He has spent well on all aspects of the club with Staplewood becoming a state of the art training complex comparable to the finest in the world.
We have spent a small fortune on players as we try to strengthen the team in an effort to keep up with the rapid rise from the third tier of English football to the first where we now are.
Mostly this has been done well as players have needed to be replaced to enable our rise to be effective. No third tier team would last long at the top without improving the standard of the squad.
We have seen two managers brought in and then removed when he has deemed it necessary, with both removals causing more than a little disquiet amongst the fans.
It does appear that Nicola has the midas touch as both previous managers took us forward, and maybe our chairman was right to consider that they had got us as far as they could. His reasoning we will never know.
We don’t know the ins and outs of how or why both of these men were removed as all we have is media speculation and whispers from ex members of staff.
Whatever the reasoning it would be greatly appreciated by all fans if Nicola could open up just a little and admit to the world that they did well, Nigel even more so than Alan.
It would not harm him if Nicola was to say something along those lines thanking Nigel for our last two tremendously successful years. Plus it would show us fans that he does appreciate the effort put in.
My main concern though is the fear that the vision Nicola has, which could be driven on by his close friendship with his late friend and our saviour Markus Liebherr, allows him no time to relax.
He seems to have but one purpose in life, and that is to steer Saints to a position of becoming a powerhouse in the world of football. He seems determined to brush aside whatever he deems as obstacles without a backwards glance.
At present we are climbing ever closer to his dream, and though a long way still has to be travelled, it has now become more than just a possibility, or idle throwaway remark.
Like when he declared that we would never be relegated when he was still in the chair and that we would one day he wanted us to be playing the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona in Europe.
Our rise has been spectacular but with it has come mutterings from outside the club of his strict dictatorial manner. He tolerates no misgivings and has no hesitation in banning/barring anybody that he feels stands against him or the manner in which he operates.
Everything has to be just so but sadly in the world of football this is not as simple as he would like it to be. Money has been spent and our club is now in a much stronger position than it was thought possible a mere four years ago.
Maybe at the cost of some friendships with his strict determination to get the best he can for the club which has meant treading on some peoples feelings.
I pray that we do not overspend as we search for his Eldorado and that soon we will be able to watch Nicola start to relax as his vision becomes a reality. It would be especially warming if us fans could just occasionally see a softer side to him.
We know that there is a softer side because we have seen glimpses of it in the past. It would be nice to see him relax some of the severity he wields so that others can see that he is an honorable man, and that he is simply striving to succeed in his desire to fulfill his late friends wishes.
So Nicola please relax and try to enjoy the position we are in and the journey to where we are headed.
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