Poll - Adkins In or Out

[Woodcote Royal]

What a deeply unpleasant human being you are.

Believe me, you haven't got a clue, never will have and only an utter pr*ck would see someone posting a picture of a coffin as some kind of proof in either direction...................why not crawl up Ian's arse, he has me on ignore, apparently, which should suit you.

[Royality creeps In]

Adkins is ruining the club, isn't he? Driving supporters away, same old tired excuses, the players have individually got worse over the last two years.

Problem is that some of our half wits cannot see this. (I suspect they don't even go to the games)

[winchester_royal]

Let's be honest - it's all just really very dull right now. How many genuinely exciting games have we seen in the last 18 months? Games that were box-to-box, that ebbed and flowed? How many of us seriously believe we'll come back into a game when we go 1 down?

The excitement, the thrill, the belief that used to come with watching Reading has all but disappeared. You can hear/see it in the stands, you can see it in the players faces, you can even see it through the lack of posts on this board these days.

I'm not sure just how much Adkins is at fault for this, and I still think he'll do a decent job for someone else, but it just isn't clicking here. Change is needed. Someone that will come in, unite the club and bring some excitement back to our Saturday afternoons.

I wanted it to work out as much as anyone Nige - but it's time to go.

[AirRaidSiren]

What a deeply unpleasant human being you are.

Believe me, you haven't got a clue, never will have and only an utter pr*ck would see someone posting a picture of a coffin as some kind of proof in either direction...................why not crawl up Ian's arse, he has me on ignore, apparently, which should suit you.

I'm not interferring in your bitchfest with other posters, but why are you always so angry?

I bet youre no taller than 5ft 8, angry little person syndrome perhaps?

[RoyalinBracknell]

Bring McDermott back? No thank you! His dated tactics were leading us to an 8th-10th place finish until AZ threw some money at getting Roberts and a couple of others. Without that we would never have achieved the shock promotion we did. He was unable to adapt in the PL despite telling us weekly he was learning so much.
.

This just doesn't really make any sense to me as an argument on various levels. Lots of fans have been saying Adkins should be given the January transfer window and the chance to invest in a few players - if he does that and it works is anyone going to turn round and say 'well we'd have finished lower if he hadn't signed those players?' If a manager has the chance to make some signings and those signings are successful then that is good management.

From memory we were on the brink of the playoff places when AZ came in. Maybe we'd have made them without him, maybe we wouldn't have. I agree that we wouldn't have won the league. But ultimately McDermott deserves the credit for a decent enough first half of the season which put us in the position where winning the league was still possible and also for identifying the players we needed to do that.

Conversely in 2009/10 we had an excellent second half of the season but were so dismal in the first half under Rodgers that we weren't quite able to make the play-offs. Equally this season even if we invest well in January then mid-table is probably going to be about the limit.

And if you look at it that January McDermott signed Roberts, bought Cywka in on a short-term deal and signed Connolley on load. He then added Mullins and Afobe in mid-March. In August Adkins was able to sign Norwood, Cox and Ferdinand on permanent deals, and get Mackie and Murray in on loan. I'd guess Adkins' signings might well cost us more in the long run and he's got the whole season to work with them (apart from maybe Murray.)

McDermott made mistakes in the Premier League but ultimately we just weren't really good enough, like various other Championship teams have found when they've first been promoted. We seem to have declined significantly since then. It's not all Adkins' fault but I'd say a reasonably significant amount of it is and I don't think it's ever going to work out for him here. I preferred pretty much the whole of the McDermott era to the Adkins one - at least there was a fighting spirit, some sort of connection and not the general apathy has taken over now.

[leon]

Gr8 post

we've got to stop this anti mcdermott revisionism

[The Cube]

According to BBCRB Adkins and his "coaching" staff where handing notes out to the players on the pitch last night. They were reading them then throwing them on the floor. The Cardiff players then picked them up and read the instructions.

That's not what BBCRB said at all. And there's no need to make things up to justify an Adkins out post.

[From Despair To Where?]

Let's be honest - it's all just really very dull right now. How many genuinely exciting games have we seen in the last 18 months? Games that were box-to-box, that ebbed and flowed? How many of us seriously believe we'll come back into a game when we go 1 down?

The excitement, the thrill, the belief that used to come with watching Reading has all but disappeared. You can hear/see it in the stands, you can see it in the players faces, you can even see it through the lack of posts on this board these days.

