Give the Manager a chance

[Hodgyman]

The new Nigel has been appointed to take us to the promised land. He has the ability and track record to do just that. He said, quite rightly, that every one of the players starts with a clean slate. He is looking at how they play, train etc before making his mind up about who goes and who is needed to come in.


The thing that our new boss doesn't seem to have is opinions on players who didn't play well under the Clough regime, unlike most of us. Our, self included, tainted opinions on certain players may be no longer valid under our new leader. It was widely felt that Clough's man-management skills were lacking and had a demotivating effect on players.

From what I have seen of our new Nigel, he seems to have brought motivation, fitness, and freedom from injury and the desire to play for United to a good few of our players that had been written off by a good number of us.

Just give the man a chance to form his own opinions based upon having a good look at the large number of players already at the club. We may yet see what the scouts saw in the players to give them a recommendation. He has more experience than most of us on here in picking players and a team to win this league so please do not rush him or taint his opinions of players.

Just be patient and don't cause him to panic buy just to appease the fans

 

[davidpinder]

The new Nigel has been appointed to take us to the promised land. He has the ability and track record to do just that. He said, quite rightly, that every one of the players starts with a clean slate. He is looking at how they play, train etc before making his mind up about who goes and who is needed to come in.


The thing that our new boss doesn't seem to have is opinions on players who didn't play well under the Clough regime, unlike most of us. Our, self included, tainted opinions on certain players may be no longer valid under our new leader. It was widely felt that Clough's man-management skills were lacking and had a demotivating effect on players.

From what I have seen of our new Nigel, he seems to have brought motivation, fitness, and freedom from injury and the desire to play for United to a good few of our players that had been written off by a good number of us.

Just give the man a chance to form his own opinions based upon having a good look at the large number of players already at the club. We may yet see what the scouts saw in the players to give them a recommendation. He has more experience than most of us on here in picking players and a team to win this league so please do not rush him or taint his opinions of players.

Just be patient and don't cause him to panic buy just to appease the fans

I agree with all of the above but I don't think buying a centre half would be a panic buy, we are in desperate need of one because at the moment we have one recognised centre half fit.

 

[FTPE]

I have complete faith in him, but you've got to admit it's frustrating that instead of having a big clear out and recruitment drive we are just sat around waiting for Nigel to find out the things most of us already know.
It's been said before, but I bet in the weeks before the players came back he could have watched every single game from last season on DVD. Ok that does show players attitudes and how they train but it would give him a very good idea of what we are lacking. I totally understand the whole "clean slate" idea, without it Diego and Collins wouldn't be back in the fold but I can't help but panic when we still start McEveley at center back in our preseasons ....and as captain too!

 

[Barney]

We could have gone one of two ways following the recruitment of a new manager.

1 - Assess the squad briefly using DVD's (As stated by Adkins), then further assess the squad for 3 weeks (2?) after the players arrive back for pre-season. Then start recruiting 2 weeks before the whilst already in possession of a large squad for this division, therefore requiring both recruitment and offloading players to make way for those new recruits. A remarkable amount of work to be completed just 2 weeks before the start of the season.

2 - Thoroughly assess DVD's of most if not every game from last season, picking out areas of improvement that have been known to fans for the past 12 months. Confirming those improvement areas from clips of the individuals as well as an assessment at the training ground. Shouldn't really take more than a week and a half to assess who's at the right level to stay on (ideally you'd assess for longer here but this is where you take the risk). Following that up with a large clear out of those players not up to it (7 maybe 8 players, possibly more), and replacing them with 4-5 quality signings, cutting the squad size down in the process whilst leaving ample time, much more than we have now, for new signings to mix and gel, form partnerships and generally work on moves etc. in training.

Each strategie has risks associated with it, but i'd rather take the latter all things considered. I'd much rather; lose 8 players that could have possibly become good players but having not really shown it before, and sign 4 proven ones for this division, i'd prefer that than to assess the squad for an extra long time just to cover ourselves from throwing away any hidden gems, then leaving ourselves with only 2 weeks to offload players and sign new ones. It just doesn't add up for me.

