It should have been a glorious time to be a Southampton fan. A thrilling, record-breaking league season, three players in the England World Cup squad and plaudits showering down around us – the culmination of a brilliant five years of uninterrupted progression. Surely in the closing weeks of the 2013/14 Premier League season I should have been able to bask in satisfaction of a club well-run.
Why then, have I increasingly felt a creeping anxiety whenever my mind turned to the club? A similar sensation to that which might creep into the last few days of a beach holiday; unable to fully enjoy oneself in anticipation of the depressing moment when your sister picks you up from Heathrow. 'Damn', I thought as I witnessed the best Southampton side I'd ever seen tear Newcastle to pieces at St Mary's in March, 'I'm going to miss this.'
This frustrating, irrational sensation did not accompany any of the Saints' excellent performances before Christmas, a time when I supposed I had years of these kind of exciting performances to look forward to. Ah, happy, heady days indeed! What could turn such optimism into the kind of pre-nostalgic anxiety I have described above?
It was the change in the St. Mary's boardroom that brought about my shift in perspective, and sadly Wednesday's confirmation that Mauricio Pochettino had jumped ship to Tottenham after only 16 months in charge has justified my gloomy outlook.
Rewind to August. Re-established in the Premier League, the club targeted the next, more difficult step - a permanent position challenging for places closer to the top than the bottom of the league table. Supplementing its settled yet hungry side with ambitious purchases from abroad – the aim was to take this opportunity to lay meaningful foundations for an exciting future.
The entire organisation appeared to be on the offensive. ‘Who can we sign?’ it asked, not ‘Who can we keep?’
Even considering the talented squad he had at his disposal, Pochettino made quite an impact on the league in his first full season. Roy Hodgson regularly cast his eye over the English talent excelling at St Mary's, and soon called up four Saints to his international squad. In spite of boardroom upheaval midway through the season the team continued to impress, and watching our run-in there was little to suggest that Southampton's 8th placed finish represented a glass ceiling for this young set of players. As it turned out, the relative calm signified a grace period; it was the momentum of years of success that saw us cruise to a new record points tally.
Upon arrival the new board, headed by chairman Ralph Krueger, preached patience. Amidst the escalating speculation of external interest in players and management we were reminded that all decisions would be made 'with the best interests of Southampton FC in mind.'
Such a strategy is not unusual. Indeed, I expect that every sports team or business implement a similar plan day on day. But the statement is not meaningless. In this context its meaning depends entirely on an interpretation, the owner’s, of what it is that Southampton FC should be. Given what we know about why the boardroom reshuffle took place to begin with, I find myself concurring with the stories of impending disaster in the press. Perhaps that explains the feeling in my stomach - after all, we are staring down from a great height.
It wasn’t until relatively recently that Katharina Liebherr began to take an active interest in affairs at the club, affairs which had previously been left entirely to Nicola Cortese. That their visions for the club did not exactly coincide is not surprising. Her thoughts are not his thoughts, neither are her ways his ways.
The reason for the Italian's departure is likely to have been what is called is the music industry ‘creative differences’. Ms Liebherr clearly did not share Cortese’s ambitious vision. She has inherited a business that she may very well have the intention and ability to run relatively successfully, but Cortese’s ambition to drive Southampton forward will have required more financial backing than ever. The suspicion that Liebherr was unwilling to support the chairman’s grand plans is not to say she her decisions are dictated solely by money, but that she didn’t share the optimism of his dream.
The reason for the Italian's departure is likely to have been what is called is the music industry ‘creative differences’. Ms Liebherr clearly did not share Cortese’s ambitious vision. She has inherited a business that she may very well have the intention and ability to run relatively successfully, but Cortese’s ambition to drive Southampton forward will have required more financial backing than ever. The suspicion that Liebherr was unwilling to support the chairman’s grand plans is not to say she her decisions are dictated solely by money, but that she didn’t share the optimism of his dream.
Krueger’s statement from the mouth of Cortese while he wielded the power and (admittedly, not his own) money would have carried significantly more promise. Whether or not his replacements at the helm of the club are up to the task, evidently they were wholly unable to convince Pochettino that the club he enjoyed such a fine first season at was worth staying at for even a little while longer. As I said, ostensibly Southampton FC looks a fantastic place to manage, yet as I write this (and note, when I started this article rumours of player sales and managerial exits were only rumours, making for several unenjoyable rewrites) the majority of our most valuable assets appear to be clamouring for the exit.
At the risk of sounding sycophantic, defeatist and melodramatic: Nicola Cortese’s resignation as chairman changed everything. From the day he took over the club's upward trajectory has been dramatic, but it is important to recognise that our success according to English football's league standings is not actually the point. You would expect any moderately well-run and well-financed club the size of Southampton to make it back to the Premier League. His practical qualities as a football chairman are only half the story - it was his ability to sell his lofty ambitions to great young players and an equally ambitious young manager that made him so valuable to the club.
Perception is key. How do you convince the likes of Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana and Morgan Schneiderlin that they are better off staying at Southampton over moving to more traditionally illustrious clubs? How do you convince the likes of Dejan Lovren to join? Cortese sold the players the dream, and provided them with everything they needed to fulfil it - but most important was the belief he inspired. That I believed in it too is what makes this summer's drastic backward steps so disappointing.
For so many years the club and others like it have cultivated talented squads and enjoyed occasional successful seasons only to be stripped of their heroes and asked to try again. For a minute there I thought we might actually have found ourselves in a position to break free of a long-held tradition of passably enjoyable mediocrity, but it appears I was mistaken. Southampton are a fine example of 21st century football's cycle of futility. Like Promethus on the rock.*
For Southampton FC, losing players the quality of Lallana and Shaw is to be expected under ordinary management. Under our guise of an ultra-progressive, ambitious club we might have stood a chance of retaining them for a while longer, and threatened to upset the league's natural order. My fear, compounded by what is turning out to be a truly appalling start to Krueger's first summer in charge, is for how much less Southampton FC expects of itself now.
*Apologies, all avoidance of melodrama is now abandoned - the Rickie Lambert transfer story brought about rewrite number 3, and has hit me hard.
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