Adkins Interview Ahead of Christmas Fixtures

[William Henry Foulkes]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03csnr4

• trained this [Tuesday] morning
• visited local charities
• speaks about the place of the club in the community
• will be in Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
• and Dec 27th [obviously] preparation, recovery, and organisation for Bradford
• [re young players and young families] there is a need to balance work and family - but we're professionals
• talks about Blades in the community
• spirit in the team and a belief in what we're doing
• one game at a time
• consistency of team selection
• Edgar and Collins, four wins in a row earlier in the season, then Edgar ~12 weeks injured
• the Beard - done very well since he came back
• need a pathway for youth as well
• we need to win on Saturday
• players having a right go for each other
• tried to play expansive football but too many conceded
• players work hard
• Q: Has the change been down to set up or personnel? A: Both
• we have been scoring, but we have been conceding
• as a team we defend collectively
• Billy - get the ball, run round, score goals [simple]
• needed one to go in off his backside
• goes on scoring runs
• left out bc he wasn't scoring
• two games in quick succession - squad will be utilized
• Wigan - got an interesting formation, won FA Cup recently, in PL recently, a challenge
• Flo Cuvelier - got an hour in with u21s but more important is he's been training for a while
• Q: Wigan again - dropped from PL, how hard is that? A: Hang on we want to get back up there too [very good answer]
• was at Wigan for 7 years
• Q: Win means likely back in top 6. Is there a mental effect? A: There's spirit. Wigan is halfway. Need to be in touch, then go on and try and win it
• three games before January it could all look very different after that
• we know what our ambitions are at the end of the season, break it down, see where the next game takes us

A lot of this is repeated and cliched even. but there are only so many ways you can ask/answer the same question.

I think I like listening to the interviews partly for the snippets of information eg Flo, but more for the obvious positive motivational qualities in the way he speaks.

 

[Superblades]

Thanks for that. I think we are starting to see his qualities as a manager. He wasn't getting the results, realised he needed to go back to basics and wasn't afraid to change it. Plenty of managers would have stuck by what they wanted and become stubborn. As he says - one game at a time.

Not expecting much from Wigan and would happily take a boring 0-0 now.

 

[Boxer Blade]

Any mention about baxter? I accept other peoples opinions regarding baxter but I have not heard anytging official about what happened and if/when we will see him back and involved, I for one would like to see him back and playing.

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

There's a consistency about him & a resilience (to use an Adkinsism: "don't get too up; don't get too down") which is becoming reassuring.

But Wigan's a big test now that things are more on an even keel. Last thing we need is to get battered so all the old doubts resurface (& without returning injured players to look forward to). Looking forward to the keeping it tight/battling/grinding out a result approach - it's serving well in the circumstances. Just hope we can adapt & become a little more expansive if we go behind, but without risking collapsing.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Thanks for that. I think we are starting to see his qualities as a manager. He wasn't getting the results, realised he needed to go back to basics and wasn't afraid to change it. Plenty of managers would have stuck by what they wanted and become stubborn. As he says - one game at a time.

Not expecting much from Wigan and would happily take a boring 0-0 now.

I'm pretty sure part of Adkins' remit was to play more expansive football.

This isn't supposition I think it was pretty clearly spelled out when he was appointed. One point being Clough's perceived negativity hadn't gone down well with some.

As a result maybe he, understandably, stuck with it a couple of games longer than he might have otherwise.

To some extent maybe the willingness to change comes from both employers and manager.

Whatever the case it's great to see adaptability in management and players - and some fans too.

UTMB

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Any mention about baxter? I accept other peoples opinions regarding baxter but I have not heard anytging official about what happened and if/when we will see him back and involved, I for one would like to see him back and playing.

Rob Staton usually asks very good topical questions but this time no mention of Baxter.

I'm pretty sure they take their cues from social media so I blame the fans ;-)

It might even be worth starting a weekly 'Questions for Adkins' thread and let the journalists pan through the hate, misery, self righteousness, crackpottedness, and despair looking for nuggets.

Interviews are usually Thursday for Satdi games.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

There's a consistency about him & a resilience (to use an Adkinsism: "don't get too up; don't get too down") which is becoming reassuring.

But Wigan's a big test now that things are more on an even keel. Last thing we need is to get battered so all the old doubts resurface (& without returning injured players to look forward to). Looking forward to the keeping it tight/battling/grinding out a result approach - it's serving well in the circumstances. Just hope we can adapt & become a little more expansive if we go behind, but without risking collapsing.

Agreed. Going behind will be a big test. The old gaps will open up and we could be vulnerable.

