Dinner with Nicola Cortese

[Spudders]

As some of you will have seen from my comments on the ‘Cortese Breaks silence’ thread, I was lucky enough to have dinner with Nicola this evening along with about 17 other season ticket holders who were randomly selected. This is the second time that Nicola has held one of these events (some of you may recall the first occasion was a few days after the sacking of Pardew).

Nicola said that he’s now going to do these sessions with season ticket holders each month so hopefully a lot more of you will also get to chat to him over time.

 

I’ve never been one to get excited about things, but since getting the invite to this I have genuinely been looking forward to this, mainly because I find Nicola quite intriguing and had an open mind about him.

 

I have to say, he seemed an absolute top bloke, a genuinely good guy and funny as well.

The conversations, questions and answers during the course of the evening covered pretty much everything that he spoke about in his interview with the BBC so there was a lot of overlap, but points I’d add (in no particular order) are as follows;

 

The interview he did today has been planned for a while and it’s timing in relation to recent speculation is purely coincidental. Had the interview not been planned, he wouldn’t have made any statement about the club not being for sale, he basically reiterated what he’s said before, that he is totally committed to the 5 year plan and we should treat no news from the club as good news.

 

The vision isn’t just about 5 years. There is no point in getting back to the premiership if we are just going to struggle when we are there. Once we are there we will compete to win the title, that’s the point of being there.

 

The team is being built as exactly that, a team, that will get us out of league one, but also out of the championship.

 

He wants to add players, but only if they fit that vision of being able to push on.

If we can get promoted this season, there should be no reason why we can’t push out for a top two spot in the championship next season providing we build the team properly via January window and in the summer.

 

January window is difficult as any players we would want would be likely to be involved in Promotion pushes, or fighting to stay in leagues for their current teams (my guess from that is we may not see too much happen in January, but summer will be more productive).

 

The start of our season was ruined by pre-season training, because the players were pushed too hard. Ricky for example was in great shape just before pre-season and he’d been training in his own time during the summer to ensure he was in good shape, but then the level of pre-season training un-did a lot of that work.

 

Pards basically wanted things done his way and didn’t listen to people telling him he was pushing the players too hard.

 

Markus was constantly amazed by the amount of people that would stop him and thank him for saving the club.

 

His family are still coming over to some games.

 

Markus favourite player was Papa, who was apparently a very funny chap and bit of a character.

 

They feel that we can get crowds of 45k on a regular basis once back in the prem.

 

The development of the stadium and surrounding area depends greatly on the development of the surrounding area as a whole. Obviously with the rail track next to the ground, a station there would be great, but British Rail aren’t going to build a station that’s only used once every two weeks. However if the area as a whole gets developed then it becomes more viable.

 

I’ll add some more bits as a think of them.

Edited 9 December, 2010 by Spudders

[hypochondriac]

Any chance of Waigo coming back?

 

And when he mentioned the area as a whole getting developed, did he think that was a viable option? Are we looking to expand SMS then? Or move somewhere else?

[Saint_clark]

Most interesting thing there is that Pardew pushed the players too hard, when a lot of the experts on here told us they weren't worked at all.

[hypochondriac]

Also did he make any comment about Lambert's form? Thanks Spudgun for the report.

[Spudders]

The Papa Waigo question was asked and his answer was no, it’s not going to happen. However he did also say that Papa wants to come back, but the issue is around how much his current club wants for him. I kind of got the impression that he also didn’t think Papa would cut the mustard at a higher level. I guess if the asking price was lowered it could happen, but I doubt very much it will. But that's more me reading between the lines there.

[Matthew Le God]

They feel that we can get crowds of 45k on a regular basis once back in the prem.

 

The development of the stadium and surrounding area depends greatly on the development of the surrounding area as a whole. Obviously with the rail track next to the ground, a station there would be great, but British Rail aren’t going to build a station thats only used once every two weeks. However if the area as a whole gets developed then it becomes more viable.

 

I'd like to know more about the stadium plans.

 

1) How far along are they? What timescale are we looking at?

2) Is a relocation still an option if it isn't possible to develop St Mary's?

3) They think the club "could" average 45,000 in the Premier League, but how big would they make the stadium? 48k? 50k?

4) What in terms of development do they want to do around the stadium along with the railway station? Hotels, bars, restaurants etc?

Edited 9 December, 2010 by Matthew Le God

[Saint_clark]

MLG, I get the impression Cortese didn't end the evening with "This was fun - call me, let's do it again sometime".

