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Nigel's latest sayings


Crab Lungs

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Crab Lungs..? I read you often. I even find myself agreeing with you on some occasions...but why do you need to start a thread

bringing into question the ..sanity, competence or dedication... of one of the most successful managers we've had in the sorry bunch since the start of this millenium?.

 

I'm old enough to recall the rhetoric of that upstart ..Lawrie Mc Menemy... who came down to the south coast with his Geordie

" attitude" in the early 1970's and woke everyone up and raised a lot of eyebrows. Now I know that Nigel Adkins is not the same

type of person but his direct style of interview technique does put journos in their place and disarm them from "stupid questions ".

 

NA is smart enough to know that you are only as good as your last game, and will get roasted if that winning run does not continue. In truth until we get automatic promotion at the end of this season ...he won't be able to relax and he knows that. I really don't think it's good to create doubts about his ability... until / if ..he eventually fails, which I hope he does not.

 

Um, a bit reactionary? As I said in the post you quoted (and emboldened):

 

"Pur-lease, don't get me wrong, I don't mind as he's doing a pretty good job but I just wondered what people thought..."

 

This isn't a slagging of Adkins, I find him amusing and like I said, I cannot complain with the job he's done. I just wanted an opinion why he is the way he is. He's most definitely unique and has an endearing style. Well, endearing to some, anyway!

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"once we are confirmed as champions"

Both clubs have significant chips on their shoulders.

Exactly what I thought when I saw that thread. A bunch of little Internet warriors getting their knickers in a twist not because of our attitude but because their recent struggles mean it's more important that they get one over on their (fairly) local rivals. Like the pre-game Saints knocking piece in the Dorset Echo, it says rather more about the chip on their shoulders than it says about us. They deserve to win the title. I think we all know that. That said, it seems NA's psychological games are at least working on their fans. Here's to 3 points for us when we meet. Just as part of us taking care of business you understand.

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First post so hope it's taken in good spirit. Truth is that Adkins is well aware of the effects of ambiguously worded bon mots. His backhanded compliments, sly digs - call them what you will are clever and there to wind up the opposition. Fair play to him too and it seems to be working in this league. I expect Saints to get second place behind Brighton and although I'm sure Cortese and Adkins would have hoped and possibly expected first, promotion out of this tin pot league was always the target.

 

It's next season that the Adkins watchers will really have a field day. Adkins, so far, has made a big deal of Saints being a big club and the opponents raising their game against the division giants. Although the biggest club boast is true to an extent in League One (Sheff Weds fans might disagree), the Championship is a different matter entirely. I can't see him being able to pull that against the likes of Boro, Wolves, Derby, Forest, Norwich (depending on who goes up, down)....that division is littered with clubs of a comparable stature to Southampton.

 

He also won't get much change from pulling rank with previous silverware nor with the 'Southampton style of football'. Championship sides tend to play the passing game too and there's plenty of them that do it as well as Southampton. NA will have to really prove his worth, then, on the football pitch. He'll have to be very canny too in the transfer market and he will need to prove to Cortese that he has the ability to raise Southampton's game and really push for the Premiership. If Cortese thought League One was tough then just wait for the Championship. It's probably the toughest most evenly matched division in the world with 15 or so of the 23 sides all of a comparable size, reputation and ability.

 

My gut feeling is that NA won't be able to do it. I've got no axe to grind with him though, I can't quite put my finger on it so am unable to offer any credible reason.

 

Anyway, best of luck with the rest of the season

 

A Brighton fan.

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First post so hope it's taken in good spirit. Truth is that Adkins is well aware of the effects of ambiguously worded bon mots. His backhanded compliments, sly digs - call them what you will are clever and there to wind up the opposition. Fair play to him too and it seems to be working in this league. I expect Saints to get second place behind Brighton and although I'm sure Cortese and Adkins would have hoped and possibly expected first, promotion out of this tin pot league was always the target.

