If we lose tomorrow...

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Will Adkins be sacked if we lose tomorrow?

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Smirth

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Will Adkins be sacked?

Sadly I have an awful feeling that he will be.
 



Karaoke Blade said:
If he wasn't sacked after losing against the might of Bury and Rochdale, why on earth would he be sacked after losing to table toppers Burton?
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The shame of those running the club of losing to the man they sacked.
 
Looks as though I'm in the minority. I really do hope I am wrong.
 
I went for "no" by the way as I think the one lesson McCabe may have learned from his mistakes is that sacking managers doesn't always work. I would expect that NA's agent is out there working extremely hard to get him a move anywhere else but here.

Adkins has taken us backwards since this point last year, however he's done so with his hands tied and very little inwards transfer activity compared to the last few who've been in post. I take the point on his signings (Sharp apart) being less than satisfactory, however I think that most Blades managers operate on a 1:4 ratio when it comes to decent signings versus poor ones, it's just that Adkins has only made 5.

Give him at least until this time next season unless we are dragged into a relegation battle at any point before then.
 
Smirth Its a reasonable question, given: a) the state of football and b) the recent history (10 years) at Sheffield United.

However, from listening to and reading what McCabe has said in the last week or so, it would be unlikely. I am trying to put across what i think is McCabe's thoughts on managers.

A lot of what McCabe has said has been a change from the past, he's certainly admitted some mistakes (not before time) but the key for me was the admission on his part that sacking Wilson was wrong. McCabe had gone against many fans and appointed Wilson, he was almost arrogant in this appointment, but he was vindicated because McCabe saw what he wanted from Sheffield United. He wanted a footballing man to replicate what he'd done at Barnsley, playing entertaining and winning football. Sacking Wilson was always a gamble, but in that second turgid season it was supposed to be much different. With 5 games to go, the gamble didn't pay off and he'd lost a decent man and a decent manager.

Weir was a gamble and he was probably cheap. He was also overseeing a time when we were completely skint. The Prince came along and with money we could attract a manager who was a step up from Weir and perhaps on paper just what we needed. He wasn't really in the McCabe mould of what he wanted for a manager. That was Wilson, but it was too late to go back and perhaps it was very unlikely that the prince would back the move for Wilson. Clough was ideal then, he was the right man at that time, it kept the Prince happy and it worked out perfectly with a cup run in that first season, followed by the second. But promotion was obviously what the Prince and McCabe had agreed to be the marker. When Clough didn't get promotion, it gave McCabe his chance to pull the promotion clause...

I don't think that Clough would've been sacked had Adkins not been available. McCabe, most probably drove this one. He wanted the man with the track record, the name, the positivity and a man who the media love. It was almost irrelevant that Adkins was not the right man for the current situation, not the right man to sort out a messy squad situation (heavy on midfielders, injuries, large squad). Adkins could come in and in McCabes view, sort out the striker problem. Forget the centre half issue, Clough had fallen out with too many players and if the Prince were to be convinced, a young lad called Diego was another reason to remove Clough. Here is a lad with a tonne of potential, playing for Italy (U18's) and he's just rejected a contract because of Clough. Potentially he's worth a few quid and because of Clough we were going to lose out on keeping him.

So Adkins came in, he'd agreed to work with the current squad, a few loanees and the remit to trim the squad and get the feel good factor back again, by playing good football - Che and Diego being the future. But what about the striker? By now the Prince knew the values of Sheff Utd, he'd got a manager who'd bring some pretty football. Promotion was all but sealed if we got a big name striker, we would guarantee season ticket sales to increase.

I'm sure that in the first meeting McCabe had with Adkins that he will have mentioned that Clough had been told to sort the striker issue (which had plagued Wilson, Weir and Clough), but failed and that was why we didn't go up. Adkins will have been told that Billy was a local hero and as he'd worked with Adkins before - he should get on the phone.

The fact that whilst Billy has done a cracking job, scored lots of goals and worked hard, he's not the striker we needed unless he came with an O'Grady type, is almost irrelevant.