[Spudders]

Also did he make any comment about Lambert's form? Thanks Spudgun for the report.

 

Said he really feels for Ricky as in the closed season Ricky did everything right, but the pre-season training meant he ended up with about three different problems, where just as one sorts itself out, another one limits his training.

 

Before the season Ricky told Nicola that he wanted to get 40 goals this season.

[Matthew Le God]

MLG, I get the impression Cortese didn't end the evening with "This was fun - call me, let's do it again sometime".

 

I know!

 

Just asking, it may have come up and Spudgun may have more to add. I like to know about all things to do with the infrastructure of the club (like the training ground, stadium and academy) as it sets the club up in the long term.

Edited 9 December, 2010 by Matthew Le God

[Spudders]

I'd like to know more about the stadium plans.

 

1) How far along are they? What timescale are we looking at?

2) Is a relocation still an option if it isn't possible to develop St Mary's?

3) They think the club "could" average 45,000 in the Premier League, but how big would they make the stadium? 48k? 50k?

4) What in terms of development do they want to do around the stadium along with the railway station?

 

We didn't go into these sorts of details. To be honest it was kind of difficult at times because you'd ask a question and Nicola would reply, but before you had time to then follow up with further questioning on that subject, someone else would come in with a question on a totally different subject.

 

It sounded to me like there were plans to extend St Mary's, but until we actually get back to the premiership it's all speculation and ideas. There was also talk about development of the waterfront and potential for a ferry terminal, but again, the development to the area as a whole is in the hands of the council rather than Saints.

[SuperMikey]

Shame for Rickie, he must be gutted. There's one thing you can't take away from him, even if he plays crap, and that is his brilliant attitude.

[Matthew Le God]

How was the general atmosphere of the evening, it sounds like it would have been very positive and friendly?

[Spudders]

Yeah the questions are fine, I spent 2 hours chatting to my house mate as I kept remembering things!

 

Regarding the academy, Nicola was saying we have a 'very' good group of youngsters coming up through at the age of 16ish. The youngsters are interacting with the 1st team and apparently we had a 16 year old that was almost on the bench for a recent league game.

 

If the new plans for the training ground are accepted and put into place, the different levels of players will have different levels of facilities. So for example the youngsters will have good facilities, but they will also see that if they work hard the facilities on offer to the main squad will be better. Even the restaurant for example, will have separate sides where the better players are rewarded with better facilities, the idea being that everyone will be inspired to want to push on and get into the better areas.

[hypochondriac]

Yeah the questions are fine, I spent 2 hours chatting to my house mate as I kept remembering things!

 

Regarding the academy, Nicola was saying we have a 'very' good group of youngsters coming up through at the age of 16ish. The youngsters are interacting with the 1st team and apparently we had a 16 year old that was almost on the bench for a recent league game.

 

If the new plans for the training ground are accepted and put into place, the different levels of players will have different levels of facilities. So for example the youngsters will have good facilities, but they will also see that if they work hard the facilities on offer to the main squad will be better. Even the restaurant for example, will have separate sides where the better players are rewarded with better facilities, the idea being that everyone will be inspired to want to push on and get into the better areas.

 

Just had an amusing image of Pulis on a table by himself directly next to the kitchen

[Matthew Le God]

Apparently we had a 16 year old that was almost on the bench for a recent league game.

 

James Ward-Prowse was involved with the squad for the Cheltenham game, so it was probably him.

[Spudders]

How was the general atmosphere of the evening, it sounds like it would have been very positive and friendly?

 

It really was excellent, we had a tour of the stadium (although I missed most of it as I got stuck in traffic), the food was good and we all had a good old chat. Because of the small number of people there it was easy to ask questions and because of the fact that Nicola was so chatty we did cover a fair bit.

As I mentioned in my original post, I really don’t get excited or impressed by much these days, in fact I’m a bit of a grump generally. But Nicola really did come across very well, he clearly wants to be here and isn’t just here because of Markus, he’s here because he and Markus BOTH had a vision of where they wanted to take the club. I found him really interesting to listen too.

 

I was really impressed by his football knowledge as well.

[Jimmy_D]

'Once we are there we will compete to win the title, that’s the point of being there.'

 

That is something I'm glad to hear...

