The Bohemian
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- Jul 24, 2012
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As stated previously, I was one of the large majority, who disagreed with the timing of Clough’s sacking and was completely baffled by the timing of Wilson’s.
McCabe has subsequently acknowledged he got it wrong with Wilson and suggested Cloughie was dismissed for “non-football reasons.” Chastened by the experience of paying off a succession of Managers in recent seasons, McCabe may be tempted to stick with Adkins for “non-football reasons.” Emotion often trumps logic in such situations but a rational perspective is essential given that we are mired in the worst period in our club’s long and proud history.
A rational assessment of Adkins’ performance needs to include his ability to get the best out of the players he inherited, the impact made by his own signings and his tactical nous in finding a winning formula.
Has he got the best out of the players at his disposal?
One argument is that he inherited a poor squad of players. But it was the same squad that achieved a League Cup Semi-Final and 5th placed finish last season. One that the bookies saw as promotion favourites and I, along with many others, believed was only a few astute signings from a top two finish.
The sale of Murphy didn’t help his cause but in Billy he had something Clough never had – a goal-scoring striker. With the addition of a ‘Morsy like’ replacement for Doyle and a proper centre half, the squad should surely have had enough to get out of what looks like the weakest League One since The Blades were relegated. So, generally, it’s difficult to argue he’s got the best out of his players.
There’s an equally disconcerting pattern of his team’s performance tailing off during games (versus Southend, Crewe, Burton and Rochdale recently) with a promising first half offering a deceptive prelude to an inept second period. Which begs the question: What is Adkins doing to his players during the interval?
At an individual level, Adkins has presided over an improvement in George Long’s confidence and form (no doubt his own goalkeeping background has proved useful here). Louis Reed has also shown flashes of the talent he clearly has but hasn’t had enough game time to make a compelling case. Otherwise, it’s difficult to see beyond the diminishing performance of most of his squad and even harder to argue that, with the exception of Billy the Blade, his players are giving everything to the cause.
Has he found a winning formula?
Clearly not, given the probability of his team finishing in the lower half of a weak third division. This is not for the lack of tinkering.
Adkins started the season with an attacking 4-4-2, but without an effective holding midfielder – an approach described to me as “frighteningly naïve” by a lane insider. Realising the error of his ways he changed to a more defensive 4-4-2, filling his midfield with six footers and marginalising his flair players. This served the purpose of shoring things up defensively but Adkins found his team then lacked creativity This is where he needed more from Hammond who provided a barrier in front of the defence but offered far too little in terms of ‘play-making.’
His next and shortest experiment was the much-maligned 4-5-1 preferred by Clough but not by a large section of the Lane faithful. Neither Billy nor Che are suited to the lone striker role so there was never any future in this approach.
He now seems to have settled on a 3-5-2 formation, which, whilst not incompatible with the players at his disposal, has still failed to deliver the consistency of results and performances required.
Adkins has not discovered a winning formula. Indeed his team has only recorded back-to-back league wins once all season (OK, it was actually a run of 3 wins).
His ability to change the course of games with his substitutions must also be brought into question, with scant evidence of his changes triggering a notable improvement in performance (the Wigan comeback was two thirds complete by the time of his first change) but more examples of his substitutions costing points (e.g. Millwall and Swindon at home). Wednesday night’s debacle epitomised Adkins’ substitutions strategy with his team finishing the game devoid of pattern or plan.
Crisis management – in football terms, coming back strong when your team is behind in a game – requires the ability to think clearly and act purposefully, under pressure. Bassett and Warnock thrived in such an environment; Adkins appears to sink.
Have his signings improved the team?
Billy is his one indisputably successful signing and he deserves credit for seeing this through in the face of a mixture of supporter apathy and antipathy, prior to his signing (supporters can get it wrong!).
Edgar started well, dipped and then improved to the point of looking a decent signing.
Woolford has been at best, underwhelming, at worst, woeful. His contribution has been negligible and clearly, a huge step backwards from Jamie Murphy. Woolford was the make weight in the ‘Murphy out, Billy in’ package and Adkins can only deal with the budget at his disposal. Nonetheless, his preference for signing older players on their way down has, generally, failed him.