I'm not sure just how much Adkins is at fault for this, and I still think he'll do a decent job for someone else, but it just isn't clicking here. Change is needed. Someone that will come in, unite the club and bring some excitement back to our Saturday afternoons.

I wanted it to work out as much as anyone Nige - but it's time to go.

Agree with this, really. I've been pro Adkins all the way but we're going backwards and i don't believe the players aren't good enough so it points to the coaching and tactics. I've lost interest, I even forgot we were playing last night until 9:45 and my response to the result was along the lines of "Oh well, at least we didn't get hammered".

[blueroyals]

Regardless of what the fans want or what happens on the pitch Adkins isn't going anywhere until the new year. We can't afford to sack him because of FFP.

[winchester_royal]

Not necessarily. . You could put him on 'gardening leave' and give Dolan the job on a temporary basis.

[BAM]

According to BBCRB Adkins and his "coaching" staff where handing notes out to the players on the pitch last night. They were reading them then throwing them on the floor. The Cardiff players then picked them up and read the instructions.

That's not what BBCRB said at all. And there's no need to make things up to justify an Adkins out post.

Yeah, could just have been little flirty messages

"I jizzed in your boots when you were with the other physio"

"The way you scuff the ball makes me so hard"

That sort of thing

[leon]

According to BBCRB Adkins and his "coaching" staff where handing notes out to the players on the pitch last night. They were reading them then throwing them on the floor. The Cardiff players then picked them up and read the instructions.

That's not what BBCRB said at all. And there's no need to make things up to justify an Adkins out post.

Yeah, could just have been little flirty messages

"I jizzed in your boots when you were with the other physio"

"The way you scuff the ball makes me so hard"

That sort of thing

hello E-P

[SCIAG]

Think back to McDermott and Coppell - they had to sell their best players every season and were left with a small proportion of the money and talent Adkins has at his disposal, yet they never complained and got on with it in a no nonsense fashion. Even when Brian was sacked we were still in with a slight chance of staying up despite the ownership chaos. He recieved less financial backing in the Championship and PL combined than Adkins has in this season alone!

Again, that's not entirely accurate.

Only once did Coppell "have to sell his best players", and that was directly after a relegation. Little had spent the entire previous season out injured and Sonko was no good, so that's Shorey and Kitson. After our last relegation, Adkins had to sell Mariappa and Kebe, two of his best players. Again this summer, he had to sell Le Fondre and McCarthy, both amongst his best players, and also lost McAnuff, Drenthe, Morrison and Bridge from his strongest side. Whilst Bridge had already been replaced, losing McAnuff too meant Obita was first choice in two positions. I've included Drenthe in case someone argues that Le Fondre wasn't a regular starter, as Drenthe was the only credible alternative. However you slice it, it's four starters, and Bridge would have been another barring injury.

Has Adkins complained about losing players in the summer? Any more than McDermott did?

It's hard to say for sure whether Adkins' side is currently more talented than some of McDermott's. After the sale of Sigurdsson, McDermott was still able to call upon Long, Kebe, McAnuff and Leigertwood, as well as Hunt, Zurab, Mills, Harte and Griffin. Federici, Pearce and Karacan were no worse than they are today (based on current form). Personally I think only Norwood/Guthrie and Obita would make that side, maybe Gunter and Pearce when they hit form. The side that won promotion did so with Roberts, Gorkss and Pearce in for Long, Mills and Zurab (and no regular right back). Again, I'd probably take Norwood ahead of Karacan, and changing the full backs would be nice, but I certainly don't think the current first team is clearly better. There's more strength in depth in several positions - Karacan ahead of Mullins any day, Cooper ahead of Khumalo, Taylor ahead of Cwyka - but given their respective injury records, I'm not sure that's too relevant.

The claim that McDermott received less funding in seven transfer windows than Adkins did in the last one has no basis in reality. In McDermott's final summer, he spent about £6m on two players, plus signed four senior players on "free" transfers. This summer, Adkins spent about £1.5m on two players, plus two loans, and a senior player on a "free" transfer. Under McDermott, we made significant outlays (on fees and or wages) on players including Griffin, Leigertwood, Gorkss, and Roberts, in the Championship alone. Yes, that has to be balanced against money coming in, but the £9m raised through player sales this summer is more than we raised in two of McDermott's three seasons (note 1: that was only so high because Leicester paid £4.5m for Mills. Note 2: one of McDermott's summers was in the PL so naturally no one was in a hurry to leave).