 

Did wonder whether top half might be the limit of our ambition, but apparently not

 

Whether we can actually push on and do that once the money for it is needed etc remains to be seen, but the ambition being there now is about all we could hope for atm

[dubai_phil]

Spudgun, this was a DINNER PARTY.

 

Appalling report, you should be ashamed of yourself.

 

Have you NEVER even accidentally seen an episode of Come Dine With Me, The Restaurant or MasterChef?

 

How many courses were served?

 

What were they?

 

How did you rate each course and the quality of the food overal?

 

Did you have to use Salt & Pepper on the table or were the dishes "Perfectly seasoned"

 

How attentive was the service? Did they know the orgins and details of the Ingredients used?

 

What was the choice of Wines? Did they offer a choice of Beer? Was Magners Available?

 

Was it American Style Filter Coffee or has NC's influence extended to the provision of Espresso, Latte etc?

 

All critically important, after all we once had the finest cuisine in the world at our stadium, and these reports are vital in monitoring our resurrection back to our rightful place in the Champions Leagues of both Football and Catering.

 

And also critically important in understanding how far the Swiss/Italian influence has spread. The Cheese Board Contents could have told us so much.

[amsterdam]

Just had an amusing image of Pulis on a table by himself directly next to the kitchen

 

Next to the toilets!

 

Thanks for the report Spudgun - sounds like a good evening; must admit, I've never been particularly pro- or anti- any of our previous chairmen, but I do like the cut of Mr Cortese's gib, especially with all the things going on recently with Ashley at Newcastle and Abramovic (sp?) at Chelsea...

[thorpie the sinner]

Spudgun, this was a DINNER PARTY.

 

Appalling report, you should be ashamed of yourself.

 

Have you NEVER even accidentally seen an episode of Come Dine With Me, The Restaurant or MasterChef?

 

How many courses were served?

 

What were they?

 

How did you rate each course and the quality of the food overal?

 

Did you have to use Salt & Pepper on the table or were the dishes "Perfectly seasoned"

 

How attentive was the service? Did they know the orgins and details of the Ingredients used?

 

What was the choice of Wines? Did they offer a choice of Beer? Was Magners Available?

 

Was it American Style Filter Coffee or has NC's influence extended to the provision of Espresso, Latte etc?

 

All critically important, after all we once had the finest cuisine in the world at our stadium, and these reports are vital in monitoring our resurrection back to our rightful place in the Champions Leagues of both Football and Catering.

 

And also critically important in understanding how far the Swiss/Italian influence has spread. The Cheese Board Contents could have told us so much.

 

All essential questions DP lol!!!!!!!

[dubai_phil]

All essential questions DP lol!!!!!!!

 

 

It's all about the Cheese.

Edited 9 December, 2010 by dubai_phil

[trousers]

Did he drop any subtle hints as to whether our ultimate push for the Premier League title would need to be largely 'self financing' or whether Markus )and now his family) have already ring-fenced funds from his personal wealth for that eventuality?

 

I know he wouldn't have talked overtly about this but perhaps how this push forth ultimate goal is likely to be financed was alluded to?

 

P.s. Thanks for the insights Spudgun :-)

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Thanks for taking the time Spudgun.

As a fellow grump or cynic I found your enthusiasm positive news.

As you say it was a shame you could not get more into specifics - i hope there weren't too many "price of the pies" type questions.

 

I hope NC realises just how much good can be achieved by the interview and the dinners for Season Ticket holders. Football fans thrive on news about their club especially good news, while we all hate the spin.

 

I am still intrigued by the outside forces though because I just can't think what they are hoping to achieve whoever they are.

 

Anyway yesterday and the Staplewood plans are a welcome boost off the pitch which we need to translate to more points starting on Saturday. Thanks again for taking the time to report back.

[kraftwerk26]

Just had an amusing image of Pulis on a table by himself directly next to the kitchen

 

hhahaahahahahaah LOL

[georgeweahscousin]

I bet the wine was good?

 

Good report Spudgun.

[paris]

Thanks Spudgun...

[Wildgoose]

Great report, very interesting and helpful. Thanks.

[del boy]

Shame for Rickie, he must be gutted. There's one thing you can't take away from him, even if he plays crap, and that is his brilliant attitude.

 

...that should endear him to the Toon army

[ladysaint]

A couple of other things I remember asked about having some sort of tribute to Markus at the stadium a plaque or something similar and think they are thinking along these lines anyway. He will reconsider half season tickets, suggested that maybe he offer two half season tickets i.e. first half and second half of the season and also will look at st holders being prioritised for purchasing their own seats for cup games before going on general sale.

