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Thoughts on Adkins now.


KelvinsRightGlove

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Hopefully, this can be a serious debate. I'm not writing this for point scoring, or d!ck swinging. I am genuinely curious.

 

Around the 10 game mark, when things were looking pretty bleak - a number of people on here were told us relegation was a certainty, the transfer window was a calamity, we would be well adrift come January, and most importantly Adkins was clueless, inept, out of his depth and needed to be shown the door, immediately.

It would be interesting to see if those who said this still would like a change in management, or that we are dead certs for relegation.

 

I still think it's too early to say. We clearly are not out of the woods, and we still have a long hard slog ahead of us.

 

I still 100% believe Adkins is the man for us, and am glad and pleasantly surprised he is still at the helm.

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the same as they always have been. A good manager who was let down by those around him in the transfer window. He's still tactically naive at times and seems frightend to make changes sometimes. For example Liverpool away, 1-0 down and playing badly he waiting until the 70th minute to make a change, then it was like for like and the only attacking change came with 12 minutes to go. Same with Norwich, we needed more energy and to freshen things up but we changed the left back with 5 to go and the only attacking change was with 2 minutes to go.

Hopefully he'll continue to develop as a manager as he has done and he'll also be given the players he wants in January.

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Well, I was one of those who questioned his judgement, not starting Lambert, his substitutions costs us too many points in the first 10 games. He needed to learn, and learn fast and NA appears to learnt. He now fields his best starting XI available and has stopped making ridiculous subs. We have a settled team that is now gelling together well, so at the moment my thoughts are: he deserves his chance but needs to ensure we get to 40 points asap. Oh and we need a decent reliable goalkeeper.......

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Well, I was one of those who questioned his judgement, not starting Lambert, his substitutions costs us too many points in the first 10 games. He needed to learn, and learn fast and NA appears to learnt. He now fields his best starting XI available and has stopped making ridiculous subs. We have a settled team that is now gelling together well, so at the moment my thoughts are: he deserves his chance but needs to ensure we get to 40 points asap. Oh and we need a decent reliable goalkeeper.......

 

Pretty much this, really. I didn't think much of the 442 line-up on Saturday, and if I'm honest I thought we won despite Rodriguez playing rather than because of him. That said, we simply don't have the reinforcements to the squad to have been able to field any other stronger side, so it was perhaps an understandable decision. He still needs to learn and improve, as Turkish said I'm not sure if he's got the right idea yet with subtitutions. But it looks like he's a got a good grip on control of it all now, and hopefully is in discussions with the committee to bring in the players we need to make a real fist of staying up.

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He's still tactically naive at times and seems frightend to make changes sometimes. For example Liverpool away, 1-0 down and playing badly he waiting until the 70th minute to make a change, then it was like for like and the only attacking change came with 12 minutes to go. Same with Norwich, we needed more energy and to freshen things up but we changed the left back with 5 to go and the only attacking change was with 2 minutes to go.

 

I agree to a point, it sometimes looks like naivety, but I wonder if it's actually single-mindedness? He has faith in his tactical ability (there can be no doubt he has won us quite a few games with his tactical changes too) and so sometimes doesn't want to change something which he believes will come good.

 

Fine lines of course, he is far from perfect and improving all the time... but at least he is improving, and I think the club as a whole can only benefit from keeping the faith with him.

 

Personally I've always backed him 100%, have said I will do so all season no matter what, and stand by that.

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I agree to a point, it sometimes looks like naivety, but I wonder if it's actually single-mindedness? He has faith in his tactical ability (there can be no doubt he has won us quite a few games with his tactical changes too) and so sometimes doesn't want to change something which he believes will come good.

 

Fine lines of course, he is far from perfect and improving all the time... but at least he is improving, and I think the club as a whole can only benefit from keeping the faith with him.

 

Personally I've always backed him 100%, have said I will do so all season no matter what, and stand by that.

 

Prehaps, but at Liverpool by all accounts it hadn't worked for 60 minutes, so not quite sure why he though it was suddenly going to change if this is the case. At Norwich it was clear some players were fading and we needed to freshen things up, that didnt happen for whatever reason and on another day it could have cost us as Norwich were on top for a lot of the second half whilst we looked jaded.

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The first few months were very tough. New players settling, getting used to how we play, tough fixture list, and Corky out.

 

Now we've got a bit of continuity, players back from injury, a few easier games, and Nigel has learnt from his early mistakes. He's only human, he's going to make mistakes, but he's definitely the one for us. Who else could come in and get the players trying so hard and overperforming like he has done the last few years.

