Is Adkins the right choice?

[TheSaintlee]

was it a league 1 squad with saints?

we kept players who we went down with and in admin...luckily selling David McGodlrick and Drew Surman to keep us afloat in adkin until Markus Leibherr came in.

Kelvin Davis - Easily a champ player
Harding - Ditto
Fonte - was linked with bolton in the prem but we paid him more and actually dropped to league 1 for a season
Richardson - Played in the prem and Champ with Leeds
Jaidi - prem experience
Morgan Schneiderlin - French U21 captain at the time and now brilliant
Lallana - way too good for league 1
Puncheon - ditto
Lambert - easily ditto
Oxland-Chamberlain. yep
Chaplow - bought from the champ

it was clear for all to see that the squad in league 1 was the most expensive ever assembled and not fot a managerial change at the start of 2010/2011 season, we would have won the league.
so, as a saints fan, I am not going to come here and say that adkins took a bunch of league 1 standard players and worked miracles to finish 2nd in league 1.
it was the bare minimum.

the season in the NPC was a different matter. only to be bettered by a certain Mr McDermot

[Denver Royal]

This is why we're "trading up". Because he's shown more signs of adapting to the PL. And because he brings fresh perspective and a s;ightly different style of football. McDermott looked to me like he'd got tunnel vision and was too close to the problem to see it effectively and move to solve it. Also the solution was to go against his natural instincts in how to play football. That's why you can argue we needed a change. And why even if Adkins is about the same quality as a manager to McDermott it's a good move.

So,
A) You've always thought Adkins was the better manager than McD, and
B) You think Soton made a huge mistake in getting rid?

[Sanguine]

Fwiw when I read Ian's post I didn't think he meant A) at all.

Acknowledging that Adkins appeared to be coping better with the PL than Brian is not to say you always rated Adkins higher.

In respect of Adkins' sacking, I thought that was a ridiculous decision. Thankfully (for them) they seem to have found a replacement who plays a similar brand of football and has continued to get good performances from their players.

[Hoop Blah]

Oh what a surprise, an article sourcing three swooners over Adkins. How broad.

What has Adkins done that Brian (a) hasn't or (b) couldn't have done with £33m, apart from grow his own hair?

Well he's proved he can rebuild more than one squad that he already had an existing close working relationship with (I know Dirk and I have discussed McDermotts longevity in the past as his best work seemed to be done with players he knew previously and didn't have to build a new team as such).

He's shown that he can attract and work with a 'better quality' of player and spend money that's available to him. It certainly seems that one of the key bug bears for Zingaravich was the lack on incoming quality even when he gave McDermott funds.

He's shown that he can turn TWO long ball teams into effective passing teams quite quickly and with good results.

If we're looking at rebuilding a new squad, spending more money on quality players and adopting a new style of play that the club think will suit us more in the modern game and, hopefully, in the Premier League then those qualities make him a decent proposition don't they EP?

[Ian Royal]

This is why we're "trading up". Because he's shown more signs of adapting to the PL. And because he brings fresh perspective and a s;ightly different style of football. McDermott looked to me like he'd got tunnel vision and was too close to the problem to see it effectively and move to solve it. Also the solution was to go against his natural instincts in how to play football. That's why you can argue we needed a change. And why even if Adkins is about the same quality as a manager to McDermott it's a good move.

So,
A) You've always thought Adkins was the better manager than McD, and
B) You think Soton made a huge mistake in getting rid?

A) About the same before this season, yes, marginally now.
B) I'd have been fuming if I was a Saints fan.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Oh what a surprise, an article sourcing three swooners over Adkins. How broad.

What has Adkins done that Brian (a) hasn't or (b) couldn't have done with £33m, apart from grow his own hair?

Well he's proved he can rebuild more than one squad that he already had an existing close working relationship with (I know Dirk and I have discussed McDermotts longevity in the past as his best work seemed to be done with players he knew previously and didn't have to build a new team as such).

