The new manager may be successful, but it is galling that Southampton is now run by one man and that the support of the fans means nothing. You say that it may be for the best, but do you want a soulless club with no roots in the community or fan base. Southampton could have no fans in the stadium but if the team was doing well and keeping financially afloat it would not matter to the owner, would you feel that is something that you would want to follow?
I support the club as people have said managers, players, owners, chairmen come and go but I will still be around watching Saints play. I did under Lowe and will still so under Cortese he is no were close to how bad Lowe was. People need to remember the club is not going to end just because a well loved manager gets sacked. It has happened before and will happen again, we just need to support our players and our current manager.
The Southampton that we support today has been largely influenced by Nigel Adkins, Yes Southampton will always continue, but not in the way we have grown to love in these past 3 years. I genuinely dont think i'll ever feel the same way about Southampton as i did when Nigel was our manager.
Does sound as if he can do a job for us, providing he settles into the PL and English football in general. Especially like his interest in briging academy players through. Can see why Cortese thought he was right for us if all this is true.
Some of the attempted spellings I've seen of Pochettino are unbelievable. Then again far too many Saints fans still call Adkins 'Atkins'
That is life there are always twists and turns, some good some bad and some that seem bad but turn out good. We will just have to wait to see what happens. I'm not saying we should forget Nigel(I won't), but we need to move on he is now in the past. We now have to look to the future, yes there will be no Adkinism's but who knows what will happen, I for one can't wait to find out.
I would say that I am not an Adkins lover, though I think he did well for the club. However, what I would say is that it is true that managers, players and chairman do change. But if everything changes and we no longer have any connection to the club then why support it. The club becomes the possession of one not that of all the fans, ex-players etc that loved the club. Is it our club or their/his club? The worrying thing about society is how readily they will accept such principles (I am not a chivalrous gentlemen honest!). How would you feel, if you turned up for work one day and were told, sorry you have done really well but we have found someone we think [but have no proof] is better than you, so pack your bags? Ps. not trying to have a go at you, just trying explain my point .
I too will continue to support the club and the new manager, but I feel today the same as I did when David Jones was hung out to dry by Lowe....it is far too soon for me to be rational and dispassionate about Nigel's sacking...he deserved to see out the season at the very least, especially after the recent run of form, Nicola Cortese has definately lost a bit of my respect after today.
I sort of don't get the attitude that if Adkins was fired they should have gotten an "experienced" manager. If that was the attitude, Adkins would have been sacked already. Cortese has huge ambitions for this club, and he doesn't care at all about sentimentality, or experience, or what the conventional move should be. This guy ticks all the right boxes and really isn't far different from hiring the relatively unknown at the time Adkins. He fits Cortese's vision to a T and if Cortese sees a chance to take a step up you know he will do it. So I think NC probably needs to be cut some slack. The same qualities that led him to hire Adkins also led to him replacing him. His take-no-prisoners approach to his vision has worked well. This guy sounds right up Cortese's alley... likes possession, attractive football, was loyal to his club refusing several transfers, plays the youth from the academy, young, very ambitious. Cortese gave us his plan and his vision and it's easy to see how this move fits into it. So maybe he hasn't gone nuts, and maybe he isn't quite the impetuous owner you all think. Having said that, this is a huge, huge risk and I'm not sure I agree with it at all. But I have to say that as far as judging this from a purely tactical standpoint, NC gets the benefit of the doubt from me. I also think that even if this is a mistake, NC is entitled to a mistake and hopefully he will learn. Who knows, this may not be the last time we see NA at Saints. To the extent that Cortese is a ruthless dude who isn't really all that likeable, well... I kind of agree. I have always felt that way. If that ruins your enjoyment of supporting the club that's understandable. Given what Cortese is like, I'm almost positive that even if everything turns out okay this time, someday Cortese will leave the club under a cloud of controversy and angry fans because that's the kind of guy he is. He is cocky, all-or-nothing, and doesn't particularly care about fan sentiment. I weighed it all out, and I'm still sticking with the club. But I'd be lying if I didn't say a lot of the fun has been temporarily been taken out of it.
End of the day Cortese is a business man and a ruthless one at that, we have never had a chairman as ambitious as him. Whether he is right or wrong on his choice well we will just have wait and see.
Why not just upgrade your wife/partner/girlfriend every time you see someone prettier - sometimes connections and feelings count for something!
Yes sometimes as you just said, work is work end of the day. Saints are still going, not being run into the ground and not even relegated(I know shocking right?). As I said before I will miss Adkins(and see why other people would) but at the same time I will move on to see what happens.
Im in shock. My mates dad came over to me and said NA is sacked, i couldnt belive it. Seriosuly, wtf is going on?! Just wow, i mean, wow. I love nigel, he is a fantastic manager, i just dont know what to say...