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He always was a bright up and coming manager and I think that regardless of what happens at St Marys this year he has a bright future in the game.

 

Too niave at first, agree with Turks that tactically he still makes mistakes, and strange subs, he has toned down his principles a lot and has us playing some more contained tactics whilst still maintaining that attacking bite, no doubt Ramirez, cork and Shaw coming into the side have helped matters.

 

Him and the rest of the transfer committee need to do a better job in jan though, Im not going to stand pointing fingers, none of us actually know, but it wasnt good enough.

 

Still a lot of the season to go, but I have faith he will pull it through, the teams around us have certainly helped us

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I agree to a point, it sometimes looks like naivety, but I wonder if it's actually single-mindedness? He has faith in his tactical ability (there can be no doubt he has won us quite a few games with his tactical changes too) and so sometimes doesn't want to change something which he believes will come good.

 

Fine lines of course, he is far from perfect and improving all the time... but at least he is improving, and I think the club as a whole can only benefit from keeping the faith with him.

 

Personally I've always backed him 100%, have said I will do so all season no matter what, and stand by that.

 

In addition to this, I would argue that changing a manager with such a firm belief in a certain type of football mid-season would be very damaging.

 

For example, I can't see how someone like 'Arry would slot in and oversee an immediate upturn in fortunes. As I said previously, I really don't think there would be a manager available/interested in coming in that would offer a better alternative to Adkins.

 

It can also be seen from other teams such as Chelsea, QPR & Blackburn in the Champ, that changing a manager is no guarantee of an immediate 'bounce' in form, a further slump would have seen Saints in a much more perilous position.

 

All just my humble opinion, of course.

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I'll hold my hands up. I was calling for Adkins head. But then I consider myself to be a standard football fan that gets sucked into the moment. It's a results business and the thing that frustrated me was the way in which he stuck with players that were making stupid errors out of which felt like a misguided sense of loyalty.

 

It feels like he has changed this now by bringing in Shaw over Fox and now Davis over Gazza (although Davis as a replacement? Still think we need a new keeper in January). I think the moment it changed for me was when we lost to West Bromwich and saw the fans backing the team. I thought to myself then that I should be with them instead of getting on Adkins back.

 

Very happy to be proved wrong in this situation.

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Not really changed my opinion from Day 1.

 

* new territory for (almost) everyone from first game.

* Extremely difficult start fixtures in first two months.

* Players (and manager) not really prepared for what was to come.

* has turned it around by implementing player changes

* Absence of Jack Cork much worse than we ever expected.

* Still believe NA is best man for the job...

* will take one - two seasons to establish a good side......

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I have to admit I thought there was no way back for him after the 4-1 defeat at West Ham - that was just awful and he looked a dead man walking.

 

Its impressive how he has turned things round and I am so glad that Cortese did not make a snap judgment and sack him after our tough start.

 

He is clearly learning all the time, but so are the team and now we have settled into the Prem we are looking like a decent team again.

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Prehaps, but at Liverpool by all accounts it hadn't worked for 60 minutes, so not quite sure why he though it was suddenly going to change if this is the case. At Norwich it was clear some players were fading and we needed to freshen things up, that didnt happen for whatever reason and on another day it could have cost us as Norwich were on top for a lot of the second half whilst we looked jaded.

 

 

Harsh criticism - even by your standards Turkish.

...and (being fortunate enough to be in the country to see the Newcastle and Norwich games) ..I thought they did a lot of running around and whether " fit or not "....3 games in 6 days is pretty tough with the same players...I can think of some other clubs who might have changed it around a bit ..

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Harsh criticism - even by your standards Turkish.

...and (being fortunate enough to be in the country to see the Newcastle and Norwich games) ..I thought they did a lot of running around and whether " fit or not "....3 games in 6 days is pretty tough with the same players...I can think of some other clubs who might have changed it around a bit ..

 

What's harsh about it? We looked tired in the second half against Norwich, we didn't make an attacking change until the 88th minute. We didn't turn up against Liverpool and didn't change it until 12 minutes to go. why are tactics that hadn't worked for 60 minutes suddenly going to start working? We could potentially have had 4 points from those games with a bit more ambition from the manager, we got 1.

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Very pleased with his work, always felt that he deserved time but definitely understood the point of view of those who didn't, even if we do go down I think he should remain at the club.

 

Have to say well done to cortese for sticking with him at a point when it was probably easier to have sacked him

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Have to say well done to cortese for sticking with him at a point when it was probably easier to have sacked him

 

 

I really think that what saved Nigel's place was that the recruitment went largely over his head. It's not unknown to ask your employer to officially note that certain decisions have been taken contrary to your wishes or advice. Now if NA (in theory) had opposed certain signings and contractual decisions last summer then the club would be in a bad place for subsequently sacking him.