Hammond has been an expensive failure in a position where Adkins had to get it right - given his preference for an attacking 4-4-2 formation and the implicit requirement for a mobile, aggressive box-to-box midfielder. He has been a step backwards from Doyle, for all his limitations.
Sammon may or may not have been signed on a pre-contract prior to Adkins arrival, so we’ll give him the benefit of doubt on this one.
Baptiste is clearly a very good player but was coming back from a double leg fracture sustained during early pre-season. Unsurprisingly, he sustained a secondary injury in his third appearance for The Blades and hasn’t been seen since.
If we ignore Sammon, Adkins has signed 5 players, all from higher leagues, with only a single clear success.
Moreover, based on recent comments, he seems intent on offering Hammond a permanent deal for next season – indeed it would be no surprise had a pre-contract may have already been signed.
Adkins has presided over the second highest wage bill in Division 3 and has been backed in signing expensive new players either permanently or on extended loan deals. He inherited a team that required improvement in order to mount a serious top two challenge but his signings have made the team worse.
Blades fans have been incredibly patient with Adkins, despite a season that has tested the endurance of even the most committed supporters. There is very little appetite for continuing the cycle of managerial removal and appointment with all its ensuing change. But this season has been a disaster!
Had Adkins been working a 12-month probationary period in a senior position in industry, he would be on his way out. Wilson and Clough were sacked having presided over significantly better managerial performances than his. He has been given leeway because of past boardroom errors and the fact that he was a universally popular appointment amongst supporters. He was the man we desperately needed to succeed more than any other in recent times. But he has failed.
McCabe has an incredibly difficult decision to make. He knows from bitter experience just how difficult it is to find winning managers. His last three appointments, since Wilson, have resulted in the club being further back than it was when he was sacked in 2013. Getting it wrong before is not a reason for failing to act again. McCabe acted emotionally in sacking Wilson and cryptically in removing Clough. He needs to make a rational assessment this time, which means - Adkins must go.
McCabe has subsequently acknowledged he got it wrong with Wilson and suggested Cloughie was dismissed for “non-football reasons.” Chastened by the experience of paying off a succession of Managers in recent seasons, McCabe may be tempted to stick with Adkins for “non-football reasons.” Emotion often trumps logic in such situations but a rational perspective is essential given that we are mired in the worst period in our club’s long and proud history.
A rational assessment of Adkins’ performance needs to include his ability to get the best out of the players he inherited, the impact made by his own signings and his tactical nous in finding a winning formula.
Has he got the best out of the players at his disposal?
One argument is that he inherited a poor squad of players. But it was the same squad that achieved a League Cup Semi-Final and 5th placed finish last season. One that the bookies saw as promotion favourites and I, along with many others, believed was only a few astute signings from a top two finish.
The sale of Murphy didn’t help his cause but in Billy he had something Clough never had – a goal-scoring striker. With the addition of a ‘Morsy like’ replacement for Doyle and a proper centre half, the squad should surely have had enough to get out of what looks like the weakest League One since The Blades were relegated. So, generally, it’s difficult to argue he’s got the best out of his players.
There’s an equally disconcerting pattern of his team’s performance tailing off during games (versus Southend, Crewe, Burton and Rochdale recently) with a promising first half offering a deceptive prelude to an inept second period. Which begs the question: What is Adkins doing to his players during the interval?
At an individual level, Adkins has presided over an improvement in George Long’s confidence and form (no doubt his own goalkeeping background has proved useful here). Louis Reed has also shown flashes of the talent he clearly has but hasn’t had enough game time to make a compelling case. Otherwise, it’s difficult to see beyond the diminishing performance of most of his squad and even harder to argue that, with the exception of Billy the Blade, his players are giving everything to the cause.
Has he found a winning formula?
Clearly not, given the probability of his team finishing in the lower half of a weak third division. This is not for the lack of tinkering.
