Nigel Adkins on Talksport from 8pm

If anyone is interested, Nigel Adkins is joining Mark Saggers on the evening show tonight from 8pm on Talksport.

Think he'll be back in work soon. Has been a guest of a number of clubs recently.

Think he'll be back in work soon. Has been a guest of a number of clubs recently.

I've heard he's been mooching around looking at various teams coaching methods?

Yet more bloody scousers!

Just been discussing how clubs handle players leaving the club, in relation to Sterling.

Mentioned the Chamberlain situation in relation to that, and said there were lots of situations already happening behind the scenes with the player prior to the move.

Now talking about Luke Shaw. Mentioned agents using players as a cash cow.

Said he monitored and managed how much time Luke got with the senior team and in the team, and eventually Luke saw sense and changed agents.

'There were situations going on'

Just been talking about joining Twitter.

Detested it at Saints and didn't get why the players spent so much time on it. Encountered similar trends elsewhere, so signed up expecting to just get absolutely battered and hit with abuse, then probably leave.

Can understand why more now, said there's loads of great things going on, but you have to use it in the right way. Said he's both enjoyed it and hated it.

Said he had a sit-down meeting with a certain young player who said to Nigel he was using social media for six hours plus, per day. Adkins told him what else he could do with that time that would actually benefit his career. Said too many players use their social media to show off their lads holidays, parties and nights out and it doesn't create an impressive professional image.

Adkins now talking about life as a physio.

Said he ended up doing a degree in sports psychology because of conversations in the treatment room. Said he would check some players over and find no actual 'injury', so he'd press players on why they'd bothered coming to see him. Said it was relatively common to hear that they'd split from their partner, they're bored, losing access to the kids, developing a drinking habit, spending too much money at the casino, getting caned by the fans and so on.

Thinks people just look at players as being 100% if they cross the white line to the pitch, and don't consider that someone is having a tough home life, struggling with other issues or are generally at a low point in their life or career for whatever reasons.

Adkins said society and football are mentally weaker these days, and not firm enough with people. Said he doesn't think people who misbehave are actually punished as they used to be, and they should be. Said there seems to be some sort of strange culture of pandering to those who step out of line, rather than getting them back into line ASAP. Said that even in school, bad kids used to get punished and take a hit, and now that doesn't happen and he doesn't necessarily agree with that.

Adkins talking about the transition from Scunny to Saints.

Talked about developing time management. At Scunny he could be involved in everything and know absolutely everyone at the club. Said at Saints that just wasn't possible, it's a massive club and a far bigger operation. But still, everyone likes a 'good morning' from the manager so he provided that. He said you have to be able to delegate and make sure that you keep tabs on things, but accept that you can't have overall, complete control of absolutely everything across a club as big as Southampton.

Talking about developing himself.

Used to go on every type of 'course' going. Went to the physio courses, psychology courses, sport science courses, football coaching courses, business management courses, analyst courses - every type of course. He said that helped him as he could tell everyone he fully understood their scenarios, and had been in their position and seen things from the same perspective, and found that it helped him to pull together different departments with less difficulty. Said all the different departments naturally snipe at each other, but at Saints he had a really great set-up and things worked really well.

Now discussing the play-offs.

Compared cup finals and play-off finals. Said that play-off finals can be strange, as they're one-off games. Said he loved the way Derby were playing earlier this season, thought they were superb and played great football. Described them as outstanding. Said he went and watched them again late this season and couldn't believe the performance he was seeing. Said sometimes it's hard to understand how these things happen to a team with such high quality.

Adkins said when he first left Southampton he spent time with Hamburg, and had access all areas. Said he went back to Saints a few weeks ago and did the same, said Saints have a system with 6 or 7 managers lined up to replace the current manager, depending on different outcomes.

Said he thinks that's the way it has to be, and he doesn't think there's anything wrong with it - he accepts it.

Thanks for the continuous updates @Saint-Armstrong

Thanks Saint Armstrong! Really interesting.

Yes, thanks. Interesting stuff.

Cheers for the updates itll save me sitting thru the rrecording

Adkins talking about life pre-Southampton, and when Southampton came calling.

Said he felt ready for Southampton when the club came calling. Adkins said to give yourself a good opportunity, you need to prepare yourself properly. Said when he got offered the job at S****horpe, the first question he was asked by local radio was 'how can a physio become the manager?'.

He said he answered about his career path, about Bangor City and leading them into the UEFA Cup and then gave examples of the boot room philosophies of other clubs - said it instantly shut down that question and people accepted it.