I really agree with Leon: we need to stop revising history. Claiming that McDermott played crap football, was rolling in money, or would certainly have achieved a mid-table finish without Roberts are not helpful to anyone. Equally, claiming McDermott had less money, no players and consistently masterful tactics is silly (though I find it hard to argue that Adkins is as strong tactically as McDermott).

McDermott was a fantastic manager for two and a half years who did great things for this club and led us to success that I didn't think was possible three years in a row. We don't need to constantly compare Adkins to him.

I think we all acknowledge that we do not have the resources to buy a Premier League team. If we ever want to do well in the PL again, we'll need to build a side over a long period of time. We can't do that if we keep taking a short term view and sacking the manager because he's not doing as well as the over-achiever who proceeded him.

If we don't want to be a PL club, that's fine be me - but in that case, why remove a manager who is on course to keep us in the Championship?

[madstadblues]

Think back to McDermott and Coppell - they had to sell their best players every season and were left with a small proportion of the money and talent Adkins has at his disposal, yet they never complained and got on with it in a no nonsense fashion. Even when Brian was sacked we were still in with a slight chance of staying up despite the ownership chaos. He recieved less financial backing in the Championship and PL combined than Adkins has in this season alone!

Again, that's not entirely accurate.

Only once did Coppell "have to sell his best players", and that was directly after a relegation. Little had spent the entire previous season out injured and Sonko was no good, so that's Shorey and Kitson. After our last relegation, Adkins had to sell Mariappa and Kebe, two of his best players. Again this summer, he had to sell Le Fondre and McCarthy, both amongst his best players, and also lost McAnuff, Drenthe, Morrison and Bridge from his strongest side. Whilst Bridge had already been replaced, losing McAnuff too meant Obita was first choice in two positions. I've included Drenthe in case someone argues that Le Fondre wasn't a regular starter, as Drenthe was the only credible alternative. However you slice it, it's four starters, and Bridge would have been another barring injury.

Has Adkins complained about losing players in the summer? Any more than McDermott did?

It's hard to say for sure whether Adkins' side is currently more talented than some of McDermott's. After the sale of Sigurdsson, McDermott was still able to call upon Long, Kebe, McAnuff and Leigertwood, as well as Hunt, Zurab, Mills, Harte and Griffin. Federici, Pearce and Karacan were no worse than they are today (based on current form). Personally I think only Norwood/Guthrie and Obita would make that side, maybe Gunter and Pearce when they hit form. The side that won promotion did so with Roberts, Gorkss and Pearce in for Long, Mills and Zurab (and no regular right back). Again, I'd probably take Norwood ahead of Karacan, and changing the full backs would be nice, but I certainly don't think the current first team is clearly better. There's more strength in depth in several positions - Karacan ahead of Mullins any day, Cooper ahead of Khumalo, Taylor ahead of Cwyka - but given their respective injury records, I'm not sure that's too relevant.

The claim that McDermott received less funding in seven transfer windows than Adkins did in the last one has no basis in reality. In McDermott's final summer, he spent about £6m on two players, plus signed four senior players on "free" transfers. This summer, Adkins spent about £1.5m on two players, plus two loans, and a senior player on a "free" transfer. Under McDermott, we made significant outlays (on fees and or wages) on players including Griffin, Leigertwood, Gorkss, and Roberts, in the Championship alone. Yes, that has to be balanced against money coming in, but the £9m raised through player sales this summer is more than we raised in two of McDermott's three seasons (note 1: that was only so high because Leicester paid £4.5m for Mills. Note 2: one of McDermott's summers was in the PL so naturally no one was in a hurry to leave).

I really agree with Leon: we need to stop revising history. Claiming that McDermott played crap football, was rolling in money, or would certainly have achieved a mid-table finish without Roberts are not helpful to anyone. Equally, claiming McDermott had less money, no players and consistently masterful tactics is silly (though I find it hard to argue that Adkins is as strong tactically as McDermott).

McDermott was a fantastic manager for two and a half years who did great things for this club and led us to success that I didn't think was possible three years in a row. We don't need to constantly compare Adkins to him.

