The real reason Nigel's still here

[lingsbord]

The more this catastrophic season descends into tragedy without the removal of the Manager, the more I believe in the following:

We know.....

1. The "game-changing investment" hasn't materialised
2. McCabe and the Prince had an argument about what to invest and when.
3. We've been getting players out the door faster than stabbed rats to save wage money
4. A whole host of players are out of contract in Summer
5. We brought no signings in during the JTW

On the basis of the above, HRH and McCabe believe in Adkins so much that they wrote off this season months ago with an attitude of "if we get up, so be it, and if we don't we're all building for next season with a new squad".

The view at Board level is that this squad of players has completely underachieved and their man Adkins needs time to build his own squad. he will have the opportunity to do this in Summer as a lot of dead wood is cast off. Nigel will then build his own side and immediately repeat his previous promotion feats.

I honestly believe this to be the case, and that Adkins will be entrusted to rebuild the squad and fight for promotion anew. This is why he still has a job at all after this calamitous season where all 3 sides promoted from L2 are above us as we enter April.

I have a few problems with this. Whilst I'm happy to take on board the idea that we may as well give up this season, get players off the books, wait for the rest to finish their contracts and do one, the question remains: Have we seen enough from Nigel Adkins to suggest that he has the ability to bring in the players he needs to achieve his objectives? Furthermore does he have the tactical nous to deliver promotion with ANY group of players?

Sharp, Edgar, Hammond, Woolford, Sammon in that descending and very expensive order. Edgar's OK, Sharp has saved his boss from massive embarrassment, and the rest give me no cause to believe in his, or his much-lauded chief scout's ability to identify the players we need. At Southampton he inherited Lambert, Lallana, Schneiderlin, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jose Fonte but then he identified and recruited Chaplow, Butterfield and Jonathan Feckin' Forte! Sorry, but he's inherited some crap here so he has to identify and recruit the best available for the budget and he shows no ability to do so. My big worry here, as posted elsewhere, is that anyone coming in will want 2-3 year deals so we could be screwed for a good while if he recruits a team full of Fortes, Woolfords, Chaplows, Hammonds and Sammons

As for tactics, we look ordinary. There's really no point expanding on that, we do and we are. there's no clear direction to the pattern of play to the extent that it almost looks as if there isn't one.

Too many managers think they're far too clever for this division. Those that know what they're doing just know that pace, power, and knowing where the bag is (and hitting it) is what gets you out of this League, not sideways protectionist football that proves ineffective and downright boring.

My point is that Adkins MUST be part of the plan, otherwise he would have been sacked well before now. This will be our lowest finish for many years so why reward the guy unless he's in on it all? Sorry for the length of post - stream of consciousness and all that

 

[BushBlade]

I think we sometimes look too deeply at things. Our problems aren't extraordinary, they're fairly typical of a club that's struggling. I tend to agree that we wrote the season off some time ago which means Adkins has had one hand tied behind his back. It shouldn't be that surprising when it makes him look inept. The overall situation is beyond Adkins' control and any manager in that situation will tend to look shit. Klopp's record at Liverpool is no better than Rodgers'.

I think a lot of us are trapped in the thinking of the 70s/80s when the manager was all powerful and had control over most aspects of the club (apart from sales, where the board has always stitched up most managers) and if a club failed or succeeded, it was almost solely down to the manager. It's not like that anymore. A club has to be well run from top to bottom or it will underachieve. The days of Shankly, Busby, Clough etc ended when Fergie retired.

 

[blackydog]

We "know" this ??? Who confirmed what we believed?
2. McCabe and the Prince had an argument about what to invest and when.

 

[I should coco]

We "know" this ??? Who confirmed what we believed?
2. McCabe and the Prince had an argument about what to invest and when.

It's been suggested on here before.

Once something has been suggested, other posters have a right to regurgitate it as 'fact'.

 

[Bladesman]

The more this catastrophic season descends into tragedy without the removal of the Manager, the more I believe in the following:

We know.....