Said the supporters at Saints were 'magnificent'. Said he went back at the weekend and they were magnificent again. He said it was a very, very driven and a very, very ambitious environment. Was invited to meet Cortese, had a good conversation and after a period of time - became the manager. Great players, Kelvin Davis and Dean Hammond were two brilliant senior professionals. Rickie Lambert was a talisman, but there were several young players. Wanted to have a senior group, surround them with young and hungry players - Lallana, Chamberlain, Schneiderlin, Cork, Shaw. Said the ambition of Adkins and Cortese was always to have three players for every positions - one senior, one younger, one academy. That was the pecking order.

Said that JWP began training with Adkins at 15, also brought Shaw, Chambers and Stephens into the fold and put them in the first team dressing room to see how they handled the experience. It's a very good example of how to get youngsters into your first team.

Said you have to win games of football at the same time as blooding youngsters. Said he blooded nine youngsters at Reading, but had financial issues and other off-field issues and ultimately, they were not winning games while waiting for a new owner to arrive. Really good youth system, but had a heavy defeat at Birmingham. Said that if he had not suffered that heavy defeat at Birmingham, he would not have been sacked. Said that the goalposts moved for Steve Clarke. Seven months is now the latest average figure for a Championship manager. Said it doesn't give him time to 'wait' for a young player to be 'ready' to perform at the top of their game.

Adkins now talking about Luke Shaw's decision to leave Saints for United.

Said we need to be respectful of Luke. Said he spent a lot of time 'looking after' Luke, and how he was affected by agent issues and had his head turned. Had a lot of people looking at him, even at youth level. Said he played him in cup games alongside JWP.

Saints did a lot of 'caring' for young players. Said there was a special support network just for Luke, led by Matt Radcliffe - who is now physio at United. Luke couldn't physically manage a full ninety minutes in Jason Dodd's team, so had to have 30 minutes here and there as they worked with him.

Luke is now at one of the biggest clubs in the world. His financial situation has changed. The people he's surrounded himself with have changed. It could be too much too soon. If you're gonna be a top, top, top player you make your debut by 17 - but then it's about how you develop from there.

Matt will have a big responsibility for Luke at Manchester United.

Adkins talking youth development at national level.

Said he thinks we don't place enough importance on it. Thinks we have a challenging culture in this country when we think about 'burnout' and clubs and countries working against each other, rather than working together.

Thinks England should put out their strongest team and just try to win these tournaments, we should take them more seriously.

Said that at Reading, one of his players - Stephen Kelly - hardly ever had a break due to his Republic of Ireland commitments.

We need to change the psychology and attitudes surrounding the squads - once you've had an England senior call-up and then go back to the U21s, it's a case of 'oh, I've been demoted' and there isn't the same level of enthusiasm and commitment again.

Adkins now talking about Luke Shaw's decision to leave Saints for United.

 

Said we need to be respectful of Luke. Said he spent a lot of time 'looking after' Luke, and how he was affected by agent issues and had his head turned. Had a lot of people looking at him, even at youth level. Said he played him in cup games alongside JWP.

 

Saints did a lot of 'caring' for young players. Said there was a special support network just for Luke, led by Matt Radcliffe - who is now physio at United. Luke couldn't physically manage a full ninety minutes in Jason Dodd's team, so had to have 30 minutes here and there as they worked with him.

 

Luke is now at one of the biggest clubs in the world. His financial situation has changed. The people he's surrounded himself with have changed. It could be too much too soon. If you're gonna be a top, top, top player you make your debut by 17 - but then it's about how you develop from there.

 

Matt will have a big responsibility for Luke at Manchester United.

I personally ( might have been listening to much into his words and his tone of voice mind ) but i think he was kinda of suggesting Luke moved far too soon and should have stayed at Saints.

Keep up the commentary SA

Really interesting SA - Cheers for the write ups.

Cheers SA!

He tried to sign Courtois he says. Presumably pre-Boruc.

Adkins talking about management styles.

Talking about communication, both verbal and non-verbal and also in terms of watching the game. Said he'd prefer to watch from an elevated view in the main stand, as it's easier to assess and oversee your team's performance - but you have to balance that with the value of having a manager pitch side.

Said that at Saints, he would always sit next to Kelvin and ask him 'what did you see from that half?' and 'what have you identified from that first half?'.

Believes goalkeepers have potential to be great leaders and managers/coaches, as they have a wider view of the game and are quite good at assessing football. Said he actually tried to sign Courtois at Saints.

Looking to get back into frontline management as soon as possible, but happy to keep studying - was at Southampton at the weekend, Leicester Tigers rugby the days prior and MLS the week or so before that. Will go wherever, to assess various different sports, to make himself the best he can be.

Was asked who he thought best PL keeper was - said Courtois. Tried to sign him at Saints!

That's it, he's done!

@ Saint-Armstrong Thanks for the reporting - enjoyed the read

I still love Nigel

He'd make a great manager at a team willing to give him the investment in the squad. He could really turn around a team like QPR, shame they went for Chris Ramsey.

He'd make a great manager at a team willing to give him the investment in the squad. He could really turn around a team like QPR, shame they went for Chris Ramsey.

