All, I was just thinking about the effect that Nigel has had on us all as people. I'm not talking about the great things he achieved for our club, but has his outlook and 'Adkinisms' shaped us at all? The first thing I have noticed is the aftermath of his removal. First there was disgust etc, but this soon went to a weird sense of trying to be positive - a true Nigel trait. We then went to the what is done is done phase and "draw a blue line under it". The game against Everton could have been a terrible atmosphere, but there was a positive vibe - "together as one". We cheered the team on against high flying Everton with a team that had 4 of the first team from our league 1 team (7 if you include subs) - "hard work beats talent, if talent doesn't work hard". Despite losing Nigel, we came away "with a smile on our face" and most of us are even warming to Nicola's decision (though not the manner of execution). There is a feeling that "don't get too high when we're winning and don't get too low when we're losing" I find that in everyday life I am more positive and often quote Adkins (my fav is "pressure makes diamonds" and the hard work quote). It seems his legacy may be more than getting us back to the top flight..... Just a thought No7
Adkins had a positive effect on the fans (coupled with the teams performances, of course). He didn't allow himself and us to get down when things went against us. Apart from his managerial skills, he also provided a human face to SFC.
Adkins is a beacon for clear-headed, positive yet rational thinking, and I believe he has been a good lesson to many of us both in football and in the outside world.
Great post. Apart from my obvious favourite Nigelism (see below) I like "Don't get too down when you're down, and don't get too up when you're up". That's certainly something we all need to remember. I know we need to move on but somehow we need something to happen to get closure from the Nigel Adkins experience. Maybe thrashing Man U would help!
Todo el mundo en el autobús, por favor hasn't quite got the same ring about it. Controlar los controllables isn't a lot different
Nigel's given us some great memories, some of which will warm my heart til the day I die. Not sure I'm going to turn in to him though; after all, Gordon Strachan didn't turn me into wise cracking smart arse.
One thing we should all remember Nigel for is his positivity. Positivity in life is so important. There are always positive and negative people in life. I always like to surround myself with positive ones and try hard to effect the negative ones as much as possible. It even happens on the forums.. why do you think that some peopel get called "Happy Clappers"? It's becasue we are positive. If someone says something negative, I always like to try and flip it to see a positive view. it can piss people off, but I much rather be with positive people than what I call "NegHeads" Nigel could start a daily email quote, and I'd sign up immediately. I actually do recieve a similar thing from a bloke called Richard Denny. If you like that sort of thing, google him and sign up. He sends you an email every day and they are positive. Just pretend it's from Nigel and you'll feel good.
I think to be honest our rapid rise up the leagues has had a bigger effect on our positive outlook than Adkins' positivity.
Probably, but don't the two go hand in hand. In ten years time when I think back to the last two seasons from now, I'll think of Nigel Adkins and that grin and those Adkinisms. I do agree with you about moving on though.
Oh certainly, but double promotion would make fans of the most miserably-managed team feel positive wouldn't it? I'm not tomw19 by the way, despite his similar avatar
I agree we need to move on, I was just commenting with the original post that Adkins will have a lasting effect on us. As Nicola has inferred, he was the right man then, but we have the right man now. We draw a blue line under it, move on to the next...take one manager at a time!
Yeah I think you're dead right, and there are so many things we can learn from Nigel outside of football. His sayings were great but the best thing about him was how hard working he was, and I think he will succeed anywhere with his attitude. He seemed like a great family man as well, I like that.
I think the lasting legacy, which might be unique to Nigel Adkins, throughout the leagues, is that he could get tired, cynical and jaded football supporters to lustily sing as one... There's Only One Nigel Adkins, whether we were winning or losing. There was belief in the guy. And supporters don't do that unless they mean it. When he used to talk about our brilliant supporters, in post-match interviews, he always added that final nail by saying... we're together as one..! That kind of talk never falls on deaf ears. Oh dear, I'm getting a little emotional. Forgot how much I like the bloke.
Another legacy is that he, with the help of Andy Crosby, has made good footballers even better, physically and more importantly, mentally. This is the last time I will say anything about Nigel's dismissal, I try to live my life by a strong moral code and there is no way that I will ever feel that he was treated fairly, he had earnt the right to have a fair crack at the Premier League and it is my opinion that he would've taken us to the next level in time. I wish every success to Mauricio, who has already impressed me with his personality and football philosophy.
