local company sponsor our shirts?

Screwing local businesses? Did he not let a small local company sponsor our shirts?

 

Fighting a losing battle. The one that makes me laugh is the debt/spending other peoples money line. That debt was smaller than the amount we spent on Gardos. And how much profit did our previous owner make?

I also like how he is somehow to blame for our financial situation even though since he left we sold hundreds of millions worth of players and had new tv deals that were the biggest in history. But that £1m loan ****ed us man!

A great leader, but didn't suffer fools kindly. I would welcome him back with open arms but we would need to clear the staffroom of retards and snowflakes or there will be a right carry on.

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

There is so much many of us that know about what was going on at the time would love to share about that mad midget, but can't. Anyone, and i mean anyone, working in or around the club at the time can tell you his sacking was absolutely spot on, he was sending us down a horrendous financial path and pretty much all the player sales were a direct result of how he ran the club.

 

Yes he was ruthless in places, sometimes to our benefit but many times not (screwing over local businesses and using the clubs money as his own comes to mind), but the long term damage he was inflicting WAS at pompey levels and would've bitten us in the arse badly in the long run.

 

I tend to concentrate on the end product and that faultless. He invested wisely in the training ground ask Ralph - he loves it!

Cortese was a winner, ruthless but also didn’t suffer fools...

He wasn’t interested in history only the future. He didn’t encourage blind ass licking ex SFC pros but he picked winners and without him our meteoritic rise probably wouldn’t have happened like it did.

We have ridden his wave ever since.

I didn’t like some of the things he did at the time, however I was wrong and he was right...

We are now saddled with an ex this ex that out of touch clumsy rather amateur unambitious small minded part time leader and we are seeing the result in technicolour right now..

You have to give him some credit for our rapid rise up the leagues but we are where we are because of Marcus’ money. In football ambition = money, it’s that simple.

 

We were always going to hit a ceiling, as soon as the dwarf figured that out he bailed.

I tend to concentrate on the end product and that faultless. He invested wisely in the training ground ask Ralph - he loves it!

Cortese was a winner, ruthless but also didn’t suffer fools...

He wasn’t interested in history only the future. He didn’t encourage blind ass licking ex SFC pros but he picked winners and without him our meteoritic rise probably wouldn’t have happened like it did.

We have ridden his wave ever since.

I didn’t like some of the things he did at the time, however I was wrong and he was right...

We are now saddled with an ex this ex that out of touch clumsy rather amateur unambitious small minded part time leader and we are seeing the result in technicolour right now..

 

I really don't remember so much confidence in the Cortese "wave" that we've all apparently "ridden ever since" during the summer of 2014. If we were all so secure riding this wave that would last for four years what was all the panic about back then?

Isn't everyone? If I recall rightly you were very much in with the group who were circling to buy the club when we were in receivership, they didn't come up with the goods but NC got ML to buy us. For all the posturing and anti NC stuff bandied about, we owe him as much as we do anyone that our club survived. It was he who went and put us under ML nose and got him to buy. If not we would not be around anymore as MLT group were the ones who were going to get us, imagine that? So excuse me giving NC some respect, he has been cast as the villain but if you really look at it he is the hero. ML obviously thought he was the man for us, and he was a good judge in my mind. I don't know where the article can be found but I always recall ML and his journey to get to NC to present him the watch (?)even though he was near his death. That tells me all I need to know about how ML thought of NC.

Argh the old watch story, released to the press by Cortese himself, after the death of ML. Class. And for the record ML had tasked NC to find a suitable club to buy, not the other way around. So we don't owe the egotistic dwarf sweet of.

On another point, didn't Cortese appoint the football genius responsible for our current predicament Reed?

I really don't remember so much confidence in the Cortese "wave" that we've all apparently "ridden ever since" during the summer of 2014. If we were all so secure riding this wave that would last for four years what was all the panic about back then?

 

 

Come on, that’s a bit harsh. It’s the greatest wave football has ever known. Players, managers and the board have all ridden it for nearly 4 years, despite hardly any of them being here when the wave started. Koeman, Mane, VvD, Toby, Bertrand, Cedric, Pelle, they all rode the ****ing Nicola wave.

 

Calling it a wave is not doing it justice. A tsunami is more appropriate, The Cortese tsunami......

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Argh the old watch story, released to the press by Cortese himself, after the death of ML. Class. And for the record ML had tasked NC to find a suitable club to buy, not the other way around. So we don't owe the egotistic dwarf sweet of.

On another point, didn't Cortese appoint the football genius responsible for our current predicament Reed?

If that is the case fine, but he could have put many other clubs under ML nose. Your dislike of him seems to override the fact it was down to him persuading ML to buy us saved the day.

I don't know who released the ML story, but it has never been denied by the family

Come on, that’s a bit harsh. It’s the greatest wave football has ever known. Players, managers and the board have all ridden it for nearly 4 years, despite hardly any of them being here when the wave started. Koeman, Mane, VvD, Toby, Bertrand, Cedric, Pelle, they all rode the ****ing Nicola wave.

 

Calling it a wave is not doing it justice. A tsunami is more appropriate, The Cortese tsunami......

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

All scouted and brought to the club by Paul Mitchell (perhaps with the exception of Cedric), who was appointed by Cortese......

Wow, he even scouted managers. How would we ever heard of Ronald Koeman without him. Amazing, he even found Pelle and got him to the club despite the fact he was playing for Koeman the previous season.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited 18 January, 2018 by Lord Duckhunter

Wow, he even scouted managers. How would we ever heard of Ronald Koeman without him. Amazing, he even found Pelle and got him to the club despite the fact he was playing for Koeman the previous season.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

So what are you saying? Les got lucky with Koeman? Id agree with that.

All scouted and brought to the club by Paul Mitchell (perhaps with the exception of Cedric), who was appointed by Cortese......

 

Les Reed was Head of Football Development and Support which includes Scouting and Recruitment when Mitchell joined Saints in 2012.

 

Another lucky one by Les?

Why are people banging on about debt as a bad thing? Yes, in football you run up debt to create something of great value. Which is what happened and why KL sold a majority stake to Gao last year, when the investment had probably peaked. That looks like a bloody great deal for KL, in no small part thanks to the part played by her father in the first instance, Cortese and the current board latterly.

 

Whatever we think about Cortese and the current board, you have to say that KL has played an absolute blinder here. She's gone about her business quietly and carefully and with fine timing. Problem is, I think it means a period of disappointment now for the fans.

 

Don't expect Cortese back any time soon, don't expect MP to be sacked this Jan, don't expect the current board to be sacked either and sadly don't expect big signings this Jan.

Why are people banging on about debt as a bad thing? Yes, in football you run up debt to create something of great value. Which is what happened and why KL sold a majority stake to Gao last year, when the investment had probably peaked.

If debt is loaded into a Business/Club to fund its purchase (look up leveraged buy outs by KKR etc) then the Business has to pay that interest and has less money to spend on its other expenses such as buying players and paying players wages.

If debt is loaded into a Business/Club to fund its purchase (look up leveraged buy outs by KKR etc) then the Business has to pay that interest and has less money to spend on its other expenses such as buying players and paying players wages.

we must be paying massive interest at present then lol

we must be paying massive interest at present then lol

Less does not mean ALL.