1. The "game-changing investment" hasn't materialised
2. McCabe and the Prince had an argument about what to invest and when.
3. We've been getting players out the door faster than stabbed rats to save wage money
4. A whole host of players are out of contract in Summer
5. We brought no signings in during the JTW

On the basis of the above, HRH and McCabe believe in Adkins so much that they wrote off this season months ago with an attitude of "if we get up, so be it, and if we don't we're all building for next season with a new squad".

The view at Board level is that this squad of players has completely underachieved and their man Adkins needs time to build his own squad. he will have the opportunity to do this in Summer as a lot of dead wood is cast off. Nigel will then build his own side and immediately repeat his previous promotion feats.

I honestly believe this to be the case, and that Adkins will be entrusted to rebuild the squad and fight for promotion anew. This is why he still has a job at all after this calamitous season where all 3 sides promoted from L2 are above us as we enter April.

I have a few problems with this. Whilst I'm happy to take on board the idea that we may as well give up this season, get players off the books, wait for the rest to finish their contracts and do one, the question remains: Have we seen enough from Nigel Adkins to suggest that he has the ability to bring in the players he needs to achieve his objectives? Furthermore does he have the tactical nous to deliver promotion with ANY group of players?

Sharp, Edgar, Hammond, Woolford, Sammon in that descending and very expensive order. Edgar's OK, Sharp has saved his boss from massive embarrassment, and the rest give me no cause to believe in his, or his much-lauded chief scout's ability to identify the players we need. At Southampton he inherited Lambert, Lallana, Schneiderlin, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jose Fonte but then he identified and recruited Chaplow, Butterfield and Jonathan Feckin' Forte! Sorry, but he's inherited some crap here so he has to identify and recruit the best available for the budget and he shows no ability to do so. My big worry here, as posted elsewhere, is that anyone coming in will want 2-3 year deals so we could be screwed for a good while if he recruits a team full of Fortes, Woolfords, Chaplows, Hammonds and Sammons

As for tactics, we look ordinary. There's really no point expanding on that, we do and we are. there's no clear direction to the pattern of play to the extent that it almost looks as if there isn't one.

Too many managers think they're far too clever for this division. Those that know what they're doing just know that pace, power, and knowing where the bag is (and hitting it) is what gets you out of this League, not sideways protectionist football that proves ineffective and downright boring.

My point is that Adkins MUST be part of the plan, otherwise he would have been sacked well before now. This will be our lowest finish for many years so why reward the guy unless he's in on it all? Sorry for the length of post - stream of consciousness and all that

Adkins can do what he likes tactics wise I mean half of the squad maybe more won't be here next season anyway.

Although I think he should just start the youngsters from now on in the formation he ideally wants to play most matches next season. Use them as the platform with the few senior players he wants to keep and sack off the rest and make them all train elsewhere or send them back to their parent club if they are on loan.

 

[lingsbord]

It's been suggested on here before.

Once something has been suggested, other posters have a right to regurgitate it as 'fact'.

...and others were party to a meeting at Carlos Place, when such disagreement happened around the boardroom table at the back, to the right of the main reception hall as you walk in, you know, the one with the signed football shirts from Ferencvaros, Chengdu, Inverness Cally Thistle, White Star Woluwe and so on (you have to do almost a 180 and turn back on yourself to talk to the secretary down there to ask her for directions to the bogs downstairs) so that when they post stuff they do so based on actual fact and with no second hand regurgitation at all you presumptive twat

 

[Pierre's PC]

Salty...

 

[lingsbord]

One tries Pierre

 

[shorehamview]

The real reason Nigel is still here? Who the fuck else would be silly enough to do it? Who else wants the grief?

 

[Bladesway]

...and others were party to a meeting at Carlos Place, when such disagreement happened around the boardroom table at the back, to the right of the main reception hall as you walk in, you know, the one with the signed football shirts from Ferencvaros, Chengdu, Inverness Cally Thistle, White Star Woluwe and so on (you have to do almost a 180 and turn back on yourself to talk to the secretary down there to ask her for directions to the bogs downstairs) so that when they post stuff they do so based on actual fact and with no second hand regurgitation at all you presumptive twat

Ah so it isn't idle speculation its ITK. I'm in.

 

[lingsbord]

No - it's idle speculation mate, I'm not remotely ITK, just having a laugh