No, Adkins knew that Cortese was a sneaky ****, but he probably didn't think he was THAT much of a sneaky **** to be showing a new player to his replacement even before being sacked.
If half the world knew that Adkins was heading for the door, win or loss, it's a goddamned miracle that this club has rallied in the fashion that it has. We should be beyond thankful that our manager, coaches and playing staff were such utter professionals that they managed the sort of cohesion we've witnessed under such circumstances.
as opposed to the non-embaressing 10 managers in 10 years under Lowe, etc. What has happened is not nice; I really believed in Adkins, however it has happened and I will be getting behind the team.
Yeah they're professionals. As I said earlier, I've had jobs before when I've known I would be dismissed after a particular project was completed. Many people have. I continued to be professional and I bet other people do too. This is unusual in football, but not in general.
That isn't nice, I agree, but sometimes life isn't. Nigel has had a rotten deal with this, no doubt, and I wish him every success wherever he goes next. I wish he was still here, but he's not. I have a choice now: I can sulk, I can abuse the new manager, I can abuse Cortese, or I can just get behind the team and hope this decision doesn't fulfill some of my fears that we end up relegated. My biggest concern is that several of our players are just not Premier League standard and that Nigel was getting them to perform together as a collective to a higher standard than the individuals could normally reach... if this is so, then a new manager will lose all that higher performance and we'll be in trouble.
And yet you've argued that a new manager will be a boost because they'll be working extra-hard to prove themselves. How do you square those two thoughts?
That is a little naive. The real world is a tough place fella. Remember your comment as you leave education and get jobs; jobs that someone else maybe doing before you start.
That's rubbish we have noting against the new fella the gripe is with the people making the decision. Chelsea fans have genuine issues with Benitez from his time and comments at Liverpool (not suggesting its right though).
Sorry, I don't see the contradiction? If you have a new boss, you work harder to make a good impression, no?
the alternative was he removed Adkins, we play 4 or 5 games without a manager and slip down the league. Cortese made a decision and has acted in preparation for that event. I don't like the decision as I believed Nigel could succeed with Saints in the Premier League, but at least a replacement was ready - I see that as positive.
How does everyone know that this was all done "behind Adkins' back"? As someone else posted on another thread, a lot of his enigmatic comments from the last couple of interviews make more sense if you assume he's known this was coming for a while. I think PTF has a very good point. And another thing, the difference between this and Pardew's sacking is that this was succession planning. This is what happens in business all the time. Ever since the inception of the Premier Leagu, football has been becoming more and more like big business. Personally, I hate it, but unfortunately for me I also love Southampton FC and will just have to accept what has happened.
Reading most of these emotional (and understandably so) posts, I have realised something: Our Chairman sees something for our club that none of us Saints fans can even imagine. We just can't picture greatness as we've been so used to mediocre. I bleeding well hope this works, as I was enjoying the "success" of the current mediocre.
On one hand, you're arguing that they're all such model professionals that knowing their coaching staff and manager are likely heading for the exits has no effect on their effort level. On the other, you're arguing that the addition of a new manager will cause them to work harder than before. Yes, there's a contradiction there; you cannot talk up the positive aspects of switching managers while dismissing the negative effect that an expected move would have. And if you accept both aspects as given, then it makes the fact that Pochettino was apparently waiting in the wings for weeks an even more risky decision, because -- if not for the remarkable turnaround we've made since the West Brom game -- the manager would be immaterial because we'd be all but relegated.
Oh I see, well I said I thought Adkins knew, I don't think the players knew. I was referring to the coaching staff as professionals, not the players
Just been having a little read. Pocchetino or whatever his name is was sacked as espanyol manager when they were bottom of the league after 13 games!
You could do with reading a bit more. He left by mutual consent, after they ran out of money and sold all his good players.
