Nigel Adkins this week received perhaps the most undeserved firing since Roberto di Matteo, or Carlo Ancelloti, or Rafael Be...wrong month. All I can do is add to the chorus of outrage that football fans from all over England currently feel. What does one have to do right? He successfully dragged Southampton from League 1, to the Championship, and now they are a Premier League team, this a proud club who not long before Adkins appointment endured the shame of administration. Not only was Adkins at the center of one of English footballs finest stories of redemption, he also instilled with in his team a desire to play the game as it should be, on the ground, fast paced and with as many goals as possible. Some credit has to go to Alan Pardew of course for stabilising the team, and injecting some fresh talent, such as Jason Puncheon scorer of midweeks equalising goal at the Bridge.
Let us reflect on the start of the season, newly promoted Southampton faced both the Manchester clubs performing valiantly against United only for the genius of Robin van Persie to thwart them and Arsenal in their first 4 league games. Unsurprisingly the points tally after these games was perhaps more familiar to any British Eurovision fans - nil poi - however did anybody truly expect any different? Yet for all his hard work Adkins was still according to the tamest media reports headed for the exit. So less than 6 months on, Southampton sit in 15th place, looking as though they may yet be suited to life in top flight football having taken a point against two of the leagues "big boys" and all of a sudden, from nowhere Adkins is fired. This begs the question why? There exists no other business model where year on year success is rewarded with such callous disregard. Politicians probably would have felt disgusted by it such was the incredulity of the decision, if of course they knew anything about football or indeed where Southampton was located.
It seems to come back to the old adage that English managers just aren't fashionable. Like him or hate him it was a point best made by Sam Allardyce some years ago, he pointed out that if his name were pronounced with an accent his managerial situation would have been greatly elevated, and that seems a fair analysis. Ever since the initial success of managers such as Arsene Wenger almost every demagogue who runs a football club has been keen to bring in someone more continental. Perhaps the best example of this is Christian Gross, poor chap.
Nicola Cortese must have decided that Adkins was not fashionable enough, because seemingly his successor has little to boast in terms of achievement. Perhaps Mauricio Pochettino is a man who will better attract continental talent? Who knows? The fact is the English game has become a playground for people who either want to earn a quick buck or buy all the toys in the shop so none of the other kids can play with them. I suspect Cortes is an ideologue of the former rather than the later but both types can be as destructive as each over. The quick buck earners drain quality from the game and the rich kids tend ensure the playing fields are constructed without a bubble level leaving the rest firmly in the shadows. Cortese's handling of this matter has drawn the ire of the clubs fans, who in this day and age of the global armchair fan are increasingly overlooked. If it were my team I would suggest a general boycott to reverse the ludicrousness, though that is fantasy. Football has become more and more a theater than a sporting event, and Cortes has made himself the latest villain. Its a sad point that thus far the villains seem to bathing in triumph (not Aston Villa), and there is little hope that any decency will survive in the game.
A delighted Roman Abramovich lauds the work of Cortese with his famous billionaire exaggerated slow-clap.
Asides all this dire and angry bile, there was other breaking news today - chiefly that Theo Walcott the accomplished striker and all round complete forward (and not a turns in a decent performance every few games at best squad player for a big club) has committed himself to not winning any trophies for the foreseeable future. The saga that nobody really cared about, (except maybe Liverpool fans) has finally come to a dull conclusion. Arsenal the financially hardened almost Dickensian club stuck to their guns and made Theo sweat to the point where he had to accept a paltry £100,000 per week contract. Arsenal made it clear as far back as August that they would not be bullied or ransomed in to paying Walcott the £100,001 he demanded. Well I hope Theo has learned a valuable lesson, I suspect the rest of his average squad will do well to learn it. Staying with Arsenal AW has stated that having Diaby return to the first team squad is the equivalent of 10 signings and if he gets injured again which can't possibly happen then Arshavin may be utilized as a tough tackling holding midfielder for the remainder of the season.
Theo Walcott "top top quality?"
Lastly I implore anyone who is thinking of having a punt this weekend or as Ray Winstone would say "Have a bang on" to check out the tips on Next Bet - Jamie Ellis' weekly article is scarily accurate and guaranteed to provide a few giggles before kick off not to mention the fact that he's an all round nice guy. See link below.
Anyone looking for a stage managed belly laugh check out this exclusive talk sport interview with the man of the hour himself Josep Guardiola and why Germany was the right destination all along, at least Rafa will sleep somewhat easier now:
Having fulfilled my quota of bile, sycophancy and cynicism I bid you adieu. Now if you are not a football fan and you made it to this point then my sincerest thanks, and stay tuned for something that I categorically state will not be football related.
3 comments:
Nice one ! Pep's move I think was a very thought out one. I think he is going to come to United. His style suits United's in terms of developing young talent and the owners (and David Gill) won't be a pain in the bum like Chelsea, they will let him do his thing. I think Sir Alex is not going to retire for another two/three years givinh him a chance to do something in the mean time. If he had chosen a an English club it would have made him really unpopular in making move from one big club to another within the country. Big fan of Jose but I think Pep's style suits Man United's more thn Mourinho's does plus he can be another Sir Alex considering how you young he is. I maybe completely wrong but if I am right this is some shrewd long term thinking by the club.
Interesting thoughts Shubham, I guess it all depends on how long term his stay in Munich will be. Mourinho tends to settle for a year or two, and move on, Guardiola seems to have more care for the long term of clubs, as proven by the fantastic squad he left Vilanova. I personally think Ferguson's successor could be a big surprise and somewhat more understated. Perhaps David Moyes? As things stand I think Josep would prefer Manchester United or Arsenal to Chelsea or Manchester City based on stability of the clubs and the trust the boards show in the manager to complete a task. What do you make of the decision to replace Atkins with Poch-Man? Think Walcott is a £100,000p/w player?
I have thought about that one as well. I like David Moyes - he could be a very good replacement as well. Its just that whether he will be able to fill such big shoes. Only time will tell.
I was really surprised about Adkins. His success rate in terms of promotions was phenomenal. I think that is where smaller clubs miss a trick sometime. Why would they want to give up such stability when its coming with success ? He knew the club inside out, he knew the players. I think there are some things that happen behind the scene that we are never made aware of as general public. Specially after seeing that QPR movie my view has changed a lot, in terms of what comes out in the media.
Arsenal - Guess they finally caved under the pressure of the growing money in the professional football sector. I was hoping they would not. I think they have the best business model in football. They are the only club to actually turn over a profit. I respect Arsene's policy where salaries are capped and nobody earns more thn him. As for Walcott, he is probably not worth that much considering the ups and downs in his form but I think it was more about the fact that the executives wanted to prove they can keep a player if they want to. Just so that the fans still have faith in the board. Even though Arsenal are our rivals, I really hope they win a trophy this season just so that there is at least this one odd club that sticks with its model and doesn't pay these money hungry shit footballers (like Lescott, Bridge, Ferreria, etc. etc. ) extortionate amounts for working a 20 hours week.
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