A Rose Tinted Specs View

[Edinblade]

Adkins privately gave up on promotion a few weeks ago knowing we were no where near good enough or ready.

He has started preparations for next season. He knows from his Southampton days what is required from younger players if they are to make the grade.

So he has started to look at the best of the younger players now, instead of waiting for the summer or next season. That way he will know which will be ready for next season and what he needs to recruit.

There is no point in changing manager. Bringing someone new in will just start the whole process off again. Accessing what we have, bringing in a few loans and struggling along with what's left from this season and by this time next year you'll all be calling for yet another change.

Adkins will know by the summer what he needs. He will get it sorted and will succeed. Yesterday's performance shows he's already progressing. He can build on the first 60 mins and address what went wrong after the goals.

I would definitely give Adkins more time, he's done it before and can do it again. Remember what happened when Bassett first came. Even Ferguson had a nightmare at Man U when he first arrived.

 

[yorkshirecoast]

Adkins privately gave up on promotion a few weeks ago knowing we were no where near good enough or ready.

He has started preparations for next season. He knows from his Southampton days what is required from younger players if they are to make the grade.

So he has started to look at the best of the younger players now, instead of waiting for the summer or next season. That way he will know which will be ready for next season and what he needs to recruit.

There is no point in changing manager. Bringing someone new in will just start the whole process off again. Accessing what we have, bringing in a few loans and struggling along with what's left from this season and by this time next year you'll all be calling for yet another change.

Adkins will know by the summer what he needs. He will get it sorted and will succeed. Yesterday's performance shows he's already progressing. He can build on the first 60 mins and address what went wrong after the goals.

I would definitely give Adkins more time, he's done it before and can do it again. Remember what happened when Bassett first came. Even Ferguson had a nightmare at Man U when he first arrived.

Are Adkins' crap signings, team selections and tactics all part of his master plan too?

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Adkins privately gave up on promotion a few weeks ago knowing we were no where near good enough or ready.

He has started preparations for next season. He knows from his Southampton days what is required from younger players if they are to make the grade.

So he has started to look at the best of the younger players now, instead of waiting for the summer or next season. That way he will know which will be ready for next season and what he needs to recruit.

There is no point in changing manager. Bringing someone new in will just start the whole process off again. Accessing what we have, bringing in a few loans and struggling along with what's left from this season and by this time next year you'll all be calling for yet another change.

Adkins will know by the summer what he needs. He will get it sorted and will succeed. Yesterday's performance shows he's already progressing. He can build on the first 60 mins and address what went wrong after the goals.

I would definitely give Adkins more time, he's done it before and can do it again. Remember what happened when Bassett first came. Even Ferguson had a nightmare at Man U when he first arrived.

How do you know Adkins privately gave up on promotion a few weeks ago .

Privately between me and you , if he did the bloke wants sacking . The seasons not over until the fat lady sings.

He could tell us not to turn up because he has thrown the towel in , especially away matches , so the fans fault syndrome then can be broken.

He then can start blooding some of these young players he is looking at.

UTB

 

[Ricky]

Are Adkins' crap signings, team selections and tactics all part of his master plan too?

Don't forget his consistently baffling and useless substitutions. That's as worrying a sign as anything. He can't change the course of a game.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Don't forget his consistently baffling and useless substitutions. That's as worrying a sign as anything. He can't change the course of a game.

This is a major point. Most of his changes provide no extra impetus at all.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

Adkins privately gave up on promotion a few weeks ago knowing we were no where near good enough or ready.

He has started preparations for next season. He knows from his Southampton days what is required from younger players if they are to make the grade.

So he has started to look at the best of the younger players now, instead of waiting for the summer or next season. That way he will know which will be ready for next season and what he needs to recruit.

There is no point in changing manager. Bringing someone new in will just start the whole process off again. Accessing what we have, bringing in a few loans and struggling along with what's left from this season and by this time next year you'll all be calling for yet another change.

Adkins will know by the summer what he needs. He will get it sorted and will succeed. Yesterday's performance shows he's already progressing. He can build on the first 60 mins and address what went wrong after the goals.

