I was looking on a Scunthorpe forum and someone came up with an Interesting point. As much as I admire what Nigel Adkins has done at Saints and getting the praise he deserves how much is down to Andy Crosby? I just wonder how well our Nigel would do with out him and visa versa? They work great as a team and I for one are glad we have them but when we praise Nigel perhaps Andy Crosby should get some too. what do you think?
Very good point, NA himself is always quick to acknowledge the contribution both Andy Crosby and Dean Wilkins make in training and also the fitness and medical staff. Most successful managers work better with an Assistant to bounce ideas off of and I believe that Crosby is the architect of a lot of the freekick routines seen in matches.
There is no doubt they are a team and have been for a while.......When you have worked with someone for a while you learn to respect and rely on their judgement. I think you will find that the respect they have for each other is mutual. If they eventually parted no doubt in a while they will have built up a bond with the next replacement. It strikes me that both have the personalities to do that.
I thought something similar on sat. Crosby is more prominent in the coaching area than NA. and he seems to have good friendships with all of the players from an outsider looking in. A Crosby chant is in order. And for Wilkins. We should show our love in a non biblical way.
I think Adkins, Crosby and Wilkins all work very well together - they are a good, no - very good team
Mr Clough was not the same without Mr Taylor,,so could be the same sort of relationship going on here ,,lets hope we get the same results as they took 2 unfashionable club to the very top
its a good management team right across the club, with hunter and dodd and the academy and fitness coaches.
Agree with you, young Jen (you shall forever be thus named after your comment about one day being 60!). Ultimately it is Adkins who will be held accountable. What he has clearly done is build a loyal team around him. When I was working I saw a lot of good managers and even more bad ones. Good ones bring out the best in others, and allow them to develop so that success is shared. We see it with the players most obviously. Watching Saints is such a joy at the moment partly because of the buzz the players are getting out of playing. Anyone who can do this is a great manager, and I'm sure his backroom staff like the players would run through walls for Nigel Adkins. I don't think it is the same as Clough and Taylor. Clough needed Taylor as he was such an eccentric guy he needed someone with him who could understand him and try to stop him self-destructing. This is not to denigrate the work of Crosby and others, who clearly do a brilliant job. But it starts at the top, and big Nige deserves all the praise he gets - as does the Don for having the vision to appoint him.
Crosby is a great coach, that is what he does. Same with Wilkins. Adkins is a great manager, a completly different role, canvasing many more responsibilities.
Quite right, and in a sense exactly my point. Good managers surround themselves with good people. However, Shankly was a genius; Paisley put the mersey ferry out of commission 'cos he just walked across. Part of being a great manager is picking and then motivating your team. Adkins can do this, and ultimately it is he who will be judged by us fans. It is never down to one man, but one great man at the helm can make a difference.
Agreed Look at Nick Harvey as an example of Mr. Adkins management. It's obvious that the players have never been fitter and watching the recent videos on Saints player this is all down to the great work from Nick Harvey and the medical staff. I don't disagree with that assessment, but Mr. Harvey has been with the club a long time and I might be wrong, but think he was an appointment by Sir Clive Woodward. He has not become a great coach overnight, it's down to Nigel utlilising him and his skills to the maximum potential and i'm sure that the same with Wilko and Andy Crosby.
It's interesting how two people like Nigel and Andy can form a great duo like that. A keeper who was working as a physio at his old Welsh side, and a centre back winding down his career at Darlington and Oxford Utd, you probably wouldn't have tipped them for big things.
Another example is Saints' most successful management team ever. Lawrie Mac never played in the Football League and Lew Chatterley was a journeyman player from the lower leagues.
John Mortimore was Lawrie's best side kick. With them working together we had our best years. I did not rate Chatterley but perhaps my judgement was coloured by his crap performances when he signed for us as a player.