 

As spud gun said he came across as very sincere and you do get the impression that he will see the job through and achieve the goals set, we all need to support him in anyway we can.

 

He also added that the Sun did call him and apologised for their misinterpretation which apparently stemmed from negotations with sponsors for next season and offered a printed apology in the paper which NC declined.

Edited 9 December, 2010 by ladysaint

[dronskisaint]

Thank you for all the information - it's appreciated.

[hughieslastminutegoal]

James Ward-Prowse was involved with the squad for the Cheltenham game, so it was probably him.

 

So when we say we are going to have the biggest names in the league, we mean having a team full of double-barrelled surnames?

[hughieslastminutegoal]

I'm going having dinner with Nicola Cortese tonight. Then I think we are going to the cinema. I think he wants to see Tron Legacy.

 

But if you ask him nicely he might get them to do a special showing of My Little Pony for you.

[rolosfc]

Yeah the questions are fine, I spent 2 hours chatting to my house mate as I kept remembering things!

 

Regarding the academy, Nicola was saying we have a 'very' good group of youngsters coming up through at the age of 16ish. The youngsters are interacting with the 1st team and apparently we had a 16 year old that was almost on the bench for a recent league game.

 

If the new plans for the training ground are accepted and put into place, the different levels of players will have different levels of facilities. So for example the youngsters will have good facilities, but they will also see that if they work hard the facilities on offer to the main squad will be better. Even the restaurant for example, will have separate sides where the better players are rewarded with better facilities, the idea being that everyone will be inspired to want to push on and get into the better areas.

 

I think this is a fantastic idea. One of the major problems with youth team players in the modern game is that they have everything handed to them on a plate from the age of about 14-15. If they see that they need to work harder to get to the highest standards it may eliminate some of the attitude that current youngsters have.

 

The idea of Pulis sitting on his own would also be priceless and Lallana sitting on a throne at the top of the canteen.

[doddisalegend]

I think this is a fantastic idea. One of the major problems with youth team players in the modern game is that they have everything handed to them on a plate from the age of about 14-15. If they see that they need to work harder to get to the highest standards it may eliminate some of the attitude that current youngsters have.

 

The idea of Pulis sitting on his own would also be priceless and Lallana sitting on a throne at the top of the canteen.

 

 

No they should keep the toilets and canteen seperate IMO

[Patrick Bateman]

 

I am still intrigued by the outside forces though because I just can't think what they are hoping to achieve whoever they are.

 

 

To be honest, I'm not and I don't think we should worry about them. I few losers with weird vendettas trying to derail what's been and is being done. Whether it's someone with an axe to grind, or someone trying to get a club with no debt on the cheap before we climb the league(s) and become more expensive; I don't care. They are boring.

 

Good stuff that I'm reading, all very positive. Was anyone "cheeky" enough to ask how much dosh we have to spend? ;-)

[hughieslastminutegoal]

No they should keep the toilets and canteen seperate IMO

But it would be easier for Pulis to do two jobs he can handle - preparing the veg and cleaning the pans.

[Jones91]

What about the new beer he's bringing in next season???????

[ladysaint]

After having met NC last night it wouldnt surprise me if we have our own brewery and sale our own beers.

[fish fingers]

I will submit my application for Master Brewer today.

[thesaint sfc]

Thanks Spuddy xoxox

[ladysaint]

Not sure if Spudgun has mentioned this but the new strip for next season is being finalised, all he would say is that it has style, will be red and white but wouldnt exactly say if it was stripes or not.

[Spudders]

A few more bits.

 

Alex Chamberlin has good people around him.

 

The season ticket instalment plan will come back once we have the electronic type card system in place. The removal of the scheme was because there were over 400 people who set up the direct debit and cancelled it as soon as they received their tickets.

 

One of the season ticket holders there said he thought that it would be good if on our last home game of the season the players shirts had Markus’s name written on them. That suggestion was well received by Nicola and the rest of us (sure there would be a lot more shirt sales generated as well if a limited shirt was also sold in the club shop).

 

The club are looking to extend the range of merchandise they sell to include some better quality more subtle clothing.

 

As Ladysaint says, the Sun apologised for their bit stating the club was for sale, the item slipped through their checking process and was written as a result of an over eager young reporter who had a quiet weekend of league one reporting due to the postponement of games because of the weather.