 

It's next season that the Adkins watchers will really have a field day. Adkins, so far, has made a big deal of Saints being a big club and the opponents raising their game against the division giants. Although the biggest club boast is true to an extent in League One (Sheff Weds fans might disagree), the Championship is a different matter entirely. I can't see him being able to pull that against the likes of Boro, Wolves, Derby, Forest, Norwich (depending on who goes up, down)....that division is littered with clubs of a comparable stature to Southampton.

 

He also won't get much change from pulling rank with previous silverware nor with the 'Southampton style of football'. Championship sides tend to play the passing game too and there's plenty of them that do it as well as Southampton. NA will have to really prove his worth, then, on the football pitch. He'll have to be very canny too in the transfer market and he will need to prove to Cortese that he has the ability to raise Southampton's game and really push for the Premiership. If Cortese thought League One was tough then just wait for the Championship. It's probably the toughest most evenly matched division in the world with 15 or so of the 23 sides all of a comparable size, reputation and ability.

 

My gut feeling is that NA won't be able to do it. I've got no axe to grind with him though, I can't quite put my finger on it so am unable to offer any credible reason.

 

Anyway, best of luck with the rest of the season

 

A Brighton fan.

 

Welcome Kevin... that was a superb post; I especially liked the killer ending to it as well "A Brighton fan". I suppose that just goes to show that my initial generalisation was a bit unfair and premature.

 

I absolutely agree with what you're saying and it absolutely makes a lot of sense that this is an Adkins ruse. That said, I think he did have a spat with GP and make a snide remark IIRC after the two sides met at St. Mary's earlier this season. Perhaps that is where some of the ill feeling has originated from?

 

At the start of the season, I wanted Brighton go up with us. I've always liked the club and for what it's worth, still do. I'm actually excited you're getting a new stadium (which looks fantastic, by the way). However, I guess some of us on here have probably been a little wound up by recent visits and comments made about Southampton fans being arrogant (this has mostly been levelled at Bournemouth fans though).

 

We are anything but, and sometimes, I do wonder where the perception has come from. I'd say the vast majority of Saints fans originally expected to have a shorter stay in the Championship/L1 but have now come to terms that we won't "walk" any leagues any more. Football's played on the pitch and the most consistent side over a season will be promoted. There will always be a few unfortunate stories when a club who finishes third is unceremoniously and underservedly dumped out of the playoffs but in general, those accumulate the most points deserve promotion. At the moment, that's Brighton and will probably remain so.

 

Good luck to you and hopefully, see you in the NPC.

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First post so hope it's taken in good spirit. Truth is that Adkins is well aware of the effects of ambiguously worded bon mots. His backhanded compliments, sly digs - call them what you will are clever and there to wind up the opposition. Fair play to him too and it seems to be working in this league. I expect Saints to get second place behind Brighton and although I'm sure Cortese and Adkins would have hoped and possibly expected first, promotion out of this tin pot league was always the target.

 

It's next season that the Adkins watchers will really have a field day. Adkins, so far, has made a big deal of Saints being a big club and the opponents raising their game against the division giants. Although the biggest club boast is true to an extent in League One (Sheff Weds fans might disagree), the Championship is a different matter entirely. I can't see him being able to pull that against the likes of Boro, Wolves, Derby, Forest, Norwich (depending on who goes up, down)....that division is littered with clubs of a comparable stature to Southampton.

 

He also won't get much change from pulling rank with previous silverware nor with the 'Southampton style of football'. Championship sides tend to play the passing game too and there's plenty of them that do it as well as Southampton. NA will have to really prove his worth, then, on the football pitch. He'll have to be very canny too in the transfer market and he will need to prove to Cortese that he has the ability to raise Southampton's game and really push for the Premiership. If Cortese thought League One was tough then just wait for the Championship. It's probably the toughest most evenly matched division in the world with 15 or so of the 23 sides all of a comparable size, reputation and ability.

 

My gut feeling is that NA won't be able to do it. I've got no axe to grind with him though, I can't quite put my finger on it so am unable to offer any credible reason.

 

Anyway, best of luck with the rest of the season

 

A Brighton fan.

