When Dan met Nicola...

[Matthew Le God]

For those still doubting the Liebherr's willingness to see through Markus' "vision", one of the main BBC sports reporters (Dan Roan), 24 minutes ago Tweeted this...

 

danroan Dan Roan

Met Southampton chairman Nicola Cortese earlier today - impressive 5 year plan - but totally relies on promotion back to Ch'ship this season

24 minutes ago

 

http://twitter.com/#!/danroan

 

Hopefully he'll be producing an article about this "meeting" like he often does(see interview he had with new Liverpool owner John Henry).

 

I'll update this thread when/if he does.

[trousers]

Nothing new in this tweet from BBC's Dan Roan half hour ago bit worth a mention (perhaps): "Met Southampton chairman Nicola Cortese earlier today - impressive 5 year plan - but totally relies on promotion back to Ch'ship this season"

[Lallana's Left Peg]

What an obvious statement for him to make.

[Matthew Le God]

I beat you to it.

[trousers]

For those still doubting the Liebherr's willingness to see through Markus' "vision", one of the main BBC sports reporters (Dan Roan), 24 minutes ago Tweeted this...

 

 

 

http://twitter.com/#!/danroan

 

Hopefully he'll be producing an article about this "meeting" like he often does(see interview he had with new Liverpool owner John Henry).

 

I'll update this thread when/if he does.

 

Damn...beat me by 3 mins! Although I did type mine about 15 mins ago but no bloody data signal on the train. Modern technology....pah!

[Thedelldays]

if course it is....non promotion this year will surely mean a few key players leaving....and thus, setting us right back

[trousers]

I beat you to it.

 

On a technicality...!

[saint_mears]

Any actual real comment from the liebherrs or just cortese again ?

 

If so i will take it with a pinch of salt until i here real words from the actual owners and not written pr statements.

[Thedelldays]

Any actual real comment from the liebherrs or just cortese again ?

 

If so i will take it with a pinch of salt until i here real words from the actual owners and not written pr statements.

 

have you ever had a written statement from the owner(s)..?

[Matthew Le God]

Any actual real comment from the liebherrs or just cortese again ?

 

If so i will take it with a pinch of salt until i here real words from the actual owners and not written pr statements.

 

I doubt Nicola would want to say anything to a BBC correspondent that the family would disagree with. The family haven't questioned the clubs public statement in August about the plans continuing unaffected. If they disagreed they could quite easily refute it, yet 3 months later they still haven't. Suggests to me it is true!

Edited 8 November, 2010 by Matthew Le God

[Saint_clark]

Any actual real comment from the liebherrs or just cortese again ?

 

If so i will take it with a pinch of salt until i here real words from the actual owners and not written pr statements.

 

Unfortunately a lot of people will refuse to believe what Cortese says, preferring to lap up the media rumours and ramblings other people in the game with an axe to grind.

[SparkySaint]

if course it is....non promotion this year will surely mean a few key players leaving....and thus, setting us right back

 

just like every other team who does get promoted

[buctootim]

Shouldn't it be a four year plan by now?

[NickG]

5 yr is champions league

[NickG]

This needs to be kept in perspective.

 

He may have a 5 year plan which impresses and intends to deliver entertaining football of an ever increasing level, winning lots of games, big crowds etc - but one newspaper is having to buy photos. I am not happy with him at all.

[georgeweahscousin]

Roan generally knows what he is talking about. I have my reservations about NC's methods, but I also can't help being impressed by him.

 

If he gets us to the Premier League, let alone the champions league in 5 years I will build the statue myself........

[benjii]

Any actual real comment from the liebherrs or just cortese again ?

.

 

Why would Cortese make public statements at odds with the wishes of the people who are, effectively, his employers? How does he benefit from that? How does anyone benefit from that?

[Andy_Porter]

Hardly news that Cortese is obsessed by getting us to the Premier league.

 

Lets just hope we as a club go about it in the right manner.

[NickG]

Hardly news that Cortese is obsessed by getting us to the Premier league.

 

Lets just hope we as a club go about it in the right manner.

