Hopefully Saints Will Regret Adkins decision

It’s a funny old game as no doubt Nigel Adkins found after Southampton dispensed with his services this week. Adkins was refreshingly different and it is hard to review his tenure as anything other than a resounding success. Admittedly Southampton made a poor start but in light of their fixtures this was highly predictable and other than a naive performance when losing to Wigan, they were just about where you would expect them to have been. At this stage Adkins appeared vulnerable but the Saints’ board appeared to have made the correct call and backed their man. Improved results followed and Wednesday’s draw at Chelsea was the highlight of a very decent run.

It would now appear that the board had decided Adkins was not the man to take the club to the next level some time ago and had been seeking his replacement. Adkins as a former physio was always likely to have his tactical nouse questioned but let’s face it football management is not exactly rocket science and this intelligent man was easily up to the job. Over-complicating the manager’s job is very common these days but it strikes me as pretty straight forward; pick your best players in a formation that suits and try to build team spirit. Obviously it is more complicated than this but to consider Adkins as out of his depth appears way off the mark. I mean there are some managers who appear devoid in the brains department yet are regarded as tactically astute and as mentioned earlier Adkins came across as well above average in terms of intelligence, at least in footballing terms.

So after genuinely hoping Southampton would survive this year I now find myself rather hoping this shocking decision comes back to haunt them. How anyone can achieve two promotions in successive seasons and take the club to the premier league and then lose his job is completely beyond me. What happened, was he caught in a compromising position with the Chairman’s wife? No, so how can they reward his tremendous achievements with this treatment?

The man selected to complete Adkins’ work is the Argentine Mauricio Pochettino who has a reputation as a shrewd operator and may well prove a smart appointment. However, I rather think sticking with Adkins would have improved the Saints’ survival chances and this must rate a high risk strategy. How the players will react to the new boss will be interesting and there is every chance that they will lose the momentum built up in recent weeks. So let’s cash in and back them at 7/4 to be relegated and have a jolly good laugh at the Director’s folly.