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I'd still say its a learning curve for him. He's made mistakes but long term he is the man for us. He'l grow as the club grows hopefully and I'd suggest sticking with him regardless will eventually move the club on to the next level (a stable prem team!) even if, worse comes to worse, we do a wba boing boing for a couple of seasons ...

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After our recent run of good results, I’d be very surprised if any Saints’ fans wanted Adkins to be 'shown the door' right now, and even more surprised if any came on here to say it. Another run of bad results, though, and the doubters – justified or not - will be back soon enough. It's a story as old as the hills.

 

A manager can have many qualities. He can be an inspirational motivator, an astute tactician, be able to spot good players, be in the right place at the right time, be plain lucky or simply be a decent bloke; at the end of the day, however, he’s judged on one thing only: results.

 

For all our sakes, let’s just hope Adkins' qualities help to keep the results coming Saints’ way. FWIW, I’m optimistic that he and the players have now settled into the Premiership and will continue to consolidate our position in the top flight.

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I believed that Adkins should have gone as he didn't seem to learn from numerous mistakes made in the first 10 games. However, he has now learnt and we are now starting to take advantage. I didn't go as far as saying we were certanties for relegation, but I felt he was taking far too long to recognise the issues.

 

However I am glad to have seen this has changed.

 

I still feel our Summer was a bit of a failure, Jrod was well iverpriced for aomeone that we needed to be the finished product this year, Mayuka and Yoshida time will tell. Didn't buy the CB we needed to.

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My thoughts on Adkins have always been the same.

 

Very supportive of his appointment and everyone knows what he did for us after that.

 

This season I was very surprised by the number of people writting him off after a handful of games. Yes he made a couple of decisions early on which arguably costs us points but what's always been clear that the players play for him and are fully behind him. I will never call for Adkins head whilst the players give him 100%.

 

Puncheon said in an interview the other day that the players were just nervous at the start but have now found their feet. It would have been a crying shame had Adkins got the boot for this when ultimately, a little more time is all it's taken.

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Backed him then, and backing him now!

 

This! November was always going to be a big month for us as we had a good run of winable games. I think we have done enough to show we are capable. It took a few games to get going but things seem to be coming together now. Hopefully a two week break won't destory the flow.

 

He seems to be learning from mistakes and taking the team forward. Especially regarding defence. Confidence was obviously very low at one point, but things generally seem to be picking up around the club

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I think while Adkins has undoubtedly been learning, it's also fair to say that the team have also learnt a lot... individual mistakes have cost us points and no change of manager would/will prevent those. It may be a cliche, but it really has been a case of 'together as one' and the players deserved some criticism then/credit now, just as Adkins did/does.

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I believed that Adkins should have gone as he didn't seem to learn from numerous mistakes made in the first 10 games. However, he has now learnt and we are now starting to take advantage. I didn't go as far as saying we were certanties for relegation, but I felt he was taking far too long to recognise the issues.

 

However I am glad to have seen this has changed.

 

I still feel our Summer was a bit of a failure, Jrod was well iverpriced for aomeone that we needed to be the finished product this year, Mayuka and Yoshida time will tell. Didn't buy the CB we needed to.

 

I'm not saying he made no mistakes at all, but a lot of the problems at the start of the season were individual errors.

 

No manager can coach for that.

 

I think it would be unfair to say he didn't recognise the issues, he was quite explicit in saying we needed to improve and let less goals in - or you just think you know more than him - which none of us do.

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I'm not saying he made no mistakes at all, but a lot of the problems at the start of the season were individual errors.

 

No manager can coach for that.

 

I think it would be unfair to say he didn't recognise the issues, he was quite explicit in saying we needed to improve and let less goals in - or you just think you know more than him - which none of us do.

 

Gary Neville was saying the same when we were on Sky. Even he was saying most of the defensive mistakes were individual. Breaking the goals down and saying he wouldn't set us up any differently. He showed our positions and said we looked sound. So I think a lot of the flack that Nige was getting wasn't really down to his or his teams coaching and tactics.

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My feelings have always been to back him. If we did get relegated who better, with a proven track record, to get us promoted again. My feelings were always that we were promoted too early and we were unprepared, so there was a large learning curve for all of us, and some quick deals done to try and ensure survival. I am pleaed that we are starting to look a little better, and getting more for our buck. Goalie is an issue, I would liek to know what the plan is for Boruc. I though he was an answer to the Goalie question, then we have Gazza, and now back to Kelv, who still gives me hope, but this is what I am used to over the last few seasons, especially when we are defending a penalty, where I normally feel thats one goal down, but with him I believe he could save it.