That's my take on this whole thing, but then again I'm only a fan like all here and can't influence anything one way or another, all anyone can do is simply voice an opinion. Just have to wait for things to unfold then see what the crack is. Everything said, like most blades I have got lots of faith in Adkins, he seems a top bloke and a true professional.

 

[Hodgyman]

I agree with your comments, particularly about Jay from last season's performances, but the point that I was trying to make was that Nigel A. may revive his abilities. I seem to remember that he wasn't too bad at the beginning of the season. It may be false hope/optimism on my part but I'm hoping that our new man will make the right decision based upon his own experience and maybe a little input from Morgs and Crosby who know a little bit about CBs

 

[metalblade]

I agree with all of the above but I don't think buying a centre half would be a panic buy, we are in desperate need of one because at the moment we have one recognised centre half fit.

The thing is we went all last season without proper CB's a few games at the start of this season will do no harm if we have to wait a few weeks to get the right man in.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

The thing is we went all last season without proper CB's a few games at the start of this season will do no harm if we have to wait a few weeks to get the right man in.

Thats all well and good , as long we can eradicate basic errors, at the back and not drop points , so we finish up being on catch up. A lot of it IMO was lack of understanding and confidence , which i am sure Adkins will be instilling in all players whatever position they play . To be fair the midfield and forwards didn't help our defence last season.

UTB

 

[maidmarion]

Here's my two pennorth......
We do not know what's happening in training sessions through out the week.
We will have a better knowledge after Saturday .
It will take four weeks to get the squad to gell, so let's see what's happening at the beginning of October.
I really like this manager, but then I felt optimistic when the other Nigel was appointed.
So..........
Let's just get behind the team, the manager and the owners and play our part to what hopefully is going to be our promotion season.

 

[The Jackal]

Absolutely happy with new Nige. Better than the last one, a real step up in quality, if ya want. It must be quite a change for a few of our players, a physio as manager, but not just a physio, a psychologist to boot. Yeah, I'm optimistic for this season and for the next few. Bring it on.

 

[JohnDenver]

A clean plate for Michael Higdon. Yes indeed.

 

[Torrix1889]

I didn't fell positive with Nigel mk1 but I do with Nigel mk2, (although I must admit his personality does grate on me a bit) I have every confidence he knows what he is doing but the problems from last season remain. If he thinks he can solve these within the current squad then fair enough and we will just have to wait and see

 

[Bladesway]

The new Nigel has been appointed to take us to the promised land. He has the ability and track record to do just that. He said, quite rightly, that every one of the players starts with a clean slate. He is looking at how they play, train etc before making his mind up about who goes and who is needed to come in.


The thing that our new boss doesn't seem to have is opinions on players who didn't play well under the Clough regime, unlike most of us. Our, self included, tainted opinions on certain players may be no longer valid under our new leader. It was widely felt that Clough's man-management skills were lacking and had a demotivating effect on players.

From what I have seen of our new Nigel, he seems to have brought motivation, fitness, and freedom from injury and the desire to play for United to a good few of our players that had been written off by a good number of us.

Just give the man a chance to form his own opinions based upon having a good look at the large number of players already at the club. We may yet see what the scouts saw in the players to give them a recommendation. He has more experience than most of us on here in picking players and a team to win this league so please do not rush him or taint his opinions of players.

Just be patient and don't cause him to panic buy just to appease the fans

If he panic buys to appease the fans then he doesn't deserve the job. I'm not worried because Adlins is his own man and won't listen to the rantings of the self proclaimed masses. The manager knows what and who he wants and will be backed with reasonable funds to get those players. He doesn't strike me a's a man to spend for the sake of it. Look at his track record of delivering with solid signings and motivating his teams in a positive manner.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

The thing is we went all last season without proper CB's a few games at the start of this season will do no harm if we have to wait a few weeks to get the right man in.

It will harm us if we get to the end of September and aren't in double figures with our points tally.