He's shown that he can attract and work with a 'better quality' of player and spend money that's available to him. It certainly seems that one of the key bug bears for Zingaravich was the lack on incoming quality even when he gave McDermott funds.

He's shown that he can turn TWO long ball teams into effective passing teams quite quickly and with good results.

If we're looking at rebuilding a new squad, spending more money on quality players and adopting a new style of play that the club think will suit us more in the modern game and, hopefully, in the Premier League then those qualities make him a decent proposition don't they EP?

I like this. This makes me feel a bit more positive, cheers.


To the saint fella, I suppose you were banging on about McD being better than Adkins while he was still your manager, yeah?

[Maguire]

was it a league 1 squad with saints?

we kept players who we went down with and in admin...luckily selling David McGodlrick and Drew Surman to keep us afloat in adkin until Markus Leibherr came in.

Kelvin Davis - Easily a champ player
Harding - Ditto
Fonte - was linked with bolton in the prem but we paid him more and actually dropped to league 1 for a season
Richardson - Played in the prem and Champ with Leeds
Jaidi - prem experience
Morgan Schneiderlin - French U21 captain at the time and now brilliant
Lallana - way too good for league 1
Puncheon - ditto
Lambert - easily ditto
Oxland-Chamberlain. yep
Chaplow - bought from the champ

it was clear for all to see that the squad in league 1 was the most expensive ever assembled and not fot a managerial change at the start of 2010/2011 season, we would have won the league.
so, as a saints fan, I am not going to come here and say that adkins took a bunch of league 1 standard players and worked miracles to finish 2nd in league 1.
it was the bare minimum.

the season in the NPC was a different matter. only to be bettered by a certain Mr McDermot

I agree with you. Ian Royal is known around these parts for auto-generating massive posts full of nonsense.

[winchester_royal]

Oh what a surprise, an article sourcing three swooners over Adkins. How broad.

What has Adkins done that Brian (a) hasn't or (b) couldn't have done with £33m, apart from grow his own hair?

Well he's proved he can rebuild more than one squad that he already had an existing close working relationship with (I know Dirk and I have discussed McDermotts longevity in the past as his best work seemed to be done with players he knew previously and didn't have to build a new team as such).

He's shown that he can attract and work with a 'better quality' of player and spend money that's available to him. It certainly seems that one of the key bug bears for Zingaravich was the lack on incoming quality even when he gave McDermott funds.

He's shown that he can turn TWO long ball teams into effective passing teams quite quickly and with good results.

If we're looking at rebuilding a new squad, spending more money on quality players and adopting a new style of play that the club think will suit us more in the modern game and, hopefully, in the Premier League then those qualities make him a decent proposition don't they EP?

I like this. This makes me feel a bit more positive, cheers.


To the saint fella, I suppose you were banging on about McD being better than Adkins while he was still your manager, yeah?

I like how he looks at results in isolation to criticise Nige and then defends Pocahontas by refusing to look at results in isolation

Oh and yeah, top post HB as per

[Maguire]

any comparison with rogers is just wrong, you lot must have seen us lob it back stick to lambert

Exactly! Hundreds of times. Nothing wrong with that as it created buckets of chances but you'd think by reading this board that we're going to get turned from a bunch of long ball merchants (we're not) into Brazil (we're not).

Our football this season has been ugly because the players aren't good enough. Of course that's partly the fault of the manager but all this talk of Adkins' "intellectual, passing style" is bobbins.

[howser]

Good appointment, Adkins teams play some decent football, hopefully hoof ball will be a thing of the past now, Interesting AZ's comments abouit the January window "There was always a budget and we should have done more in January," said the Russian. "We tried to sign players but we weren't active enough.


Where the blame lies there ?? who knows but for me it certainly shows that relations were strained between him and Mcdermott, and that his loyalty (Mcdermott's), to the players that got us promoted were shallow and shortsighted.

But whatever has happened this is a new era for Reading Football Club and Adkins deserves all our support in turning the fortunes of the club around, and keeping us or puttung us back into the Premiership, welcome Nigel and good luck to you.

