Manager of month nominees just been announced on Sky: WHU, Cardiff and Millwall. Didn't realise that Millwall had such a great run at the end. Knew Adkins wouldn't be there with 2 losses. My point is who should be manager of season? Reading's manager because of ther late run but with a team so recently in the PL or Sir Nigel who missed out on title but did two promotions in 2 seasons with a team so recently in League 1. I know who we would choose, but I suspect the award will go to the winner as usual.
If not our Nige, I'd give it to Chris Hughton for taking over a club in disarray and turning their season round with very limited resources. Birmingham have over-acheived.
I am bias. 1. Nigel - got promoted at first attempt with a team that played in league 1 last time out. It is an incredible achievement and in my opinion, even greater as he kept that league 1 team in the top two all season. Amazing 2. Brian McDermott - He took a team that nearly got promoted last season to the title; in my view that is a step forward whereas Nigel made a massive leap forward 3. Sean Dyche, Watford - fabulous league position with very few resources and playing kids coming through the system.
Gotta be Adkins for me, any manager who comes up for another promotion deserves it 1. Adkins 2. McDermott 3. McKay (Cardiff, I think thats how to spell it)
On that basis we should give it to Fat Sam for upsetting the locals with his delightful one touch football thus ensuring a dip in WH home form and the rest is history!
Difficult to look at this without my Saints bias pushing in, but surely even as a neutral it is hard to look too far beyond our Nige. McDermott will undoubtedly be the other candidate as although they already had a Championship squad, he had to pick them up after selling their two best players last year and loosing the play off final...he then made some season defining signings in Le Fondre and Roberts. However it is manager of the season, and although they have an unbelievable record in the second half of the season there first half was largely poor. Adkins is Mr consistency and deserves the recognition for his hard and quietly unassuming but hugely influential and inspiring management this season.
Nige has not been MOTM, but then would he want to be a member of this club? His achievements have been lauded by the BBC throughout the season and if others can't see he is one of the best managers in the business they prove that they know zilch. He'll be happy. He knows what he has achieved, and so do we.
We were glad of that too, being superstitious and the fact that in the past Saints Managers that won the MoM always seemed to come a cropper in the following weeks, we didn't want to see it!