I wouldn't wish QPR on anyone. It's a mess from top to bottom.

He'd make a great manager at a team willing to give him the investment in the squad. He could really turn around a team like QPR, shame they went for Chris Ramsey.

I doubt it. That club is rotten to the core and Fernandes is almost wholly responsible. Just believes that throwing money at it is the only way, so short sighted. Redknapp was the perfect man until he failed. I doubt NA would have ever gone for that job, even if promised time to rebuild you know he'd be gone in no time.

Thanks for the reporting SA. I'll always wish NA well, absolute hero and a ridiculously nice guy.

Cheers for the updates Saint-Armstrong.

Thanks for the write-up SA, Nigel always speaks very eloquently about the game and it's nice to get a bit of insider info into what was happening at the club during his time here.

A vital part of our journey was Nige taking us straight through the Championship without the p!ssabout of play-offs etc.

Hopefully he'll find a job that suits him sometime soon.

He had the resources here, but he made it work. It's no mean feat going from L1 to the PL like we did and he will always be fondly remembered down here. Loved his constant positively, and the records we broke under his stewardship.

A genuinely top bloke and I hope he gets a good job sooner rather than later.

Cheers for the updates Saint-Armstrong.

Seconded

Saint Armstrong thank you!

Thanks for that SA: Mrs JBS had me doing stuff so missed it.

Lay down after dinner listening to Talksport. Must have slept right thru Nigel's spot. Thank you so much Saint-Armstrong for the very informative report. Have always loved Nigel and what he did for the club. Had a rough deal at Reading and hope his next club give him the support and backing to do the good job I know he can do.

It won't happen, but were he to return in charge of the Academy and youth development, we'd really show ambition and go to new levels of greatness.

Great commentary Armstrong! Thank!

As for Adkins. The best Saints legend since Le Tiss alongside Lambert.

I heard some of it - got a bit fed up with the presenter seemingly continually going back and getting NA to discuss f-ing Pool and Gerrard!

Thanks Saint-Armstrong.

Top summary, thanks.

Many thanks Saint Armstrong, a real pleasure to read.

Just reinforces what a thoroughly great professional Nigel is. I hope to see him back in work in a frontline role at a great club very soon.

Top bloke, would be a great fit at Bristol City, a real sleeping giant, back in the championship, new ground, sold out a whole bunch of STs. Reckon Cotterell's taken them as far as he can!

He'd make a great manager at a team willing to give him the investment in the squad. He could really turn around a team like QPR, shame they went for Chris Ramsey.

Having met both, and know people who have worked with both, Ramsey is overwhelmingly the better coach - It's more of a shame for CR that he's got the QPR job, has the ability to go a long way in the game but, as others have said, the QPR job is a poisoned chalice so think this may damage his reputation.

Many people in the game are aware of NA's tactical issues and I believe it's one of the reason's he hasn't been offered a job yet.

Great commentary Armstrong! Thank!

 

As for Adkins. The best Saints legend since Le Tiss alongside Lambert.

Are you mad? Far more people who have contributed more to Saints than Adkins. Did a good job here but not a legend and certainly not the best alongside the other 2 names you mentioned. Both a deluded statement and an insult to others from our history.

Anyone aware if Reading have done better or worse since Adkins left?

He has a few friends at Fulham so I wouldn't be surprised to see him take that job if Kit Symons goes.

Anyone aware if Reading have done better or worse since Adkins left?

A little while ago I saw a comparison chart on SSN comparing Nige & Clarke after 20+ games.

Nigel came out on top.

Are you mad? Far more people who have contributed more to Saints than Adkins. Did a good job here but not a legend and certainly not the best alongside the other 2 names you mentioned. Both a deluded statement and an insult to others from our history.

While I appreciate the essence of what you say I find the strength of your feeling there a little baffling. How the only manager in our history to achieve back-to back promotions cannot be considered a legend is something of a mystery! Nigel Adkins is someone I personally hold in the same esteem as Le God, Rickie and any other hero figure I've known in my Saints supporting lifetime.

While I appreciate the essence of what you say I find the strength of your feeling there a little baffling. How the only manager in our history to achieve back-to back promotions cannot be considered a legend is something of a mystery! Nigel Adkins is someone I personally hold in the same esteem as Le God, Rickie and any other hero figure I've known in my Saints supporting lifetime.

Not to mention that the OP only said "since Le Tiss", so there's Strachan and his cup final team, the JPT winners (who stayed in L1), and, er, Burley's play-off losers that had any kind of claim to being remotely decent for Saints in that entire period that our back-to-back promotion manager has to compete with for this particular definition of top 3 legend status.

Oh, and of course depending on Sunday's outcome, potentially Koeman and this lot for getting into Europe after the meltdown.

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Thanks to Saint-Armstrong for that also.