Been there, got the tee shirt.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

A clean plate for Michael Higdon. Yes indeed.

And those sat either side as well.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

A clean plate for Michael Higdon. Yes indeed.

Higdon's slate before Adkins arrived:-

 

[Blade58]

I agree with all of the above but I don't think buying a centre half would be a panic buy, we are in desperate need of one because at the moment we have one recognised centre half fit.

With the lack of rumours or so called itk stuff regarding cb's, I'm starting to think we are going into the new season without strengthening the cb position

At the end of last season I would've said that a) it would be unthinkable and b) I don't care who is managing the club it would be unbelievable

 

[Fiery Blade]

My only concern is that Mr Adkins has already stated that the squad is not good enough to get promotion !
I would feel much happier if we had a couple of decent CB's about to sign rather than Billy Sharp !
Collins and McEverley are definitely not the answer - however we will wait and see who comes in before next Saturday !

 

[davidpinder]

My only concern is that Mr Adkins has already stated that the squad is not good enough to get promotion !
I would feel much happier if we had a couple of decent CB's about to sign rather than Billy Sharp !
Collins and McEverley are definitely not the answer - however we will wait and see who comes in before next Saturday !

When did he say that?

 

[Esablade]

He can't simply conjur 'the right player' out of thin air on demand...I suspect, as I've stated before, that our no.1 targets for CB may well be hanging on in the hope of a Championship contract.

I know it's a risky strategy but if we do get the right players in it will make all the difference to our campaign..also if we do start with Collins/Jay and they do fail as most everyone seems to predict ( though I think they should be good enough to start in L1 with a good pre-season behind them) then Adkins can say they've had their chance...if we do well, it's win-win...we'll still be getting CB's in, and who knows, maybe even before the first game...

UTB!

 

[Blade58]

When did he say that?

FB is correct. NA was asked the question. He definately was quoted as saying it. May have been Q & A session, but can't remember. Someone on here will know when it was

 

[LoughboroBlade]

When did he say that?

 

[CarlingBlade]

Our fans are fickle as owt, Adkins will be sacked if we don't get promotion, fans will turn on him like they did on Clough.

The revolving door will continue to spin if NA doesnt do the business this year (based on historical sackings).

 

[CarlingBlade]

The current squad finished 5th last season, I presume the boards feeling is they've appointed a better manager, if NA can build on clough's great work and squad building he should be able to improve on 5th with no new signings, maybe this is the boards thinking.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

He can't simply conjur 'the right player' out of thin air on demand...I suspect, as I've stated before, that our no.1 targets for CB may well be hanging on in the hope of a Championship contract.

I know it's a risky strategy but if we do get the right players in it will make all the difference to our campaign..also if we do start with Collins/Jay and they do fail as most everyone seems to predict ( though I think they should be good enough to start in L1 with a good pre-season behind them) then Adkins can say they've had their chance...if we do well, it's win-win...we'll still be getting CB's in, and who knows, maybe even before the first game...

UTB!

I think we'll sign a centre back (possibly on loan) just before the deadline in August when the Premier and Championship teams look to offload their spare players.

Ironically, we would probably have signed a centre back already if Clough had stayed.
Wasn't he supposed to be close to signing Jake Buxton from Derby when he was sacked?
He would still be a good signing at this level but NA will have his own targets I'm sure.

 

[mosbolad]

I have complete faith in him, but you've got to admit it's frustrating that instead of having a big clear out and recruitment drive we are just sat around waiting for Nigel to find out the things most of us already know.

Well that's a point of view but a couple of things. If NA is the manager we hope I would have been slightly worried if he had a clearout without assessing for a couple of weeks what he had at his disposal. DVDs, word of mouth is fine, but if a manager is his own man he needs to see the players day in day out at training and friendlies to get a full idea of what he has inherited. And if he is a half decent manager he will be able to get more out of players us armchair forum 'experts' may have written off.

'A recruitment drive'. We did finish 5th you know not 5th bottom. I imagine he will bring in a select few players that he knows will deliver.