 

Haha, brilliant post. Loved the last line, didn't see that coming.

 

I'll echo everything Crab Lungs said in the above post regarding his feelings towards Brighton and Hove Albion. I was at the Millenium Stadium celebrating Brighton's victory in the play offs against Bristol City in 2004 and wrote a few times to that loony John Prescott and others begging for a new stadium for you.

 

We're obviously not going to catch Brighton this season (IMO) but there's absolutely nothing wrong with Adkins saying he wants to win the League, of course that's still the aim if it's mathematically possible!

 

As for Adkins-isms, I remember an article by a S****horpe supporter warning us Saints of what to expect from his post match interviews... they're great after a win, frustrating after a defeat. Very glad he's here, I like the bloke a lot.

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I like the idea of a Brighton fan, even a well-meaning one, trying to tell us what the Championship is like.

 

Saints : 4 seasons at that level in the last 6 seasons (inc 2010/11).

Brighton : 3 seasons at that level since 1993 - and without finishing above 20th in the second tier since 1990/1...

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I like the idea of a Brighton fan, even a well-meaning one, trying to tell us what the Championship is like.

 

Saints : 4 seasons at that level in the last 6 seasons (inc 2010/11).

Brighton : 3 seasons at that level since 1993 - and without finishing above 20th in the second tier since 1990/1...

 

Not sure if you're being tongue in cheek or not but maybe he watches a lot of football and therefore knows what it's like? ;)

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Not sure if you're being tongue in cheek or not but maybe he watches a lot of football and therefore knows what it's like? ;)

 

I am merely stating the facts. We're more recently familiar with the right end of that division AND the wrong end of it than them - and the middle, for that matter.

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Not sure if you're being tongue in cheek or not but maybe he watches a lot of football and therefore knows what it's like? ;)

 

Quite. My girlfriend's dragged me to more Reading games than I care to count in the last 15 years and I've seen a fair bit of Championship footie. Apologies if it sounded like I was trying to sound all high and mighty - as I said, I've got no axe to grind with Adkins nor with Saints fans. There are Albion fans that have become a bit obsessed with Southampton this season but it's a combination of anxiety over a team we've expected to be the main challengers, a lack of a 'true' rival with Palace being permanently in a league above us and a League One inferiority complex with bigger clubs having fallen on hard times. The same Albion fans were just as *****ly about dirty, dirty Leeds when they were in League One.

 

Anyhow, I don't want to take the thread away from it's main subject. Suffice to say that I thought Adkins was an odd appointment at the time but then again that whole Pardew sacking seems to covered in a murky layer of innuendo and rumour but the main thing for Southampton fans is that NA seems to be the right man for the job right now. You guys are in a much better position to judge whether you think he's the right man for the future than me.

 

and with that I'm going to retreat to 'lurker' status. Thanks for the comments, chaps.

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It does my head in as it sounds like its an act. I wonder if he speaks the same to the team or his wife? Its the same as the whole 3rd person thing when speaking about himself back in the interviews before he joined us.

 

That said, I know his interviews are going to be the same and the same lines are going to come out. So I tend not to bother reading his statements on the OS or listen in when he is on the radio or TV. All I really care about is the team doing well and us getting 3 points. If this is how he achieves that then I wont be moaning or having a pop.

 

If the results were going the other way more often than not I doubt his talking style would keep many friends with the fans though.

 

^^^ I used to always make an effort to read/listen to our managers after match ramblings. Nigel's all just sound the same now so I've stopped bothering. His interviews are pretty annoying but as long as he is winning who cares?

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Listen, Nigel has done a magnificent job since he has been in the building, at this magnificent football club, it's as simple as that. I'm not going to hide away from it, we as saints fans all have a smile on face, and are all pulling in the same direction. At the end of the day we all have the same common goal! We are winning games of football, with our group of honest hardworking players.

 

Together as one!

 

Ps. He is doing a great job, and comes across as a great bloke.

