Southampton: Former Saint Billy Sharp makes stunning Cortese claim

Former Southampton striker Billy Sharp has made a stunning claim about the influence that Nicola Cortese used to have at St Mary’s.

Cortese served as Saints Chairman between August 2009 and January 2014 and is credited for his work that helped the club back to the Premier League from the depths of League One in just two seasons.

However, after Sharp’s recent quotes, it appears that the Italian’s dominant approach went beyond the boardroom and even had an influence on matchdays.

Speaking to the Up Front podcast about his lack of top-flight game time for Saints, Sharp said:

"“To the chairman [Cortese], it was like it was a short time job, to help them get over the line and he then decided he wanted to get me out to bring in two other players. That didn’t sit well with me, and Rickie [Lambert] wasn’t really fully fit for the first game of the season, which was Man City away.“I had worked so hard in pre-season and I got told I was starting on the Friday morning, only to then be told by the manager after we left the training ground that I now wasn’t starting and it wasn’t his decision, which wasn’t music to my ears and was disappointing to hear.”"

As an honest player and one who gave his all for Saints whilst he was on the South Coast, Sharp has to be believed here and his story shows that Cortese got involved with things he perhaps shouldn’t have.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Sharp hints at then Saints manager Nigel Adkins being put under pressure to start other players ahead of him and this influence could only have come from boardroom level.

Cortese was certainly a strong character and, in many ways, that is exactly what Saints needed when he came in to guide them in the right direction.

What he really should not have done is put pressure on team selection given that he has no managerial experience himself and that Nigel Adkins had done such a good job in getting Saints to the position they were.

His actions also stopped Billy Sharp having a longer spell at St Mary’s and making what would have been a deserved impact at Premier League level.

In all, the now 34-year-old made 18 appearances for Saints and scored 10 goals that were absolutely crucial in finally securing promotion from the Championship. He is now back in the Premier League with Sheffield United and is finally getting his chance to impress.

Saints fans and Sharp himself will feel like there was an opportunity missed when he moved on, but we now know that this was not in the player’s control.