Premier League strugglers Southampton were in League One when Nicola Cortese became The Saints’ executive chairman in 2009.
It is no coincidence that Southampton embarked on a period of huge success during Nicola Cortese’s time as the club’s all-encompassing chairman.
It was Cortese who conducted the deal to purchase the South Coast club back in 2009 and he was soon handed a major role by Markus Liebherr. And though the outspoken Swiss-Italian was not exactly universally popular among every Saints fan, there is no doubting the impact he made both on and off the pitch.
Between 2009 until Cortese’s departure in 2014, Southampton rose from the ashes, winning successive promotions to soar from League One to the Premier League before establishing themselves in the top flight.
Southampton were viewed as something of a ‘model club’ at the time and since Cortese’s exit they appear to have lacked any sort of direction or a long-term plan.
And, speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT (5 November, 11.40am), former Southampton captain Jose Fonte has admitted that the club has not really recovered since his sudden exit four years ago.
“Most definitely (Southampton miss Cortese). He did a tremendous job in bringing us to the Premier League, we all appreciated and love his work,” said Fonte, who moved to St Mary’s during Cortese’s reign in 2010 before joining West Ham seven years later.
“(His exit) left a void in the team and that’s what many, many people think. Unfortunately, the club is not where we want the club to be. I hope now with the new manager we can find some stability, some direction.”
Ralph Hasenhuttl has been chosen as the man to lead Southampton forward after the departure of Mark Hughes with talkSPORT (5 December, 12pm) reporting that the former RB Leipzig coach has now been confirmed as the club’s new boss.
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