I think we all acknowledge that we do not have the resources to buy a Premier League team. If we ever want to do well in the PL again, we'll need to build a side over a long period of time. We can't do that if we keep taking a short term view and sacking the manager because he's not doing as well as the over-achiever who proceeded him.

If we don't want to be a PL club, that's fine be me - but in that case, why remove a manager who is on course to keep us in the Championship?

This is the best post I have seen in the last 12 months!!! I can't help feeling so annoyed by the way Williams & Dellor (wannabe shock jocks) are so blatantly ignoring these facts. I hope that the owners realise (if indeed they look at social media) that Hobnob/ twitter represent about 500 fans (3% of current average gate)

[Royal Rother]

Yep, good post SCIAG.

[leon]

Think back to McDermott and Coppell - they had to sell their best players every season and were left with a small proportion of the money and talent Adkins has at his disposal, yet they never complained and got on with it in a no nonsense fashion. Even when Brian was sacked we were still in with a slight chance of staying up despite the ownership chaos. He recieved less financial backing in the Championship and PL combined than Adkins has in this season alone!

Again, that's not entirely accurate.

Only once did Coppell "have to sell his best players", and that was directly after a relegation. Little had spent the entire previous season out injured and Sonko was no good, so that's Shorey and Kitson. After our last relegation, Adkins had to sell Mariappa and Kebe, two of his best players. Again this summer, he had to sell Le Fondre and McCarthy, both amongst his best players, and also lost McAnuff, Drenthe, Morrison and Bridge from his strongest side. Whilst Bridge had already been replaced, losing McAnuff too meant Obita was first choice in two positions. I've included Drenthe in case someone argues that Le Fondre wasn't a regular starter, as Drenthe was the only credible alternative. However you slice it, it's four starters, and Bridge would have been another barring injury.

Has Adkins complained about losing players in the summer? Any more than McDermott did?

It's hard to say for sure whether Adkins' side is currently more talented than some of McDermott's. After the sale of Sigurdsson, McDermott was still able to call upon Long, Kebe, McAnuff and Leigertwood, as well as Hunt, Zurab, Mills, Harte and Griffin. Federici, Pearce and Karacan were no worse than they are today (based on current form). Personally I think only Norwood/Guthrie and Obita would make that side, maybe Gunter and Pearce when they hit form. The side that won promotion did so with Roberts, Gorkss and Pearce in for Long, Mills and Zurab (and no regular right back). Again, I'd probably take Norwood ahead of Karacan, and changing the full backs would be nice, but I certainly don't think the current first team is clearly better. There's more strength in depth in several positions - Karacan ahead of Mullins any day, Cooper ahead of Khumalo, Taylor ahead of Cwyka - but given their respective injury records, I'm not sure that's too relevant.

The claim that McDermott received less funding in seven transfer windows than Adkins did in the last one has no basis in reality. In McDermott's final summer, he spent about £6m on two players, plus signed four senior players on "free" transfers. This summer, Adkins spent about £1.5m on two players, plus two loans, and a senior player on a "free" transfer. Under McDermott, we made significant outlays (on fees and or wages) on players including Griffin, Leigertwood, Gorkss, and Roberts, in the Championship alone. Yes, that has to be balanced against money coming in, but the £9m raised through player sales this summer is more than we raised in two of McDermott's three seasons (note 1: that was only so high because Leicester paid £4.5m for Mills. Note 2: one of McDermott's summers was in the PL so naturally no one was in a hurry to leave).

I really agree with Leon: we need to stop revising history. Claiming that McDermott played crap football, was rolling in money, or would certainly have achieved a mid-table finish without Roberts are not helpful to anyone. Equally, claiming McDermott had less money, no players and consistently masterful tactics is silly (though I find it hard to argue that Adkins is as strong tactically as McDermott).

McDermott was a fantastic manager for two and a half years who did great things for this club and led us to success that I didn't think was possible three years in a row. We don't need to constantly compare Adkins to him.

I think we all acknowledge that we do not have the resources to buy a Premier League team. If we ever want to do well in the PL again, we'll need to build a side over a long period of time. We can't do that if we keep taking a short term view and sacking the manager because he's not doing as well as the over-achiever who proceeded him.

If we don't want to be a PL club, that's fine be me - but in that case, why remove a manager who is on course to keep us in the Championship?

An excellent post that I agree with in parts and disagree massively in others.

Some observations.

