He has to go

[Finnieston]

Anyone who trusts Adkins with a wide scale clear out and the subsequent mass recruitment operation in the summer is doing nothing but kidding themselves. The warning signs have been there in big writing from his early days, to ignore them and risk something as important as that is foolish at the very least.

It's a clear out, a real chance to overhaul and bring in the right players. It needs to be overseen by someone with a clue. This guy has proven time and time again that not only does he not know how to bring in the right players, he hasn't an ounce of a clue on substitutions/tactics/team selections/formations or absolutely anything else to do with managing a football club either.

We won't sack him. Why? Because it's the right thing to do and has been for months. I can only hope he sees a micron of sense, does the honourable thing and walks away. It will genuinely make my year if he does.

What the club needs is a new experienced manager with promotions on his cv to overhaul the club in general. We know the average silly time is ten months between managers which leaves every club they have managed in limbo as there is no stability. Change manager again now and you are back to square one. I know. Adkins he has got 4 promotions on his cv. However because of previous success Adkins will be expected to just breeze through without a hiccup. The only thing hindering this escapade is the players left from the previous manager . A lot of them played through the pain barrier last season and now most of them are in the treatment room.
I hope he stays for his contract time. If he is sacked then we go on the merry go round again. Looking for a manager with 4 promotions on his cv is not easy in todays football climate. Be careful what you wish for........Our last manager probably will win the leauge with another team this year. Our day will come as long as we dont have a new manager every year.

 

[Bartleby]

I keep seeing references to the likes of Collins and McEverley being offered new contracts and wonder where the hell this is coming from.

My guess is that there are two camps in the squad and Adkins isn't strong enough to sort it.

My guess is that there is a rotten core that needs to be surgically removed. We appear to have :
- a squad that will not perform for their gaffer
- someone in the camp who has leaked confidential information on this forum in an apparent effort to give our team a disadvantage
- a player who failed a drugs test, told the world that his drink was spiked and that it was the worst period of his life and how sorry he was, and then failed another drugs test
- players who are, allegedly, going out on drinking sprees in Sheffield in mid-season

 

[Cyprus Blade]

When thinking fondly of Clough for the cup runs also remember

the 5-2 defeat at Swindon (and in the play-offs),
defeat by Chesterfield and Barnsley,
defeat by Walsall and Port Vale,
the MK Dons double over us,
defeat by Gillingham, Peterborough and Fleetwood,
defeat by Crewe and Yeovil.

Then remember the turgid dull backs to the wall draws and scraped 1 goal wins. Then take away Jamie Murphy and substitute Andy Williams for Billy Sharp and throw in Sammon on a permanent deal and then think how wonderful this season would have been under Clough.

Can't see it as a million times better no matter how hard I try..

 

[marsh blade]

The players do not want to play for Adkins
We have no shape
No passion
He changes the players
He changes the shape
He changes the formation
Yet still we look a rag rag outfit with no idea.
I hear that some of the players do not respect him, initially thought it was due to them big being offered new contracts but it's more likely to be due to him being useless.

We have to find someone who has the payers respect and someone who can galvanise the support.
I was always against changing again, but God after tonight it has confirmed that he is not the man for the job!

Deserves the chop just for signing Nosworthy mark 2.

 

[BerksBlade]

Wait, what exactly do you think a DoF does?

edit - missed a chunk of the quote

Most DoFs seem to do the square root of f*ck all. On recent evidence Nigel Adkins is ideally qualified for this role.
He can provide soundbites for the press while someone else gets on with managing the team properly.

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

Let's be honest, all of us advocating Adkins getting next season to implement his materplan, are all doing it based on wishing & hoping he can replicate what he did 4 or more years back (in very different situations, situations of relative stability). None of us are basing it on any evidence at all - either on what he's done or what he's said - of his time as Sheffield United manager.

It's all very worrying, very worrying indeed. Last night was breathtakingly bad.

 

[blade too long]

it was our hope to get a manager for the long term , to nurture the young lads show a bit of sparkle
hopefully compete in the play offs , but get given some slack if we just missed out as he was rebuilding

unfortunately , he has not offered up one hint of improvement
there is no visible plan
we are visibly deteriorating every game
some of the real dorks on First Dates look more likely to score than we do

I fear we have to ditch Adkins as whatever he had 5 years ago and more has left the building

had we won the last 3 wed be right in the thick of it as gillingham have hit the buffers, trouble is , so have we
theres still time with a quick change of managers, to someone with an inkling of an idea

 

[Ted Danson]

If he did go though who in their right mind would want to take this job on? I honestly can't think of anybody out there other than Wilder who'd be available and willing to give this a shot.