 

via promotion?

[slickmick]

I doubt Nicola would want to say anything to a BBC correspondent that the family would disagree with. The family haven't questioned the clubs public statement in August about the plans continuing unaffected. If they disagreed they could quite easily refute it, yet 3 months later they still haven't. Suggests to me it is true!

 

 

Where doe it actually say that money from Liebherr has anything to do with it ?

Rupert Lowe used to talk a good game..........

[Andy_Porter]

via promotion?

 

There are right and wrong ways of getting promoted.

 

I'd rather sit in the lower leagues for the next ten years rather than do a Pompey and get hugely into debt with some high risk/high gain promotion strategy.

[slickmick]

There are right and wrong ways of getting promoted.

 

I'd rather sit in the lower leagues for the next ten years rather than do a Pompey and get hugely into debt with some high risk/high gain promotion strategy.

 

 

Couldn't agree more.

[NickG]

see what you mean. He has said the club is, and will continue to be debt free including up until they leave the club.

[Mowgli]

I'm probably going to regret joining this debate but whilst the ownership of the club may pass to the Liebherr family the five year plan as I understood it was accounted for separately in a trust fund. So even if the family did not have a lot of interest, ML and NC have protected 'the plan' with suitable investment. And if the 5 year plan is successful, whilst it would be nice to stay with the Liebherr family, it will be easier to attract other investors.

[NickG]

makes sense

[aintforever]

There are right and wrong ways of getting promoted.

 

I'd rather sit in the lower leagues for the next ten years rather than do a Pompey and get hugely into debt with some high risk/high gain promotion strategy.

 

A five year plan would hint at serious investment.

[georgeweahscousin]

A five year plan would hint at serious investment.

 

Exactly.

 

At the end of the day, if they take us back to the Premier League then sell us at a massive profit. Everyone wins. Could we really knock them for that?

 

Personally, I think they are here for the long term.

[aintforever]

Exactly.

 

At the end of the day, if they take us back to the Premier League then sell us at a massive profit. Everyone wins. Could we really knock them for that?

 

Personally, I think they are here for the long term.

 

I think the aim is to get us in the top half of the Prem, then sell.

 

But you don't go from League 1 to there in 5 years by living within your means, it's possible but very unlikely.

[NickG]

our means will be higher than others in league 1 and Championship - which gives us a huge advantage before we consider living beyond those means

[Dr Who?]

So if we do not go up?

[aintforever]

our means will be higher than others in league 1 and Championship - which gives us a huge advantage before we consider living beyond those means

 

That's nonsense, we will not be a big fish in the Championship especially up against clubs with 40mill parachutes to throw around.

[JustMike]

So if we do not go up?

 

get used to away games at Carlisle

[NickG]

look at the clubs at the top at the moment - how many can compete with us?

[NickG]

probably about 3 in top ten

[Matthew Le God]

That's nonsense, we will not be a big fish in the Championship especially up against clubs with 40mill parachutes to throw around.

 

They don't get the £48 million in one go. It is spread out over 4 years and will largely go to the Premier League level wages some of their players may still have. Many of the clubs coming down will also have debts to finance, Saints are debt free.

 

You only need to look at the Championship and the average gates of the teams to see Saints will be in the top two or three for match day income should they be in the Championship for the 2011/12 season. There really isn't much money in the Championship clubs atm and should Saints be promoted they will be a "big fish" financially.

Edited 8 November, 2010 by Matthew Le God

[benjii]

Speaking of the Championship, did anyone watch the Welsh derby? Couldn't believe how poor Cardiff were. Utter gash.

[aintforever]

They don't get the £48 million in one go. It is spread out over 4 years and will largely go to the Premier League level wages some of their players may still have. Many of the clubs coming down will also have debts to finance, Saints are debt free.

 

You only need to look at the Championship and the average gates of the teams to see Saints will be in the top two or three for match day income should they be in the Championship for the 2011/12 season. There really isn't much money in the Championship clubs atm and should Saints be promoted they will be a "big fish" financially.