BM had built sides around Sigurdsson and Long only to have them sold under him late in the transfer window - to then achieve in those seasons without them was stunning management. Stunning.

Nigel Adkins is on record saying (at the start of last season) that a full back can play either left or right. Which is ridiculous and makes me think there might be more to just "individual errors" about our current defensive shambles.

I'm also intrigued that the much maligned Gorkss and Hunt (Noel) are now viewed as superstars when I was banging on about how good they were (to derision by the team board oxf*rd)

[RoyalinBracknell]

Think back to McDermott and Coppell - they had to sell their best players every season and were left with a small proportion of the money and talent Adkins has at his disposal, yet they never complained and got on with it in a no nonsense fashion. Even when Brian was sacked we were still in with a slight chance of staying up despite the ownership chaos. He recieved less financial backing in the Championship and PL combined than Adkins has in this season alone!

Again, that's not entirely accurate.

Only once did Coppell "have to sell his best players", and that was directly after a relegation. Little had spent the entire previous season out injured and Sonko was no good, so that's Shorey and Kitson. After our last relegation, Adkins had to sell Mariappa and Kebe, two of his best players. Again this summer, he had to sell Le Fondre and McCarthy, both amongst his best players, and also lost McAnuff, Drenthe, Morrison and Bridge from his strongest side. Whilst Bridge had already been replaced, losing McAnuff too meant Obita was first choice in two positions. I've included Drenthe in case someone argues that Le Fondre wasn't a regular starter, as Drenthe was the only credible alternative. However you slice it, it's four starters, and Bridge would have been another barring injury.

Has Adkins complained about losing players in the summer? Any more than McDermott did?

It's hard to say for sure whether Adkins' side is currently more talented than some of McDermott's. After the sale of Sigurdsson, McDermott was still able to call upon Long, Kebe, McAnuff and Leigertwood, as well as Hunt, Zurab, Mills, Harte and Griffin. Federici, Pearce and Karacan were no worse than they are today (based on current form). Personally I think only Norwood/Guthrie and Obita would make that side, maybe Gunter and Pearce when they hit form. The side that won promotion did so with Roberts, Gorkss and Pearce in for Long, Mills and Zurab (and no regular right back). Again, I'd probably take Norwood ahead of Karacan, and changing the full backs would be nice, but I certainly don't think the current first team is clearly better. There's more strength in depth in several positions - Karacan ahead of Mullins any day, Cooper ahead of Khumalo, Taylor ahead of Cwyka - but given their respective injury records, I'm not sure that's too relevant.

The claim that McDermott received less funding in seven transfer windows than Adkins did in the last one has no basis in reality. In McDermott's final summer, he spent about £6m on two players, plus signed four senior players on "free" transfers. This summer, Adkins spent about £1.5m on two players, plus two loans, and a senior player on a "free" transfer. Under McDermott, we made significant outlays (on fees and or wages) on players including Griffin, Leigertwood, Gorkss, and Roberts, in the Championship alone. Yes, that has to be balanced against money coming in, but the £9m raised through player sales this summer is more than we raised in two of McDermott's three seasons (note 1: that was only so high because Leicester paid £4.5m for Mills. Note 2: one of McDermott's summers was in the PL so naturally no one was in a hurry to leave).

I really agree with Leon: we need to stop revising history. Claiming that McDermott played crap football, was rolling in money, or would certainly have achieved a mid-table finish without Roberts are not helpful to anyone. Equally, claiming McDermott had less money, no players and consistently masterful tactics is silly (though I find it hard to argue that Adkins is as strong tactically as McDermott).

McDermott was a fantastic manager for two and a half years who did great things for this club and led us to success that I didn't think was possible three years in a row. We don't need to constantly compare Adkins to him.

I think we all acknowledge that we do not have the resources to buy a Premier League team. If we ever want to do well in the PL again, we'll need to build a side over a long period of time. We can't do that if we keep taking a short term view and sacking the manager because he's not doing as well as the over-achiever who proceeded him.

If we don't want to be a PL club, that's fine be me - but in that case, why remove a manager who is on course to keep us in the Championship?

A very good, considered post.

In broader terms, it's interesting to see many of the people who are now supporting Adkins were those who wanted McDermott out. Personally I think it's now clear sacking McDermott was a mistake and was a short-sighted, perhaps idealistic reaction to a frustrating and disappointing season. We should have taken the hit and given a manager who'd proved himself here as an excellent Championship manager to have another go. Was the whole rebuild and attempt to significantly alter the style really necessary?

