Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to stay on as Southampton manager is good news for the stability of the club.
(Play Matt Le Tissier’s free goal-prediction game at www.goaldengoals.co.uk by end of month and win £200 in February.)
Had the Argentinian left then maybe their season would have fallen to pieces.
It would have rocked the boat had he gone at this juncture especially if, as speculated, a number of players had followed him out of the door.
The majority of Saints fans will be pleased to see him staying on even though the team is having a bit of a wobble at the moment.
Maybe one of the important factors behind his decision was his relationship with the players.
They seem to have a pretty good team spirit among the squad and the players appear to like him.
He’s come out in his press conference today saying none of his stars are for sale which is great to hear.
But he had backed himself in a bit of corner with the statement he made in the summer: “If Nicola Cortese goes then I go.”
Maybe in hindsight he will learn from that and not make such rash statements like that again.
You never know it may have been a case where he was put in a position where he had to say that.
I’m not particularly surprised by Cortese’s departure after what happened the last time the transfer window was open.
His toys came out of the pram a little bit when he wanted more money for transfers and he got the backing then.
So for him to kick-off again in this transfer window was slightly inevitable but with different consequences.
There will probably be a lot of fans, who are only concerned about what happens on the pitch, who will think this is bad thing for the club.
But I think anybody who’s had any dealings with the man will think completely differently.
A lot of them will think “good riddance” to be honest because he upset quite a lot of people with the way he conducted his business.
We had our own differences of opinions but I didn’t lose any sleep over it.
The fact he’s actually chosen to walk away at a fairly crucial time in the transfer window, with a couple of weeks left to strengthen the squad, proves he didn’t have the best interest of the club at heart.
It was always a case with him of having the best interest of Nicola Cortese’s heart.
If he had gone about his business in a different way he would have been a huge hero with everybody.
It was a shame that there were bits he did off the field that he kind of spoilt when everything else was going so well.
*Read Matt’s full blog on www.goaldengoals.co.uk and see why he thinks Saints may still be sold.
This photograph was provided by Goalden Goals.
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