So, because of the above, i don't think that McCabe will throw away his perfect manager, because of a poor result tomorrow. I honestly think that this is the last big throw of the dice from McCabe. His faith is in Adkins, the blame from McCabe is firmly with Clough and I don't see that changing. Publicly, McCabe will blame Clough as it probably suits his agenda to bring Adkins in.

I could be wrong, but in short, no i don't think we'll sack Adkins this season.
 
Smirth said:
Will Adkins be sacked?

Sadly I have an awful feeling that he will be.
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He will not get the sack , but a high scoring loss , like the one that sealed his fate at Reading will be another nail in his coffin .Adkins is certainly losing it on the playing front with unacceptable results , but deep down if asked , he would say he is not a magician or can make a silk purse out of a pigs ear. My view is I thought he would do better and that Adkins was capable of getting that extra mile out of average players . This has not been the case.

The bits we do not see or know about , Is Adkins winning it behind the scenes with the board , with he is the man for a long term , short term strategy , player type / list , style of play etc . If not he will be sacked if his demands are too high , finance required to build the side is not achievable , and he has lost the trust and confidence of McCabe .

You could have said Adkins is experienced enough to get himself a 3 year contract , so if it works great , if it goes tits up , his bank balance is still in tact , even though his reputation may be slightly damaged.

Let's hope Adkins legacy is not 20 geese living in McCabes back garden .

UTB
 



No he won't and no he shouldn't be.

Sacking managers left, right and centre is part of what got us into this mess. We've a bloated, slow squad of players not of this manager's choosing, and I personally think it's daft to judge him so harshly less than a third of the way through his contract when he's not working with his preferred tools.

The board must cough up the dough and Adkins needs a chance to build his own squad in the summer, then we'll see what happens. Last time I'll say all this on here because I'm just repeating myself.
 
He won't be sacked...................... Some of the players should be.................. I know if I put in a days work like some them I wouldn't last long.

Certainly some of them are clearly under qualified and not fit for the job.
 
georgebernardshaw said:
You probably are, Barney
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??

If you read the posts you will see I'm against him being sacked. I just have the impression that those in charge at the club will sack him this season. I didn't find McCabe's supposed public backing of him very inspiring, more he reluctantly said he hopes he'd be here next season after being pushed into saying it.
 
derekacorah said:
Adkins has taken us backwards since this point last year
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I know your post wasn't as simple as what I have left quoted but it fits my point.

I personally believe he has taken us forward, Adkins has cleared out a lot of players who aren't good enough and hopefully by the start of next season the match day squad will be very different from what it is now.

Had we stuck with Clough, the problems would have just got worse with more average players joining who wouldn't really improve us. Hopefully we will be able to look back on this season and see that we needed one crap season in order to get back on track. Time will tell!
 
Voted "no" but it is a pretty precarious situation. With a side teetering between promising & woeful you can't count out a repeat of Shrewsbury. And if we were to be humiliated (rather than merely beaten) by Clough's Burton, with all the reaction that would ensue, then who knows?

But, even if the worst happens, it's the perfect chance for McCabe et al to show they've learnt lessons. Nigel needs proper funding not sacking.
 
YES Blade said:
I know your post wasn't as simple as what I have left quoted but it fits my point.

I personally believe he has taken us forward, Adkins has cleared out a lot of players who aren't good enough and hopefully by the start of next season the match day squad will be very different from what it is now.

Had we stuck with Clough, the problems would have just got worse with more average players joining who wouldn't really improve us. Hopefully we will be able to look back on this season and see that we needed one crap season in order to get back on track. Time will tell!
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Had we stuck with Clough he would've wasted 600k on that donkey Michael Smith from Swindon - in addition to signing Conor Sammon - and then permanently this summer. And God knows what else he would've squandered the club's money on. No doubt he would've doubled his achievement by setting us back 4 years instead of just the 2 he already managed. We might have been better defensively, but we would've been terrible to watch and Clough's ego trip would've rolled on. Adkins might have disappointed and might need replacing, but thank God Clough's gone.
 