More exciting, but fewer points.

 

[Cyprus Blade]

Rob Staton usually asks very good topical questions but this time no mention of Baxter.

I'm pretty sure they take their cues from social media so I blame the fans ;-)

I suspect they take more notice of what the club says insofar as they rely on them for "exclusives" etc. My money is on the club saying "don't ask any questions about him or risk losing the relationship. Play ball with us and we will play ball with you".

I very much doubt Baxter has any further part to play at our club. Given that Adkins said he will have to utilise the squad for the Wigan and Bradford games because they are so close together it will probably be more revealing to see whether Baxter gets any role in either of those games (even on the bench). I suspect not and think it more likely that one of the youngsters will get on the bench before him.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Thanks WHF. No mention of Wallace? Think he played 90 minutes on Monday so wondered if he might be bench fit on Saturday.

I agree about the concerns about when we go behind. I think that will be when we need to chuck people like Che and JCR into the mix and hope they come up trumps like Porter often did when we changed things in Clough's first season.

 

[judge]

A manager does two interesting interviews in his time at a club
To get the job
His first press conference
The rest are just for us to gauge how close to the sack he is

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Thanks WHF. No mention of Wallace? Think he played 90 minutes on Monday so wondered if he might be bench fit on Saturday.

I agree about the concerns about when we go behind. I think that will be when we need to chuck people like Che and JCR into the mix and hope they come up trumps like Porter often did when we changed things in Clough's first season.

No mention of Wallace specifically but I think it all comes under the umbrella of utilising the squad.

A simple question would have clarified this though.

 

[Athens Blade]

I suspect they take more notice of what the club says insofar as they rely on them for "exclusives" etc. My money is on the club saying "don't ask any questions about him or risk losing the relationship. Play ball with us and we will play ball with you".

I very much doubt Baxter has any further part to play at our club. Given that Adkins said he will have to utilise the squad for the Wigan and Bradford games because they are so close together it will probably be more revealing to see whether Baxter gets any role in either of those games (even on the bench). I suspect not and think it more likely that one of the youngsters will get on the bench before him.

What is the issue with Baxter? I've been out at sea for a month and missed this.

 

[Grappler]

What is the issue with Baxter? I've been out at sea for a month and missed this.

Got into some trouble at a Blades Christmas do in Dublin mate, Police were called, lots of rumours flying around that he had an altercation with a player from Accrington, who were also in town that night.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

What is the issue with Baxter? I've been out at sea for a month and missed this.

Rumours

a) Had a pop at Collins at HT in Shrews game
b) Glassed an Accrington Stanley player on an xmas night out in Dublin after Barnsley game
c) various permutations in between involving Collins and a Stanley knife

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Rumours

a) Had a pop at Collins at HT in Shrews game
b) Glassed an Accrington Stanley player on an xmas night out in Dublin after Barnsley game
c) various permutations in between involving Collins and a Stanley knife

I should say, for the benefit of our seafaring poster, I made the bit up about the Stanley knife as it was the most ludicrous thing I could think of based on the words Accrington Stanley.

 

[Dkc]

Wasn't he out with Collins doing the hospital rounds last week?

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I think there was also another scenario mentioned which also saw James Wallace injured answering the door and Baxter and Collins visiting him in the hospital.

 

[Large Mendonca]

Apparently Collins & Baxter had to be separated at HT in the Shrewsbury game, and they took no further part (both subbed at HT). Of course this is a rumour and has not been verified.........

 

[Lazerblade]

It's not all rumour mate they did both get subbed. There has been a turning point in the season and that may well have been it, something needed to happen. Also Baxter is a luxury in the current team set up.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Baxter was clearly injured in the first half, he was struggling before he set up one of the goals.

Then he went into the changing room and attacked Collins with a Stanley knife whilst high on a dangerous cocktail of Es and pies supplied by Dion Dublin, who now lives in Accrington.

Apparently.

 

[Kevincarterversion2.0]

Its been suggested fairly strongly that there was a clash between Baxter and Collins at half time vs Shewsbury. The following weekend saw the SUFC Xmas party, which led to Baxter getting disciplined. Exactly what happned has never been confirmed officially. However, some ITK posters have said that Baxter wont play in the first team as a result of what went off (at the Xmas party), and given he hasnt even been in the squad since, I'm inclinded to believe them.

Baxter was however with Collins visiting the kids hospitals last week - there we pics on Twitter and on this board.

 

[s4-blade]

As I've already said on another thread. Baxter WILL be back. FACT