On a separate thread, Second Stain makes the point that Nigel Adkins can indulge in middle management cliches. I'm just waiting for him to say that he selected a player as a life style choice before I complain. (SS was not being critical btw, simply observing as I am here). It is easy to criticise a manager who speaks psychobabble as often as our Nige. But ultimately I feel he should be judged by his personnel skills. My biggest fear with NA was that he would prove loyal to his players to the point of sentimentality - he is a Scouser, after all, and they can be prone to this! How wrong can anyone be? Dean Hammond was not every-one's favourite player, but no-one could argue about his contribution to the cause since his arrival here. We could have had an arm round the shoulder "It's-alright-Deano-la-you'll-always-be-on-my-list-for-inclusion" type of conversation and Hammond could have stayed, warmed the bench and made the odd Cup appearance. Instead he has gone This will benefit the player, even if he does now have to strut his stuff for Poyet. The courage to put Rickie on the bench; to drop our (until recently) record signing; to spot that Billy Sharp was not going to do quite what he wanted to prove his skills. Perhaps most of all, the best evidence was last night where players who might have considered themselves a first in, until recently, didn't go through the motions, but gave an admittedly weak Wednesday side a really good going over. For me the evidence is, that NA manages. He is clearly held in affection, but he's no-body's best mate! Is it too early to compare him to England's greatest manager, Sir Alf? Ramsey had the urine extracted big time for his language and his whimsical observations. When he said that Martin Peters was "ten years ahead of his time" he was right in the sense that Peters got "total football" when Cruyff was still at school. Yet the response could have been no more negative if he'd have said he was going to murder every Fleet Street Editor in his bed. Sir Alf suffered from class snobbery. He was a self made man and the papers loved to ridicule him. NA strikes me as a similar character, albeit with a lot more smiles, and his comments at times are poorly constructed, although he knows what he is doing. The only fear for me now is that Mr Cortese could become trigger happy if results don't go right. You have to hope not.
Great post Channon! I think the Don will only pull the trigger if he feels his long term plan is under serious threat. Nigel has shown throughout his management career that he's a quick learner and I'm confident that he'll soon master the Premiership. Let's hope he is here for many seasons to come!
Good point, well made. However, despite this glaring omission, it's a good post. Adkins (and Sir Alf) remind me of Roald Dahl's BFG. They say lots of good words, but not always in the right order. But Channon has got them banged to rights though. I think it may have been Bobby Moore in his pomp who shook hands with Alf at then end of an England training camp and said "See you next time, Alf" to which Sir Alf replied "Possibly". Ramsey was loyal but had no favourites.
Agree, good post Channon. Glad that we have got NA as manager as he is different from the herd - really good to hear the very vocal support for him from the crowd at St Marys on Sat and again last night. This must fill him with such confidence and pride and strengthen his position at the club ( if needed ).
I'm far too sentimental, I really dislike players I've grown found of leaving. Billy, Dean even Dan this summer felt harsh, but Nigel has been ruthlessly efficient, & that little smile on Saturday suggests that the decisions have been correct. Looking at the guys he's brought in, I'd go as far as saying he's been spot on.
Just as well you're not the manager, but it is reassuring to know that sentimentality extends to "glorious south"!
Good post, Channon. On the sentimentality topic, I'm not when players have not earned my respect. Going back, just a few years, when Saints were spiralling into the Championship and beyond, I hadn't the merest hint of sadness to see the back of most of the players. Seeing the back of some of the current crop has made me sad. I want them to come along for the rest of the journey, even though I know that many/most of the players, currently in the squad, won't even reach the pinnacle of where Saints are aiming. I was looking for a decent picture of Michail Antonio, as a Saints player, last night and couldn't find one, but I found a picture of the lads celebrating the JPT Final, and most of the players aren't with Saints anymore. That's a bitter-sweet feeling and I shall always look back fondly on that squad, because the upturn started there. Here's that pic. Apologies about the small size, when you click on it. I thought it was bigger. You'll have to zoom in.:
It must have been difficult telling those players they are not going to be involved anymore but it is kind of them or him. You can't play players for sentiment as the results won't come and you'll be out of a job and someone will be brought in who will drop players.
Managing people is a complex business and as people are so very different in terms of how they can be motivated and what rewards they expect a good manager managers each person differently. I am sure Nigel knows this better than anyone. How he manages Rickie will be very different to how he manages Jason for example. They are both very different characters with different expectations and ambitions.
I don't think it's psycho babble. Nigel is a very well educated man, who has studied several topics (mainly motivation and physiotherapy) really hard. I think the fruits of his hard work are beginning to pay off for him now. Whatever happens at Saints, I believe Nigel could really be a top future manager (he is now for me) and if we let him go, I think he'll be back in the big time quickly. Anyway he isn't going anywhere... we are on the march
Nigel is also good at increasing belief within the squad. The team last season believed they would win even if they went behind...such confidence can be worth a few points as heads don't go down. A player (may have been JRod) was asked recently if they were concerned about the start we've had...'No, we know how good we are,' he replied. May sound arrogant, but I was pleased to hear that the dressing room spirit was still there.
Players belief is so important to performance. It starts at the top with management. If they believe they can win each game the players follow. The Saints a few years back would fall apart when they got behind. I never really expected last minute comebacks because you could see the belief was not there. Now you see it. If they go down a goal the players have confidence that they can get it back and they know NA will find the person to bring on the pitch to get the team the goal. Does not always work but even after a loss you can see they want to learn and get back to training and go again. It would be great to see how he is away from the cameras in the room or on the training ground. I suspect it is what we see and what we hear. The players respond and i always look forward to what he has to say even though I know what most of the words will be.
