'Memries' 4 years ago today

[Ainsley Harriott]

Mr Adkins walked through the door. I can't remember anyone being against the appointment. He was my personal choice as well as many others.

What do I know??

But if we hadn't been as disastrous as we were, who knows what might have been? Alternate reality time again.

 

[HuddersfieldBlade]

And hands up anyone expecting to be in the premier league in 4 years after his appointment

 

[Stretch]

Murphy walking immediately out of the door really didn't help the bloke.

However Adkins still deserves credit for his one major success with us, he re-signed our exocet missile in human form, Mr William of Sharp.

Everything happens for a reason.

 

[Fulwood Blade]

Circumstances gave him a chance at Scunny, where he did very well with a lowly team - this happens. Danny Wilson dropped lucky at Barnsley and certain people then look pretty good for a short period when their star is way up in the sky.

Southampton had one of the best youth development systems in the country and he benefited from that. It aslo has to be said that Southampton jettisoned him pretty quickly in the top division and haven't done bad since and and still in the top division.

He is and always will be a decent bloke and can operate in football as he can say the right things to stupid and idiotic chairmen of football clubs that continue to abandon business principals when it comes to football managers.

The truth is - too many thick footballers think they can turn a general playing career into management - forgetting that most don't possess the first thing about MANAGEMENT of people. It's an art.

CW has it, and as he leaves the coaching to Alan Knill then we have the perfect combination - rarely found commodity. Some of us can remember Clough and Taylor - again a combination that worked. Cough was a bit off the wall and alternative as is CW.

Adkins was a journey man - tried his best and would have ultimately failed at SUFC. He wasn't my choice, although can see why he was picked.

No need to slag Adkins off - he a decent fella - the English league is full of them.

We have something special now and need to give CW the tools to continuing developing the club and as a finish - the talk about WBA - it's just laughable perpetuated by trolls.

UTB

 

[LoughboroBlade]

He arrived at a club with a bloated squad full of individuals it was going to be tricky to get rid of – players still in contract, on a decent wage, with few clubs interested. I know Wilder talks a lot about the size of the squad when he arrived but a lot of the squad culling had been started by Adkins. Throw in the number of contracts expiring and Wilder came in with probably the clearest deck of any new United Manager could have hoped for. Does that excuse the Hammond disaster and waste of the Woolford signing? Probably not, but getting Sharp into the club when other managers might have preferred to spread those funds over a greater number of players has ultimately hugely helped us.

Adkins meant well, and in different circumstances might have had a different result. He’s shown elsewhere that some of his methods work for some clubs/groups – but for the club at the time, and that group, it clearly didn’t work well. By all accounts he wasn’t helped by the group at the time (his faith in Baxter while commendable at the time in pre-season was in retrospect part of the problem), nor by the owners, but equally he didn’t help himself at times either.

Here’s a mad stat for you. Chris Wilder’s League One season with us saw him win the manager of the month award just once – the same number of times Nigel Adkins won it with us the previous season. Here he is accepting it on behalf of his close-knit happy squad.

 

[pommpey]

He arrived at a club with a bloated squad full of individuals it was going to be tricky to get rid of – players still in contract, on a decent wage, with few clubs interested. I know Wilder talks a lot about the size of the squad when he arrived but a lot of the squad culling had been started by Adkins. Throw in the number of contracts expiring and Wilder came in with probably the clearest deck of any new United Manager could have hoped for. Does that excuse the Hammond disaster and waste of the Woolford signing? Probably not, but getting Sharp into the club when other managers might have preferred to spread those funds over a greater number of players has ultimately hugely helped us.

Adkins meant well, and in different circumstances might have had a different result. He’s shown elsewhere that some of his methods work for some clubs/groups – but for the club at the time, and that group, it clearly didn’t work well. By all accounts he wasn’t helped by the group at the time (his faith in Baxter while commendable at the time in pre-season was in retrospect part of the problem), nor by the owners, but equally he didn’t help himself at times either.

Here’s a mad stat for you. Chris Wilder’s League One season with us saw him win the manager of the month award just once – the same number of times Nigel Adkins won it with us the previous season. Here he is accepting it on behalf of his close-knit happy squad.

View attachment 54672

Jesus fucking christ. Makes me shudder at the memory of all that dismal waste of wages. No wonder we thought Basham was bobbins.

pommpey

 

[metalblade]

Murphy walking immediately out of the door really didn't help the bloke.

However Adkins still deserves credit for his one major success with us, he re-signed our exocet missile in human form, Mr William of Sharp.

Everything happens for a reason.

Yeah it just makes me wonder what the reason was when he signed the woeful Woolford and Hammond.
Having said that if ever a manager had his hands tied behind his back it was him, going on 40 mainly old and shit players on long contracts to move on it was never going to work for him. Then again he did very little to make life easier with the above signings.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Yeah it just makes me wonder what the reason was when he signed the woeful Woolford and Hammond.

I imagine he wanted some personalities Adkins could trust in the hope that their presence might help improve the atmosphere in the dressing room, and ideally on the pitch too. I don’t think Woolford was intended as anything more than backup, but he probably thought Hammond would be fine at League 1 level. Most of us did tbh...

The idea that a manager gets in some of their old players that they feel they can rely on is fairly standard – it just worked out as a mixed bag for Adkins with Sharp, Woolford, Hammond. I also don’t think the anger would have been quite as bad had Hammond been signed outright and then proved to be poor, rather than been poor first before the horror of a permanent deal then emerged.