I would definitely give Adkins more time, he's done it before and can do it again. Remember what happened when Bassett first came. Even Ferguson had a nightmare at Man U when he first arrived.

I totally agree about Bassett and Fergie with regard to Adkins. But is he really the right man for the job? Some of his decision making has been at best bizarre, his eye for a player (in or out) does seem to be rather poor and his condescending "headmaster" style persona does rankle with fans, so you can only imagine what the players think of him.

 

[spongebobblade]

We can't keep changing managers. This summer is the chance to get rid of a huge amount of deadwood. I do however have slight concerns with Adkins over the retained list. I have a feeling there will be more names on it than there should be. His positive talk (scripted bullshit) cuts no ice with me anymore. He has the opportunity to get rid of the majority of those that just aren't good enough to get us up. Don't let us down Nige. Time to start afresh

 

[Lane Ender]

Adkins privately gave up on promotion a few weeks ago knowing we were no where near good enough or ready.

He has started preparations for next season. He knows from his Southampton days what is required from younger players if they are to make the grade.

So he has started to look at the best of the younger players now, instead of waiting for the summer or next season. That way he will know which will be ready for next season and what he needs to recruit.

There is no point in changing manager. Bringing someone new in will just start the whole process off again. Accessing what we have, bringing in a few loans and struggling along with what's left from this season and by this time next year you'll all be calling for yet another change.

Adkins will know by the summer what he needs. He will get it sorted and will succeed. Yesterday's performance shows he's already progressing. He can build on the first 60 mins and address what went wrong after the goals.

I would definitely give Adkins more time, he's done it before and can do it again. Remember what happened when Bassett first came. Even Ferguson had a nightmare at Man U when he first arrived.

Hooray some sense spoken.
Did we honestly think he'd turn it round in one season.

 

[Blade56]

.......Yesterday's performance shows he's already progressing.

Jeeez, it's taken him from 02/06/2015 until yesterday (approx 9 months) to show some progress.

At this rate the sun will stop shining by the time we get out of this piss poor league.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

I'm hanging on to the hope that it will all be different with 'his' players post re-build in the Summer but I have to admit, some of the recent performances and results make it harder to have 100% confidence in him.

The worry is that we will be expected to hit the ground running next season and I can hear the 'it takes time for these new players to bed in' comments already. If we don't start well next season, the clamour to remove him won't be long in coming.

 

[Ricky]

The only reason to keep him is we can't afford to sack him. I want us to be able to actually sign players this summer... but at the same time I wouldn't be very comfortable letting him spend money.

What a shit situation.

 

[Blade59]

Not a bad post that. Question is do the board and manager really want promotion this season or as I suspect have they given up on the basis that the squad rebuild if we did go up would be so huge that we would be certainties to come straight back down. There is barely a player in the squad who would get into a bottom 6 championship team at the the moment. Yes they will keep saying we are still aiming to go up to keep people coming through the gates but the reality suggests otherwise with the total lack of effort to add to the squad (even loans). The question for me is will the board allow what needs to be done in the summer and is Adkins the man to do it. I hope the answer to both is yes but am not totally convinced.

 

[SwissBlade]

Jeeez, it's taken him from 02/06/2015 until yesterday (approx 9 months) to show some progress.

At this rate the sun will stop shining by the time we get out of this piss poor league.

5th to 10th in 9 months.... Weir managed that in 1!

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Hooray some sense spoken.
Did we honestly think he'd turn it round in one season.

He has turned it around.
From being 5th and a good cup side to 10th and going out of all the cups early.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Not a bad post that. Question is do the board and manager really want promotion this season or as I suspect have they given up on the basis that the squad rebuild if we did go up would be so huge that we would be certainties to come straight back down. There is barely a player in the squad who would get into a bottom 6 championship team at the the moment. Yes they will keep saying we are still aiming to go up to keep people coming through the gates but the reality suggests otherwise with the total lack of effort to add to the squad (even loans). The question for me is will the board allow what needs to be done in the summer and is Adkins the man to do it. I hope the answer to both is yes but am not totally convinced.

