Article: CONFIRMED: Mauricio Pochettino replaces Nigel Adkins as Saints manager | Southampton FC, Football

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. 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.

 

I remember Wayne Thomas vs Norwich and that goal, but remind me of your one..?

 

It really affirms what a top man our Nige is that he can so deeply affect so many people. He is not just a Southampton Legend for his fantastic managerial record, nor because of the way he led us, but because away from it all he was the nicest of blokes. This is a very rare thing in football. Managers often get lauded after by their fan base for their achievements, but for us and Nigel the relationship is much much more than that.

 

I presume he means this one?

[video=youtube;tG4C2htsNao]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG4C2htsNao[/video]

 

Always felt he was one of us, respected us as much as we respected him.

Obviously liked Pardew and Pearson but Nigel is a special man.

Football management is a results driven business, 54% win ratio is impressive, hope Nigel held his head high when he left us this morning

 

I am just starting to think what is the point of football, for me its following your team, the players and the manager. The wins are nice and so is climbing the table but hearing how football is turning into a business i feel it is sucking the life out of it for me. If a lifeless manager took over and turned us into as efficient boring team without character or charm i wouldn't be happy with it if we were surviving or winning the league. Similarly if 11 new players turned up tomorrow and put on the shirt and went on a 10 game winning streak, im starting to think i wouldn't care. I support Southampton not for the success but because they are my club. I support our players because in a way you come to know them, so its nice to see Lambert smashing in his first goal in the premier league because i have been with him on his journey.

I look on the Southampton website today and it doesn't feel like the club i supported yesterday. Now i know you grow to love new players and managers just like we did with Adkins, but the way today has gone it feels like Cortese is going for what he thinks is a shiny new upgrade (may not even be the case) but just like in life i quite often enjoy my old reliable model which i grew to love. So even if this old model turns out to be less successful, efficient or productive, maybe i like the old way. What i am trying to say is i dont support Southampton for the results i support it because its my club and i care for the people associated with it, so i am just thinking even if this new guy is successful i just dont think it will feel like Southampton anymore because in my opinion Adkins turned into an embodiment of Southampton and sacking him tore out a large part of what i see as Southampton now. Sure i would obviously come to like this guy but why should we have to go through change. I would rather support Southampton, Adkins and the players through mid table finish after mid table finish, than buy into a new improved lifeless model every year so that we can have our name higher on a table than the year before.

I realize i am not explaining my self very well and that's probably because there are contradictions throughout my head and my text, i was just wondering if anyone else is feeling similar and can understand what i mean.

For example this moment here -http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17880384
- was special because we were returning to the premier league, but even then i cared more about the players reactions and the managers and seeing how they reacted.

 

If this new guy is an Argentinian will he require a work permit?

I thought we had a cap on immigration?

 

Adkins will never be down for long, but must be hard to leave friends behind here.

 

Football was invented as a competitive game, what's the point in supporting your team if they're not going to be be the best they can be? However, if that's your opinion then it could be argued that it's fans like you that ruined the game.

 

Yes, I know another thread but I thought this deserved one of it's own:

Adkins found out he was being sacked BEFORE he met with Cortese, and Cortese told the whole squad and management last summer they weren't good enough. More can be found in the links below.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/nigel-adkins-sacked-southampton-manager-1544359?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/southampton-sack-nigel-adkins-the-writing-1544510?

Personally, I think this is a disgrace myself, the way he (and the squad by look of it) have been treated

 

Now being reported that Adkins told reporters he found out of his sacking whilst watching Sky Sports News...

 

I understand and agree with you. However I feel we must give this manager some time before we decide if we like him or not. When Adkins first arrived no one really wanted him but we grew to love him. Yes this new manager will never be the same as Nigel no one ever will be, but this new fella may bring with him new quirks and new things to like. The important thing is that Nigel knew just how much we cared and was never in doubt that we as fans loved him.

 

You don't get it do you. I feel sorry for you, you follow football and you don't get it one little bit. How awful it must be to be so empty inside.

 

I suspect that this is the reason behind the sacking. We have money to spend, but don't have pulling power. We've been linked with a lot of high profile names at times, but I think NC knew few would be happy to work under a little known English manager. A friend of Mourinho, however, is a whole different ball game.
As someone said on Twitter earlier "Today has left me fuming but exited" - in any other circumstance this would be a brilliant appointment. Unfortunately, because Adkins is who he is, it also feels like the club just kicked a puppy.

 

Yes that's all believe a paper they can't lie can they?.

 

It fits with stuff you often hear about. I'm not saying believe it, just thought I'd put it on here.

Paper's don't just make up outright lies, there's usually a basis of truth somewhere.

 

Get real dude. No fan is ruining the game by being upset over the loss of a manager.

People support clubs for different reasons. Athletic Bilbao prioritizes playing Basque players over winning, no one says their fans are ruining the sport. They are held up as an example, because people admire loyalty. Not saying everyone has to feel the same way, but people supporting different clubs for different reasons is actually what makes it fun.

 

Im not saying i want to watch a non competitive sport and have 'taking part' medals handed out, im just saying what is it you love about southampton football club, is it the fact that we finished in X position in X year, maybe it is for you. But for me its the people associated with the club

 

The press have a scent of a big story so start adding more and more bits to make it seem worse so they can sell more papers. I will only believe it if Adkins says it in a interview.(no crappy paragraph in a paper either)

 

*Rumour