 

[Balham]

Where are they now? The Adkins Manager of the Month (Dec 2015) edition:

Front row (L-R)
Che Adams: £10m+ rated top scorer for Championship Birmingham City
Ryan Flynn: now a bench warmer at Scottish Premier League relegation-dodgers St Mirren
Martyn Woolford: unattached having left League Two Grimsby Town at the end of last season
George Long: back up keeper at Hull City
Jay McEveley: coaching at Everton, last seen playing for Northern Premier League (7th tier) side Warrington Town
Jose Baxter: back from another drugs ban and back at League Two Oldham
Jamal Campbell-Ryce: unattached after being released by League Two Stevenage at the end of last season
Stefan Scougall: playing for League Two side Carlisle United
Florent Cuvelier: free agent having left League Two Morecambe in January 2019

Back Row (L-R)
? Don't recognise that first face
Chris Basham: written into folklore as a bona-fide Premier League side Sheffield United legend. Choo choo.
Conor Sammon: free agent after leaving Scottish Premier League side Motherwell after an underwhelmings stay there
Harrison McGahey: playing for League Two side Scunthorpe
David Edgar: free agent having left Conference side Hartlepool at the end of last season
Dean Hammond: retired having been paid off by then-League One Sheffield United
Neill Collins: managing US second tier side Tampa Bay Rowdies
Dominic Calvert-Lewin: trying to make it at Premier League Everton

 

[Stretch]

Yeah it just makes me wonder what the reason was when he signed the woeful Woolford and Hammond.
Having said that if ever a manager had his hands tied behind his back it was him, going on 40 mainly old and shit players on long contracts to move on it was never going to work for him. Then again he did very little to make life easier with the above signings.

Yeah I agree.

I think that he hoped that as ex players they would deliver for him. Unfortunately one was barely mobile whilst the other looked barely interested.

 

[Almosthuman]

I think the worst part about the Adkins season was the expectancy and excitement about the place when he signed.

95% of people thought it was a great appointment I genuinely just felt like we’d got the guy to take us forward.

Then the first match, Murphy leaves and the Bladeocoaster derails.

Never felt so disillusioned as that season. When he went and Wilder came in I felt completely and utterly underwhelmed.

Bottom line... I know fuck all about managers

 

[Boxer Blade]

I still miss his interviews after another dour display on the way home, is it really 20 years ago, seems like more.

 

[Tray]

Not exactly a bunch of lookers are they? Christ on a bike!

I was more optimistic that season than I had been, well, ever I think. The best seasons we've had while I've been around are when we've had relatively low expectations.

Then again I thought Cuvellier was going to be our star midfielder when fit, so what do I know?

On reflection, now we've had a few good years, he started the process of trimming the squad and was given a rather difficult task. It still doesn't excuse his consistent use of obviously past-it Dean Hammond and Martyn Woolford every week. And that final home game, the selection was ridiculous and a good opportunity missed to show us how different it could be the next season.

I am eternally grateful to him for that season though, as it led to Chris Wilder and Alan Knill revolutionising our club.

Cheers Nigel.

 

[Topplayersleave]

Let's hope we can look back at today's photographs in 4 years time and remember that this team got us promoted to a League we are now established in.
Rather than looking back at yet another wasted opportunity

 

[Surrey Blade]

He arrived at a club with a bloated squad full of individuals it was going to be tricky to get rid of – players still in contract, on a decent wage, with few clubs interested. I know Wilder talks a lot about the size of the squad when he arrived but a lot of the squad culling had been started by Adkins. Throw in the number of contracts expiring and Wilder came in with probably the clearest deck of any new United Manager could have hoped for. Does that excuse the Hammond disaster and waste of the Woolford signing? Probably not, but getting Sharp into the club when other managers might have preferred to spread those funds over a greater number of players has ultimately hugely helped us.

Adkins meant well, and in different circumstances might have had a different result. He’s shown elsewhere that some of his methods work for some clubs/groups – but for the club at the time, and that group, it clearly didn’t work well. By all accounts he wasn’t helped by the group at the time (his faith in Baxter while commendable at the time in pre-season was in retrospect part of the problem), nor by the owners, but equally he didn’t help himself at times either.

Here’s a mad stat for you. Chris Wilder’s League One season with us saw him win the manager of the month award just once – the same number of times Nigel Adkins won it with us the previous season. Here he is accepting it on behalf of his close-knit happy squad.

View attachment 54672

 

[8lade]

Listing the players there makes you realise what a sad sack he picked up, I'm in agreement with the others when you move in somewhere new it's good to bring some guys in who've got your back, Adkins was betrayed by his men. Still think he's a decent manager he got Hull rolling for a while last season but he's no Wilder!

 

[Surrey Blade]

My criticism of Adkins' signings is that they appeared lazy. Bringing back former players, but without, seemingly, checking their current form and attitude. Billy was a tried & trusted former Adkins player, but, happily for us, he had masses to offer both on & off the field.

 

[BushBlade]

My criticism of Adkins' signings is that they appeared lazy. Bringing back former players, but without, seemingly, checking their current form and attitude. Billy was a tried & trusted former Adkins player, but, happily for us, he had masses to offer both on & off the field.

I could be mistaken but my impression of his whole management was lazy. He joined us a bit late but I always had the feeling that he thought it would be a relatively straightforward job and that he could have maybe spent more time studying videos of the previous season, working out our players’ strengths and weaknesses. He didn’t seem to get that if we were going to play two up front, we needed some legs in midfield.

Just everything about him made me think he’d badly assessed what we were about and what we needed. By the time he’d worked it out, he’d lost the players, lost the supporters and lost the board.