Comparing the different sides is difficult - I think McDermott's certainly 'overachieved', and this has 'underachieved'. A certain part of it though must be what the manager does with the players available to him. I remember Kebe and Long being much maligned before McDermott took over (and for Long even after McDermott had taken over) but McDermott's man-management got the best out of them. You could mention the resurgence of Shaun Cummings' career at the club too. How many players has Adkins got the best out of? How many players have improved under him? How many have gone backwards? If Adkins had handled certain players differently/better, would some of them still be here?

I'm sure people said similar when Rodgers was here as to whether the players were good enough or much better than the position they had. Yet McDermott used his resources well, used Sigurdsson in a different way and got great results. I think there is certainly the makings of a good team currently and right now I think there are other managers who would get much more from this group of players which is a big concern.

I think 18 months is quite a long time in football - in that period McDermott had taken us to two FA Cup quarter-finals, eased us comfortably clear of a potential relegation battle and taken us to the play-off final. We've seen very few highs under Adkins and I'm really not convinced his tenure is going to be successful or leave the basis for something strong to build on. Instead I suspect we'll see a complete change in style whenever he does leave and quite possibly an improvement in results with that.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Adkins played Mccarthy for a full season, he moved on to the premier.all, he also played morrisons for a season, he moved on.

[Nuremberg Royal]

Think back to McDermott and Coppell - they had to sell their best players every season and were left with a small proportion of the money and talent Adkins has at his disposal, yet they never complained and got on with it in a no nonsense fashion. Even when Brian was sacked we were still in with a slight chance of staying up despite the ownership chaos. He recieved less financial backing in the Championship and PL combined than Adkins has in this season alone!

Again, that's not entirely accurate.

Only once did Coppell "have to sell his best players", and that was directly after a relegation. Little had spent the entire previous season out injured and Sonko was no good, so that's Shorey and Kitson. After our last relegation, Adkins had to sell Mariappa and Kebe, two of his best players. Again this summer, he had to sell Le Fondre and McCarthy, both amongst his best players, and also lost McAnuff, Drenthe, Morrison and Bridge from his strongest side. Whilst Bridge had already been replaced, losing McAnuff too meant Obita was first choice in two positions. I've included Drenthe in case someone argues that Le Fondre wasn't a regular starter, as Drenthe was the only credible alternative. However you slice it, it's four starters, and Bridge would have been another barring injury.

Has Adkins complained about losing players in the summer? Any more than McDermott did?

It's hard to say for sure whether Adkins' side is currently more talented than some of McDermott's. After the sale of Sigurdsson, McDermott was still able to call upon Long, Kebe, McAnuff and Leigertwood, as well as Hunt, Zurab, Mills, Harte and Griffin. Federici, Pearce and Karacan were no worse than they are today (based on current form). Personally I think only Norwood/Guthrie and Obita would make that side, maybe Gunter and Pearce when they hit form. The side that won promotion did so with Roberts, Gorkss and Pearce in for Long, Mills and Zurab (and no regular right back). Again, I'd probably take Norwood ahead of Karacan, and changing the full backs would be nice, but I certainly don't think the current first team is clearly better. There's more strength in depth in several positions - Karacan ahead of Mullins any day, Cooper ahead of Khumalo, Taylor ahead of Cwyka - but given their respective injury records, I'm not sure that's too relevant.

The claim that McDermott received less funding in seven transfer windows than Adkins did in the last one has no basis in reality. In McDermott's final summer, he spent about £6m on two players, plus signed four senior players on "free" transfers. This summer, Adkins spent about £1.5m on two players, plus two loans, and a senior player on a "free" transfer. Under McDermott, we made significant outlays (on fees and or wages) on players including Griffin, Leigertwood, Gorkss, and Roberts, in the Championship alone. Yes, that has to be balanced against money coming in, but the £9m raised through player sales this summer is more than we raised in two of McDermott's three seasons (note 1: that was only so high because Leicester paid £4.5m for Mills. Note 2: one of McDermott's summers was in the PL so naturally no one was in a hurry to leave).

I really agree with Leon: we need to stop revising history. Claiming that McDermott played crap football, was rolling in money, or would certainly have achieved a mid-table finish without Roberts are not helpful to anyone. Equally, claiming McDermott had less money, no players and consistently masterful tactics is silly (though I find it hard to argue that Adkins is as strong tactically as McDermott).