The problem we (Adkins) has is what kind of player does he bring in. We may have been unlucky with the actual players signed but bringing in Chumpionship players hasn't worked for the last few years and people keep saying you need a certain type of player in this division. Given we need to re-build, we can't re-build a team specifically to get out of Div 1 only to have to replace most of the team again for the next division.

He has a decent crop of young players like Reed, Adams, Calvert-Lewin, maybe Wallace, Flo is still ony 23 if he can keep fit, so I think he needs to concentrate on bringing in 3 or 4 quality players to help bring these players forward rather than bringing in a full team of journeymen. We can only hope that the scouting network is working for once.

 

[grafikhaus]

This is a major point. Most of his changes provide no extra impetus at all.

Unlike Rochdale's yesterday. 0-0 at half time, they bring on Holt and Vicenti and the rest's history. The trouble is, our subs are usually players who can't get into our piss-poor team, so hardly game-changers.

 

[Blade59]

The problem we (Adkins) has is what kind of player does he bring in. We may have been unlucky with the actual players signed but bringing in Chumpionship players hasn't worked for the last few years and people keep saying you need a certain type of player in this division. Given we need to re-build, we can't re-build a team specifically to get out of Div 1 only to have to replace most of the team again for the next division.

He has a decent crop of young players like Reed, Adams, Calvert-Lewin, maybe Wallace, Flo is still ony 23 if he can keep fit, so I think he needs to concentrate on bringing in 3 or 4 quality players to help bring these players forward rather than bringing in a full team of journeymen. We can only hope that the scouting network is working for once.

That is the problem. The gap between championship and league one is growing with all the money now filtering down from parachute monies. We have a squad of players mostly on a downward career path or simply will not improve further at the moment and this needs to be reversed with the hope that some of these players can then continue to progress at a higher level if we get promoted. Even then probably at least half the team when we did go up would need to be acquired and serious investment would need to be forthcoming for this which is where the Prince's game changing would presumably come in.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

That is the problem. The gap between championship and league one is growing with all the money now filtering down from parachute monies. We have a squad of players mostly on a downward career path or simply will not improve further at the moment and this needs to be reversed with the hope that some of these players can then continue to progress at a higher level if we get promoted. Even then probably at least half the team when we did go up would need to be acquired and serious investment would need to be forthcoming for this which is where the Prince's game changing would presumably come in.

There's players out there such as Callum Wilson, Alan Judge who we were linked with a couple of seasons ago who would make the kind of difference we need in this Division and could be expected to step up in the division higher. Finding them is another matter !

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

There's players out there such as Callum Wilson, Alan Judge who we were linked with a couple of seasons ago who would make the kind of difference we need in this Division and could be expected to step up in the division higher. Finding them is another matter !

Finding them IMO is easy . Affording them is another matter.

UTB

 

[Deadbat]

There's players out there such as Callum Wilson, Alan Judge who we were linked with a couple of seasons ago who would make the kind of difference we need in this Division and could be expected to step up in the division higher. Finding them is another matter !

Being a scout at SUFC must be easy. Your club does not sign anyone and if they do they are Clough/Adkins mates

 

[Blade59]

There's players out there such as Callum Wilson, Alan Judge who we were linked with a couple of seasons ago who would make the kind of difference we need in this Division and could be expected to step up in the division higher. Finding them is another matter !

Exactly. We should be in an ideal position to find and acquire this type of player (eg. Morsey) but appear to be obsessed with players failing in the league above.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Exactly. We should be in an ideal position to find and acquire this type of player (eg. Morsey) but appear to be obsessed with players failing in the league above.

Players dropping down can make a difference, Hammond for example would look a better player with an attack minded Coady or Judge type next to him rather than Basham who is too similar and a Wilson type making runs in front of him rather than Sammon.

You can't blame Morsey for going to Wigan in the same way Judge went to Brentford and Wilson went to Bournemouth, the sad thing is, they were all better placed than us at the time.

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

Adkins privately gave up on promotion a few weeks ago knowing we were no where near good enough or ready.

He has started preparations for next season. He knows from his Southampton days what is required from younger players if they are to make the grade.