Word on the street from someone very close to Wilder is that he wouldnt touch us with a barge pole unfortunately so it looks like itl be Deano for us next

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Sorry, but THOSE kids will get us relegated next season.

Play the kids by all means - not when we go a goal down to the league leaders and we bring 2 (not ready) kids and Nyron Nosworthy mk 2.

Poor substitutions by Adkins (again)

UTB

Fulwood , agree with you . My feeling he brought the kids on as a show of fuck you lot . Could this and the tactical debacle be the sign that he is losing it or just running out of ideas . I have said for a long time the bloke seems to be winging it to me .
Adkins just does not seem the man for the moment or future , but can we afford to go through the rigmarole of sacking another manager.

UTB.

 

[Smirth]

Adkins has no track record of dealing with this situation.

At Scunthorpe he did a good job, but inherited a team already going for promotion. He kept things going, and did a very good job, in getting them up that season. They then went down and back up again over the next two seasons. The second promotion was a great achievement, however it was done at a club with much lower expectations and pressure than ours.

At Southampton, he inherited an exceptionally talented squad of players that had everything but the right manager in charge. He did a great job in getting them up, under pressure to do so. But the tools were already there. He did not have to build a squad, he complimented it with a few signings over the 2 years where he won back to back promotion but the nucleus of the side was the same as the one he inherited when he arrived.

At Reading, where he was faced with trying to rebuild a struggling side after relegation, he was a total failure.

At Sheffield United, where he is currently faced with rebuilding a struggling side which has spent 4 consecutive seasons at this level, he is failing.

The job he faces here is in no way similar to the one at Southampton. The squad isn't anything close to being as good as that Southampton one which was ridiculously good for League 1. The Scunthorpe job is similar to a point, but the weight of expectation was far different to that here.

 

[Grappler]

You can blame the manager for picking the players and for the formation, but not for the pathetic display of football we saw last night.

Those bizarre patches in the game where both teams headed the ball back and forth to each other, about 20 times.

The times when Paul Coutts had the ball, turned on it (slowly) to face their goal, and by the time he had done, three of their players were on him and took the ball from his feet.

The number of times that Coutts and Basham went forward with the ball, but had none of our players around them, so slowed down to let someone catch them up! Just get your head down and go for goal!

McEveley got further forward than most of our midfield players, how sad is that.

Adams getting the ball and running straight into two or three of the opposition players last night, time after time.

While Baptiste has definite rust and is not match ready, he got stuck in and had guts about him (can definitely understand the story of him knocking out the bloke who touched his wife's arse)

Having a pint with a few Blades after the game (including Grafikhaus from this forum) and we all agreed that Burton were not a good team, but the differences were they had pace and they wanted the ball. They closed us down quickly, they showed for the ball when in space and they ran fast. It's not rocket science is it?

Finally, if only we had ONE real leader on the pitch, a player who struck fear and respect into the others, a man who could see things are not working and shout "right lads, change of plan, forget what the gaffer said, we are playing four at the back, Coutts, you stay here, Flo you go forward, Bash, you are target man, Billy, just hang around the box", or whatever.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Adkins has no track record of dealing with this situation.

At Scunthorpe he did a good job, but inherited a team already going for promotion. He kept things going, and did a very good job, in getting them up that season. They then went down and back up again over the next two seasons. The second promotion was a great achievement, however it was done at a club with much lower expectations and pressure than ours.

At Southampton, he inherited an exceptionally talented squad of players that had everything but the right manager in charge. He did a great job in getting them up, under pressure to do so. But the tools were already there. He did not have to build a squad, he complimented it with a few signings over the 2 years where he won back to back promotion but the nucleus of the side was the same as the one he inherited when he arrived.

At Reading, where he was faced with trying to rebuild a struggling side after relegation, he was a total failure.

At Sheffield United, where he is currently faced with rebuilding a struggling side which has spent 4 consecutive seasons at this level, he is failing.

The job he faces here is in no way similar to the one at Southampton. The squad isn't anything close to being as good as that Southampton one which was ridiculously good for League 1. The Scunthorpe job is similar to a point, but the weight of expectation was far different to that here.