McDermott was a fantastic manager for two and a half years who did great things for this club and led us to success that I didn't think was possible three years in a row. We don't need to constantly compare Adkins to him.

I think we all acknowledge that we do not have the resources to buy a Premier League team. If we ever want to do well in the PL again, we'll need to build a side over a long period of time. We can't do that if we keep taking a short term view and sacking the manager because he's not doing as well as the over-achiever who proceeded him.

If we don't want to be a PL club, that's fine be me - but in that case, why remove a manager who is on course to keep us in the Championship?

Absolutely spot on +1

[semtex1871]

Think back to McDermott and Coppell - they had to sell their best players every season and were left with a small proportion of the money and talent Adkins has at his disposal, yet they never complained and got on with it in a no nonsense fashion. Even when Brian was sacked we were still in with a slight chance of staying up despite the ownership chaos. He recieved less financial backing in the Championship and PL combined than Adkins has in this season alone!

Again, that's not entirely accurate.

Only once did Coppell "have to sell his best players", and that was directly after a relegation. Little had spent the entire previous season out injured and Sonko was no good, so that's Shorey and Kitson. After our last relegation, Adkins had to sell Mariappa and Kebe, two of his best players. Again this summer, he had to sell Le Fondre and McCarthy, both amongst his best players, and also lost McAnuff, Drenthe, Morrison and Bridge from his strongest side. Whilst Bridge had already been replaced, losing McAnuff too meant Obita was first choice in two positions. I've included Drenthe in case someone argues that Le Fondre wasn't a regular starter, as Drenthe was the only credible alternative. However you slice it, it's four starters, and Bridge would have been another barring injury.

Has Adkins complained about losing players in the summer? Any more than McDermott did?

It's hard to say for sure whether Adkins' side is currently more talented than some of McDermott's. After the sale of Sigurdsson, McDermott was still able to call upon Long, Kebe, McAnuff and Leigertwood, as well as Hunt, Zurab, Mills, Harte and Griffin. Federici, Pearce and Karacan were no worse than they are today (based on current form). Personally I think only Norwood/Guthrie and Obita would make that side, maybe Gunter and Pearce when they hit form. The side that won promotion did so with Roberts, Gorkss and Pearce in for Long, Mills and Zurab (and no regular right back). Again, I'd probably take Norwood ahead of Karacan, and changing the full backs would be nice, but I certainly don't think the current first team is clearly better. There's more strength in depth in several positions - Karacan ahead of Mullins any day, Cooper ahead of Khumalo, Taylor ahead of Cwyka - but given their respective injury records, I'm not sure that's too relevant.

The claim that McDermott received less funding in seven transfer windows than Adkins did in the last one has no basis in reality. In McDermott's final summer, he spent about £6m on two players, plus signed four senior players on "free" transfers. This summer, Adkins spent about £1.5m on two players, plus two loans, and a senior player on a "free" transfer. Under McDermott, we made significant outlays (on fees and or wages) on players including Griffin, Leigertwood, Gorkss, and Roberts, in the Championship alone. Yes, that has to be balanced against money coming in, but the £9m raised through player sales this summer is more than we raised in two of McDermott's three seasons (note 1: that was only so high because Leicester paid £4.5m for Mills. Note 2: one of McDermott's summers was in the PL so naturally no one was in a hurry to leave).

I really agree with Leon: we need to stop revising history. Claiming that McDermott played crap football, was rolling in money, or would certainly have achieved a mid-table finish without Roberts are not helpful to anyone. Equally, claiming McDermott had less money, no players and consistently masterful tactics is silly (though I find it hard to argue that Adkins is as strong tactically as McDermott).

McDermott was a fantastic manager for two and a half years who did great things for this club and led us to success that I didn't think was possible three years in a row. We don't need to constantly compare Adkins to him.

I think we all acknowledge that we do not have the resources to buy a Premier League team. If we ever want to do well in the PL again, we'll need to build a side over a long period of time. We can't do that if we keep taking a short term view and sacking the manager because he's not doing as well as the over-achiever who proceeded him.

If we don't want to be a PL club, that's fine be me - but in that case, why remove a manager who is on course to keep us in the Championship?

agree, best post in a very long time....especially the bold part.....