So he has started to look at the best of the younger players now, instead of waiting for the summer or next season. That way he will know which will be ready for next season and what he needs to recruit.

There is no point in changing manager. Bringing someone new in will just start the whole process off again. Accessing what we have, bringing in a few loans and struggling along with what's left from this season and by this time next year you'll all be calling for yet another change.

Adkins will know by the summer what he needs. He will get it sorted and will succeed. Yesterday's performance shows he's already progressing. He can build on the first 60 mins and address what went wrong after the goals.

I would definitely give Adkins more time, he's done it before and can do it again. Remember what happened when Bassett first came. Even Ferguson had a nightmare at Man U when he first arrived.

Incredibly optimistic (which I admire you for) & full of assumptions based on wishful thinking (which I wish I could share), even so I agree with your central assumptions:
(i) "There is no point in changing manager. Bringing someone new in will just start the whole process off again."
(ii) "I would definitely give Adkins more time, he's done it before and can do it again."

I mean, do we really want to go through this "assessing the squad" bollocks all over again (& waste another season in doing so)?
And, as others have said many times (& as the facts bear out), Nigel has done it before.

Just hope that serious work is now going on behind the scenes identifying (& establishing contact with) viable targets that can do a job in the specific environment of Bramall Lane, an environment that NA now has the considerable advantage of knowing pretty well.

 

[rtifati]

Hooray some sense spoken.
Did we honestly think he'd turn it round in one season.

It didn't need turning around though (although it does now). Adkins inherited a team that finished top six and beat Premiership teams on the way to the League Cup semi-final.

Instead we've gone backwards this season, in a weak League One. We haven't been in the top six since October (despite December's mini revival) and have scored just 2 goals in the last 6 games. It's poor to watch and his signings have failed to impress.

If Wilson and Clough were both sacked after getting in the play-offs, I can't see how Adkins can stay on after this season.

 

[alcoblade]

This is a major point. Most of his changes provide no extra impetus at all.

It's s major point but not hard to explain. The players are shit. Why would bringing more shit players onto the pitch make much difference?

Does anyone ever look at our bench and think "why isn't he starting?"

UTB

 

[Lane Ender]

It didn't need turning around though (although it does now). Adkins inherited a team that finished top six and beat Premiership teams on the way to the League Cup semi-final.

Instead we've gone backwards this season, in a weak League One. We haven't been in the top six since October (despite December's mini revival) and have scored just 2 goals in the last 6 games. It's poor to watch and his signings have failed to impress.

If Wilson and Clough were both sacked after getting in the play-offs, I can't see how Adkins can stay on after this season.

Once the cull is complete and maybe the board put their hand in their pocket then we'll progress

 

[Lane Ender]

Exactly. We should be in an ideal position to find and acquire this type of player (eg. Morsey) but appear to be obsessed with players failing in the league above.

Totally agree with that look for players on the way up.
No journeymen

He has turned it around.
From being 5th and a good cup side to 10th and going out of all the cups early.

Yes last season was great wasn't it.
Atkins inherited a marvellous squad

 

[Gordon cowans]

Thats good to know then,if he's given up then there's no point in me spending my hard earned wages travelling the land watching. ..........thanx for the heads up

 

[Blade59]

Players dropping down can make a difference, Hammond for example would look a better player with an attack minded Coady or Judge type next to him rather than Basham who is too similar and a Wilson type making runs in front of him rather than Sammon.

You can't blame Morsey for going to Wigan in the same way Judge went to Brentford and Wilson went to Bournemouth, the sad thing is, they were all better placed than us at the time.

No you can't blame Morsey although I think we could have got him earlier in the season. The problem is we rarely look at these type of players (Done being the exception). We have gone down the Scotland route but this has probably been more miss than hit. Only Murphy made a significant contribution.

We need to identify players before they are ready to step up to the championship. We should then have the financial clout at this level to go and get them. I just don't think our scouting has been geared up for it. The summer recruitment will show if anything has changed.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Totally agree with that look for players on the way up.
No journeymen

Yes last season was great wasn't it.
Atkins inherited a marvellous squad

Certainly better than this season