Do we think McCabe did his homework on the background of Adkins . Did he check references , contact people at previous clubs especially Reading , as Southampton , Scunthorpe speak for themselves .
I would want to know from what was the cause and effect at Reading . Could the failure at Reading be a symptom at SUFC.
Or did we just look at the name , good positive interview , slides , presentation , speech , and away you go , sign on the dotted line.

Not having a go at MCCabe or Adkins . Just trying to fathom out what's gone wrong . Is it 100% players who are just not good enough.

Answers on a post card , as I just do not know whether Adkins should stay or go.

UTB

 

[Bartleby]

Do we think McCabe did his homework on the background of Adkins . Did he check references , contact people at previous clubs especially Reading , as Southampton , Scunthorpe speak for themselves .
I would want to know from what was the cause and effect at Reading . Could the failure at Reading be a symptom at SUFC.
Or did we just look at the name , good positive interview , slides , presentation , speech , and away you go , sign on the dotted line.

Not having a go at MCCabe or Adkins . Just trying to fathom out what's gone wrong . Is it 100% players who are just not good enough.

Answers on a post card , as I just do not know whether Adkins should stay or go.

UTB

I think the general view at the time was that his Scunny and Southampton achievements easily overshadowed Reading, where it was said he was not given proper backing.

 

[Smirth]

Do we think McCabe did his homework on the background of Adkins . Did he check references , contact people at previous clubs especially Reading , as Southampton , Scunthorpe speak for themselves .
I would want to know from what was the cause and effect at Reading . Could the failure at Reading be a symptom at SUFC.
Or did we just look at the name , good positive interview , slides , presentation , speech , and away you go , sign on the dotted line.

Not having a go at MCCabe or Adkins . Just trying to fathom out what's gone wrong . Is it 100% players who are just not good enough.

Answers on a post card , as I just do not know whether Adkins should stay or go.

UTB

Who knows. I'd like to think that McCabe would have contacted his most recent employer but you can't be sure.

Sadly, I suspect that they went more for his name and past successes than anything else, hence Jim's "most qualified person in the world to win promotion from League 1" quote. And he was right.

I won't lay very much blame at the foot of the board for his appointment. It was mostly well received by the fans, regarded as a coo and gave us hope for the season. Hindsight is wonderful because it's becoming clear to me now that he isn't the right man. Now that's been established in my mind, I find it easier to pick apart the faults in his career (Reading) and to accept that his past promotions, whilst a great achievement, were achieved with clubs in very different situations to ours. The one team he has managed who's situation I would compare to ours is Reading (need to rebuild a team and challenge for promotion.)

I thought in summer he was the right man. The evidence of this season has proven to me that he isn't, unfortunately.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

The players do not want to play for Adkins
We have no shape
No passion
He changes the players
He changes the shape
He changes the formation
Yet still we look a rag rag outfit with no idea.
I hear that some of the players do not respect him, initially thought it was due to them big being offered new contracts but it's more likely to be due to him being useless.

We have to find someone who has the payers respect and someone who can galvanise the support.
I was always against changing again, but God after tonight it has confirmed that he is not the man for the job!

The players won't be here next season. He will have his own players who hopefully will want to play for him. Hopefully a more streamlined, better quality squad and a much much better team spirit. One thing Adkins has going for him over any prospective new manager is he has had the chance to see first hand what a bunch of useless, spineless parasitic cunts most of these so called "players" are. If a new man comes in there's the danger of another "clean slate"

 

[Bartleby]

As much as it pains me to say it we should have moved Mr Adkins on and brought in Mr Warnock.

While I'm not for constant sacking of (and paying off) managers I would love to know what Warnock would make of this lot and what he would do. He's sussed and dealt with and broken up a few piss poor squads in his time, and also got the best out of players like Garry Birtles when they were taking the piss as they saw out their careers in the lower divisions. Mester Warnock'd know what to do now.

 

[nopigfansintown]

The players won't be here next season. He will have his own players who hopefully will want to play for him. Hopefully a more streamlined, better quality squad and a much much better team spirit. One thing Adkins has going for him over any prospective new manager is he has had the chance to see first hand what a bunch of useless, spineless parasitic cunts most of these so called "players" are. If a new man comes in there's the danger of another "clean slate"

This is a huge and ever present danger facing the club, and why blades fans really have to be careful what they wish for. The negative faction have more power than the chairman and manager at the moment.

 

[Smirth]

The players won't be here next season. He will have his own players who hopefully will want to play for him. Hopefully a more streamlined, better quality squad and a much much better team spirit. One thing Adkins has going for him over any prospective new manager is he has had the chance to see first hand what a bunch of useless, spineless parasitic cunts most of these so called "players" are. If a new man comes in there's the danger of another "clean slate"

7 of the starting 11 last night are still under contract next season.