 

£12mill a season is a lot of gate money.

 

Live within our means and we are just a Derby or Leicester.

[NickG]

if we are challenging in championship we will get crowds of around 26,000 - which will be right at the top of the league.

 

we will be debt free - many of those clubs are heavily in debt

 

how many teams with parachute payments recently compete to go back up?

 

Don't know why its nonsense

[NickG]

Leicester only just about match our crowds at the moment.

[aintforever]

if we are challenging in championship we will get crowds of around 26,000 - which will be right at the top of the league.

 

we will be debt free - many of those clubs are heavily in debt

 

how many teams with parachute payments recently compete to go back up?

 

Don't know why its nonsense

 

IF we are challenging, we are going to have to buy a team to challenge first.

 

You are deluded if you think this current squad will be challenging in the Championship.

[benjii]

Not sure why people always throw Leicester about as a sort of similar sized club. It's poopycock and balderdash - we are a much bigger club than Leicester.

 

You don't need huge investment to make a difference in the Champ. Assuming we have zero debt liabilities then a transfer fund of something like £5m-£10m would give us a good shout of going up, especially if we still have the likes of Lallana.

[Matthew Le God]

£12mill a season is a lot of gate money.

 

It is actually

 

£16m season one

£16m season two

£8m season three

£8m season four

 

But as I said...

 

- most teams that will come down from the Premier League are already heavily burdened with debt. Saints are debt free.

- most teams that will come down from the Premier League will have huge wage bills and may have many players on large wages that they can't shift

 

If for example

 

- Wigan come down, they already are getting average crowds of 15k in the Premier League, a return to the 2nd tier and they will drop off even further.

- West Ham have huge debts still and relegation would be a massive blow.

- Blackpool, average crowds of 15k in the Premier League, will be much lower in the Championship

- Bolton currently averaging 20k which is fewer in the Premier League than Saints are in League One. A relegation will see this slide even further.

- West Brom, Blackburn, Fulham, Birmingham all playing Prem matches week in week out, YET are all only averaging very slightly higher than Saints in the 3rd tier.

[Matthew Le God]

IF we are challenging, we are going to have to buy a team to challenge first.

 

You are deluded if you think this current squad will be challenging in the Championship.

 

It wouldn't need many players added to the Saints squad. The Norwich and Leeds squads haven't changed much over the summer and they currently sit 7th and 8th after 15 games.

[aintforever]

Not sure why people always throw Leicester about as a sort of similar sized club. It's poopycock and balderdash - we are a much bigger club than Leicester.

 

You don't need huge investment to make a difference in the Champ. Assuming we have zero debt liabilities then a transfer fund of something like £5m-£10m would give us a good shout of going up, especially if we still have the likes of Lallana.

 

Our last season in the Championship we averaged 17,849, Leicester this season average 21,472.

[Dazza82]

It wouldn't need many players added to the Saints squad. The Norwich and Leeds squad haven't changed much over the summer and they currently sit 7th and 8th after 15 games.

 

And id say Leeds have got weaker

[Matthew Le God]

Our last season in the Championship we averaged 17,849, Leicester this season average 21,472.

 

Did you not notice people staying away from a club lacking investment and Rupert Lowe back in charge. The game straight after Rupert Lowe left saw over 27,000 turn up.

Edited 8 November, 2010 by Matthew Le God

[NickG]

It wouldn't need many players added to the Saints squad. The Norwich and Leeds squads haven't changed much over the summer and they currently sit 7th and 8th after 15 games.

 

you must be deluded!

[benjii]

Our last season in the Championship we averaged 17,849, Leicester this season average 21,472.

 

Yeah, but that season was absolutely ridiculous from our point of view - an amateur manager, a despised chairman and players no one had ever heard of. What did Leicester average the season they were relegated? I think if both clubs were on a similar footing, success wise, we would get easily the bigger crowd.

[Matthew Le God]

you must be deluded!

 

It must be Nick!

 

(or it must be the fact I research for a computer game, that is the argument that many start using against me)

[NickG]

and didn't Leeds lose a ok forward?