[Maguire]

Setting football aside, can we all at least agree that Adkins seems like a total helmet of a bloke compared to McDermott?

[Hoop Blah]

I tend to ignore any poster who refers to leagues as the NPC or EPL etc, it just hurts my eyes to read it.

As for the League 1 squad not being a League 1 squad. They got relegated to it the season before so in my book, as good as some of the players were (or are getting now after a few years of good management and the confidence of winning), they were a League 1 squad.

[Hoop Blah]

Setting football aside, can we all at least agree that Adkins seems like a total helmet of a bloke compared to McDermott?

I certainly know who I'd rather have a beer with yeah.

[windermere_royal]

Setting football aside, can we all at least agree that Adkins seems like a total helmet of a bloke compared to McDermott?

very true, he didn`t say "we move on" once during the interview

[winchester_royal]

any comparison with rogers is just wrong, you lot must have seen us lob it back stick to lambert

Exactly! Hundreds of times. Nothing wrong with that as it created buckets of chances but you'd think by reading this board that we're going to get turned from a bunch of long ball merchants (we're not) into Brazil (we're not).

Our football this season has been ugly because the players aren't good enough. Of course that's partly the fault of the manager but all this talk of Adkins' "intellectual, passing style" is bobbins.

'Greed that he's not in the Guardiola-mold..saying that, I do think he looks to keep the ball on the floor more than we have done this season. He got a Scunthorpe team low on quality playing some decent stuff so we'll see.

I like the way we play sometimes, high tempo stuff down the wings ala Man Utd is the best way to play IMO, so if he can get us playing like Saints were last season (i.e. the way we played at our best with a little less hoofing and a little more patience) then I'll be a very happy camper.

As opposed to Adkins as a bloke he often came across very smug in his interviews, but as he lives just outside Winchester I know people who have met him and they all say he's a genuinely lovely bloke. I'll go do some stalking l8r and report back

[Hoop Blah]

I like this. This makes me feel a bit more positive, cheers.

Invoice is on it's way.

[Maguire]

Setting football aside, can we all at least agree that Adkins seems like a total helmet of a bloke compared to McDermott?

I certainly know who I'd rather have a beer with yeah.

Yes nicely put

[TheSaintlee]

I tend to ignore any poster who refers to leagues as the NPC or EPL etc, it just hurts my eyes to read it.

As for the League 1 squad not being a League 1 squad. They got relegated to it the season before so in my book, as good as some of the players were (or are getting now after a few years of good management and the confidence of winning), they were a League 1 squad.

the players i Listed, apart from Davis, Lallana and Schneiderlin were NOT relegated from the championship

they were bought in when the rich takeover happened. hence why I said that it was probably the most expensive league 1 squad in history
we had already been in league 1 for a season before adkins came in. With Pardew and won the JPT at wembley and finished 7th due to the -10 penalty at the start of the season.

most of those players, all of those players, apart from chaplow were bought in by pardew.

[SCIAG]

I think Adkins will play a slightly more possession based game than McDermott. He strikes me as a pragmatic individual, rather than an idealist like Rodgers or (at the other end) Allardyce. More importantly, I think Adkins values 4-5-1 more highly than McDermott does. He shoehorns Jay Rodriguez in on the wing rather than playing 4-4-2, for example.

I think Adkins is a better manager than McDermott, though McDermott's achievements so far have been immense. I wouldn't have sacked McDermott simply because I don't think he'd be sacked if we had narrowly missed out on promotion and again were on course to narrowly miss out on promotion. However, Adkins is my favourite realistic external option.

[sandman]

Setting football aside, can we all at least agree that Adkins seems like a total helmet of a bloke compared to McDermott?

very true, he didn`t say "we move on" once during the interview

Ha ha ha ha, "we move on" what a classic, ha ha ha ha. Brian used to say that ha ha ha. Apparently our new fuhrer has his own line in catchphrases so no doubt you'll have even more opportunity to carry on your hilarious catchphrase based comedy routine.