The 'better' performers last night were the ones who aren't contracted her next season (McEveley, Edgar, Collins).

I don't think much will change under Adkins next season.

 

[Deaneandagana]

This is a huge and ever present danger facing the club, and why blades fans really have to be careful what they wish for. The negative faction have more power than the chairman and manager at the moment.

You've alluded to this in several of your other posts & given other comments you've made recently you appear to have a good insight into what's really going on at the club.

Appreciate the sensitivities surrounding your position but in your opinion, how has this situation been allowed to manifest itself, you are effectively saying that a group of players are holding the club to ransom?

 

[1danewhitehouse]

7 of the starting 11 last night are still under contract next season.

The 'better' performers last night were the ones who aren't contracted her next season (McEveley, Edgar, Collins).

I don't think much will change under Adkins next season.

7? Basham, Coutts, Brayford, Done, Adams, Sharp- I make that 6.

I'd say Long was comfortably our best player. The only player who could take any credit from the game. He's out of contract but I think will be kept on. We've seen enough from Sharp in other games but not last night. Same goes for Brayford (though out of form and wouldn't be surprised to see him leave). Thought Basham was one of the less bad outfield players. I think he'll try to move Coutts on if he can.

 

[Smirth]

7? Basham, Coutts, Brayford, Done, Adams, Sharp- I make that 6.

I'd say Long was comfortably our best player. The only player who could take any credit from the game. He's out of contract but I think will be kept on. We've seen enough from Sharp in other games but not last night. Same goes for Brayford (though out of form and wouldn't be surprised to see him leave). Thought Basham was one of the less bad outfield players. I think he'll try to move Coutts on if he can.

Apologies, I thought Long was under contract for next season.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Apologies, I thought Long was under contract for next season.

Don't think so but like I say, I think he will be here.

 

[Grappler]

Do we think McCabe did his homework on the background of Adkins . Did he check references , contact people at previous clubs especially Reading , as Southampton , Scunthorpe speak for themselves .
I would want to know from what was the cause and effect at Reading . Could the failure at Reading be a symptom at SUFC.
Or did we just look at the name , good positive interview , slides , presentation , speech , and away you go , sign on the dotted line.

Not having a go at MCCabe or Adkins . Just trying to fathom out what's gone wrong . Is it 100% players who are just not good enough.

Answers on a post card , as I just do not know whether Adkins should stay or go.

UTB

As I have said before your Lordship, I find it hard to believe that a man with four promotions on his CV is a bad, or clueless manager.

Anyone can get a lucky promotion. Look at Nigel Clough, unemployed, then suddenly in the frame for the Burton job, inherits a high flying team and looks set to go up a division.

Two promotions would be very lucky. Back to back promotions?

If it was all just luck then I hope Nigel Adkins is buying a lottery ticket every week

I am not saying that Nigel Adkins is the right man for SUFC, as none of us know what he was promised by the board, or indeed what he said he would do with the players he inherited, but for the reasons stated above, I don't see him as clueless.

 

[nopigfansintown]

You've alluded to this in several of your other posts & given other comments you've made recently you appear to have a good insight into what's really going on at the club.

Appreciate the sensitivities surrounding your position but in your opinion, how has this situation been allowed to manifest itself, you are effectively saying that a group of players are holding the club to ransom?

Lets get something clear: I'm not trying to say that Sheffield United have a team or indeed squad capable of automatc promotion. I predicted us to finish between sixth and twelfth this season which is completely unacceptable for third tier United. Many players signed under Clough see themselves as betrayed by the boardroom as they only signed because of Clough, and feel that the performance of the squad was more than adequate last season. . There has been several big busts over the season including after the Bury and Burton games, as its clear that there are players deliberately trying to undermine the current regime. Young players with United at heart have been at the centre of dressing room inquests to their credit. McCabe saw this first hand with the Adams' ill fated reign. We can change the manager but unless we cut out the cancer we're going nowhere. Unfortunately not all of the players are out of contract which makes things more difficult.

 

[Bartleby]

I don't see him as clueless.

No I don't either, fantastic record but ..

unless we cut out the cancer we're going nowhere.

.. maybe he's not the right man to perform that operation.

Think I know who would be but he's just taken on a job for the rest of the season, and McCabe probably wouldn't swallow his pride and take him anyway.