 

With regards to the people with their own agendas creating rumours, Nicola quite rightly would not name names, but he did talk about his wish on arrival at the club to cut out all the political goings on and to get rid of the hangers on. He’s clearly not interested in ‘perks’ and wants to do things in the right and professional way.

 

I asked him about Lee Barnard and I said I’m not asking what happened (obviously I knew he wouldn’t tell us that anyway) but he said Lee’s hand is healing nicely. He also said that Lee is one of the quietest players in the squad and was the last player who he would have expected to get into any bother. Lee was absolutely gutted about what happened, couldn’t have been more apologetic and this really was a case of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Nicola isn’t worried about Pardew poaching any of our players should he get Newcastle job.

 

Someone mentioned the additional charge for people buying tickets on the day, Nicola said that they had to discourage people from turning up on the day, mainly due to the fact that everyone that does just turn up does it at the last minute. Last season they had occasions where several hundred people turned up literally just before kick-off and then people started to get aggressive when they weren’t served instantly.

 

Regarding the funds we have, it’s clear there is money there, but it’s certainly not clear how much. As has been said all along, we must be run in a financially sensible manner. My opinion on this after hearing what Nicola had to say in person and in his press report (and this really is my own gut feeling) is that providing we do things the ‘right’ way and are not throwing money away, there will always be money there so long as Nicola is with us. He’s stated in his BBC interview that although Markus’s family are 100% committed, should they ever decide they wish to pull out, he has other people who would come in and replace them which is reassuring.

 

A comment Nicola made which I thought was spot on, is that he’s noticed that as a fan-base we really aren’t good at being optimistic. It was pointed out to him that this was due to the constant problems we’ve had in recent years, but he says we need to get used to the fact that we are on the up now, accept it and enjoy our rise.

 

I think that’s spot on, we are so used to problems at the club that we are constantly waiting/looking for the next one. If there isn’t anything to moan about, as a fan-base we seem to then just create problems that aren’t there. Sure, there will be a few people at various levels (be it office staff, players, etc) that won’t have liked the sudden change in direction of the tide at Southampton football club, but personally I am now 100% convinced we really are in safe hands.

 

Whilst Markus will never be forgotten for what he’s done for our club, Nicola is absolutely key to us. The fact that Nicola stated in his interview yesterday that ‘should’ the Liebherr family ever decide they want out, there is already a plan B for funding in place, speaks absolute volumes to me. If any of you doubted Nicola’s commitment to the club, then hopefully that answers that question.

 

It is in some ways a shame that we all sing the praise of Markus, but not of Nicola, but I have a sneaky feeling that at some point in a few years time, we as a fan-base will be singing Nicola’s name as well.

[jam]

Interesting about the overtraining. I stumbled across this article yesterday:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9239342.stm

 

It's interesting reading as I think a good number of us on here (myself included) were enthusiastic about Pardew ensuring that players did a lot of fitness work pre-season; especially as it seemed to work so well under WGS.

 

Forgot to add: my thanks also for the report, Spudgun.

Edited 9 December, 2010 by jam
thanks

[Spudders]

Not sure if Spudgun has mentioned this but the new strip for next season is being finalised, all he would say is that it has style, will be red and white but wouldnt exactly say if it was stripes or not.

 

Ah yeah I totally forgot about that! I was all set to ask him when work was going to start on the kit for next season as I was going to suggest that maybe season ticket holders could have some sort of input into its final choice, maybe a vote on some final designs. So when he said it’s being finalised but it’s already designed and looks stylish that was that suggestion scuppered

[Liquidshokk]

A few more bits.

 

Alex Chamberlin has good people around him.

 

The season ticket instalment plan will come back once we have the electronic type card system in place. The removal of the scheme was because there were over 400 people who set up the direct debit and cancelled it as soon as they received their tickets.

 

One of the season ticket holders there said he thought that it would be good if on our last home game of the season the players shirts had Markus’s name written on them. That suggestion was well received by Nicola and the rest of us (sure there would be a lot more shirt sales generated as well if a limited shirt was also sold in the club shop).

 

The club are looking to extend the range of merchandise they sell to include some better quality more subtle clothing.

 

As Ladysaint says, the Sun apologised for their bit stating the club was for sale, the item slipped through their checking process and was written as a result of an over eager young reporter who had a quiet weekend of league one reporting due to the postponement of games because of the weather.