Adkins is the man for me for a good long time I hope. He seems to be learning with each game, and ALL of the top premier managers had to have the same baptism of fire and learn on the job, and with a weaker squad on paper than a lot of them. I think his man management skills are spot on, and the transformation of Puncheon is a wonder to behold. Why he couldn't have performed like this previously I'll never know, but we stuck with the stroppy git, put him in his place and now look.

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My feelings have always been to back him. If we did get relegated who better, with a proven track record, to get us promoted again. My feelings were always that we were promoted too early and we were unprepared, so there was a large learning curve for all of us, and some quick deals done to try and ensure survival. I am pleaed that we are starting to look a little better, and getting more for our buck. Goalie is an issue, I would liek to know what the plan is for Boruc. I though he was an answer to the Goalie question, then we have Gazza, and now back to Kelv, who still gives me hope, but this is what I am used to over the last few seasons, especially when we are defending a penalty, where I normally feel thats one goal down, but with him I believe he could save it.

Adkins is the man for me for a good long time I hope. He seems to be learning with each game, and ALL of the top premier managers had to have the same baptism of fire and learn on the job, and with a weaker squad on paper than a lot of them. I think his man management skills are spot on, and the transformation of Puncheon is a wonder to behold. Why he couldn't have performed like this previously I'll never know, but we stuck with the stroppy git, put him in his place and now look.

 

I'd think the current plan for Boruc is to let him bugger off as soon as we sign a number 1 keeper. Not in any plans at all as far as I can see, transfer committee desperation signing .

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I believed that Adkins should have gone as he didn't seem to learn from numerous mistakes made in the first 10 games. QUOTE]

 

 

 

There we have it - a typical example of today's supporter. Success now at all costs owise sack the manager.

 

After everything he's achieved too.

 

10 games - FFS ! Unbelievable.

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I'm sure the manager knows better, but if anyone on here really was foolish enough to think we're out of trouble then I suggest they take a look at the post Xmas fixture list. Between the new year and the start of March we have just 3 PL home games - Arsenal, Everton, and Man City! In all honesty can't see us getting much change out of that lot, so the away games against Villa, Wigan, and Newcastle may well decide whether we enter the 'run in' marooned in the relegation zone, or not.

 

The greatest test of Nigel Adkins managerial credentials lays not in the past - but ahead.

Edited by CHAPEL END CHARLIE
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I'm sure the manager knows better, but if anyone on here really was foolish enough to think we're out of trouble then I suggest they take a look at the post Xmas fixture list. Between the new year and the start of March we have just 3 PL home games - Arsenal, Everton, and Man City! In all honesty can't see us getting much change out of that lot, so the away games against Villa, Wigan, and Newcastle may well decide whether we enter the 'run in' marooned in the relegation zone, or not.

 

The greatest test of Nigel Adkins managerial credentials lays not in the past - but ahead.

 

Has anyone said we are definetly safe? Certainly not on this thread at least.

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He's a very down to earth, likeable, intelligent individual that's full of positivity, and I love him for that. He's got us promoted twice, and will go down in Saints history for those achievements - and cementing our place in the Premier League will be the icing on the cake. I hope we have a long and happy few years with him at the helm. Yes he's not the complete manager yet, he's finding his feet still at this new level, but so far he's doing OK. His decision not to sign another centre back in the summer was a little strange, so if any questions can be asked of him, it's about his transfer nous, but to be fair to him, I suspect that's not his fault.

 

During the bad run of form earlier in the season (coinciding with the tougher fixtures and up until the West Ham defeat) I was worried we wouldne't have enough to turn it around. He has, and he has in style. The QPR victory really got us started and now we're flying. Shaw has come in and done exceptionally, (I couldn't believe what I was seeing when I saw him against Norwich), and our defence looks stronger for it.

 

Did you see him celebrate our goal against Reading? Pure emotion, showing he loves the club, for a few seconds, before realising what he'd done and composing himself! Love him.

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Same thoughts as before, he's a good manager, the right person for the club and i fully support him. I think he's bought himself time with cortese but knows that he's on thin ice and has probably only kept the wolves from the door rather than changed the mindset wholesale

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For future reference, when the conjunction 'if' is employed in speech or writing this is intended to imply that a conditional clause applies.

 

Happy to help.

 

Nice one, thanks for that. Clearly my tiny brain couldn't ever riddle that one out.

 

So in short, your point was to join the thread to start a row with people that don't exist?

 

Decent.

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