Lastly 'a big clearout'. Even if it was desirable it's just not that simple. Firstly he had no say over the retained list of the 'option year' players and you simply can't 'clearout' players under contract. This would mean paying them off the remainder of their contract.

And really lastly. We don't have any idea what he is planning who he has spoken with and what players he may have told to begin looking elsewhere. I've got faith in NA and I'm sure we will be fine.....(I think!).

 

[davidpinder]

Thanks loughborough do you know i never spotted that i am sure i,ve watched that Q & A before as well, I wish someone had followed that question with how many do you think we need?

 

[FTPE]

Well that's a point of view but a couple of things. If NA is the manager we hope I would have been slightly worried if he had a clearout without assessing for a couple of weeks what he had at his disposal. DVDs, word of mouth is fine, but if a manager is his own man he needs to see the players day in day out at training and friendlies to get a full idea of what he has inherited. And if he is a half decent manager he will be able to get more out of players us armchair forum 'experts' may have written off.

'A recruitment drive'. We did finish 5th you know not 5th bottom. I imagine he will bring in a select few players that he knows will deliver.

Lastly 'a big clearout'. Even if it was desirable it's just not that simple. Firstly he had no say over the retained list of the 'option year' players and you simply can't 'clearout' players under contract. This would mean paying them off the remainder of their contract.

And really lastly. We don't have any idea what he is planning who he has spoken with and what players he may have told to begin looking elsewhere. I've got faith in NA and I'm sure we will be fine.....(I think!).

Rather than reiterate my points il just say we are obviously very different people, or at least very different blades.
If we were transformers I'd be Nagatron and you'd be Optimistic Prime, if we were managers I'd be Negative Nige and you'd be positive Nigel the second.
I'm not happy with 5th in league 1, I'm impatient but I want to be in the championships top 5.
I don't believe any level of manager can make Jay a good center half.
I don't want to keep players like Alcock and J.Wallace to play along side of £1.5m rated right backs.
Ive moaned about sticking with players like Doyle for years now, Adkins so far has given Diego a new deal, sang Che's praises, given Reed a 3 year contract, played Lewin in our preseasons etc.
I'm a miserable bastard when it comes to my team but I see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I think it's Adkins that is shinning it.

 

[Fiery Blade]

FB is correct. NA was asked the question. He definately was quoted as saying it. May have been Q & A session, but can't remember. Someone on here will know when it was

During his Q&A session last Thursday at the Lane !

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Our fans are fickle as owt, Adkins will be sacked if we don't get promotion, fans will turn on him like they did on Clough.

The revolving door will continue to spin if NA doesnt do the business this year (based on historical sackings).

Majority of fans are fickle , its the name of the game unfortunately . We all start off with expectations , whichever club you support . The aim is to get promoted , not get relegated or do better than the previous season.

The realisation has finally come that we cannot keep sacking managers , as it costs us big money ( which could be spent on players ) , and you start all over again.

I think this time we will / have to stick with Adkins , as Clough IMO fell on his own sword . The revolving door has to stop , but the concern for us all , if Adkins cannot get us out of this league , who can.

UTB

 

[itsinyerblood]

Rather than reiterate my points il just say we are obviously very different people, or at least very different blades.
If we were transformers I'd be Nagatron and you'd be Optimistic Prime, if we were managers I'd be Negative Nige and you'd be positive Nigel the second.
I'm not happy with 5th in league 1, I'm impatient but I want to be in the championships top 5.
I don't believe any level of manager can make Jay a good center half.
I don't want to keep players like Alcock and J.Wallace to play along side of £1.5m rated right backs.
Ive moaned about sticking with players like Doyle for years now, Adkins so far has given Diego a new deal, sang Che's praises, given Reed a 3 year contract, played Lewin in our preseasons etc.
I'm a miserable bastard when it comes to my team but I see a light at the end of the tunnel, and I think it's Adkins that is shinning it.

Good post mate, as a self-confessed miserablist your words ring true. Can't say I always agree with you but at least you're passionate and care, and after it's all said and done, isn't that what binds us? UTB