 

With regards to the people with their own agendas creating rumours, Nicola quite rightly would not name names, but he did talk about his wish on arrival at the club to cut out all the political goings on and to get rid of the hangers on. He’s clearly not interested in ‘perks’ and wants to do things in the right and professional way.

 

I asked him about Lee Barnard and I said I’m not asking what happened (obviously I knew he wouldn’t tell us that anyway) but he said Lee’s hand is healing nicely. He also said that Lee is one of the quietest players in the squad and was the last player who he would have expected to get into any bother. Lee was absolutely gutted about what happened, couldn’t have been more apologetic and this really was a case of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Nicola isn’t worried about Pardew poaching any of our players should he get Newcastle job.

 

Someone mentioned the additional charge for people buying tickets on the day, Nicola said that they had to discourage people from turning up on the day, mainly due to the fact that everyone that does just turn up does it at the last minute. Last season they had occasions where several hundred people turned up literally just before kick-off and then people started to get aggressive when they weren’t served instantly.

 

Regarding the funds we have, it’s clear there is money there, but it’s certainly not clear how much. As has been said all along, we must be run in a financially sensible manner. My opinion on this after hearing what Nicola had to say in person and in his press report (and this really is my own gut feeling) is that providing we do things the ‘right’ way and are not throwing money away, there will always be money there so long as Nicola is with us. He’s stated in his BBC interview that although Markus’s family are 100% committed, should they ever decide they wish to pull out, he has other people who would come in and replace them which is reassuring.

 

A comment Nicola made which I thought was spot on, is that he’s noticed that as a fan-base we really aren’t good at being optimistic. It was pointed out to him that this was due to the constant problems we’ve had in recent years, but he says we need to get used to the fact that we are on the up now, accept it and enjoy our rise.

 

I think that’s spot on, we are so used to problems at the club that we are constantly waiting/looking for the next one. If there isn’t anything to moan about, as a fan-base we seem to then just create problems that aren’t there. Sure, there will be a few people at various levels (be it office staff, players, etc) that won’t have liked the sudden change in direction of the tide at Southampton football club, but personally I am now 100% convinced we really are in safe hands.

 

Whilst Markus will never be forgotten for what he’s done for our club, Nicola is absolutely key to us. The fact that Nicola stated in his interview yesterday that ‘should’ the Liebherr family ever decide they want out, there is already a plan B for funding in place, speaks absolute volumes to me. If any of you doubted Nicola’s commitment to the club, then hopefully that answers that question.

 

It is in some ways a shame that we all sing the praise of Markus, but not of Nicola, but I have a sneaky feeling that at some point in a few years time, we as a fan-base will be singing Nicola’s name as well.

 

Many Thanks, great reports.

 

Regarding the ticket tax bit, did anyone mention the online charge? Think I would have pointed out to him that it doesnt encourage people to pay in advance online if it costs more than buying on the day.... The online system requires no manpower so shouldnt incur a booking fee... Would be interesting to hear if they have any plans to change the online booking system...

 

Not a cue to start the booking tax argument

Edited 9 December, 2010 by Liquidshokk

[Saints foreva]

January window is difficult as any players we would want would be likely to be involved in Promotion pushes, or fighting to stay in leagues for their current teams (my guess from that is we may not see too much happen in January, but summer will be more productive).QUOTE]

 

I would hope that your guess is wrong as this current team isn't good enough to win promotion.

[eelpie]

Most interesting thing there is that Pardew pushed the players too hard, when a lot of the experts on here told us they weren't worked at all.

 

Shame on you - if you are criticising the experts on here.

[Spudders]

January window is difficult as any players we would want would be likely to be involved in Promotion pushes, or fighting to stay in leagues for their current teams (my guess from that is we may not see too much happen in January, but summer will be more productive).

 

I would hope that your guess is wrong as this current team isn't good enough to win promotion.

 

I think the current team is close, with only a bit of tinkering required. I did say we'll not see 'too much', I do think we'll see a little bit of activity, but just not loads.

[Colinjb]

A comment Nicola made which I thought was spot on, is that he’s noticed that as a fan-base we really aren’t good at being optimistic. It was pointed out to him that this was due to the constant problems we’ve had in recent years, but he says we need to get used to the fact that we are on the up now, accept it and enjoy our rise.

 

Glad he's realised! haha

[SaintRichmond]

No they should keep the toilets and canteen seperate IMO

 

Pulis should have his own Toilet

 

In Stoke