Adkins started the season with an attacking 4-4-2, but without an effective holding midfielder – an approach described to me as “frighteningly naïve” by a lane insider. Realising the error of his ways he changed to a more defensive 4-4-2, filling his midfield with six footers and marginalising his flair players. This served the purpose of shoring things up defensively but Adkins found his team then lacked creativity This is where he needed more from Hammond who provided a barrier in front of the defence but offered far too little in terms of ‘play-making.’
His next and shortest experiment was the much-maligned 4-5-1 preferred by Clough but not by a large section of the Lane faithful. Neither Billy nor Che are suited to the lone striker role so there was never any future in this approach.
He now seems to have settled on a 3-5-2 formation, which, whilst not incompatible with the players at his disposal, has still failed to deliver the consistency of results and performances required.
Adkins has not discovered a winning formula. Indeed his team has only recorded back-to-back league wins once all season (OK, it was actually a run of 3 wins).
His ability to change the course of games with his substitutions must also be brought into question, with scant evidence of his changes triggering a notable improvement in performance (the Wigan comeback was two thirds complete by the time of his first change) but more examples of his substitutions costing points (e.g. Millwall and Swindon at home). Wednesday night’s debacle epitomised Adkins’ substitutions strategy with his team finishing the game devoid of pattern or plan.
Crisis management – in football terms, coming back strong when your team is behind in a game – requires the ability to think clearly and act purposefully, under pressure. Bassett and Warnock thrived in such an environment; Adkins appears to sink.
Have his signings improved the team?
Billy is his one indisputably successful signing and he deserves credit for seeing this through in the face of a mixture of supporter apathy and antipathy, prior to his signing (supporters can get it wrong!).
Edgar started well, dipped and then improved to the point of looking a decent signing.
Woolford has been at best, underwhelming, at worst, woeful. His contribution has been negligible and clearly, a huge step backwards from Jamie Murphy. Woolford was the make weight in the ‘Murphy out, Billy in’ package and Adkins can only deal with the budget at his disposal. Nonetheless, his preference for signing older players on their way down has, generally, failed him.
Hammond has been an expensive failure in a position where Adkins had to get it right - given his preference for an attacking 4-4-2 formation and the implicit requirement for a mobile, aggressive box-to-box midfielder. He has been a step backwards from Doyle, for all his limitations.
Sammon may or may not have been signed on a pre-contract prior to Adkins arrival, so we’ll give him the benefit of doubt on this one.
Baptiste is clearly a very good player but was coming back from a double leg fracture sustained during early pre-season. Unsurprisingly, he sustained a secondary injury in his third appearance for The Blades and hasn’t been seen since.
If we ignore Sammon, Adkins has signed 5 players, all from higher leagues, with only a single clear success.
Moreover, based on recent comments, he seems intent on offering Hammond a permanent deal for next season – indeed it would be no surprise had a pre-contract may have already been signed.
Adkins has presided over the second highest wage bill in Division 3 and has been backed in signing expensive new players either permanently or on extended loan deals. He inherited a team that required improvement in order to mount a serious top two challenge but his signings have made the team worse.
Blades fans have been incredibly patient with Adkins, despite a season that has tested the endurance of even the most committed supporters. There is very little appetite for continuing the cycle of managerial removal and appointment with all its ensuing change. But this season has been a disaster!
Had Adkins been working a 12-month probationary period in a senior position in industry, he would be on his way out. Wilson and Clough were sacked having presided over significantly better managerial performances than his. He has been given leeway because of past boardroom errors and the fact that he was a universally popular appointment amongst supporters. He was the man we desperately needed to succeed more than any other in recent times. But he has failed.
McCabe has an incredibly difficult decision to make. He knows from bitter experience just how difficult it is to find winning managers. His last three appointments, since Wilson, have resulted in the club being further back than it was when he was sacked in 2013. Getting it wrong before is not a reason for failing to act again. McCabe acted emotionally in sacking Wilson and cryptically in removing Clough. He needs to make a rational assessment this time, which means - Adkins must go.