YES Blade said:
I know your post wasn't as simple as what I have left quoted but it fits my point.

I personally believe he has taken us forward, Adkins has cleared out a lot of players who aren't good enough and hopefully by the start of next season the match day squad will be very different from what it is now.

Had we stuck with Clough, the problems would have just got worse with more average players joining who wouldn't really improve us. Hopefully we will be able to look back on this season and see that we needed one crap season in order to get back on track. Time will tell!
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I must disagree. Imagine if, when Adkins came in August 2015, people had suggested that it would take a full year to make improvements. It's been an utterly wasted year - the effects of which haven't fully hit home. Season ticket sales will be well down next season and God forbid Wednesday start the season in the PL. Sure, Adkins has had a hard time, but harder than teams like Walsall? Burton? Gillingham? Teams who subsist on crowds and resources a fraction of what the Blades have.

If there had been a glimmer of hope anywhere in this season, it wouldn't have been so bad. But there hasn't. Not a single one. The only task that concerns any manager of United is to get us out of the Third Division. (Preferably upwards). Cup runs are fine but we haven't even had those this season. Instead, it's been a catalogue of humiliations against 'lesser' clubs (with every chance of adding another two by next Saturday evening).

We approach a home game against Burton with trepidation. What can possibly be achieved in the final 13 games to give us optimism for 2016-17? If there is not significant movement in the transfer market before next season, will we fall back on the 'hands are tied', 'McCabe's fault' excuses? Other, much smaller teams seem to manage. You say "Had we stuck with Clough, the problems would have just got worse with more average players joining who wouldn't really improve us.". I can assure you that, by substituting 'Clough' for 'Adkins' you'd be spot on.

Look, it gives me no pleasure to advocate the sacking of Adkins. Like Clough and Wilson I hoped it would be a 'new dawn' but Adkins' performance this season means McCabe is running out of ideas, time and options. A football manager should be the same as any other manager - if the performance is woeful (and it has been - all season) it's time to move on. The only difference in football is that some fans adopt a perverted form of The Stockholm Syndrome where the victims (i.e. us) blame themselves and begin to emphasise with their captors.

Adkins needs to produce something, and fast. Maybe a good, unbeaten run between now and the end of the season would show some faint signs of progress. But as we've only had two winning runs of 3 games all season, I'm not holding my breath.
 
Last edited:
I love a good poll.....

































.....Unfortunately this isn't one
 
Ricky said:
Had we stuck with Clough he would've wasted 600k on that donkey Michael Smith from Swindon - in addition to signing Conor Sammon - and then permanently this summer. And God knows what else he would've squandered the club's money on. No doubt he would've doubled his achievement by setting us back 4 years instead of just the 2 he already managed. We might have been better defensively, but we would've been terrible to watch and Clough's ego trip would've rolled on. Adkins might have disappointed and might need replacing, but thank God Clough's gone.
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YES Blade said:
Had we stuck with Clough, the problems would have just got worse with more average players joining who wouldn't really improve us. Hopefully we will be able to look back on this season and see that we needed one crap season in order to get back on track. Time will tell!
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Didn't we end last season convinced we just needed a centre back, and a centre-forward wouldn't go amiss?
 
Smirth said:
The shame of those running the club of losing to the man they sacked.
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I think losing to Burton is more likely to result in a further vote of confidence from the Board rather than the sack - I am thinking McC would hate to give Clough the satisfaction of being the one to get Adkins the sack, added to which, sacking him, would undermine the Board line that the cause of the mess here is Clough. If by some strange chance we win I would be absolutely chuffed and I expect the Board would be too.
 



TomJonesBlade said:
Nigel Clough did plenty of it, and quite publicly too, yet he is the much-wronged messiah to some.

Anyway, Nigel Adkins isn't blaming his tools. I am.
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hes had 2 transfer windows to bring in some tools of his own but brought in all the wrong ones, he spunked all his budget on his old boys and didnt address any areas we desperately needed. Clough did much better with mostly the same tools, he also did much better with David Weirs old set of tools n all
 
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