 

Edit- Sorry, could have left some for other people ;D

 

Ha - Adkins-speak is infecting the players language as well - in Chappers interview on the radio he started talking about "winning games" and so quickly added "games of football"" one could almost see his nervous look over his shoulder at his talkpolice minder bad-marking him.

 

But then perhaps he just thought we might be under the impression he was talking about winning games of scrabble.

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:) He comes across at times like a pikey who's found a job lot of readers digests. But with all that, his enthusiasm gets to you and I would be disappointed if he did not come out with one of his specials. It's got to the stage now that I have to take the ipod to hear his latest pearl of wisdom.

 

I reckon the shop should carry tee shirts with all the expressions on them, I would bet they would be a roaring success. Absolutely delighted with the bloke and the shiete he comes out with just adds to it for me. Anyone else and I expect I would be wanting to give them a slap, but not our Nige. One thing I am never in doubt of know is that all the team are pulling in the right direction. You can see it from all the players when they celebrate, the bench and all the staff.

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I don't know about you guys but Adders lack of basic grammar and narrow vocabulary gets on my tits. He lays himself open to ridicule with every new phrase uttered.

 

I thought the guy was supposed to be a fully paid up member of the intelligentsia.

 

He's still a vast improvement on most managers in his interviews though.Imagine having to listen to in inarticulate arsehole like Peter Reid.

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He's quite clever, actually, in his interviews. When pressed on a question he doesn't want to answer he says a lot without revealing his real thoughts, but usually includes a soundbite or two to keep everyone amused. Personally, I like the guy - his enthusiasm seems genuine and he does seem to be getting everyone on the bus rowing in the same direction.

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Quite. My girlfriend's dragged me to more Reading games than I care to count in the last 15 years and I've seen a fair bit of Championship footie.

 

.............

 

and with that I'm going to retreat to 'lurker' status. Thanks for the comments, chaps.

 

Two points:

 

- We have a rule on this forum (Rule 1) that states that if you mention a wife/girlfriend you must post a picture of her

- Please continue to post rather than lurk, great 1st couple of posts from you :)

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He's quite clever, actually, in his interviews. When pressed on a question he doesn't want to answer he says a lot without revealing his real thoughts, but usually includes a soundbite or two to keep everyone amused. Personally, I like the guy - his enthusiasm seems genuine and he does seem to be getting everyone on the bus rowing in the same direction.

 

He's developed avoidance techniques in interviews, such as "that's a good question young man", which give him time to decide how to actually answer. (Think he must model himself on Clough fpr that one)

In fact many of his cliches are ways of appearing to answer questions without actually doing so. It works quite well -- he appears pleasant and polite to the interviewer but gives very little away.

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He's developed avoidance techniques in interviews, such as "that's a good question young man", which give him time to decide how to actually answer. (Think he must model himself on Clough fpr that one)

In fact many of his cliches are ways of appearing to answer questions without actually doing so. It works quite well -- he appears pleasant and polite to the interviewer but gives very little away.

 

He wouldnt mind if the press didnt bother to turn up for his interviews then and just hashed the same old clap trap he usually says each week? ;)

 

As Barry the Badger says, I like how he talks of the aims of the club and not settling for 2nd place just because its easier even though we know thats all that matters. Just get fed up with the same old guff that fills the rest of his interview's, specialy in a slow footy week!

 

Still, I hope he is the man that takes us back to the Prem and onwards and upwards for a good time after that!

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It's all down to results, nothing else. If he keeps getting them, he'll be a loveable eccentric, if he doesn't he'll be a clown who cant speak correctly. WGS was funny and amusing because he won games for us, I'm sure the Boro fans found him a pain in the arse.

 

I quite like the bloke to be honest, better than Pardew and Wotte who both came across as arrogant. Certainly better than George Burley or a bored Harry Redknapp.

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It's all down to results, nothing else. If he keeps getting them, he'll be a loveable eccentric, if he doesn't he'll be a clown who cant speak correctly. WGS was funny and amusing because he won games for us, I'm sure the Boro fans found him a pain in the arse.

 

Exactly. It's all very well saying a yogurt is more important than a player if you've just won.

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I like the fact he's still talking about wanting to catch Brighton, even if it is unlikely.

 

This is one thing about him that I like. It's called having the right mental attitude and goes a long way towards being successful, provided that the target is a realistic one. As long as there is a mathematical chance of us catching Brighton, then arguably the target is realistic. Everything depends on the players believing in themselves. They will have received a boost when Posh were beaten last night and when Huddersfield dropped points at the weekend. A win tonight will put us second and although that may not last long, because of the cancelled Plymouth match, psychologically it is a great fillip. Although there will still be a 10 point gap, that only requires Brighton to stumble in a couple of matches as Posh did and for us to beat them and we will be breathing down their necks. I understand that one of their key players has just been injured and might be out for several weeks. That in itself might mean the difference between their team firing on all cylinders and starting to misfire.

 

Pardew wouldn't commit himself to setting a target of winning the division. Granted he inherited the -10 point penalty, but he could have stated that his aim was still automatic promotion rather than the play-offs. Adkins didn't have to announce his target of going up as champions, but in my opinion it does him credit that he is aiming high.

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"If Cortese thought League One was tough then just wait for the Championship. It's probably the toughest most evenly matched division in the world with 15 or so of the 23 sides all of a comparable size, reputation and ability."

 

+1

 

Possibly easier to stay in the Premier than promote out of the Championship. A manager biggest test in my opinion.

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"If Cortese thought League One was tough then just wait for the Championship. It's probably the toughest most evenly matched division in the world with 15 or so of the 23 sides all of a comparable size, reputation and ability."

 

+1 Possibly easier to stay in the Premier than promote out of the Championship. A manager biggest test in my opinion.

 

Hi Chris,

I think part of the issue is that Cortese doesn't really know English football yet ..at least at this level, but it's also true to say that to try and play football against some of the teams, on some of the pitches in L1 is a pot luck exercise every week, even for a consistant side. In CCC, teams at least do try to play football, and as you say it is hard to get out (or in this case )....UP.

 

Premiership managers don't come in a box, and I think that Adkins has paid his dues in the lower leagues and certainly deserves a shot at the Prem...if he gets us up in say ..two seasons.

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I think part of the issue is that Cortese doesn't really know English football yet ..at least at this level

 

To be fair that's an assumption you've made there, and one that I would disagree with. When I met him I was very impressed with his football knowledge. Don't forget part of his job is to find out and learn about these sort of things. I'm pretty sure he is more than aware of the challenge that we'd have once promoted.

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Mildly amusing cooment from a Brighton fan on the Echo site.....

 

whats more worrying for saints is injuries to there best players ie lallana. he cant be replaced by a loan player, no one in there right mind would lend a player out who is worth 1m? What is also a worry is if as rumoured NA has run out of cliches? on a serious note, young Adam is probably along with Bennet of brighton the best two wide players in the league. i honestly want saints in the championship.. good luck guys in the coming weeks

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Possibly easier to stay in the Premier than promote out of the Championship. A manager biggest test in my opinion.

 

But easier to do either than get you to use the correct tense of "getting promoted" out of / from the Championship.

 

"Promote out of" indeed, FFS.

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Mildly amusing cooment from a Brighton fan on the Echo site.....

 

whats more worrying for saints is injuries to there best players ie lallana. he cant be replaced by a loan player, no one in there right mind would lend a player out who is worth 1m? What is also a worry is if as rumoured NA has run out of cliches? on a serious note, young Adam is probably along with Bennet of brighton the best two wide players in the league. i honestly want saints in the championship.. good luck guys in the coming weeks

 

It would be funnier if Nigel actually used footballing cliches in the first place, as opposed to a set of random metaphors for football involving transport and the construction industry. Now if he was ranting on about war, sunsets or avian illnesses, they'd have a point.

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It would be funnier if Nigel actually used footballing cliches in the first place, as opposed to a set of random metaphors for football involving transport and the construction industry. Now if he was ranting on about war, sunsets or avian illnesses, they'd have a point.

 

he does use the odd "Art of War" quote though.

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